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DEI Curriculum: Intercultural and Job Skills

DEI Learning Outcome

Students will cultivate the skills needed for life and work in our diverse communities including:

  • Intercultural communication skills and inclusive language.
  • Cross Cultural Competencies including the awareness, knowledge, skills, practices and/or processes needed to function effectively and appropriately with people from other cultures.
  • Program specific competencies including:
    • Workplace expectations (e.g. customer service, employee relationships, acceptable workplace behavior, etc.)that focus on awareness of cultural identity, cultivating inclusivity and implementing culturally relevant services for diverse needs.
    • Specific issues that are critical competencies for program fields. This may include program specific recommendations and/or requirements related to cultural competence from an accrediting body(e.g. cross-cultural models of patient care for Health and Nursing, tools to avoid profiling or de-escalation training for Protective Services, ethical marketing practices for Business, etc.).

Questions to consider

  • In what ways is inclusive language modeled and discussed in your program/department?
  • How are cross-cultural soft skills in working with others cultivated in your program/department?
  • What specific models/theories of cross-cultural work are used in your program/department?
    • If none, how can this be introduced?
    • If yes, how are they implemented/actualized?

Resources

Tools

Media

An Everyday Dimension of Racism: Why We need to Understand Microaggressions

This video from Keele University highlights racial microaggressions that students have faced at their university and how it affects them.

Source:  Keele University, Race Equality Charter, https://youtu.be/OCBJZQrqXG0

Watch

Let's Talk Bias (4:41)

In this Youth Collective video produced by Reel Works, five young people share stories of experiencing bias targeted at their unique identities.

The Danger of a Single Story (19:16)

Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

We All Have Implicit Biases. So, What Can We Do About It? (12:00)

Dushaw Hockett, founder and Executive Director of Safe Places for the Advancement of Community and Equity, discusses characteristics of implicit biases and the reasons for all of us to recognize and address them.

How to Outsmart Your Own Unconscious Bias (17:23)

Author, speaker and CEO, Valerie Alexander explains how the human brain instinctively reacts when encountering the unexpected. She proposes that we examine our own behavior when faced with the unfamiliar and take control of our expectations so that we can change the world.

Eliminating Microaggressions: The Next Level of Inclusion (8:59)

Tiffany Alvoid lays out how microaggression manifests, the role you play, and what you can do to avoid perpetuating its continued existence in society.

I Am Not Your Asian Stereotype (9:38)

In this funny and insightful talk, Canwen Xu shares her Asian-American story of breaking and sometimes reaffirming stereotypes.

Racial Discrimination in the Workplace (5:17)

Janie Price recalls discrimination she faced at work and her experience.

The Little Problem I had Renting a House (13:45)

Fifty-three years ago, James A. White Sr. joined the US Air Force. But as an African American man, he had to go to shocking lengths to find a place for his young family to live nearby. He tells this powerful story about the lived experience of "everyday racism" -- and how it echoes today in the way he's had to teach his grandchildren to interact with police.

The Muslim on the Airplane (15:58)

Watching the news, it seems like ethnic divides are ever-deepening. But how can we solve these complicated problems when each side lives in fear of the other? The answer is simple, argues Syrian American poet Amal Kassir – it starts with, “what’s your name?” Contains strong language.

Listen

Ask Code Switch: What About Your Friends (50-minute listen)

This episode of Code Switch focuses on helping listeners understand how race and racism affect our lives and friendships.

The Mind of the Village: Understanding our Implicit Biases (50-minute listen)

This episode of Hidden Brain examines research about “the mind of the village,” exploring the connection between our minds and society.

Microaggressions are a Big Deal: How to Talk Them Out and When to Walk Away (21-minute listen)

Kevin Nadal, a professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, has spent years researching and writing books on the effects of microaggressions. As these big structural issues play out, he says it's important to confront the small stuff. Listen to his interview with NPR.

Culture Series - Making Villains and the "Problem" Woman of Color in the Workplace (19:28)

This episode of the Diversity Gap Academy dives into villain narratives and the "problem" woman of color in the workplace. Popularized by research done by the Centre for Community Organizations in Montreal, this episode unpacks a common experience that women of color navigate in majority white-led organizations. This topic is important for any of us who aspire to create more diverse organizational cultures.

Health Equity Advocate on Black Doctor's Video of Her Treatment for COVID-19 (4:42)

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with health equity advocate Joia Crear-Perry about a video in which the late Dr. Susan Moore said her treatment for COVID-19 suffered because she was Black.