It is my hope that this assignment will give you a fresh perspective on your own culture and beliefs as you interview someone that is different from you. Realize that this person does not speak for their entire culture or people group. They and their perspective are their own. But rarely are people given a chance to talk about their beliefs. In the process of talking with this person, I think you may be surprised at the commonalities that you both share as well as your different viewpoints.
Print off the attached list of 28 questions that I obtained from Professor Linda Levine of San Jose State University. Select 5-8 questions that you want to ask your interviewee. Your goal is to understand more about another person’s perspective, get a good conversation going by creating a comfortable atmosphere.

Then write up a single page paper with 3 paragraphs- the first one tells about your interviewee, the second paragraph on what you learned about this person’s culture/beliefs/values/faith that was different from your own, the third paragraph on what you found you had in common. I do not want to see a script of the questions you asked and their answers. Do not ask every single one of the 28 questions.Cultural_Intervxw_Questions from San Jose State University Linda Levine.doc

What is your definition of “culture?”

  1. How do you define “family?”
  2. Who holds the most “status” in your family?  Why?
  3. How do you define success?
  4. Do you consider your parents to be successful?
  5. How important is education in your family
  6. Is punctuality important to you?  Why or why not?
  7. What is the most important meal of the day?
  8. Do you eat foods that are indigenous to your culture?  Why or why not?  If you answered yes, name some of the foods that you eat.  If you answered no, what types of foods do you eat?
  9. Did you ever live with your grandparents or extended family?
  10. Do you actively participate in an organized religion?
  11. How important is religion in your family?  Why ?
  12. If religion is important in your family, do you plan to pass this on to your children?  Why or why not?
  13. Are the roles of men and women specifically defined in your family?  If so, what are they?
  14. Do you have any eating habits/rituals that are specific to your culture?
  15. Define and describe the most important (or most celebrated) holiday of your culture.
  16. If you are from a culture that speaks English as a second language, do you speak your native language?  If not, why?  If so, will you teach your native language to any children you have?
  17. How is physical contact viewed in your culture?
  18. What is considered most disrespectful in your culture?
  19. What is considered most respectful in your culture?
  20. What would you say is, from your perspective, the most commonly held misconception about people of your culture?
  21. Have you ever experienced racism? In what form?
  22. What can be done about racism and prejudice, in your opinion?
  23. Do young people today have a sense of culture?
  24. What is the best thing about living in the USA?
  25. What is the worst thing about living in the USA?
  26. Have you ever felt excluded based on your gender or culture?
  27. Do you remember excluding others based on Culture or Gender?

Is there anything you would like others to know that we have not included here about you or your culture…..

Thank you- is there anything else you would like to share?