Discussion 7: Cultural Intelligence

The purpose of this activity is to help you practice cultural intelligence. For this activity, you will engage in a small group discussion.

Learning Objectives

LO2. Discuss several different ways to create better intercultural interactions in personal and workplace settings.

Time

The time estimated to complete this activity is 45-60 minutes.

Instructions

For this group activity, you will engage your peers in a small group discussion. Your initial post on the discussion board should be between 100-200 words in length. Please follow formal writing conventions using complete sentences and checking spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Please submit your initial post by Wednesday.

For this group discussion please read the below scenario:

Roy and Jalissa originally met in graduate school. On the first day that Jalissa walked into grad school, she was glad to see someone else near her age, which was older than the average student in the class. Even though Roy was White and Jalissa was African American, the two immediately felt drawn to each other. Before they knew it, Jalissa and Roy were inseparable. Jalissa’s husband started to get jealous of Roy until he met Roy and realized that Roy was gay.

Over the years, the two graduated and went to different jobs that were close to each other. Roy and Jalissa still would get together regularly and go shopping, go to the movies, have dinner, etc. The two of them considered themselves as highly culturally intelligent people. Jalissa was a Dean of Diversity at a liberal arts college, and Roy taught cultural studies at a large research university. The two often had pet names for each other that people outside of their relationship could view as racist or homophobic, but they knew the spirit behind their pet names was meant in jest and not ignorance, ethnocentrism, or fear.

One day Roy and Jalissa were hanging how in a store when Roy found an African Mask. Roy grabbed the mask, walked up behind Jalissa, and shouted, “Abugga bugga!” Jalissa turned around and laughingly slapped Roy on the arm responding, “You White racist cracker!” Jalissa looked at an older White woman standing in the row completely startled, and she just busted out laughing and Roy joined right in.

Then answer the questions below in your initial post:

• In this case, was Roy culturally intelligent? Why or why not?
• In this case, was Jalissa culturally intelligent? Why or why not?
• Was this interpersonal interaction appropriate? Why or why not?

After you have addressed these questions in your initial post, please read some of your other classmates’ posts and reply to two different peers using the RISE model of peer feedback found in the Netiquette Guidelines page. Your replies should be thoughtful and substantive, and  between 50-150 words. Please prioritize responding to classmates that have not received any responses yet. Please submit your response posts by Sunday.