Writing Across Culture: An Introduction to Study Abroad and the Writing Process

by Kenneth Wagner, Tony Magistrale

Overview

This book is about culture shock and the writing process. For a student, the relationship between writing and the challenge of living in a foreign culture may not be obvious. The purpose of Writing Across Culture is to aid the student in documenting and analyzing the connection. If culture can be broadly defined as the unwritten rules of every-day life, one effective method for learning these rules is to write about them as they are discovered. In this way, it is possible to see writing as a tool for cultural inquiry and comprehension, and, hence, an antidote for culture shock. Writing Across Culture encourages its readers to become writers engaged in a dialogue—between the individual and the new society—about everyday cultural differences.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433167065
Publisher:	Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers
Publication date:	02/08/2019
Pages:	156
Product dimensions:	5.91(w) x 8.86(h) x (d)

About the Author

Kenneth Wagner is the Executive Director of The Swedish Program at Stockholm University. He earned his doctorate in Sociology at the University of Pittsburgh and was formerly an Assistant Professor in Sociology at Hamilton College. Wagner, who has studied and taught abroad in Basel, Switzerland, and in Stockholm, Sweden, has published numerous articles in professional journals.

Tony Magistrale is an Associate Professor in the English Department at the University of Vermont. He has published extensively in the field of writing and in English Literature. Magistrale earned his doctorate in English at the University of Pittsburgh and spent a year at the University of Milan as a Fulbright Scholar.

Table of Contents

Foreword – Introduction – Culture Shock and the Intercultural Experience – Writing as a Mode to Learning Culture – Antidotes to Culture Shock: The Analytical Notebook – Interpreting Culture: Sarah's Analytical Notebook – Researching Culture: Writing for an Academic Audience – Cultural Change and Personal Discovery – Works Cited – Suggested Reading List – Index.

Editorial Reviews

I would encourage all US study abroad advisors to consider a way to incorporate «Writing Across Culture» into their preparatory programming, and even to put a copy into the hands of every outbound student. The value of the book is that it empowers serious students by providing them with the tools to analyze their adjustment to an unfamiliar cultural setting, thereby helping them to understand “cross-culturally” their experiences at different points in time and in relation to their own personal growth. I believe that students who write their way through their cross-cultural experience are most likely to have the kind of profound encounter with “difference” that will lead to attitudes and acts of tolerance throughout life, and I can think of no more positive impact.” —Geoffrey Gee, Assistant Director, International Programs, University of Pennsylvania

“When I used «Writing Across Culture» with my group of 19 students in Trinidad, they found it clear and stimulating. I found it invaluable—it’s a major contribution to the process of intercultural learning and it should be widely used.” —Nigel Bolland, Professor of Sociology, Colgate University

“I wish every student who studies abroad brings this wonderful book along in a backpack. Students who read this book will integrate more fully into their new culture and return with more wisdom about themselves and their own society. We use the concepts contained in this book during our orientation for all our study abroad students.” —Kirsten Moritz, Director, International Programs, Brown University

“«Writing Across Culture» performs an invaluable service for study abroad students, showing them how to turn their everyday cultural experiences into a subject of study. It is one of the very few books that we recommend to our departing students.” —Steve Piker, Professor of Sociology, Director of Foreign Study, Swarthmore College

“As the number of students in study abroad and other types of field-based programs increases, the need for learning techniques appropriate to these situations becomes more pressing. In their excellent book, «Writing Across Culture», Wagner and Magistrale present such a tool—the analytical notebook—which encourages students to think and write as a process of cross-cultural discovery, reflection, and interpretation. One could imagine the analytical notebook being used effectively in most any study abroad or field situation where students must be equipped to cope thoughtfully with cultural differences and where faculty are looking for meaningful ways to evaluate what their students are learning.” —Thomas Manley, Vice President, International Programs, Pitzer College, Claremont

From the Publisher