Prejudice Reduction Skills

Presenter:
Susan M. Sgambelluri
Assistant Director
Career Counseling Services
Indiana University

Workshop Description: Conceived and developed by the New York-based Coalition Building Institute, this highly interactive workshop leadsparticipants through a series of increasingly self-disclosive activities and exchanges.

Key goals include:
(1)exploring participants' membership in a range of obvious and not-so-obvious groups,
(2) exploring those early messages and experiences that shape our exploring those early messages and experiences that shape our attitudes toward members of these groups,
(3) building an awareness of how these attitudes and prejudices affect the quality of our relationships with others, and (4) identifying and practice behaviors that effectively reduce prejudice.

Target Audience: Recommended for groups with minimal exposure to issues of diversity and especially for majority groups whose members may have difficulty seeing the relevance of issues of diversity and prejudice to their own lives. Recommended as a training tool for student paraprofessionals on the college campus.

Format: Workshop length ranges from two to six hours depending on group size and individual concerns and needs. The presenter requests an in-depth meeting with each group's workshop coordinator prior the actual presentation to assess the group's goals, general climate, and prior experience with diversity programs.

Related Films & Videos

1. "Who Killed Vincent Chin?" 87 minutes, Tape, Audio Visual, CC4022, VHS -- This powerful film confronts the racist American criminal justice system. It deals with the racist murder of a Chinese-American man.
2. "Multi-Culturalism," 40 minutes, Tape, International Center -- This film addresses International student views of their own & the US political systems.
3. "American Indian Influence on the US," 28 minutes, Film, Monroe County Library -- This film addresses the little recognized contributions of Native Americans to the current culture of America.
4. "Pockets of Hate," 26 minutes, Tape, Audio Visual, CC4095, VH -- This film explores the contemporary and historical aspects of racial hatred, especially directed at Native American Indians.
5. "The Male and Female Dimensions of Cross-Cultural Communication," 45 minutes, Tape, International Center
6. "Latino Magic," 60 minutes, Tape, Residence Life -- This current tape covers Hispanic, Chicano, Mexican, Cuban and Puerto Rican topics; addressing how these cultures are adjusting in the Chicago metro area.
7. "Cold Water," 45 minutes, Tape, International Center -- Through interviews with students and professors, this film discusses different aspects of foreign students coming to the United States and three stages of culture shock.
8. "America Becoming," 89 minutes (and teacher's guide), Main Library -- Shows the United States as an increasingly diverse nation. Explores the new pattern of immigration since the change in the law in 1965, and the impact of this change on American society. Presents a glimpse at six cities: Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Miami, Monterey Park (California) and Garden City (Kansas).
9. "Arab and Jews,: (2 video cassettes, 117 minutes) Main Library -- Examines the critical tension between Arabs and Jews living within lands under jurisdiction of the Israeli state including the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and explores their prejudices, stereotypes and interactions.
10. "Honorable Nations," 54 minutes, Main Library -- For 99 years, the residents of Salamanca, NY, have rented the land under their homes for an average of $1/year from the Seneca Indians, under the terms of a lease imposed by Congress. Now, as the lease is about to expire, a century of bad business must be renegotiated. Chana Gazit and David Steward's film captures the unfolding drama as the survival of an American town and justice for the Senecas' appear to be in conflict.