JB USA
Activity Workshop Form
Name of the
Activity
Objective(s)
Time
Place
Planner(s)
Facilitator(s)
ASK
Materials
Needed
Preparation
Needed
DIVING TO THE DEPTHS OF THE CULTURAL ICEBERG
Participants will explore the many facets of culture and the great need in
modern society for increased cultural understanding.
1.5 hours
Detroit Intercultural Summit
Julie Ann, Maxine, Veronica
Julie Ann, Maxine, Veronica
(A)(S)(K)
Sticky notes or paper w/ tape, markers, pens, large paper
Make posters and create examples
ACTIONS
Activity
TIME
NEEDED
10 min.
Cultural Influences: Give each participant three
(3) sticky notes/pieces of paper with tape on the
back and ask them to write down the three
aspects of their culture that they believe have
influenced them the most.
Once finished, participants will be asked to put
15-20
their sticky notes on the wall on a sort of “sliding min.
scale” that goes from least visible to most visible
(i.e. can this aspect of your culture be captured in
a photograph?).Once all of the sticky notes are
on the wall, we will ask the participants to each
share one of the aspects of culture that they
wrote.
Adages: Give everyone a piece of printer paper.
30 min.
Ask them to write an adage from their culture in
the middle of the paper (i.e. The early bird gets
the worm).Then, ask them to write down what
aspects of their culture that the adage relates to
(i.e. work ethic, concept of time). We will first
show them an example that we make. Then, we
will all go through the process together with
another adage that we choose. Finally, they will
FACILITATOR
Maxine
Maxine
Veronica
Debriefing
individually do their own (5-10 min.). At the end,
we will ask a few people to share their adage
without the related aspects of culture and have
the group propose related aspects of culture and
then compare what the group says to what the
individual says.
Now is the time to create our iceberg. We will first 15 min.
explain the concept of the iceberg – “Just as
9/10 of an iceberg is out of sight below the water
line, so 9/10 of culture is out of sight to the
casual observer and out of the conscious
awareness of persons from that culture.” We will
then create our own iceberg on a blank sheet of
paper, asking participants to come up with ideas.
Nacirema: Read the story of the Nacirema
15-30
culture (a strongly veiled story about American
min.
culture, described in an unfamiliar or unusual
way). Discussion of the story:
1. Where do you think these people are
located?
2. How do you feel about these customs?
3. Do you think they’re strange? If you do,
would you say that means they’re
ridiculous or primitive?
4. Do you see any connection between the
customs of the Nacirema and the aspects
of culture contained in the iceberg?
After discussion, reveal that Nacirema is
American spelled backward and discuss the
meaning of different parts of the story.
TIME
QUESTIONS
NEEDED
Have you ever judged a culture negatively based 5
on customs that you didn’t understand?
Do you feel that your culture gets negatively
5
judged based on customs that others don’t
understand? How?
Why is it important to understand the true depth 5
of a culture? What benefits come out of this
cultural understanding?
What do you feel prevents you from gaining a
5
deeper understanding of others’ cultures?
Is there anything else that you want to discuss or 5
share?
Veronica
Julie Ann
FACILITATOR
Julie Ann
Maxine
Veronica
Julie Ann
Maxine
Notes
Evaluation: Looking at the results of the written activities we do; evaluating
the discussion; fist of five