One
day in Copenhagen, María felt ill and she decided to go to the doctor.
So, it was raining heavily, and she hires a taxi. Inside taxi there was
another woman , and both of them were going to the same direction : the
hospital. They started talking each other.
A is a person from Spain. Her
name is María. She is 35 years old. She is not a believer. She divorced a year
ago. She has two children: a daughter and a son. Now, she is leaving
alone in the city. She likes hanging out with her friends in the weekends. She
is a businesswoman. She likes reading science fiction book and watching
romantic comedies.
B is a person from Turkey. Her
name is Elif. She is 41 years old. She is a Muslim person. Elif , but she
doesn’t wear a scarf that covers her hair. She is married with one child.
She is a doctor. She doesn’t drink alcohol and she doesn’t eat pork. Elif likes
doing sport, she really likes playing tennis, and she is very good at swimming.
A: Hi! Where are you going?
Because I really need to go to the hospital.
B: Don’t worry, I have to go
there too.
A: Ok. So, what is your
name? Mine is María.
B: Elif. Nice to meet you.
A: Me too. Are you new in the
city? Because you don’t look like Danish people at all.
B: No…Actually, I am here 4 years
ago. I am almost a Danish person!
A: I’ve asked you, because
in my case I ‘m a foreign person, from Spain. I moved on here a year ago, and
it was really hard for me to get to use to this new country. It is so
different…
B: Really? For me it was also
hard, but step by step you are getting to use.
A: Where are you from?
B: I ‘ m from Istanbul, Turkey.
A: So, you are a Muslim, right?
B: You are right. Are you
Christian?
A: Well… actually not, you know, I
don’t believe in any religion. I’m atheist.
B: Why don’t you believe in
God?
A: Because, in my opinion,
I can’t believe in something that I couldn’t see.
B: Unbelievable! But in the way
you said, you couldn’t see your brain but you know that you have…
A: It is not the same… Do you
mind if I ask you something about Muslim culture?
B: Not at all. You can ask
whatever you want.
A: Ok, if you are Muslim , why
don’t you use scarf? It seems strange for me.
B: Well…Actually it is not
necessary wearing a scarf, if your option as Muslim. Nobody can judge you if
you don’t wear a scarf.
A: Really? I didn’t know that…But
is there some restrictions about food or drinks , isn’t?
B: Of course. For example, I
don’t eat pork and I don’t drink alcohol.
They arrived to the hospital, and
María was waiting for the doctor. But, it was a surprise when suddenly she saw
Elif with a white coat. She was her doctor!
In the lesson of "Democratic
Citizenship" Ilknur and me created this dialogue after having a look at
these the criterias for socratic dialogue made by Dorete Kallesoe:
Dialogue Teaching :
The teacher should ask open
questions which enables students to create a dialogue
The Teacher as the Leader of
Conversation:
Teacher should be in the
background, only structure the dialogue and summarize the argument.
Active Listening :
The students should listen to
each other and talk each other in sensible way
Analysing Concepts :
Teacher should explain the
definitions of concepts that are the base of the dialogue
The Importance of Argumentation :
The students should learn that
they have to argue about their opinions and the teacher should ask students to
challenge each others' opinions.
Answering Thomas's questions
- If you use Iben Jensens "Analytical model" can you somehow dissect the dialogue above into the elements in her model (cultural self-understanding and so forth).
The Spanish woman:
Cultural self-understanding
|
Cultural pre-understanding
|
Position of experience
|
Culture fix point
|
“I ‘m a foreign
person, from Spain. I moved on here a year ago, and it was really hard for me
to get to use to this new country. It is so different…”
|
“if you are Muslim , why don’t you use scarf? It seems strange for me.”
"Are
you new in the city? Because you don’t look like Danish people at all."
|
“Really? I didn’t know that…”
|
“ It is not the same…
Do you mind if I ask you something about Muslim culture?”
|
“I don’t believe in
any religion. I’m atheist”
|
“But is there some
restrictions about food or drinks , isn’t?”
|
“…María was waiting for the doctor. But, it was a surprise when
suddenly she saw Elif with a white coat. She was her doctor!”
|
“I can’t
believe in something that I couldn’t see”
|
“So, you are a Muslim, right?”
|
|
The Turkish woman
Cultural self-understanding
|
Cultural pre-understanding
|
Position of experience
|
Culture fix point
|
“Unbelievable! But in the way you said, you couldn’t see your brain but
you know that you have…”
|
“Are you Christian?”
|
“and María was waiting
for the doctor. But, it was a surprise when suddenly she saw Elif with a
white coat. She was her doctor!”
|
“Actually
it is not necessary wearing a scarf, if your option as Muslim.”
“Why don’t you
believe in God?”
“Nobody can
judge you if you don’t wear a scarf.”
|
“I don’t eat pork and I don’t drink alcohol.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Do you think it is it a good way of analysing communication? And why
Yes, I consider that analytical model is a good way because you can discover what we think about other cultures ( such as prejudices or stereotypes), how we consider within our own culture ( self-understanding), and the main difference between our culture and others. In that sense , we can comprehend better what is going on when people from different nationalities are speaking: what is said (explicit) and what is thought ( implicit).
- The way of telling a fictional story is that an easier way of discussing cultural issues? Are there some things to be aware about when doing it?
As far I'm concerned, I think that inventing a story is easier in order to be much more aware of pre-understandings. When you imagine other situation, you are trying to be less subjective and more objetive, that is the aim: to clarify our self-understanding, prejudices, etc.
