What's Foreign to You May Not Be Foreign to Them: Investigating the Emic and Etic Experiences of International Students at Gonzaga University
Faculty Sponsor
Dr. Nicole Willms - willms@gonzaga.edu
Dr. Vikas Gumbhir - gumbhir@gonzaga.edu
Dr. Mary Jeannot - jeannot@gonzaga.edu
Session Type
Traditional Paper Presentation
Research Project Abstract
According to its mission statement, Gonzaga University is committed to diversity, intercultural competence, and global engagement. Examining the experiences of international students at the university is a crucial to the realization of this commitment. Margaret Kettle’s (2011) research emphasizes that, in addition to navigating coursework, international students undergo cultural transitions in everyday “actions and interactions, roles and relations, identities, objects, values, and language”. Through in-depth interviews with eight Gonzaga students from seven countries, this project addresses the question, “How do international students experience academic and non-academic life at Gonzaga University?” Initial analysis of the interview data suggests that while international students come to GU primarily for an “American” immersion experience, the communities they form propel them to a wide range of multicultural experiences and global connections that extend far beyond the “American.”
Session Number
RS6
Location
Weyerhaeuser 204
Abstract Number
RS6-c
What's Foreign to You May Not Be Foreign to Them: Investigating the Emic and Etic Experiences of International Students at Gonzaga University
Weyerhaeuser 204
According to its mission statement, Gonzaga University is committed to diversity, intercultural competence, and global engagement. Examining the experiences of international students at the university is a crucial to the realization of this commitment. Margaret Kettle’s (2011) research emphasizes that, in addition to navigating coursework, international students undergo cultural transitions in everyday “actions and interactions, roles and relations, identities, objects, values, and language”. Through in-depth interviews with eight Gonzaga students from seven countries, this project addresses the question, “How do international students experience academic and non-academic life at Gonzaga University?” Initial analysis of the interview data suggests that while international students come to GU primarily for an “American” immersion experience, the communities they form propel them to a wide range of multicultural experiences and global connections that extend far beyond the “American.”
