Do university-sponsored international cultural events help students to appreciate "difference"?

Hosting large-scale events that celebrate the diversity of global cultures is one way that colleges and universities are responding to the imperative of increasing students' intercultural sensitivity. The effectiveness of such cultural events for promoting an appreciation of cultural difference remains unclear, however. This research examines shifts in students' attitudes toward cultural difference while students participated in one such celebration that focused on Latin American cultures and was held at Miami University (Ohio) during the fall semester of 1996. Our research question is "Was there a correlation between student participation in the Latin American Celebration and positive change in the same students' intercultural sensitivity?" By employing a developmental model of intercultural sensitivity and an associated survey instrument, we measured students' attitudes toward cultural difference and how they changed following intercultural exposure. Our preliminary results indicate that the Celebration may have helped to deepen students' intercultural appreciation. Students' attitudes shifted on several dimensions of intercultural sensitivity in the predicted direction of greater openness to other cultures. The most notable shift was toward greater engagement with and Acceptance of cultural difference. These were in fact among the central messages of the Latin American Celebration. Although producing fully "intercultural global citizens" is realistically beyond the scope of most on-campus education, the research suggests that progress toward greater intercultural understanding seems possible through a combination of special events, related courses and a supportive campus environment. Our study also suggests that campus activities aimed at promoting diversity will be more successful when they extend from an understanding of the cognitive processes leading individuals toward or away from increased intercultural sensitivity. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.