Cultural Immersion Project Students will complete a cultural immersion experience that will provide them with an opportunity to gain practical experience with the principles and concepts that are being studied in the course as well as the development of cultural awareness, sensitivity, and resource management within a community. Before beginning these projects, students must obtain approval of their selected groups to ensure that these groups are distinctively different. Students will select from the one of the following three categories that is different from their own group for these projects: Regent University HSC570 Course Syllabus 11 Category A: Cultural/Special Populations · the elderly/older persons · the physically challenged · the mentally challenged · the recovery community · the incarcerated · those living at the poverty level · the homeless · the military Category B: Spiritual/Religious Groups · Orthodox · Jewish/Messianic Jew · Wiccan · Muslim · Buddhism · Sikh You may choose other spiritual/religious groups not listed here. Category C: Racial/Ethnic Groups · African-American/African/Black Groups ·

Hispanic/Latin Groups · Native American Groups · Asian/Asian-American/Asian Indian Groups · Middle Eastern Groups · Slavic Groups At times students have expressed interest in focusing on a different group than the ones that are listed above. Focusing on a different group is perfectly acceptable; however, please contact your instructor to discuss your interest in a different group. You should inform the people from your chosen group about the purpose of your immersion experiences. You should also inform the individual that their identity will remain anonymous and that no identifying information will be shared. All students are required to submit via email by 21 May 2016 their population choices for the cultural immersion

For the immersion project, students will summarize their experiences in a maximum 12-page APA formatted paper (a separate title page should identify the student and the group selected) describing the project along with the student's involvement and must include all of the following elements:

a. Attend/participate in at least one activity or event during the course of the semester that involves the selected ethnic, religious group, or special population. Activities or events may include such things as festivals, church services, educational programs, banquets, musicals, dramas, or other presentations, political forums, etc. that is specific to the chosen population. It is important that you interact with members of the culture to develop an understanding of the event(s) and the motivations of individuals in it/them (e.g., the Regent University HSC570 Course Syllabus 12 purposes of the event; cultural underpinnings, beliefs or values associated with the event or meeting; social, economic, religious or other factors that play a role in the event)

b. Conduct at least one organizational site visit during the course of the semester that involves the selected ethnic, religious group, or special population. Possible sites may include such places as churches, hospitals, shelters, group homes, prisons, schools, hospices, military bases, organizational headquarters/offices, businesses etc. The organizational site visit is not the same as participating in an activity or event. For example, one may choose to focus on a spiritual/religious group and attend a religious service. Attending the service is different than visiting the organization. Visiting the organization may include touring the religious facility and garnering understanding about religious symbols and customs. At times students will choose places of worship for an organizational site visit which is acceptable; however, there are times when visiting a site does not reflect aspects of that culture. For further clarity please contact your instructor.

c. Conduct interviews with at least two different people who represent the chosen ethnic group, religious group, or special population. Interviews should seek to gain an understanding of the peoples' life and identity, their worldview, and their perspective on living in society. Focus on the concepts studied in this course. Possible interview topics will be posted in Blackboard. If you interview someone at an event, include information about the meaningfulness of the event and why he or she attends.

d. Write a one to two page summary on the historical/current oppression of your chosen group. This summary is to come to grips with how oppression affects your chosen group within your community. For those of you who come from the "majority culture," this may be the first time that you investigate this social phenomenon that people from your chosen culture experiences. Ideas to explore but are not limited to include the effects of oppression in the person's community (company, school, organization, church etc.); the subtle rules or unwritten practices of oppression in these structures. Researching the historical oppression of your chosen group will be necessary before conducting your interviews. Inquire with your interviewees about their experiences regarding your research.

e. Write a reflective summary to include the following: · your personal experience including similarities and differences between your chosen cultural and your own cultural group; how you believe the members of your chosen cultural group and your own group are more alike than different or more different than alike · a summary of what you learned about yourself through your interactions with your chosen populations including information about your own attitudes, beliefs, assumptions, and behaviors and what you think caused you to respond in these ways (e,g, stereotypes and generalizations); include information how your attitudes, beliefs etc. have changed or not changed including information on previously held beliefs (stereotypes); also include information about how you were challenged. · the possible ministry gaps, needs, and opportunities related to the group or population · personal reaction to the historical oppression of chosen group · discuss what surprised you and what did not surprise you about the experience · Write feelings and thoughts initial reactions you had when you first discovered that you would have to choose a population to choose to immerse in and what personal changes will you make as a result of this experience · All elements must be included to receive full credit for this section.

f. Develop an informational resource list related to the chosen cultural group or special population. It should consist of appropriate state and federal agencies; local/regional/state/national programs (secular and Christian); church-based programs; area ministries; Internet resources etc., including contact names and telephone numbers (at least 10 resources). This list should include scholarly resources (e.g., books, journal articles) for someone to learn more about your chosen group as well as your group within the context of your community. In your information resource list, half the list should be "community resources" and the other half should be scholarly resources.

The following is a suggested approximate framework for the immersion project summary:

- Summary of event attendance/participation (1 page) · Summary of site visit (1 page) ·

Separate summaries of interviews that were conducted (1-2 pages) · Historical/current oppression of chosen group (1-2 pages) · Reflective summary (2-3 pages) Regent University HSC570 Course Syllabus 13 ·

Resource list and bibliography (1-2 pages; list as an appendix after the reference section) The paper should be posted only as an MS Word document in Times New Roman 12 pt and emailed at the appropriate due date.

This is what I choose to do

Category A: Cultural/Special Populations

• The elderly/older persons

Category B: Spiritual/Religious Groups

• Jewish/Messianic Jew

You may choose other spiritual/religious groups not listed here.

Category C: Racial/Ethnic Groups

• Hispanic/Latin Groups