Part 1: PBS Untold Stories Project

Respond to each of the essay questions below to be included in your Portfolio:

1. Yosemite Buffalo Soldiers: African American tourists comprise less than one percent of the visitation to Yosemite National Park. Shelton Johnson has made it his life's work to connect the general African American population to the national parks. Present ideas that you have that would result in the national parks being more attractive to African Americans as a tourism destination.

2. Mount Rushmore, Telling America's Stories: Gerard Baker is the first American Indian to be Superintendent of Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Discuss your thoughts on the inclusion of American Indian history and culture, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. In other words, to what extent should native American history be interpreted in our national parks? What should tourists be exposed to in terms of Native American history?

3. Manzanar, Never Again: How should our country at war balance our citizens' civil liberties and the need for national security? What relevance does this period of history have in our world today (think 9/11)? How does the fact that our country established a national site to honor a difficult period in our past reflect on us as a nation? What is it that tourists should learn about when they visit Manzanar?

Part 2: Information Literacy-Codes of Cultural Behavior

1. Choose a destination (one country) anywhere in the world. To begin this section, explain why you chose this particular country.

2. Provide a brief cultural overview of the country to include historical background, language, religious beliefs, and society structure.

3. Conduct additional research on the codes of cultural behavior in the country. Provide information on cultural "Dos" and "Don'ts" for tourists to the country. Analyze at least five "Dos" and five "Don'ts" which document the codes of cultural behavior in the country that will assist tourists in avoiding conflict with the cultural values of the hosts. Again, discuss (not just list) the "Dos" and "Don'ts" as a major component of this assignment. After each of the "Dos" and "Don'ts" make certain that you provide the reference cited. The references may appear by title only, in parentheses, after each listing. For example: (CultureGrams) or (CountryWatch).

4. Explain which of the "Dos" and which of the "Don'ts" seem most unusual to you and might contribute to your unease in the country you chose.

Part 3: Internet-VolunTourism

Go to voluntourism.org

1. Review the home page to understand the resources available on this web site and to get a feeling for what VolunTourism is. On the menu (left screen) under "Who Are You?" click on "Traveler." Read this page on VolunTourism for Travelers.

2. Under "Quick Links" click on "Getting Started" and read. Complete the following exercise in this section: The Difficult Questions. Add to your Portfolio.

3. Under "Quick Links" click on "Trip Preparation" and read. (Note that we skipped the section on "Trip Selection.") After carefully reading the material, list three important insights you gained about trip preparation. Add to your Portfolio.

4. Under "Quick Links" click on "Processing Experiences" and read. Under "Quick Links" click on "Post-Trip" and read. Note the reference to "re-entry" (remember the W-Curve that focused on this aspect of tourism?). What is your response to this section? In other words, what do you think of the advice given about Processing Experiences and Post-Trip? Add to your Portfolio.

5. Next, read the five articles that are posted on our Blackboard course management site for this assignment and summarize each of the articles (two to three paragraphs for each). Add to your portfolio.

6. Finally, is VolunTourism something you would consider in future travel plans? Why or why not? Add to your Portfolio.

Part 4: Internet-Project Implicit

Go to implicit.harvard.edu/implicit

This online project is associated with fascinating research about attitudes toward various aspects of non dominant cultures. Do not begin this project until I have introduced it.

It is well known that people don't always "speak their minds" and it is suspected that people don't always "know their minds." Understanding such divergences is important to scientific psychology and for our purposes concerning cross-cultural perspectives.

The Project Implicit web site presents a method that demonstrates the conscious-unconscious divergences much more convincingly than has been possible with previous methods. Research using this new method (Implicit Association Test) has been conducted at the University of Washington, University of Virginia, Harvard, and Yale.

On the Project Implicit web site you will find a Demonstration Site and a Research Site. Choose the Demonstration Site. There you will find preliminary information and an "important disclaimer." Read over this material carefully before you proceed, knowing there is a possibility of encountering interpretations of your test performances with which you may not agree. If you opt not to proceed please talk with me about an alternative assignment. (Note that over the past seven years, out of hundreds of students, not a single student has opted out!)

As you continue you can choose from about 15 possible tests that interpret your responses to various aspects of non dominant perspectives, cultures, views and traditions (such as Asian-European American, African-European American, Arab Muslim-Other People, and Native-White American).

Choose any five of the tests (of the 15 or so, the categories vary over time) and complete them. In other words, you can choose the tests according to your personal reasons.

Please copy the results of your five tests to be included in the Portfolio, although, again, you may see me about an alternative assignment if you prefer. With reference to the results from the tests, analyze your findings.

1) Explain to what extent you agree or disagree with each of the interpretations provided. 2) What does this entire assignment have to do with a general education course with the "cultural diversity" distinction? 3) What does it have to do with cross-cultural perspectives of tourism?