Power,Representation,and Learning: Critical Cultural Perspectives on a US University Student Experience in Haiti

Abstract

This article offers an ethnographic analysis of a short-term study abroad program partnering US and Haitian university students in Haiti. It draws upon study abroad literature critical of shallow views of cultural difference as well as anthropology of learning literature emphasizing process and context in the learning endeavor. The article considers underlying processes shaping student cross-cultural learning. The authors find that such learning occurred with varying depth in relation to recognition of diversity and complexity within Haitian culture itself, confronting assumptions and biases, negotiating identity within an unfamiliar context, and considerations of the embeddedness and manifestations of power in the study abroad experience. The research suggests that more attention be paid to questions of power and representation in cross-cultural encounters so that participants are able to reflect on the impact of context and power on their own learning in the study abroad encounter.