Office of Study Abroad

Ethnicity and Race Abroad

Joel Burt-Miller '16 in Cape Town, South Africa

"In my time in South Africa, identity played a major role in my day to day interactions. Being an African American male in this society, I found it easier to navigate amongst the isiZulu communities that I was living in. Overall, I had a great experience in South Africa. However, the effects of the apartheid period were still very much real, and once in a while I would be somewhere where Blacks didn't feel as welcomed because of race. When thinking about studying in a particular place, it is important to understand the history and society in which you will be traveling to, and how your identity may play a role in your experience." — Joel Burt-Miller ’16

• Some societies are more open and accepting of diversity than others.
  
  • People abroad have different cultural norms and can to be less "politically correct" than people in the U.S.
• People react differently to looks and behaviors to which they are not accustomed.
  • Be aware that people may generalize or incorrectly identify your ethnicity.

• Racial and ethnic minority students' reports are varied.

  • Some may be faced with the possibility of outright racism abroad and/or the possibility of insensitive attitudes.

• Be prepared if an incident does arise, but don't go abroad expecting racism or discrimination.
• Know that sometimes there can be a range of diversity among your program cohort and many questions and conversations around race and ethnicity might come from this group.

Some questions students should consider before going abroad:

• How is my ethnic group perceived in my host country? What kind of stereotypes are there?
• How should I react if I find something to be offensive?
• Is the person curious or do they have bad intentions?
• Has my host family housed minority students before? If not, will this be an issue for them?
• Am I used to being part of the majority at home but will be a minority abroad? Or vice versa?
• Will there be other minority students in my program?
• Who will I contact if I do face racial or discriminatory incidents?
• Does my program have support staff that will understand and help me through any racial or discriminatory incident I may face?