Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

8-2018

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Psychology

Major Professor

Joseph R. Miles

Committee Members

Brent S. Mallinckrodt, Gina P. Owens, Tricia M. Redeker-Hepner

Abstract

This study explored the experiences of six students in an intergroup dialogue (IGD) course focused on nationality, using a phenomenological approach by Thomas and Pollio (2002 ) derived from the philosophy of Husserl and Merleau-Ponty (1962). Intergroup dialogue is a form of pedagogy that brings together people from different social identity groups with a history of conflict between them, in order to build relationships across groups, develop critical awareness of social issues, and work towards social justice. Three participants identified as foreign-born, and three as U.S.-born. Participants were interviewed using a phenomenological approach and interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Participants also kept weekly reflection journals as part of their course requirement. Data was analyzed in the following order: 1) identifying meaning units, (2) putting meaning units into the four main grounds of body, time, others, and world, (3) clustering meaning units into themes, and (4) creating a thematic structure. National Identity and Family Background was an important contextual ground. Four themes emerged: Comfort Zone/Out of the Comfort Zone, Just a Human Being, Learning with Us, and Taking It Outside. Themes are discussed in relation to IGD theory. Implications for research and practice of IGD are discussed.

Download
Files over 3MB may be slow to open. For best results, right-click and select "save as..."

Share

COinS