Cross-cultural exchange between individuals, both through face-to-face encounter and, more recently, electronic media, has been widely promoted as a means of educating against prejudice. Through the integration of structured field study, practical experience, educational and social theory, and contemporary philosophy, this thesis challenges the very foundations upon which such initiatives are built, and develops an alternative basis from which to approach cross-cultural exchange. An exploration of social categorisation posits the foundations of prejudice in essentialist conceptualisations, whether under the umbrella of universalism or relativism. The historical propensity for antiracist and multicultural education to reify group difference and reinforce such essentialist conceptualisations of identity thus presents an interesting conundrum. The fact that similar tendencies are noted in contemporary practice, educational resources, and official guidance, gives this more than an academic interest. Despite the apparent advantages of abandoning essentialist categorisations, studies of communication and identity formation reveal contradictory evidence - the need to locate others socially and to predict their behaviour accordingly, both in face-to-face and electronic communication. Thus, the challenge for educators is to develop innovative pedagogical approaches that translate contemporary, non-essentialist, understandings of group categorisation into workable practices to overcome inequality. While, within such a programme, cross-cultural exchange might be seen to have a valuable role to play alongside structural reform, it is clear that alone it cannot provide a panacea for prejudice. In the light of the above, the thesis addresses guidance for good practice in crosscultural exchange, and the related complexity of programme evaluation, alongside the training of future facilitators of such projects. A particular emphasis is placed upon the use of participatory arts and the unique tools this medium can bring to inclusive, cross-cultural collaboration. The thesis demonstrates, that cross-cultural exchange has the potential to provide valuable and significant learning experiences, some of which have previously been given little recognition.

No description available.

No description available.

The intergroup contact effect is well-documented in the research literature (for a meta-analysis see Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). Although researchers have identified a few moderators of the contact effect, the constraints under which the contact effect is optimally effective are not well understood. The current research explored two individual difference measures related to anti-gay attitudes, AIDS stigma and motivation to respond without prejudice (internal and external motivation), as potential moderators of the contact effect on heterosexual men’s attitudes towards gay men. Results indicated that increased external motivation and AIDS stigma hinder the benefits of contact for anti-gay attitudes. Implications of these findings for understanding how intergroup contact serves as a prejudice-reduction technique are discussed.

Some scholars argue that organized sport is a viable context for different ethnic and racial groups to learn about one another and experience positive intergroup contact. Other scholars insist that hierarchical arrangements and competitive natures may actually exacerbate existing tensions among ethnic and racial groups. Less is known about whether or not recreational sport settings can facilitate positive intergroup contact. These contexts are often free of hierarchical arrangement and competition among participants, which potentially secure the equality of participants and facilitate positive interracial contact. The purpose of this study was to gain richer insights into the phenomenon of interracial contact that Korean Americans experience in recreational sport settings. This study was guided by three research questions: (1) Do Korean Americans perceive the presence of contact hypothesis' optimal conditions in recreational sport settings? (2) What factors influence Korean Americans' perception toward the presence or absence of optimal conditions? (3) Can participating in serious leisure activity with different racial groups contribute to interracial harmony? This study adopted qualitative research methods with a phenomenological approach. Face-to-face, in-depth, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 Korean American males who participated or have been participating in recreational sports with racially mixed teams. The interviews were conducted in August and September, 2008, in two southern cities. Four findings are articulated. First, informants held variable perceptions toward the presence of contact hypothesis' optimal conditions. Second, informants supported the existence of friendship opportunities. This study identified six key factors that play a critical role in formulation of informants' perceptions toward the existence of each optimal condition. They were: (1) skill level, (2) racial stereotypes, (3) physical attributes of recreational sport participants, (4) language proficiency, (5) atmosphere or culture within different recreational sport contexts, and (6) longevity of contact. Finally, informants felt that participating in recreational sports with different racial groups contributes to harmonious interracial relations. The findings showed that it is problematic to a priori assume that recreational sports satisfy the optimal conditions of contact situations. Moreover, findings suggest that satisfaction of optimal conditions in recreational sport contexts may not be necessary for positive interracial contact to occur.

In examining the racism in sport literature, two general trends emerge: (a) a focus on Western sport organizations and the prejudice expressed by Whites in these entities; and (b) the tendency to document the occurrence of prejudice without examining key antecedent conditions. The purpose of this study was to address these gaps in the literature. Specifically, I compare the racial prejudice of White Americans with Asians and also examine the degree to which intergroup contact impacts this level of prejudice. Data were collected from Asian (n = 104) and White American (n = 100) college students. They completed a questionnaire that assessed their contact with African Americans as both team mates and exercise partners, their intergroup anxiety, and racial prejudice. Results indicate that all of the study variables were significantly correlated with one another. As expected, a multivariate analysis of variance further illustrated that Asians, relative to Whites, expressed more anxiety and prejudice, while also having less contact with African Americans. Finally, results from a moderated regression indicated that the relationship between nationality and intergroup anxiety was moderated by contact with African Americans as team mates and as exercise partners. In both cases, the lack of contact resulted in greater anxiety for Asians than it did for Whites. This study contributes to the literature by explicitly examining racial bias across cultures. In addition, the findings point to the importance of diversity in exercise and team settings as a way of reducing racial prejudice. That is, since in being contact with African Americans as team mates and exercise partners helped to reduce intergroup anxiety, efforts should be made to increase racial diversity in exercise and sport team settings.

It is commonly said that 11:00 A.M. Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in America. The contact theory explains how interracial contact can help to ameliorate racism - and this type of interaction can easily be fostered in a church environment. Durkheim's idea of the "collective effervescence" felt in ritual experiences would be beneficial for crossing racial lines and improving race relations in the U.S. in multiracial churches. A great deal of recent sociological work has focused on the phenomenon of church segregation on a nationwide scale. This paper compares characteristics found in nationwide religious congregation surveys and case studies to the 2007 Kent County Congregations Survey to identify particularities in the Kent County region and scrutinize the previously identified characteristics and developing theories on multiracial congregations. In Kent County, the common characteristics of multiracial churches are being in an urban location (as opposed to a suburban or rural location), and having a higher percentage of theologically liberal members (for congregations less than 20 years old). Implications and suggestions for further research follow.

White supremacist racism is systemic to the structure of society in the United States. White people often minimize, rationalize, deflect, and deny contemporary acts of racism. However, there have been many whites who have actively opposed racism. As new conditions of racial segregation and inequality emerge in the United States, it is increasingly imperative that we consider which factors lead some whites to commit to antiracism. In this research, I examine how a selection of young white adults negotiate their racial and antiracist activist identities in the era of colorblindness. Utilizing feminist qualitative research methods, I explore my sample’s understanding of the factors most influential in raising their race consciousness. Employing in-depth interviewing techniques, I find that early life racial messages and the quality of interracial contacts one maintains throughout their lifetime have the greatest implications for influencing young whites’ involvement with antiracist activism.

The study of contact and desegregation in post apartheid South Africa has not received adequate attention (Durrheim & Dixon, 2005b). Mondeor, a previously White populated suburb in the South of Johannesburg has been identified as being a racially diverse neighbourhood . By focusing on this suburb, the current study investigated whether or not residents interacted or mixed with members from other race groups and whether or not increased contact with members of different race groups in a residential neighbourhood would promote positive intergroup attitudes. Zones were identified for the purpose of this study whereby each Zone was predominantly comprised of a specific race group. Quantitative data was collected by means of distributing an intergroup attitude and contact questionnaire to the residents according to the zones in which they resided. A sample of N=197 respondents was obtained. The results indicated that there was generally no significant difference in contact for the Zones (racially exclusive zones and racially mixed zones), however, significant differences existed in levels of contact for the various race groups. In addition to this it was found that significant differences in contact existed for the various education levels of the respondents. As expected, a significant negative relationship (r = -0.16) was found to exist between contact and affective prejudice. In addition to these results, significant relationships were found to exist between affective prejudice and the following variables: Intergroup anxiety (r=0.37), and social distance (r=0.27). In conclusion, it was found that residents were not mixing as much as what was envisaged for a racially mixed neighbourhood. In addition to this, contact in and of itself was not found to be a predictive measure for affective prejudice. Thus, this finding lends support to Allport’s contact hypothesis making it clear that it is imperative to examine the nature of the contact as this may be pertinent in the promotion of the reduction of affective prejudice in intergroup contact situations.

This thesis focuses on attitudes of the majority population against immigrants on the national level. In selected countries of the European Union, these attitudes are analysed with the goal of confirming causality between heterogeneous make-up of the population (in terms of proportion of foreign-born residents in the population) and the degree of xenophobia of the majority population. The work is based on the concept of contact hypothesis and assumes that the larger the relative size of the population of foreign-born residents is, the more positive the attitudes of the majority population are. Attitudes of the majority populations are studied on two levels. First, through the opinions of the European Social Survey 2014 respondents, and second, by the election results of populist radical right-wing parties, which are typically associated with firm anti-immigrant policies. While the levels of xenophobia expressed by the ESS respondents partially fits the expected model, the connection between results of relevant political parties and the percentage of foreign-born residents in the population was not proven. The contradictory results of both analyses are attributed to a so-called "modern racism". Keywords: xenophobia, immigration, radical right, contact hypothesis, Europe