AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON INTERCULTURAL PHENOMENON: INTERVIEW WITH ERASMUS STUDENTS

Taking the reality of necessity for promoting the dialogue between cultures and civilizations into consideration a growing body of literature has emphasized the demand and the role of the intercultural sensitivity in our increasingly globalized and mobile world. Study abroad programmes are expected to become primary factor to promote interculturality. Although cultural travels are significant drivers for combating cultural prejudice, it is still a subject of debate whether student mobility has actually potential to cross boundaries and engage in cross cultural interactions. When dealing with a foreign culture in abroad the students, bringing their cultural memory with them, are supposed to tolerate themselves and the others with whom they don’t share a common cultural background. In this respect this study tries to reveal the role of Erasmus to promote students intercultural sensitivity, students’ prejudices and their tendency to move from ethnocentric to ethnorelative perspective, to cause students make self analysis and make discussion on experiences about cultural bias and handling cultural diversity and to display students’ expectations and to what extent they get them. For the purpose of gaining information the researcher has interviewed 20 Erasmus students. Offering interview questions by way of email, the researcher intends to analyse how the students handle cultural diversity, stereotypes and make self-analysis on their experience of cultural threads.

Key words: Intercultural sensitivity, stereotype, Erasmus programme, cultural prejudice