Invisible Intersections: Cultural and Disciplinary Diversity Among Faculty in the International Classroom

Abstract

Scholarly literature on the international classroom frequently emphasizes the importance of making implicit beliefs and norms explicit in order to equalize all students’ ability to succeed. However, faculty members from varying cultural contexts may not share the same underlying norms, values, procedures, and educational standards. Likewise, faculty members may differ in educational and disciplinary backgrounds. This study uses interviews to assesses the experiences and academic norms of faculty members teaching in the interdisciplinary English-track of the Media and Culture Studies BA at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. This study finds that the effects of both discipline and culture function invisibly and most participants overestimate the degree of agreement between faculty members about core elements of the curriculum. As a result, we suggest that it is necessary for departments to actively foster awareness of disciplinary and cultural norms and to seek consensus between teachers across the curriculum.