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Study Abroad Dynamics: Anthropological Perspectives, Jonathan Maravelias

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Americans typically lack cultural reflexivity--most Americans will even deny that there is a specific American culture. Many Americans often experience heightened states of anxiety and feelings of alienation, which several anthropologists and cross-cultural psychologists attribute to an unhealthy reliance on individualism and consumerism. If Americans could learn cultural reflexivity, then they may experience a sense of connectedness and higher self-esteem. Since cultural reflexivity can be learned, I have investigated whether or not study abroad programs help to teach it. More generally, I have studied the education abroad experience anthropologically through participating in a 35-day tour of the Mediterranean offered by …