Kaidan Alenko (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
not_a_whiner) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2012-11-09 09:05 am
not_a_whiner) wrote in fandomhigh2012-11-09 09:05 am
Entry tags:
Astro Sciences, Friday
"One of the big things about dealing with alien species is negotiation, communication," Kaidan began. "There's some unique challenges in negotiating with someone who comes from a completely different cultural background than you do, and you can imagine it gets, uh, amplified when you're dealing with another species."
"Now, negotiation's always about give and take," he continued, "But it's hard to know what to give and what you're allowed to take if you're not aware of the other party's, uh, cultural norms." He tried his best to keep his face straight (and not for humorous reasons) as he added, "The asari, for instance, don't really care about gender, and will react with confusion or anger if you try to hold them to human standards of decorum around women, let alone sexuality."
"So I want to do an exercise today," he said, sliding the photo-copied handbook over for Topher to distribute. "I want you to find someone from a different culture than your own. Might be another country. Might be another planet. Might just be a different background. First, I want you to negotiate. One of you gets two pieces of cake, the other person gets two cookies. You're going to want to trade off. Talk about that."
He leaned back. "Then I want you to talk about, uh, where you're from-- to find differences between your cultures. What's okay to say to another person? What isn't? Most importantly, what assumptions are you making?"
Look, Kaidan wasn't a diplomat. But he was going to try and inspire the kids to think that way. Might be less wars in the future.
"Now, negotiation's always about give and take," he continued, "But it's hard to know what to give and what you're allowed to take if you're not aware of the other party's, uh, cultural norms." He tried his best to keep his face straight (and not for humorous reasons) as he added, "The asari, for instance, don't really care about gender, and will react with confusion or anger if you try to hold them to human standards of decorum around women, let alone sexuality."
"So I want to do an exercise today," he said, sliding the photo-copied handbook over for Topher to distribute. "I want you to find someone from a different culture than your own. Might be another country. Might be another planet. Might just be a different background. First, I want you to negotiate. One of you gets two pieces of cake, the other person gets two cookies. You're going to want to trade off. Talk about that."
He leaned back. "Then I want you to talk about, uh, where you're from-- to find differences between your cultures. What's okay to say to another person? What isn't? Most importantly, what assumptions are you making?"
Look, Kaidan wasn't a diplomat. But he was going to try and inspire the kids to think that way. Might be less wars in the future.
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