This assignment, entitled, "Radical Honesty" is the first of 3 predeparture assignments. This assignment asks students to consider "why are you doing this?" using Bianca Williams' (2016) "Radical Honesty Statement" as a template.


Before Class

  • Students are first assigned to read: "Williams, B. C. (2016). Radical honesty: Truth-telling as pedagogy for working through shame in academic spaces. In Race, Equity, and the Learning Environment (pp. 71-82). Routledge."
  • Upon reading the assigned reading, students are then prompted to write their own 2-3 page "Radical Honesty Statement."

During Class


  • Students are asked to either: pick a small section from their radical honesty statement to read out loud or pick a key quote from the text to discuss (approximately 30 minutes).
  • I then share with students that these are the often-cited reasons for studying abroad: to culturally immerse oneself, to become a global citizen, and to fit in (be a member of the host community).
  • I then read out loud an excerpt from the article entitled, "American Students Abroad Can’t Be ‘Global Citizens" by Zemach-Bersin (2008).
  • To facilitate discussion, I then ask students whether they think Zemach-Bersin’s argument is valid. 
  • I end the class discussion by asking students to start thinking about their ethic for global learning, which will be part of their next pre-departure assignment and discussion.

Materials Used:

"Williams, B. C. (2016). Radical honesty: Truth-telling as pedagogy for working through shame in academic spaces. In Race, Equity, and the Learning Environment (pp. 71-82). Routledge."

Zemach-Bersin, T. (2008). American students abroad can’t be global citizens. Chronicle of Higher Education, 54(26), A34.


Benin Study Abroad Course "Cultural Psychology" Assignment 1: Why Are You Doing This? Radical Honesty Statements by Krystal M. Perkins is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/