Using Imaginative Literature to Foster Cultural Sensitivity

Patricia Newcomb; Carolyn Cagle; Charles Walker

doi:10.2202/1548-923X.1194

Article

Using Imaginative Literature to Foster Cultural Sensitivity

Patricia Newcomb , Carolyn Cagle and Charles Walker

Published/Copyright: January 19, 2006

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From the journal International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship Volume 3 Issue 1

Readings from two novels, Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street and Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, were included in maternal-child clinical courses as part of a pilot project to identify potentially effective strategies for increasing student cultural sensitivity and reflective thinking skills. The authors analyzed student journals to determine student values and beliefs during maternal-child clinical experiences. The study sample consisted of 40 young women enrolled in a baccalaureate nursing program in a private, liberal arts university. These young women consistently interpreted `the other' in their own image. They responded most strongly to themes of belonging, including the struggles of immigrants to `fit in,' the ways of being acceptable and valued in U.S. society, and the process through which students as nurses learn to accept and care for others who are different.

Keywords: liberal arts; education; nursing; cultural competence

Published Online: 2006-1-19

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.2202/1548-923X.1194

Keywords for this article

liberal arts; education; nursing; cultural competence