Your identity plays a key role in how you are perceived and the interactions you will have while studying abroad.
Building new relationships in a different culture, and amongst your UW peers, will be some of the most rewarding parts of your experience but can also present challenges that are difficult and uncomfortable to navigate. The resources on this page encourage you to reflect on some of the different aspects that make up our identities, learn about host country norms that may impact your experience, and access tools to engage critically with your own identity development.
Intersectionality
Your identities regularly intersect, overlap and impact how you are treated by others. Thinking about these intersections can be helpful as students often go abroad with multiple identities, personal stories and histories.
- The Urgency of Intersectionality TED talk by Kimberlé Crenshaw
- Beyond Guilt Trips by Anu Taranath
- Navigating Identity & Diversity Abroad IES Abroad
Privilege
All of us enjoy benefits in certain situations over other groups. Being mindful of these advantages while you are abroad is critical. It can influence your own behavior and how you are perceived by others.
- Privilege, Power, and Difference by Allan G. Johnson
- Confronting Privilege in Study Abroad activity
- Beyond Guilt Trips by Anu Taranath
- The Power Flower Activity
Perspectives on Privilege
- Traveling As A White American Is A Privilege Most People Don’t Have
- 7 Ways to Check your White Privilege While Traveling
- Traveling While Brown: Journeys in Privilege, Guilt, and Connection
Allyship
Allyship and privilege are connected. Recognizing your privilege empowers you to be an ally by advocating for greater justice, tolerance, and inclusion for peers who may feel marginalized in particular situations.