“Ich kam unter die Schweizer”: Teaching Switzerland as a Multi‐Ethnic Society

Abstract

This article describes a five‐week module on “Switzerland as a multi‐ethnic society” intended to counteract the popular image of Switzerland as a homogenous country concerned mostly with tourism, chocolate, and watches. Instead, the module treats Switzerland through topics such as the definition of identity in a multi‐ethnic society, the politics of immigration for a largely service‐based economy, and the strains that migration puts on a modern society shaped by political will. The unit seeks to familiarize students with contemporary multi‐ethnic Switzerland through a number of different texts (including film and music), compare the Swiss debates of migration and integration to those in the United States, and move students toward deep reflection on the larger issue concerning migration and national identity. The module is versatile in that it can be taught as part of a course on Switzerland, or of a broader course on migration in the German‐speaking countries.

The presence and absence of race in world language education literature

“…Articles across the historical span of the literature framed race as a “problem of our day”: Fitz‐Gerald (1921), Doyle (1941), Coleman (1946), Choquette (1950), Marjama (1979), Henderson et al (2020), and MacDonald (2021). More recently, articles identified race as a social issue in target cultures as well (e.g., Bauerlein & Shertzer, 2019; Baumgartner, 2012; King, 2021; Kost & Peabody, 2021; Willeke, 2001). While naming race as a social problem, articles also highlighted how the WL field has positioned itself as race neutral, or even as a solution to racial issues.…”