Cross-Cultural Programs at Eastern Mennonite University: A Counter-Narrative to Study Abroad

Eastern Mennonite University has implemented, as part of its general education curriculum, a required undergraduate cross-cultural experience since 1982. This study explores the case of this private, liberal arts university by inquiring into the connection between the cross- cultural program and Mennonite history and identity, and then situating these connections in the broader field of international education. Through archival research and twelve interviews and subsequent data analysis, the study found that core Mennonite values of service, community, and social justice and peacebuilding heavily influenced the cross-cultural program, as well as its structure, participation, and the content of each individual program. Based on the data analysis, the study concludes that EMU offers a counter-narrative to the ways in which study abroad is practiced at other universities, and that the Mennonite case acts as a call to other institutions to assess the values and motivations of their study abroad programming.