CHINESE BANDIT NOVEL AND THE AMERICAN GANGSTER FILM: A THEORETICAL MODEL FOR CROSSCULTURAL AND INTERDISCIPLINARY TEACHING

The problem of this study was to provide a theoretical
model for crosscultural and interdisciplinary teaching
in the humanities to help lead students toward a greater
understanding and appreciation of cultures different from
their own and to help lessen potential conflicts based
upon such differences. Intended for teachers of community
college students, the theoretical model might be useful
in teaching in four-year institutions. It was designed to
allow students to examine together the content from several
disciplines in the humanities in terms of being representative
of differing cultures. The pilot model for the
theoretical model was a comparative study of the Chinese
bandit novel and the American gangster film, chosen as
representing two extremes in cultural polarity and found
to share a number of parallels. It was assumed that if these two very unlike cultures produced art forms sharing this
number of similarities, it should be possible to find
similarities between the culture elements of cultures
generally considered less different from one another than
these two. The method of developing instructional procedures
and techniques in utilizing the theoretical model
was demonstrated by use of the content of other disciplines
chosen to represent other cultures. It was concluded
that the theoretical model can be applied in teaching in
the humanities. It is hoped that more studies of this
kind can help in resolving potential cultural conflicts.