Up-Down-Up

Subgroup Size

Entire group

Duration

15 minutes

External Cost

No

Source

Sparrow, L. (1993). Up-Down-Up. In T. Gochenour (Ed)., Beyond experience: The experiential approach to cross-cultural education (pp. 162-163). 2nd Ed. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.

Tags:

  1. differences
  2. other awareness
  3. privilege
  4. self-awareness
  5. similarities

After the activity, the group can be split up into pairs to discuss their answers. 

Be aware: The Privilege Walk "is a very 'high risk' activity that requires trust building and safety for participants; introducing this activity too early in the training or before building trust risks creating resentment and hurt that can inhibit further sharing and openness” (p. 1).  This version is also important because it includes debriefing questions on p. 2.

An article in Links discusses why some facilitators do not believe that the Privilege Walk is a healthy environment for marginalized individuals. We have included the alternative activity in Links that this article recommends.