Origins of idea of intercultural communication
- Involvement with other countries
- Involvement in wars
- Need to train government officials and military
- kiss, bow, shake hands
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
- language shapes culture
- language shapes the way that members of culture see the world
- the more diverse our perceptions, the more difficult it is to gain a mutual understanding
- consider 9/11 in the USA (terrorist attack) VS 9/11 in other parts of the world (viewed as a victory)
- July 4th in the USA (Independence Day) VS Britain (American Was of Independence)
Social science/ traditional approach
- breadth not depth
- count, generalize, extrapolate results to entire population
- Reality is “out there”– can be measured and studied
- Uses quantitative techniques
- Statistics (predictive)
- Replicable (someone else could repeat it with the same or similar results)
- Gallup Poll– vague questions and answers- not enough choices– must be mutually exclusive and exhaustive
Interpretive Approach
- depth not breadth
- not meant to be generalizable or predictive
- reality is what happens between people in a context, not a tangible thing
- tries to identify themes, patterns, relationships in a context
- one parade in one town– depth not breadth
Critical Approach
- emphasis on context
- sometimes textual
- Examines power relations in society– question the status quo
- Feminism, racism, injustice, issues of power
- Black doll, white doll video
Quantitative Approach
Research methods that use numerical indicators to capture and ascertain the relationships among variables. These methods use survey and observation.
Qualitative Approach
Research methods that attempt to capture people’s own meanings for their everyday behavior in specific contexts. These methods use participant observation and field studies.
Individualistic cultures
The tendency to emphasize individual identities, beliefs, needs, goals, and views rather than those of the group.
Collectivist cultures
The tendency to focus on the goals, needs, and views of the ingroup rather than individuals’ own goals, needs, and views.
Textual analysis
Examination of cultural texts such as media– television, movies, journalistic essays, and so on.
Rhetorical approach
A research method, dating back to ancient Greece, in which scholars try to interpret the meanings or persuasion used in texts or oral discourses in the contexts in which they occur.
dialectics
1) a method of logic based on the principle that an idea generates its opposite, leading to a reconciliation of the opposites
2) the complex and paradoxical relationship between two opposite qualities or entities, each of which may also be referred to as a dialectic
Six dialectics
1) CULTURAL– INDIVIDUAL
2) PERSONAL– CONTEXTUAL
3) DIFFERENCES– SIMILARITIES
4) STATIC– DYNAMIC
5) HISTORY/PAST– PRESENT/FUTURE
6) PRIVILEGE– DISADVANTAGE
