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1: Introduction to Intercultural Communication

  • Page ID
    230328
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    Learning Objectives
    • Define culture.
    • Define personal, social, and cultural identities.
    • Summarize nondominant and dominant identity development.
    • Explain why difference matters in the study of culture and identity.
    • Define the social constructionist view of culture and identity.
    • Trace the historical development and construction of the four cultural identities discussed.
    • Discuss how each of the four cultural identities discussed affects and/or relates to communication.
    • Define intercultural communication.
    • List and summarize the six dialectics of intercultural communication.
    • Discuss how intercultural communication affects interpersonal relationships.
    • Define intercultural communication competence.
    • Explain how motivation, self- and other-knowledge, and tolerance for uncertainty relate to intercultural communication competence.
    • Summarize the three ways to cultivate intercultural communication competence that are discussed.
    • Apply the concept of "thinking under the influence" as a reflective skill for building intercultural communication competence.

    Humans have always been diverse in their cultural beliefs and practices. But as new technologies have led to the perception that our world has shrunk, and demographic and political changes have brought attention to cultural differences, people communicate across cultures more now than ever before. The oceans and continents that separate us can now be traversed instantly with an e-mail, phone call, tweet, or status update. Additionally, our workplaces, schools, and neighborhoods have become more integrated in terms of race and gender, increasing our interaction with domestic diversity. The Disability Rights Movement and Gay Rights Movement have increased the visibility of people with disabilities and sexual minorities. But just because we are exposed to more difference doesn't mean we understand it, can communicate across it, or appreciate it. This chapter will help you do all three.

    SOURCE

    Culture and communication. (2016). In Communication in the real world: An introduction to communication studies. University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. This edition adapted from a work originally produced in 2013 by a publisher who has requested that it not receive attribution. Retrieved February 13, 2020, from https://open.lib.umn.edu/ communication/part/chapter-8-culture-and-communication/

    (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License)

    KEY TERMS

    ableism

    antimiscegenation laws

    ascribed identities

    avowed identities

    code-switching

    cognitive flexibility

    cultural identities

    cultural-individual dialectic

    culture

    dialectic

    dichotomies

    differences-similarities dialectic

    digital divide

    dominant identities

    essentialize

    ethnocentrism

    gender

    global village

    history/past-present/future dialectic

    ideology of domination

    intercultural communication

    intercultural communication competence

    quad\quad (ICC)

    intercultural relationships

    intersectional reflexivity

    intersectionality

    medical model of disability

    mindfulness

    motivation

    nondominant identities

    patriarchy

    personal-contextual dialectic

    personal identities

    privileges-disadvantages dialectic

    race

    sex

    sexual orientation

    social constructionism

    social identities

    static-dynamic dialectic

    tolerance for uncertainty

    transgender


    This page titled 1: Introduction to Intercultural Communication is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Shannon Ahrndt via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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