Culture
Learned patterns of attitudes and behaviors shared by a group of people
6 Definitions of Culture
-unique human efforts
-refinement, mannerisms
-civilization
-shared language, beliefs, values
-dominant or hegemonic culture
-the shifting tensions between the shared and the unshared
Ethnography of communication
An area of study within comm taking an interpretive perspective, scholars analyze verbal and nonverbal activities that have symbolic significance for the members of cultural groups to understand the rules and patterns followed by the groups
Symbolic Significance
The importance or meaning that most members of a cultural group attach to a communication activity
Embodied Ethnocentrism
Feeling comfortable and familiar in the spaces, behaviors, and actions of others in our own cultural surroundings
Communication
A symbolic process whereby reality is produced, maintained, repaired, and transformed
Cultural values
The worldview of a cultural group and its set of deeply held beliefs (ex. Equality is a cultural value of the U.S., all humans are created equal.)
Power Distance
A cultural variability dimension that concerns the extent to which people accept an unequal distribution of power. (ex. Denmark, Israel, and New Zealand value small power distance, believe less hierarchy is better, power should only be used for legitimate
Masculine-femininity Value
The degree to which gender-specific roles are valued:
1) feminine- valuing gender roles, quality of life, service, relationships, and interdependence
2) masculine- emphasizing distinctive gender roles, ambition, materialism, and independence
Uncertainty Avoidance
A cultural variability dimension that concerns the extent to which uncertainty, ambiguity, and deviant ideas and behaviors are avoided. (Low uncertainty avoidance societies limit rules and take risks, High uncertainty societies seek concensus about goals
Long-term vs. Short-term Orientation
A cultural variability dimension that reflects a cultural-group orientation toward virtue or truth. The long-term emphasizes virtue, short-term emphasizes truth.
Communication Ritual
A set form of systematic interactions that take place on a regular basis
Performative
Acting or presenting oneself in a specific way so as to accomplish some goal. How persons enact and represent their culture's worldviews.
Autoethnography
Research method where writers examine their own life experiences to discover broader cultural insights
Social Science Researchers
Focus on the influence of culture and communication and communication differences that result from culture
Interpretive Researchers
Focus on how cultural contexts influence communication. Focus on the symbolic, processual nature of communication.
Critical Researchers
View communication -and the power to communicate- as instrumental in reshaping culture. Culture as the way people participate in or resist society's structure.
Political Histories
written histories that focus on political events (people fled from Cuba to US after Castro came to power)
Intellectual histories
Focus on the development of ideas
Social histories
Written histories that focus on everyday life experiences of various groups in the past
Absent history
Any part of history that was not recorded or that is missing. Not everything that happened in the past is accessible to us today because only some voices were documented and only some perspectives were recorded
Family Histories
Histories of invidual families that are typically passed down through oral stories (knowing one's ancestors survived the Holocaust)
National History
Knowledge based on past events that influenced a country's development (Patrick Henry's speech)
Cultural group histories
History of each cultural group within a nation that includes, for example, the history of where the group originated, why the people migrated, and how they came to develop and maintain their cultural traits. (Northward migration of African Americans in ea
Modernist Identity
The identity that is grounded in the Western tradition of scientific and political beliefs and assumptions-- for example, the belief in external reality, demographic representation, liberation, and independent subjects
Grand narrative
a unified history and view of humankind (Pocohontas)
Apartheid
racial segregation in South Africa
Hidden Histories
Histories that are hidden from or forgotten by the mainstream representations of past events
Ethnic Histories
Histories of ethnic groups
Racial Histories
Histories of non-mainstream racial groups
Gender Histories
Histories of how cultural conventions of men and women are created, maintained, and/or altered
Sexual Orientation Histories
Historical experiences of gays and lesbians
Diasporic Histories
How international cultural groups were created through transnational migrations, slavery, religious crusades, or other historical forces
Colonial Histories
Histories of international invasions and annexations
Contact Hypothesis
The notion that better communication between groups is facilitated simply by putting people together in the same place and allowing them to interact
Limitations of Value Frameworks
Not everyone in a society holds the dominant value. (Not all Amish or Japanese are group-oriented)
Two levels of group-related power
1) primary dimensions- age, ethnicity, gender, physical ability, race, sexual orientation (more permanent)
2) secondary dimensions- educational background, geographic location, marital status, socioeconomic background (more changeable)
4 Concepts for Understanding ICC
Culture, communication, context, power
Homo narrans
Humans tell stories about their lives
8 Conditions that must be met to improve intergroup communication
1. Group members should be of equal status
2. Strong normative and institutional support for the contact should be provided
3. Contact between the groups should be voluntary
4. The contact should have the potential to extend beyond the immediate situation
3 most common histories
political, social, and intellectual