Introduction to Cross-Cultural Communication Marina Samsonova MA email

Introduction to Cross-Cultural Communication Marina Samsonova, MA email sammaring@gmail. com Course instructor

Introduction to Cross-Cultural Communication 1 introductory lecture 2 lectures on the main CCC notions 2 seminars 1 essay

Essay Select one topic from the list and write an essay of 500 words.

Discussion frameworks Studying cross-cultural communication

Content I. Culture 1. The concept of culture. Diverse definitions of culture. 2. Facets of culture. Norms and values. 3. Levels of cultures. 4. Cultural identity. 5. Acquiring culture: acculturation and socialization. 6. M. Bennet model of intercultural sensitivity.

Concept of 'culture', Bodley Topical Culture consist of everything on a list of topics, or categories, such as social organization, religion and economy Historical Culture is social heritage, or tradition, that is passed on the future generations Behavioural Culture is shared, learned human behavior; a way of life Normative Culture is ideas, values, or rules for living Functional Culture is the way humans solve problems of adapting to the environment or living together Mental Culture is a complex of ideas, or learned habits, that inhibit impulses and distinguish people from animals Structural Culture consist of patterned and interrelated ideas, symbols, or behaviours Symbolic Culture is based on arbitrarily assigned meanings that are shared by a society

Definitions of culture (Marie-Joelle Browaeys and Roger Price) Culture is a code of attitudes, norms and values, a way of thinking that is learnt within a social environment.

Definitions of culture (Geert Hofstede) Culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the member of one group or category of people from another.

Definitions of culture (Edward T. Hall) Hall (1983) views culture as often subconscious. He compares culture to an invisible control mechanism operating in our thoughts. In his view, we become only aware of this control mechanism when it is severely challenged, for example by exposure to a different culture. He believes that members of a given society, internalise the cultural components of that society, and act within the limits as set out by what is ‘culturally acceptable’.

Definitions of culture (Spencer-Oatey) Culture is a fuzzy set of attitudes, beliefs, behavioural norms, and basic assumptions and values that are shared by a group of people, and that influence each member's behaviour and his/her interpretations of the "meaning" of other people's behaviour.

Determinants of culture What does culture really mean? • • the group shares meanings that hold them together the group’s culture is somehow learned rather than being innate it is passed down from generation to generation it is the basis of the socialization process in childhood when the norms of behaviour and the values on which these norms are based are learned • culture is to be seen as relative: no cultural group is ‘better’ in any absolute sense • there is no cultural standard whereby one group’s perception of the worlds is superior to another

Discuss Think of your own definition of ‘culture’, that would reflect all mentioned elements, and express your understanding of this concept.

Layers of culture 'Ocean' model Browaeys and Price Culture operates on three levels: 1 layer (observable) architecture, rituals, dress codes, making contact, contracts, language, eating, etc. 2 layer (norms and values) explains what is happening at level one, what is right and what is wrong; values are to do with what is good or bad, how things should be 3 layer (basic assumptions) What lies there can only be construed through interpretation of what is happening at the other levels. Susan Schneider and Jean. Louis Barsoux

Layers of culture 'Onion' model Core layer and surface layers. Culture as a system that can be peeled, layer by layer, in order to reveal the content. Each of the layers encompasses the lower layer, as it depends on the lower layer, or is a result of the lower layers. Hofstede, Trompenaars, Spencer-Oatey

Layers of culture 'Iceberg' model Behaviors and Practices Characteristics which are apparent to the casual observer Attitudes and beliefs How the core values are reflected in specific situations in daily life such as working or socializing Core values Learned ideas of what is considered good or bad, desirable or undesirable, acceptable or unacceptable

Discuss Should a culture be considered within three layers of observable, second one, and the core layer, think of examples from your culture to demonstrate those layers. If possible, illustrate examples of the three layers from any other culture to compare with your culture.

Facets of culture. Norms and values. 4 categories of societies: 1. Traditional society. Religion plays an important role, large families are encouraged, conformity is rewarded and individualism rejected. 1. Rational society. The interests of the individual come first, birth control is encouraged and the authority of the state is recognized. 1. A society in which survival is the primary concern, where people are not happy and rather intolerant, where equality between sexes has little chance, materialism is predominant. 1. Post-modern society. Tolerant and democratic.

Levels of culture. Where does culture operate? • • • Culture and nation. One should distinguish ‘culture’ from ‘nation’. National culture. (Monir Tayeb) Although cultural make-up has many facets, there is a constant thread through our life which makes us distinguishable from others. National culture consists of the following elements: family (basic social unit), religion, education, mass communication media, the multinational company. Organizational culture. Acceptance of norms of specific behaviour by the members of an organization. Corporate culture. Another level of organizational culture. Professional culture. Set of values shared by the people working together professionally.

Cultural identity The problem of identity. Erikson. Psychoanalysis and behaviorism. Psychosocial identity - individual and society interaction; important personal need, social status. Identity: professional identity, civil identity, ethnic identity, political identity, religious identity, cultural identity

What do you do?

Cultural identity belonging of individuals to a certain culture or cultural group, forming value orientation towards themselves, other people, society, and world in general Cultural identity and cross-cultural communication

Acquiring culture: acculturation and socialization Socialization - lifelong process of inheriting and disseminating norms, customs, and ideologies, providing an individual with the skills and habits necessary for participating within their own society. Cultural learning (cultural transmission)

Socialization. Erik H. Erikson Socialization.

Acculturation explains the process of cultural change and psychological change that results following meeting between cultures. Fourfold model of acculturation strategies: Assimilation individuals adopt the cultural norms of a dominant or host culture, over their original culture Separation individuals reject the dominant or host culture in favor of preserving their culture of origin. Separation is often facilitated by immigration to ethnic enclaves Marginalisation individuals reject both their culture of origin and the dominant host culture Integration individuals are able to adopt the cultural norms of the dominant or host culture while maintaining their culture of origin. Integration leads to, and is often synonymous with biculturalism

Bennet model of intercultural sensitivity Ethnocentrism vs Ethnorelativism Paradigm shift - from absolutism to relativism Ethnorelativism - assumption that human behaviour can be explained only within a context of a certain cultural situation Cultural differences - no standard of ‘rightness’, no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, they just exist, behaviour is considered as acceptable or unacceptable depending on the context of certain sociocultural conditions

Bennet model of intercultural sensitivity 1. Denial of difference 2. Defence against difference 3. Minimization of difference 4. Acceptance of difference 5. Adaptation to difference 6. Integration of difference