Various Definitions of Culture (video)

Various Definitions of Culture (video)

Galina Elizarova speaking about basic approaches to the concept of culture

 

1.4.2 "Culture" in the Field of Intercultural Communication (pdf links)

Please read both of Dr. Stephan Dahl's papers (just to page 23 of the "Communication and Culture Transformation" paper, or "Culture acquisition and modification") to get familiar with the different concepts of culture within the field of Intercultural Communication:

 

Theme 1 Assignments

Assignments for the first theme

1) Reflection (1-2 pages)

· Please explain briefly your own interest in Intercultural Communication (ICC).

· How does ICC link to your major studies? (If you are an ICC major, please think of your previous studies, or other subjects you might have studied.) Please give some ideas of how you could combine or apply an ICC perspective to your selected field of studies.

· What was especially interesting or even surprising for you in this material (texts, video, and pdfs)? Please choose two topics, and discuss them briefly.

 

2) Information search (about 1 page)

· Choose an academic journal that concentrates on intercultural communication research. Foe example, you can go to the University of Jyväskylä library pages to start your seach. While there, click on the link to the Nelli-portal on the right-hand side of the screen --> find ejournals --> search for and choose Journal of International and Intercultural Communication or Journal of Intercultural Communication Research. You can also choose another relevant source, such as Journal of Intercultural Communication.

· Go through 2 most current issues available of the selected journal and observe the research topics there. Which disciplines / perspectives seem to be prevalent? What kind of perspectives seem to be missing? What approaches would you find important to study within ICC, and why?

· Choose one article of interest from the last two issues. Describe briefly its basic claims, and critically discuss your views about them.

· Note! Some of the issues may not (yet) be available unless purchased. Choose older ones or issues that are accessible. If you are doing this course outside the University of Jyväskylä services, please conduct your own university's librarian or choose among publications that are freely available online.

 

Theme 2: IDENTITY, STEREOTYPES AND COMMUNICATION

This theme addresses the dimensions of identity, stereotypes, and perception, as well as verbal and nonverbal communication in different cultures. Through video presentations and readings, you will explore the nature of

· Identity (specifically cultural identity)

· Stereotypes

· Verbal and nonverbal communication (including conversation styles, politeness, and expectations related to time and space)

Identity

Racial identity

Race has been defined as a group of persons related by common descent or heredity. It is a classification of modern humans based on an arbitrary selection of physical characteristics as skin colour, facial form, or eye shape. Race is a social construction of human difference that is used to classify human beings into separate value-based categories.

Some researchers use the singular term racial / ethnic rather than separating race and ethnicity. Race and ethnicity represent social categories that develop during early socialization and maintain a central place in self, culture and communication process.

Ethnic identity

Ethnicity has been defined in various ways. Ethnic refers to a group of people sharing a common and distinctive culture, religion, language, etc. Furthermore, it has been explained as the attribute of membership in a group set off by racial, territorial, economic, religious, cultural, aesthetic, or linguistic uniqueness. Ethnicity has also been seen as a cultural marker that indicates shared traditions, heritage, and ancestral origins; ethnicity is defined psychologically and historically. On the other hand ethnic identity may be explained as an emotional bond that people share that originates from their past and that gives them an emotional force to claim their common historical origins.

Since the end of the 1990s, the terms ethnicity and race have been less commonly used. Instead culture has become the preferred term.

Cultural identity

It is commonly understood that culture and cultural identity are umbrella terms that subsume racial and ethnic identity. Culture has been defined as learned and shared values, beliefs, thinking patterns and behaviour common to a particular group of people. Culture forges a group's identity and assists in its survival. Institutions, language, social structures and various practices shared by a group of individuals are also part of culture. In addition, the individuals are connected by an ancestral heritage, often linked to a particular geographical location. Individuals have a sense of belonging to a particular culture or ethnic group.

Cultural communication is a system of symbols, meanings and norms that are shared by group members and passed down to the following generations.

Plurality of Identity

Every person has multiple dimensions of identities. In communication and daily interactions we define who we are. According to Fong, we negotiate our identities with people who are similar to us and different from us. Our identities are developed in social interactions.

Castells points out that identity must be distinguished from what, traditionally, has been called roles and role-sets. Roles - for example to be a worker, a father, a neighbour, a basketball player and a smoker at the same time - are defined by norms defined by the institutions and organizations of society. Their influence on people depends on negotiations and arrangements between individuals and these institutions and organizations.

Identities organize the meaning while roles organize the function. The essential question is how, from what, by whom, and for what identities are constructed. Building materials are to be found in history, biology, institutions, collective memory, personal fantasies and power apparatus. Individuals, social groups and societies process these materials. The social construction of identity always takes place in a particular context where power relationships rule.

Sometimes identities may start as resistance and they gradually become dominant in the process. The building of identity may lead to a different life, from an oppressed identity to the transformation of society. An example of this is a post-patriarchal society, which liberates women, men and children through the realization of women's identity.

Avowal and ascription

How a person perceives himself or herself is called avowal. It means in what way a person demonstrates to others "who I am". Ascription is how others perceive and communicate a person's identity.

 

Modes of expression

The second property of cultural identity are the modes of expression, which include core symbols, names and labels, and norms. Core symbols are cultural beliefs and interpretations of people, world and the functioning of society. The shared use of symbols and ideas provides people the membership of a group. Names and labels are categories of core symbols. Norms affect our cultural identity. Cultural groups create norms for appropriate conduct and acceptable behaviour.

Defining who we are includes what and how we should behave in a particular situation.

Gender identities

Our gender identity is influenced by the way we are treated by our parents, other relatives, neighbours and friends. Boys and girls are dressed in different colours and they are introduced to different types of toys. In every culture there are communications and interactions which are considered feminine, masculine or androgynous. Nowadays the media influences our identity, in what is considered feminine, masculine or androgynous.

 

Age identities

Age is also one aspect of our identity. Cultures view and treat people of different ages in different ways. For example, in Asian cultures, getting old is seen as positive. Elderly people are respected and they are cared for by their children. In some European cultures, however, not all elderly people are highly respected. In many cases they may live separated from the younger generation and feel lonely.

 

Spiritual identity

Depending of the culture and context spiritual identity can be more or less apparent. In some countries people might even be ready to die for their beliefs. People's spiritual identity may even lead to conflicts or, in worst cases, war.

 

Class identity

Our social class identity influences how we behave and communicate towards other people. A person's class identity is not necessarily noticed until he or she encounters another person representing another social class.

 

National identity

A person's citizenship of a nation is referred to as national identity. Depending on the person, his or her national identity may be stronger than his or her ethnic or cultural identity, and vice versa.

 

Regional identity

In every country there are regions with which people identify themselves. In some countries regional identities are stronger than the national identity. Regional identities may also carry positive, negative, real or not real generalizations about people living there.

 

Personal identity

Our personal identity means how we perceive ourselves. Our personal identity is vital for us and we communicate and negotiate that with other people.

Language and Culture

The influence and power of language is meaningful to cultural and ethnic group members. In each speech community -- ethnic, racial, cultural or gender-related -- language use is of vital importance. Each speech community has its norms, forms and codes for communication. The interactions of a group of people vary in many respects: in frequency and value of speaking, interpretation of speaking performances, and shared language forms. The speech community maintains the norms and rules of communication, but it may gradually change them. On the other hand, in every speech community there is a degree of individual deviation from the norms. Not all group members communicate in the same way.

The group members share a speech code, a system of symbols, signs, meanings and rules in a specific situation and interaction. Several aspects, like the relationship, age, gender, social status and generation, affect communication. Likewise, the proportion of verbal and nonverbal communication vary in different speech communities.

Rules of speaking determine what is appropriate and inappropriate in a situation with particular communication partners. We are automatically aware of what to say and not to say, and in what a way.

Rules of interaction help a person to know how to act towards others in a particular situation.

Language is not only used as a means of communication, but also as a marker or indicator the speaker's cultural identity. The identity is communicated through a particular language use during interaction (discourse markers). Certain types of expressions are used to express belonging to a group, but likewise they are sometimes used to exclude, separate or discriminate.

Intercultural communication takes place when interacting participants represent a different communication system. Differences may occur in verbal and nonverbal communication, for instance, eye contact, gestures, touch, pauses, turn-taking or use of time. They are potential sources of clashes or conflicts in intercultural communication. In a case of an intercultural communication clash, there may occur feelings of confusion, tension, embarrassment and frustration.

 

2.2 Stereotypes (pdf link)

In his article, Professor Jaakko Lehtonen from the University of Jyväskylä discusses stereotypes, identification and perception.

Jaakko Lehtonen
Stereotypes and collective identification

Published with the Author's permission. In Petkova & Lehtonen (Eds.), Cultural Identity in an Intercultural Context (pp. 61-85). University of Jyväskylä. Publication of the Department of Communication. 2005.

The contents of the article are

· Stereotypes and identity

· What are stereotypes and why do they exist?

· Why stereotypes?

· Descriptive and evaluative stereotypes

· Classifying cultural stereotypes

· Perceptual biases

· Changing harmful stereotypes

· Organizational identity and image as organizational stereotypes

· Self-esteem and self-handicapping stereotypes

 

Contextualization cues

During interactions, people process a large number of verbal and nonverbal cues, so-called contextualization cues (Gumperz, 1992). On the basis of these cues they make interpretations about each others´ intentions and their mutual relationship. Effective communication depends on how well people perceive each others´ intentions and how they interpret the messages. The perceptions, i.e., what is perceived and how that is interpreted, are culturally learned. One's own culture provides the measure for which something is evaluated, for instance, as being "beautiful" or "ugly", "polite" or "impolite".

People are, in their own culture, not particularly conscious of contextualization cues (sometimes also called orientation cues). When all parties seem to understand each other, and there is no obvious miscommunication, interpretation processes are not paid attention to. If misunderstandings occur, their origin is difficult to pinpoint. There is no widely accepted language for talking about, for instance, someone's conversational style. The following example by a Finn working in a multicultural organization in Mozambique illustrates this difficulty (Vasko, Kjisik & Salo-Lee 1998):

"I came back from the holiday, noticed that something had changed in the office, there was a new guy. He was a nice guy, something in his speech, or behaviour was such that it didn't fit there. He was eager and effective, maybe it was his way. I told him too that he should change but I couldn't say what it was".

Important contextualization cues in oral communication are, for instance, intonation, pitch or loudness. These are metamessages that tell how to interpret the verbal message. Decisive is not only WHAT is said but HOW something is said.

Linguistic awareness of cultures and recognition of cultural differences can be developed (e.g., Müller-Jacquier, 1993, 2003). According to Müller-Jacquier, linguistic awareness of cultures (LAC) means that "all cultural differences are ´hidden´ in linguistic manifestations. These expressions of cultural difference are found in all languages and they can be classified in different grammatical and lexical categories or even expressed non-verbally.... There is a source of mutual misunderstanding when these linguistic indicators or manifestations are not perceived by the interactors" (2003: 53).

Müller-Jacquier (2003) has elaborated LAC criteria for the analysis of communicative events. There might be cultural differences in interpretation along the following criteria:

· social meaning, lexicon

· speech acts, speech act sequences

· organization of discourse, conventions of discourse

· choice of topic

· directness/indirectness

· register

· paraverbal factors

· nonverbal means of expression

· culture-specific values/attitudes

· culture-specific behaviour (including rituals)

· behaviour sequences

 

2.3.2 Nonverbal Communication

Studies in nonverbal communication include following aspects:

· time

· space

· touching

· body language: expressions, gestures, movements, body position

· eye contact

· smell

· physical appearance

· clothing, artefacts

· living environment

Time

The structuring of time is a culture-bound phenomenon. The ways in which people locate their present relation to the past and the future as well as the ways in which they feel that time is available for a variety uses have a significant impact on how people order their lives.

Culturally different time concepts have turned out to be a considerable barrier in multicultural work. Differences surface, for instance, in punctuality requirements, adherence to schedules, attitudes towards cancellations and rescheduling, planning, methodical working, or what is found to be relevant or irrelevant to do within a certain time frame. In intercultural interactions, the differences in relation to time can be perceived by the representatives of different cultural groups as, for instance, unprofessional, an insult, or a personal trait (e.g., "an inflexible person").

In intercultural studies, various culturally different orientations to time have been identified. One of the most common one in antropogical studies is the classification into past, present and future time. We will discuss here Hall's classification of monochronic and polychronic time orientation. His classification has influenced also subsequent intercultural communication researchers (e.g., Trompernaars).

 

Reflection (1-2 pages)

1) Choose from the Identity texts three dimensions of identity to which you feel a strong sense of belonging. Describe briefly why they are important to you. Discuss how these identities affect your communication (verbal, nonverbal, communication style, etc.).

OR

2) Think of some stereotypes you have on certain groups (national, regional, spiritual, etc.). Write down some of them and answer to the following questions:

· Where do these stereotypes come from?

· Are they accurate, based your experiences in real life?

Now think of a concrete situation where you met someone from a group to which you have attached strong stereotypes. Analyze the situation according to the five perceptual biases from Greenberg & Baron (cited in Jaakko Lehtonen's article).

 

Observation (1 page)

4) Observe one (1) of the phenomena of nonverbal communication when being, for instance, among friends or in another environment/situation.

Describe the phenomenon you observe.
What are the different factors that describe the phenomenon of this particular nonverbal behaviour?

Now make an experiment with your friends or with strangers, and try to break the rules of this nonverbal behaviour in a certain situation. (For instance, if you describe proxemics, stand "too close" or "too far" from someone, see how the others react.) How do you feel in that situation? On a more general level, how can you connect this to nonverbal communication theories?

(Note! After you checked the reactions of the people you observed, it might be good to explain to your friends that this was just a scientific experiment!)

Theme 3: CULTURAL VALUES AND COMMUNICATION

In this section we will discuss values in various cultures. First you will read a text from Professor Liisa Salo-Lee that introduces different approaches to cultural values in cross-cultural and intercultural studies. After this you will follow five lecture videos from Professor Galina Elizarova. She gives some examples, mostly from the Russian culture, of how cultural values manifest in everyday life and in communication. The topics are

· Relationship to nature

· Time orientation

· Personal space

· Different patterns of communication

· Attitudes to arguments

· 3.1 Why Studies of Values?

· None

· The authors of one of the first academic textbooks of Intercultural Communication, J. Condon and T. Yousef (1975), in saying "something about values," state,

· "The student of values seeks underlying principles as categories both for distinguishing cultures and for finding commonplaces among cultures" (1975:48).

· And they continue: "Values have to do with what is judged good or bad, right or wrong. Statements based on values describe the ideal, the standards by which behaviour is evaluated; they do not necessarily describe the actual behaviour" (1975:51).

· Values influence, however, behaviour. We evaluate others' behaviour according to our own cultural values. Values, and different value systems, manifest themselves in various ways in everyday life and communication. Also, some of the most recent international and intercultural conflicts have been motivated by value differences.

3.2 Cross-cultural Studies

None

Value studies are mostly cross-cultural studies, comparing cultures. The research approach is often quantitative and the data base large. Cross-cultural studies look at groups, for instance national groups such as Finns or Chinese, and describe general tendencies in value orientations within a culture and between cultures.

In studies comparing cultural groups various indicators of value differences and values orientations have been found. The relation to time varies along cultural lines. Cultures have also been found to differ, for instance, in dimensions of power distance, individualism and collectivism, femininity and masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and in the relation of human beings to self, society and nature.

Some of the best known cross-cultural value studies are

· Parsons & Shils (1951): pattern variables

· Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck (1961): value orientations

· E.T. Hall (1966): high contact & low contact; (1976) monochronic & polychronic time concept; (1976) low & high context

· Hofstede (1980; 1983; 1991; 2001): work-related values

· Chinese culture connection (1987): "Confucian work dynamism/long term orientation"

· Schwartz (1987/1992; 1994; 2002): Schwartz Value Inventory

· Trompenaars (1993: 1997): cultural dimensions

In the following sections, some of these frameworks and their classifications will be presented, and the basic indicators and dimensions of cultural differences will be discussed. For further discussion, please see the "Toward's the different layers of culture" section in Stephan Dahl's "Intercultural Research: The Current State of Knowledge" article.

3.2.1 Parsons & Shils + Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck

None

The two "classical" value orientations, by Parsons and Shils, and by Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck, have influenced, among others, Hofstede and Trompenaars in their value studies and classifications.

Parsons and Shils state that value orientations explain behaviour and that people learn the values in the socialization process and make their behavioural choices unconsciously. Some of their value dimensions as well as the terminology, for instance, universalism and particularism, were later incorporated into the framework of Trompenaars.

According to Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck value orientations result from challenges that all people have to solve and influence concrete decisions in everyday life. These kinds of problems are, for instance,

· What is the relation of man to nature?

· What is the character of innate human nature?

· What is the temporal focus of human life?

There are for all societies a limited number of possible solutions to which people in different cultures give different preferences.

Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck propose the following value orientations:

· relation to nature (mastery, harmony, submission)

· basic human nature (good, bad, neutral)

· time orientation (past, present, future)

· activity orientation (being, doing, becoming)

· relationship among people (group, individual)

Also these orientations are to be seen in the work of later scholars studying values, such as Hofstede.

From the following video lectures by professor Galina Elizarova (Dr in English Linguistics from the Hertzen State Pedagogical University; St Petersburg, Russia) you will learn more about value orientations of relation to nature and time orientation. In addition, professor Elizarova discusses these verbal and nonverbal communication issues: personal space, different patterns of communication and attitudes to arguments.

 

3.2.2 Hofstede + Trompenaars + Schwartz

None

Geert Hofstede studied work-related values. His extensive original data (1967-1973) comes from 40 countries and involved 116,000 people working at IBM. Based on these, and later data, Hofstede has developed theory of cultural variation which features four dimensions along which cultures differ. These dimensions are

· individualism/collectivism

· power distance

· uncertainty avoidance

· masculinity/femininity

Later on, based on the findings of the so-called "Chinese culture connection," a fifth dimension "Confucian dynamism/long-term orientation" was added to the dimensions.

 

Fons Trompenaars ' seven dimensions of culture are

· relationships between people

o universalism/particularism

o individualism/collectivism

o neutral/affective

o specific/diffuse

o achievement/ascription

· time orientation

o past, present, future

o sequential/synchronous

· relationship to nature

o internal/external

A well-known case from Trompenaars' research material referring to the dimension of universalism/particularism is "The car and the pedestrian" (Trompenaars 1993:34):

"You are driving in a car driven by a close friend. He hits a pedestrian. You know he was going at least 35 miles per hour in an area of the city where the maximum allowed speed is 20 miles per hour. There are no witnesses. His lawyer says that if you testify under oath that he was only driving 20 miles per hour it may save him from serious consequences. What right has your friend to expect you to protect him? (a definite right, some right, no right)."

What would you do in that kind of a situation?

 

For Shalom Schwartz, culture is a "rich complex of meanings, beliefs, practices, symbols, norms, and values prevalent among people in a society" (2003). His Theory of Value Orientations comprises the following cultural dimensions:

· embeddedness/autonomy

· hierarchy/egalitarianism

· mastery/harmony

 

In all cross cultural value studies, individualism and collectivism as well as power distance have been identified as dimensions along which cultures differ. In the pages we will be discussing these cultural dimensions.

- Individualism and collectivism

None

In individualistic value orientation, people are primarily concerned about themselves and their immediate family. In collectivistic value orientation, people's major concern is their ingroup or community. The ingroup is expected to look after an individual in exchange for loyalty. The distinction between the ingroups and outgroups in collectivistic cultures in reflected in communication, for example, in different norms of politeness. The ingroup is vital for a person's success -- even survival -- and therefore good relationships have to be maintained.

Belonging to an ingroup is verbalized in such daily communicative practices as greetings. In some cultures the greetings include not the person talked to but also inquiries after the well-being of his/her family members. In Mozambique, for instance, a common question in local languages is "How are you (in plural)?" (in Portuguese: como estão?). In general, the concept of the human being in collectivistic societies such as Mozambique is collective also in the sense that it comprises the dead, the living and the yet to be born.

Collectivism, and collective thinking is defined by Ethiopians as follows:

"Thinking that originates from the influence of a traditional society, where more or less everything is collectively owned, where neighbourhoods live in unison sharing the pleasures and toils of life, and where interests seem to converge and overlap. As a result of this, the whole community is so rigidly tied together with socio-economic and cultural cohesion, that sharing the same idea and images, shelter and neighbourhood, images and feelings, stories, myths, values and traditional cults, becomes the norm" (Vasko, Kjisik, Salo-Lee 1998:84).

Individualism is a characteristic tendency of industrialized societies. Modernization induces changes which are often assumed to be unidirectional, i.e., all societies are developing the same characteristic traits in the modernization process. The traits attributed to modern societies include (Bond 1995)

· the sense of personal efficacy (anti-fatalism)

· low social integration with relatives

· egalitarian attitude towards others

· openness to innovation and change

· belief in sexual equality

· high achievement motivation

· independence or self-reliance

· active participation in social organizations

· tolerance of, and respect for, others

· cognitive and behavioural flexibility

· future organization

· empathetic capacity

· high need for information

· propensity to take risks in life

· secularization in religious belief

· preference for urban life

· high educational and occupational aspirations.

In spite of the assumption that the process of convergence towards a modern society is the same from culture to culture, a society can modernize and not lose valued elements of its tradition. The modern and the tradition are not necessarily incompatible.

Hierarchy and power distance

None

The term " power distance " is used to refer to human inequality and how it is accepted in the society. The term has gained popularity in various fields, including Intercultural Communication, due to the studies of Hofstede on work-related values.

Criteria for giving somebody a higher status in a society vary. Two basic orientations have been identified: ascription and achievement. In ascription-oriented societies status is based on factors such as age, position or gender. In achievement-oriented societies status is mainly based on personal achievements.

In cross-cultural value studies Finland, as well as other Nordic countries, has been identified as a low power distance, equalitarian culture.

3.3 Intercultural Studies

Intercultural studies refer here to studies where interaction is the focus. These studies are often linguistic or ethnographic, and research approach is qualitative. Culture-specificity is emphasized as well as contextual factors which may influence communication considerably.

Culture is manifested in communication, or as Bernd Müller-Jacquier puts it:

"... all cultural differences are "hidden" in linguistic manifestations. These expressions are found in all languages and they can be classified in different grammatical and lexical categories or even expressed nonverbally. They are presented in culture-specific explicit or implicit forms by both speakers and listeners" (2003:53).

Müller-Jacquier (2003) talks about "Linguistic Awareness of Cultures" and has elaborated the following "check-list" for looking at cultural differences:

· lexicon/social meaning

· speech acts/speech act sequences

· organization of conversation/conventions of discourse

· choice of topic

· directness/indirectness

· register

· paraverbal factors

· nonverbal means of expression

· culture-specific values/attitudes

· culture-specific behaviour (including rituals) and behaviour sequences

 

Ethnographers look at communication practices in specific cultural communities. According to Donal Carbaugh (1996),

· communication is patterned in culturally distinctive ways

· rules for producing sociable speech vary from cultural communicative system to cultural communicative system

· use of particular linguistic devices varies in culturally distinctive ways

· each of these differences can be the source of miscommunication and negative cultural stereotypes.

The exploration of cultural speaking patterns makes it possible to hear cultures in linguistic, and non-linguistic, action. It also develops understanding of people's cultural conduct and the dynamics that transpires when one cultural system of expression contacts another (Carbaugh 1996).

(original text by Liisa Salo-Lee, 2006)

Culture shock

People move from one country to another for different reasons. Studying or working opportunities abroad, intercultural marriages, as well as unstable political situations can make people leave their own country. These different situations can be viewed in terms of short-term or long-term, and voluntary or involuntary migration. Someone who is just attending a three-week language course in a foreign country will probably have different experiences than someone who is going to work abroad for three years. The situation is different as well between those who actively choose a foreign country to work or study there, and those who go there as refugees.

In the beginning there are many practical matters that require attention. Moving to a new apartment, taking care of administrative matters, and even buying food at a grocery store can be very challenging issues in a new environment. At the same time finding new social contacts and facing situations where your own behavioural patterns don't seem to work at all may create a feeling of confusion. The term culture shock is often used to cover all these different dimensions of encountering a new cultural environment.

When talking about culture shock, it is good to be aware of the different layers of culture. The iceberg metaphor is often used to show how many things are actually invisible in a culture. Traditions and food habits are something we can learn by observing the culture long enough, but it is much more difficult to understand the beliefs and values that lie beneath the behaviour, "under the surface". This is what also happens in adaptation to a new culture - it is easier to start with some visible features of the culture, and slowly go deeper in the adaptation process.

The symptoms of a culture shock can be very different in different people. Some experience only a little discomfort for a few weeks, while others may be struggling for several months or even years. Previous international experience, personality, expectations, motivation, and cultural distance (i.e., how different the home culture and the host culture are) all play an important role in the process. Symptoms can be both physical and mental, since people react differently to changes. Eating and sleeping problems are an example of physical symptoms, while mental symptoms have more to do with feelings of anxiety and personal loss. Even if culture shock in itself may sound like a very negative experience, it is an important element in the adaptation process.

 

Intercultural Adaptation

There are different models for the intercultural adaptation process. For instance, a traditional viewpoint has been to see the process as a U-curve (Lysgaard, 1955; also Chang, 1973; Oberg, 1960), where a migrant moves from initial excitement about the new place into a crisis, and then to adjustment. Later on some scholars expanded the U-curve into a W-curve, where they also took into account the re-entry shock and readjustment of a migrant who returns to her/his home country. Adaptation can be also seen as an ongoing process, where a migrant gradually adapts to the new environment. This is called a Stress-Adaptation-Growth model (Kim, 2001).

It is useful to know something about culture shock and intercultural adaptation before moving to live in a new country. Awareness of what one can expect always helps in the process, but it is also important to remember that there is no one right formula, since every experience is unique.

(original text by Maria El Said, 2006)

U-curve

The U-curve model for adjustment was first introduced by a Norwegian sociologist Sverre Lysgaard in 1955, and it has been developed by other scholars during the following decades (e.g. Oberg, 1960; Chang, 1973). According to this model, the adaptation process goes through four stages:

· honeymoon period

· crisis period

· adjustment period

· biculturalism period.

 

W-curve

When migrants return to their home countries, they often have to go through a similar kind of adaptation process. Scholars refer to this with a W-curve model, where the second curve is meant to describe the re-entry shock and readjustment. This process is sometimes even more difficult, since people don't expect any culture shock when returning home. The re-entry shock can be described as a set of unmet expectations from both the migrant and the environment, which used to be familiar to him/her.

While one has been staying abroad, there may have been changes in the home country's political situation, technology, or popular culture, for instance. Friends and family are maybe not the same any more, and also the migrant is probably a different person after having spent some years in a different environment - even if people would expect him/her to be the same. After adapting to a new culture, it is actually natural to feel disintegration with home culture. It is all part of the process.

Theme 4 Assignments

Please select one of the two options below and write altogether about 2 pages.

1) Describe your own experiences about culture shock, re-entry and/or adaptation. Please reflect your experiences based on the theories of intercultural adaptation. You can use the following questions.

· Where did you go, for how long, and for what purposes?

· What were your first impressions in the foreign country?

· How would you describe the culture shock for yourself? (Maybe you didn't have any visible symptoms of culture shock? Why?)

· How would you describe the adaptation process for yourself?

· What emotions were attached to culture shock and adaptation?

· What was the most difficult in the new culture? And what was easy?

· What did you learn about the experience? Would it be easier for you now to live in a foreign country again?

Remember to link your writing to the theories presented in theme 4.

2) Using the theory and information from the entire course, discuss how the adaptation process might be different for an individual who has relocated to a country with a significantly different culture than his/her own for a short-term versus long-term versus permanent stay, and voluntarily versus involuntarily move. Discuss both the visible and invisible issues that the person might confront, as well as the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral adaptations required.

 

Theme 5: INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE

Intercultural competence is today one of the most central themes of research in Intercultural Communication and other related fields, such as Linguistics, Psychology and Education. Intercultural competence is not, however, only a current topic for researchers. It is topical for practitioners (e.g., employees, employers, trainers) in various fields (e.g., business, diplomacy, development work, social work, health care).

In the globalizing world, research-based knowledge and information on intercultural competence is expected both in academia and one's professional life. Among others, the following questions are being asked:

· What is intercultural competence?

· What does it consist of?

· What qualities should people have in order to be interculturally apt?

· Is intercultural competence something one can learn?

· Or to be trained in?

· How can it be measured and evaluated?

During the last 25 years researchers from various fields - particularly psychology and communication - have tried to answer these questions. We shall be looking at these issues more closely in the following sections.

Course evaluation

Please include in your final document a short evaluation of the course. You can use the following questions as a guide, or raise other insights important to you:

· What was new to you / surprised you / made you curious in the course?

· What did you learn?

· What did you find especially relevant or what interested you professionally? Would you have liked to have more information on something?

· Which topics were not so relevant or interesting from your point of view? Why?

· In general, what do you think of the organization of the course, and the materials? What was especially good? What could we improve next time?

 

REFERENCES

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Various Definitions of Culture (video)