|
C O U R S E L E C T U R E History of Intercultural Communication Notes taken on May 17, 2014 by Edward Tanguay |
intercultural communication history
brought about by the practical demands of the second half of the 20th century world
the discipline emerged as a response to practical demands
our world is the world of globalization
more travel between cultures
mass tourism evolved as a new phenomenon in the world
the presence of American culture in other countries which were experiencing it for the first time
American military bases
international companies
changes in public attitudes
the emergent interest in otherness
something that is not like us, not routine and everyday
the breakaway from purely eurocentric perspective in social sciences, art and literature
making a distinction between "normal" vs. exotic cultures
1959: The Silent Language
his contributions were significant
advanced the idea of comparative cultural study
moved the idea from studying one culture to comparing cultures
advocated micro analysis of cultures: how they look at time, how they use space, how they interact, as opposed to only macro analysis
made language an important and central part of the study of cultures
descriptive linguistics
1970s: the decade of research
intercultural vs. cross-cultural
going across the borders
looking at the difference that creates these borders
interracial communication
interethnic communication
intergender communication
Samovar and Porter: Communication Between Cultures
1980: decade of theories
main debate: should we approach this topic with critical analysis or cultural dialogue
brought various approaches
criticism of multiculturalism
questions the ideal of the maintenance of distinct ethnic cultures within a state
against cultural integration of different ethnic and cultural groups to the existing laws and values of the country
in favor of assimilation of different ethnic and cultural groups to a single national identity
predominance of the philological and linguistic approaches
research on social and political discourse
diversity and inclusion
importance of diversity
how to create inclusion to bring about this diversity
e.g. how Russians can be successful in German business settings