Talking About Problems in Intercultural CommunicationWord下载.docx
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Talking About Problems in Intercultural CommunicationWord下载.docx
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DepartmentofCommunication
FloridaAtlanticUniversity
Introduction
AcatalogwhichrecentlyarrivedatmyhouseadvertisesT-shirtsandbumperstickerspopularizingthewordsoffeministscholarsCherisKramarae&
PaulaTreichler:
"
Feminismistheradicalnotionthatwomenarepeople."
(1)Indeed,sometimesIthinkwe'
vespentthelasttwomillenniamakingthatnotionacceptable.Now,asthe20thcenturyends,wemaybeatthepointofcompletingafirststepforwomen--thatfirststephasbeenadifficult,long-termstruggletowardacceptanceofwomenaspeople.
Yethistorydemonstratesthatlegalpersonhooddoesnotnecessarilyresultincomparable/equaltreatment.Thatis,women,likesomanyothergroups,havegainedlegalrightsonlytofacelessinstitutional,perhapsmoresubtlebutinsidiousformsofdiscrimination.Inthistimewhenpolitical,educational,andsocialdiscussionscenteronissuesofdiversityandofcreatingaconstructive,multi-culturalsociety,itmaybehelpfultoexamineproblemsincommunicationbetweenthegendersasaculturalissue.Thisisnottheonly,theright,orthebestwayofexamininggenderandcommunication,butitdoesofferanalternativeframeworkforanalysis,onethatperhapsdefusesthepotentialforoffensiveand/ordefensiveposturingwhendiscussinggender.
Hence,inthispresentationIarguethatitisbothusefulandappropriatetoviewgendercommunicationasaformofinterculturalcommunication.First,Iofferabriefprimerongenderdifferencesincommunicationwithprimaryemphasisonexamplesthatillustratehowgenderisbothaninfluenceonandaproductofcommunication.Inshort,thisdiscussionhighlightstheprimaryroleplayedbycommunicationingenderissues.Second,IofferdescriptionsofsomesalientelementsofinterculturalcommunicationandIillustratehowgendercommunicationisaformofinterculturalcommunication.Finally,Iwillapplyadviceonhowtodevelopeffectiveinterculturalcommunicationskillstothesituationofgendercommunication.Duringourdiscussionperiod,Ihopethatyou,theaudience(thetrueexpertsongendercommunicationissuesandthelibrarian)willprovideexamplesofproblemsand/orpossiblesolutionsrelateddirectlytothepracticinglibrarian.OverviewonGenderandCommunication
Twoassumptionsfromcommunicationtheory(bothclassicalandcontemporarytheories)helpsituatemyoverviewongenderandcommunication.First,communicationisepistemic.Thatis,communicationisthemediumbywhichwecometoknowthings(Protagorasarguedthatabsolutetruthwasinaccessibletohumans;
hence,truthhadtobeestablishedbyhumanstandards[doxa].Similarly,contemporaryrhetoricaltheoristsarguethattruthissociallyconstructedthroughlanguageandothersymbolsystems).
(2)Forexample,itwasthroughscientificdiscourse(rhetoric)thatpeoplecametoviewtheuniverseasearth-centered.HumanacceptanceofthisnarrativewassostrongthatGalileo,inpositingthattheuniverseissun-centered,wasplacedunderhousearrest.
Mysecondassumptionaboutcommunicationisthatitisaxiological.Thatis,communicationisvalue-laden.Virtuallyallcommunicationtheoristsagreethatlanguageissubjective.Allcommunicationmakesclaimsandtakesstances.Andsometheorists,suchasWeaver,Eubanks,andWinterowdwouldarguethatnolanguageisneutral.(3)Indeed,anyuseofcommunicationexhibitsanattitude,andanattitudeimpliesanact,andallhumanactionshavemoralconsequences.Hence,communicationentailsmoralrepsonsibility.
Thesignificanceofcommunicationpracticesinshapingourlivesisnolessimportantinthearenaofgenderandcommunication.Infact,LaurieArlissarguesthat"
communicationisthoughttobe,atonce,theprocessbywhichwelearntobemaleorfemale,andtheproductofourattemptstobehavesexappropriately."
(4)Indescribingfeministcriticism,rhetoricalcriticSonjaFosspositsthat"
Itsfocusisonafundamentalelementofhumanlife--gender--anditisdramaticallychangingtheformandcontentofknowledgeaboutrhetoric."
(5)Thatis,genderisbothaninfluenceonandaproductofcommunication.Letmeprovideafewillustrations.
Fromaveryearlyage,malesandfemalesaretaughtdifferentlinguisticpractices.Communicativebehaviorsthatareacceptableforboys,forexample,maybeconsideredcompletelyinappropriateforgirls.Hence,thebodyofresearchonwomenandlanguagerevealsthatwomenexperiencelinguisticdiscriminationintwoways:
inthewaytheyaretaughttouselanguage,andinthewaygenerallanguageusagetreatsthem.(6)So,forexample,womenreflecttheirroleinthesocialorderbyadoptinglinguisticpracticessuchasusingtagquestions,qualifiers,andfillerstosoftentheirmessages.Likewise,traditionallywomenwereidentifiedbytheirassociationwithmen,andweknowthatoccupationaltitlesindicatedwhichjobswere"
formen"
andwhichwere"
forwomen."
Whilemuchofthishaschangedtoday,oursocietyretainsatendencytoimplythatmaleness,afterall,isthestandardfornormalcy(afemalephysicianmaystillbereferredtoasa"
womandoctor,"
andwhileafemalecommitteechairmaybecalledthe"
chair"
orthe"
chairperson,"
amaleinthatrolewillmorelikelybecalled"
chairman"
).(7)Whatwearetaughtaboutgender,then,isreflectedinourlanguageusage.
Communicativepracticesnotonlyreflectnotionsaboutgender,buttheyalsocreateculturalconceptsofgender.Messagesourcesprivilegedbysocietyaslegitimateknowledgegeneratorscreateawebofsociallycompellingdiscourses.Thus,religious,mythic,philosophic,andscientificdiscoursesteachus,amongotherthings,aboutsociety'
svaluesandrulesrelatedtogender.Itisnoaccident,then,thatAmericanmythsfocusontheactivemaleandthesupportingfemale,orthatPlatodefinedwomenas"
lessermen,"
orthatAristotledescribedwomenas"
adeformity,amisbegottenmale,"
orthatSt.ThomasAquinasarguedthatgodshouldnothavecreatedwomen,orthatcraniologistsofthenineteenthcenturyarguedthatwomen'
ssmallerheadsjustifiedtheirsubordinatepositioninsociety(thusinitiatingallthe"
prettylittlehead"
rhetoricaboutwomen),orthatFreudbelievedwomenhad"
littlesenseofjustice,"
andsoon.(8)
Therhetoricalforceofmythsinconstructingpowerfulworldviewsis,frankly,awesome.AsEwardSaidexplained:
Therearenoinnocent,nounideologicalmyths,justasthereareno"
natural"
myths.Everymythisamanufacturedobject,anditistheinherentbadfaithofamythtoseem,orrathertopretend,tobeafact.(9)
Similarly,religiousmythsseemtobeespeciallypotentnarrativeformsofrhetoric.Religion"
legitimatessoeffectivelybecauseitrelatestheprecariousrealityconstructionsofempiricalsocietieswithultimatereality."
(10)Alltheseprivilegeddiscourses,Iwouldargue,createawebofmeaning,asociallyconstructedworldviewthathistoricallyhasexcludedormadesecondarytheexperienceofcertaingroupsofpeople.
Inaddition,massmediatedmessagesofferthemostcontemporary,powerful,technologicallyandrhetoricallysophisticatedstrategiesforshapingculturalreality.Thebeauty,diet,andadvertisingindustriesarethemostobvious,bestresearchedexamplesofcontemporary,self-consciousmyth-makerswhocontrolculturalconcepts(andacceptableimages)ofgender(ofwhatittakesandmeanstobemaleorfemale,masculineorfeminine).(11)Considerthemyriadofmassmediatedcommunicationformsavailablenow,asweenterthetwenty-firstcentury--fromthenowsimplisticprintingpresstotheinformationsuperhighwayandbeyond.Theopportunitiesforgenerating(andreceiving)massmediatedmessagesisstaggering.Sotooistheopportunityforabuse.
Communication,then,isofcentralconcernwhenaddressinggenderissues.Rhetoricalmessagesinlargepartdeterminewhatweconsiderknowledge,whatknowledgeweprivilege,andwhatvaluesweespouse.Furthermore,theroleofcultureincommunicationpracticesdirectsustoaninterculturalperspectiveongenderandcommunication.
InterculturalCommunication
Interculturalcommunication,definedbyRichardPorterandLarrySamovarasoccurring"
wheneveramessageproducerisamemberofonecultureandamessagereceiverisamemberofanother,"
hasbeenofinteresttocommunicationscholarssincethe1960s.(12)Literatureoninterculturalcommunicationoftenincludesdiscussionofsubcultures("
aracial,ethnic,regional,economic,orsocialcommunityexhibitingcharacteristicpatternsofbehaviorsufficienttodistinguishitfromotherswithinanembracingcultureorsociety"
)orcocultures(analternativetermforsubculturesadoptedbyJudyPearsonsoasnottoimplyinferiorityinrelationtothedominantsociety).(13)Pearsondefinesco-culturesas"
groupsofpersonsunitedbyacommonelementwholiveinacultureoperatingwithinadominantculture."
(14)Communicationpracticesbyandaboutwomenclearlyfitdefinitionsofbothsubculturesandco-cultures.Furthermore,communicationbetweenthesuborco-cultureandthedominantculturerepresentsaformofinterculturalcommunication.Scholarsinthisareaoftenbegintheirdiscussionsbyidentifyingthemaincharacteristicsofinterculturalcommunication.Forexample,SamovarandPorteridentifywhattheycallthe"
constituentpartsofinterculturalcommunication."
(15)DorothyPeningtoncallssuchelements"
signif
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