Intercultural Communication: An Ecological Approach
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2010
Pages: 374
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$85.61
“What is the promise of intercultural communication in a post-September 11 world—one that seems to be increasingly threatened by religious differences?”
“Can intercultural communication ultimately bring peace and prosperity among different people…or are aggression and conflict inevitable?”
In Intercultural Communication: An Ecological Approach, the authors respond to these questions as well as concerns that changing population and religious trends threaten the stability and prosperity of the United States. The authors believe that communication is always laden with possibility, including the possibility of harmony among different peoples.
Intercultural Communication addresses, openly and honestly, the issues, perceived or real, that arise when communicating with people from different backgrounds—their traditions, predispositions, and persuasions.
Features:
- Introduces a new intercultural communication framework that moves beyond the limits of multiculturalism.
- Develops the thesis that intercultural problems are fundamentally communication problems rather than problems of differences.
- Debunks the popular claim that language diversity impedes communication and thereby poses a threat to social cohesion.
- Introduces a definition of communication that defines communication as a mode of being and becoming rather than merely a means of relaying messages or sharing meanings.
- Redefines diversity in terms of processes, relationships, and environs rather than merely in terms of differences.
- Develops the claim that our emerging global, multicultural, and plural world is presenting us with new challenges and resources that can allow us to enter a new realm of being human that reflects a larger and richer understanding of the human condition.
- Integrates contemporary case studies from the United States, as well as from around the world, into nearly every discussion.
Introduction
Introducing Intercultural Communication
Positioning Our Perspective
Definitions of Intercultural Communication
Positioning Our Argument
Looking Forward
Chapter 1 Intercultural Communication: Problems, Challenges, and IssuesIntroduction
The Problem of Diversity
The Problem with Communication
The Problem with Boxes
The Problem with Meaning
The Problem with Religion
The Problem with Inequality
The Problem with Tolerance
Conclusion
Chapter 2 Introducing an Ecological Model Introduction
Identifying Four Ecological Axioms
The Axiom of Permeability
The Axiom of Diversity
The Axiom of Embeddedness
The Axiom of Vulnerability and Equity
Conclusion
Chapter 3 Intercultural Communication: Redefining Language Introduction
The Power of Worldviews
Legislation, Coercion, and Assimilation
Resolutions and Language
Language Diversity and Communication
Cognitive Ergonomics
The Nature of Symbols
The Future of Language Diversity
Language and Disability
The Relation between Language and Communication
Conclusion
Chapter 4 Intercultural Communication: Redefining Communication
Introduction
Graffiti as Intercultural Communication
The Pursuit of Dialogue
Redefining Communication
New Definitions of Communication
Implications and Definitions
Walls, Fences, and Communication
Intercultural Communication and Foreign Policy
Conclusion
Chapter 5 Intercultural Communication: Redefining Diversity Introduction
Intergroup Contact Theory
The Self-Expansion Model
The Problem with Blasphemy
In Search of Meaning
Free Speech and Intercultural Communication
Interpreting Meanings
Legislating Meaning
Scapegoating
Conclusion
Chapter 6 Intercultural Communication: Redefining Culture Introduction
The Relation between Ambiguity and Meaning
Spanglish as Culturing
Culturing New Worlds
Cultures as Narratives
The Promise of Globalization
Conclusion
Chapter 7 No Laughing Matter in Denmark Introduction
Early Responses
The Cartoons Go International
The Radical Muslim Response in Demark and Worldwide
Moderate Muslim Response
Jyllands-Posten and Other Danish Media Response
The Danish Government
The United Nations
The European Union Member Response
The American Response
Media Response
Tactics and Rhetorical Strategies by Factions
Resisting Resolution and Negotiation
Chapter 8 The Anglican Church and Gay Rights Introduction
The Anglican Church
The Construction of the Conflict
Liberal Anglicans
Archbishop of Canterbury—Head of the Anglican Church
Differential Tactics and Strategies
Resisting Resolution and Negotiation
Chapter 9 The Veil Conflict in France Introduction
How the Head Scarf Ban Came to Be
The Construction of the Veil Conflict
Jacques Chirac and the French Government
French Muslims
Muslim World
French Educators
French Opposition
European Union
Media, Feminists, and Academics
Other Religious Groups
United States
United Nations
Differential Tactics and Rhetorical Strategies
Resisting Resolution and Negotiation
Chapter 10 Contemporary Hindu Arranged Marriages in Urban India Introduction
The Arranged Marriage in Hindu Religion and History
A Historical and Religious Understanding of Hindu Marriage
The Evolution of the Hindu Arranged Marriage
The Hindu Joint Family
Brief Review of Social Scientific Literature
Media Portrayals of Arranged Marriage
Four Women, Four Stories
Conclusion
Chapter 11 Landscape Troubles as Intercultural Conflict Introduction
The Yard in/and the Person
The Yard Battle Begins
The Public Construction of the Lawn Battle
The Rhetorical Construction of the Yard Battle
Resolutions
Chapter 12 Beyond Multiculturalism: Emerging Approaches in Intercultural Communication Cognitivism
Postmulticulturalism
Pluralism
Cosmopolitanism
Universalism
Deep Pluralism
Conclusion
References
Index
“What is the promise of intercultural communication in a post-September 11 world—one that seems to be increasingly threatened by religious differences?”
“Can intercultural communication ultimately bring peace and prosperity among different people…or are aggression and conflict inevitable?”
In Intercultural Communication: An Ecological Approach, the authors respond to these questions as well as concerns that changing population and religious trends threaten the stability and prosperity of the United States. The authors believe that communication is always laden with possibility, including the possibility of harmony among different peoples.
Intercultural Communication addresses, openly and honestly, the issues, perceived or real, that arise when communicating with people from different backgrounds—their traditions, predispositions, and persuasions.
Features:
- Introduces a new intercultural communication framework that moves beyond the limits of multiculturalism.
- Develops the thesis that intercultural problems are fundamentally communication problems rather than problems of differences.
- Debunks the popular claim that language diversity impedes communication and thereby poses a threat to social cohesion.
- Introduces a definition of communication that defines communication as a mode of being and becoming rather than merely a means of relaying messages or sharing meanings.
- Redefines diversity in terms of processes, relationships, and environs rather than merely in terms of differences.
- Develops the claim that our emerging global, multicultural, and plural world is presenting us with new challenges and resources that can allow us to enter a new realm of being human that reflects a larger and richer understanding of the human condition.
- Integrates contemporary case studies from the United States, as well as from around the world, into nearly every discussion.
Introduction
Introducing Intercultural Communication
Positioning Our Perspective
Definitions of Intercultural Communication
Positioning Our Argument
Looking Forward
Chapter 1 Intercultural Communication: Problems, Challenges, and IssuesIntroduction
The Problem of Diversity
The Problem with Communication
The Problem with Boxes
The Problem with Meaning
The Problem with Religion
The Problem with Inequality
The Problem with Tolerance
Conclusion
Chapter 2 Introducing an Ecological Model Introduction
Identifying Four Ecological Axioms
The Axiom of Permeability
The Axiom of Diversity
The Axiom of Embeddedness
The Axiom of Vulnerability and Equity
Conclusion
Chapter 3 Intercultural Communication: Redefining Language Introduction
The Power of Worldviews
Legislation, Coercion, and Assimilation
Resolutions and Language
Language Diversity and Communication
Cognitive Ergonomics
The Nature of Symbols
The Future of Language Diversity
Language and Disability
The Relation between Language and Communication
Conclusion
Chapter 4 Intercultural Communication: Redefining Communication
Introduction
Graffiti as Intercultural Communication
The Pursuit of Dialogue
Redefining Communication
New Definitions of Communication
Implications and Definitions
Walls, Fences, and Communication
Intercultural Communication and Foreign Policy
Conclusion
Chapter 5 Intercultural Communication: Redefining Diversity Introduction
Intergroup Contact Theory
The Self-Expansion Model
The Problem with Blasphemy
In Search of Meaning
Free Speech and Intercultural Communication
Interpreting Meanings
Legislating Meaning
Scapegoating
Conclusion
Chapter 6 Intercultural Communication: Redefining Culture Introduction
The Relation between Ambiguity and Meaning
Spanglish as Culturing
Culturing New Worlds
Cultures as Narratives
The Promise of Globalization
Conclusion
Chapter 7 No Laughing Matter in Denmark Introduction
Early Responses
The Cartoons Go International
The Radical Muslim Response in Demark and Worldwide
Moderate Muslim Response
Jyllands-Posten and Other Danish Media Response
The Danish Government
The United Nations
The European Union Member Response
The American Response
Media Response
Tactics and Rhetorical Strategies by Factions
Resisting Resolution and Negotiation
Chapter 8 The Anglican Church and Gay Rights Introduction
The Anglican Church
The Construction of the Conflict
Liberal Anglicans
Archbishop of Canterbury—Head of the Anglican Church
Differential Tactics and Strategies
Resisting Resolution and Negotiation
Chapter 9 The Veil Conflict in France Introduction
How the Head Scarf Ban Came to Be
The Construction of the Veil Conflict
Jacques Chirac and the French Government
French Muslims
Muslim World
French Educators
French Opposition
European Union
Media, Feminists, and Academics
Other Religious Groups
United States
United Nations
Differential Tactics and Rhetorical Strategies
Resisting Resolution and Negotiation
Chapter 10 Contemporary Hindu Arranged Marriages in Urban India Introduction
The Arranged Marriage in Hindu Religion and History
A Historical and Religious Understanding of Hindu Marriage
The Evolution of the Hindu Arranged Marriage
The Hindu Joint Family
Brief Review of Social Scientific Literature
Media Portrayals of Arranged Marriage
Four Women, Four Stories
Conclusion
Chapter 11 Landscape Troubles as Intercultural Conflict Introduction
The Yard in/and the Person
The Yard Battle Begins
The Public Construction of the Lawn Battle
The Rhetorical Construction of the Yard Battle
Resolutions
Chapter 12 Beyond Multiculturalism: Emerging Approaches in Intercultural Communication Cognitivism
Postmulticulturalism
Pluralism
Cosmopolitanism
Universalism
Deep Pluralism
Conclusion
References
Index