INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
TUTORIAL WEEK 1
What is culture?
Discursive notion of culture culture is a social construct
Who makes culture relevant to whom in which context for which purposes?
Culture as a construction that is discursively formed not fixed
What is the use of culture?
Who makes culture relevant to whom, in which context, for which purposes?
- E.g. national.com websites different countries have different understandings of
what culture mean, this is displayed on the website
What is the content of culture?
- Culture as national assets high culture (culture as theater/knowledge/cuisine/fine
art)
- Culture as popular culture festivals/parties
- Culture as a challenge this is how you present yourself culture through
interaction
- Culture as citizenship identifies a culture with belonging to a nation
What is the scope of culture?
- What is considered as the basic unit of culture? nation
- Other possibilities? family/communities/friends
What is the status of culture?
The essentialist approach (traditional approach) – culture as an entity that influences
communication (culture is something one has, one belongs to) e.g. traditional family
The constructionist approach – culture as a process, a social construct that gains meaning in
and through communication culture is constructed and performed on a daily basis by
people and media e.g. what is your culture?
Banal nationalism
- Nationalism as enacted a re-enacted daily in mundane, almost unnoticeable, ‘banal’
ways
- These everyday discourses of banal nationalism socialize us into ‘national’ subjects
who live in a world of nation states
e.g. weather, which is always presented as a national item, but there could be
national differences stereotypes/guides how to behave in a particular countries
LECTURE WEEK 1
Conceptualization intercultural communication
,2 approaches to see intercultural communication
Culture communication culture is influencing communication and communication
styles one’s cultural background influences one’s communication style e.g. Italian
women talks in a Italian manner
Communication culture communication is creating and constructing culture looks
at how in and through texts, culture is constructed cultural differences are highlighted
Entity understanding of culture
Culture communication (culture influences communication)
Culture is something one has and one belongs to (and act like this)
- Emphasizes how different cultures, communicate differently
- Influential google results that the national culture shapes one’s communication
- Underlying assumption: culture within this approach is often seen as a fixes entity
that shapes and precedes communication styles of all members that are seen as part
of that one culture
Major drawback: reality is more complex than that e.g. people may identify with different
cultures, ‘cultures’ change over time
Process/social constructionist understanding of culture
Communication Culture (communication constructs culture and cultural difference)
Communication is a social practice that socially constructs culture
- Inter-discourse communication: avoids any a-priori notions of cultural identity,
instead this approach asks how culture is made relevant in a text or interaction and
how cultural identity is brought into existence through text and talk
culture is not a fixed entity, but it is something that gains meaning in and through text
and intercommunication
Cross-culture communication – entities that can be compared
Who makes culture relevant to whom in which context for which purposes?
How is culture made relevant in a text/image/conversation etc.?
1. What is the use of culture?
2. What is the content of culture?
3. What is the scope of culture?
4. What is the status of culture?
What is the use of culture?
Who makes culture relevant to whom, in which context, for which purposes?
What is the content of culture?
What is it that ‘culture’ comprises?
- Culture as a national asset e.g. high culture – museums/art, popular culture –
cuisine/national sports
, - Culture as a challenge often seen in business advise, mostly about interpersonal
relationships e.g. take your shoes of when you visit the house of a business
partner in India
- Culture as cultural citizenship culture consisting of practices that are seen as
signifying a particular identity e.g. ways of dressing/speaking
What is the scope of culture?
What is considered as the basic unit of culture?
often this is the nation and people speak of national cultures
but can also be an ethnicity, family, IBCoM etc.
What is the status of culture?
Culture as an entity that influences/precedes communication
Culture as a process/social construct that is made relevant and gains meaning in and through
practices including communication
Drawbacks entity approach: not suitable to…
- Understand changes in cultures
- Understand the multiple cultural identities people may experience
The nation as the scope of culture
Banal nationalism – nationalism as enacted and re-enacted daily in many mundane, almost
unnoticeable, ‘banal’ ways
Everyday instances of banal nationalism socialize ‘national subjects’ us into ‘who live in a
world of nation states
Banal nationalism is flawed
Theoretically… because it does not acknowledge the multiplicity of identities
Practically… because nationality has lost some of the sway it once held in an age
characterized by globalization and transnationalism
National identity is a discursive construction, it is not an entity that just exists, it is something
that we create as being important, we make it relevant
However it has real and powerful effects (passport identity)
CONCLUSIONS
- Culture is made relevant in and through communication
- Culture is often made relevant in terms of national culture, e.g. in business advice,
resulting in banal nationalism
- Banal nationalism finds justification in some scholarly work (like that of Hofstede)
that treat national culture as a given entity
- National culture is not a given entity but a discursive construct that is made relevant
in specific contexts for specific purposes
- Nevertheless, national identity is real and powerful in its consequences in terms of a
‘passport identity’
TUTORIAL WEEK 1
What is culture?
Discursive notion of culture culture is a social construct
Who makes culture relevant to whom in which context for which purposes?
Culture as a construction that is discursively formed not fixed
What is the use of culture?
Who makes culture relevant to whom, in which context, for which purposes?
- E.g. national.com websites different countries have different understandings of
what culture mean, this is displayed on the website
What is the content of culture?
- Culture as national assets high culture (culture as theater/knowledge/cuisine/fine
art)
- Culture as popular culture festivals/parties
- Culture as a challenge this is how you present yourself culture through
interaction
- Culture as citizenship identifies a culture with belonging to a nation
What is the scope of culture?
- What is considered as the basic unit of culture? nation
- Other possibilities? family/communities/friends
What is the status of culture?
The essentialist approach (traditional approach) – culture as an entity that influences
communication (culture is something one has, one belongs to) e.g. traditional family
The constructionist approach – culture as a process, a social construct that gains meaning in
and through communication culture is constructed and performed on a daily basis by
people and media e.g. what is your culture?
Banal nationalism
- Nationalism as enacted a re-enacted daily in mundane, almost unnoticeable, ‘banal’
ways
- These everyday discourses of banal nationalism socialize us into ‘national’ subjects
who live in a world of nation states
e.g. weather, which is always presented as a national item, but there could be
national differences stereotypes/guides how to behave in a particular countries
LECTURE WEEK 1
Conceptualization intercultural communication
,2 approaches to see intercultural communication
Culture communication culture is influencing communication and communication
styles one’s cultural background influences one’s communication style e.g. Italian
women talks in a Italian manner
Communication culture communication is creating and constructing culture looks
at how in and through texts, culture is constructed cultural differences are highlighted
Entity understanding of culture
Culture communication (culture influences communication)
Culture is something one has and one belongs to (and act like this)
- Emphasizes how different cultures, communicate differently
- Influential google results that the national culture shapes one’s communication
- Underlying assumption: culture within this approach is often seen as a fixes entity
that shapes and precedes communication styles of all members that are seen as part
of that one culture
Major drawback: reality is more complex than that e.g. people may identify with different
cultures, ‘cultures’ change over time
Process/social constructionist understanding of culture
Communication Culture (communication constructs culture and cultural difference)
Communication is a social practice that socially constructs culture
- Inter-discourse communication: avoids any a-priori notions of cultural identity,
instead this approach asks how culture is made relevant in a text or interaction and
how cultural identity is brought into existence through text and talk
culture is not a fixed entity, but it is something that gains meaning in and through text
and intercommunication
Cross-culture communication – entities that can be compared
Who makes culture relevant to whom in which context for which purposes?
How is culture made relevant in a text/image/conversation etc.?
1. What is the use of culture?
2. What is the content of culture?
3. What is the scope of culture?
4. What is the status of culture?
What is the use of culture?
Who makes culture relevant to whom, in which context, for which purposes?
What is the content of culture?
What is it that ‘culture’ comprises?
- Culture as a national asset e.g. high culture – museums/art, popular culture –
cuisine/national sports
, - Culture as a challenge often seen in business advise, mostly about interpersonal
relationships e.g. take your shoes of when you visit the house of a business
partner in India
- Culture as cultural citizenship culture consisting of practices that are seen as
signifying a particular identity e.g. ways of dressing/speaking
What is the scope of culture?
What is considered as the basic unit of culture?
often this is the nation and people speak of national cultures
but can also be an ethnicity, family, IBCoM etc.
What is the status of culture?
Culture as an entity that influences/precedes communication
Culture as a process/social construct that is made relevant and gains meaning in and through
practices including communication
Drawbacks entity approach: not suitable to…
- Understand changes in cultures
- Understand the multiple cultural identities people may experience
The nation as the scope of culture
Banal nationalism – nationalism as enacted and re-enacted daily in many mundane, almost
unnoticeable, ‘banal’ ways
Everyday instances of banal nationalism socialize ‘national subjects’ us into ‘who live in a
world of nation states
Banal nationalism is flawed
Theoretically… because it does not acknowledge the multiplicity of identities
Practically… because nationality has lost some of the sway it once held in an age
characterized by globalization and transnationalism
National identity is a discursive construction, it is not an entity that just exists, it is something
that we create as being important, we make it relevant
However it has real and powerful effects (passport identity)
CONCLUSIONS
- Culture is made relevant in and through communication
- Culture is often made relevant in terms of national culture, e.g. in business advice,
resulting in banal nationalism
- Banal nationalism finds justification in some scholarly work (like that of Hofstede)
that treat national culture as a given entity
- National culture is not a given entity but a discursive construct that is made relevant
in specific contexts for specific purposes
- Nevertheless, national identity is real and powerful in its consequences in terms of a
‘passport identity’
