1、 to understand one another if they do not share the same experiences. Of course, we all share the experience of being human, but there are many experiences which we do not share and which are different for all of us. It is these different experiences thatmake up what is called culturein the social s
2、ciences the habits of everyday life, the cues towhich people respond, the automatic reactions they have to whatever they see and hear. These often differ, and the differences may introduce misunderstandings where we seek understanding.Reading IIntercultural Communication：An IntroductionComprehension
3、 questions1. Is it still often the case that “everyones quick to blame the alien” in the contemporary worldThis is still powerful in todays social and political rhetoric. For instance, it is not uncommon intodays society to hear people say that most, if not all, of the social and economic problems a
4、recaused by minorities and immigrants.2. Whats the difference between todays intercultural contact and that of any time in the pastTodays intercultural encounters are far more numerous and of greater importance than in anytime in history.3. What have made intercultural contact a very common phenomen
5、on in our life todayNew technology, in the form of transportation and communication systems, has accelerated intercultural contact; innovative communication systems have encouraged and facilitated cultural interaction; globalization of the economy has brought people together;changes in immigration p
6、atterns have also contributed to intercultural encounter.4. How do you understand the sentence “culture is everything and everywhere”Culture supplies us with the answers to questions about what the world looks like and how we live and communicate within that world. Culture teaches us how to behave i
7、n our life from the instant of birth. It is omnipresent.5. What are the major elements that directly influence our perception and communicationThe three major socio-cultural elements that directly influence perception and communication are cultural values, worldview （religion）, and social organizati
8、ons （family and state）.6. What does ones family teach him or her while he or she grows up in itThe family teaches the child what the world looks like and his or her place in that world.7. Why is it impossible to separate our use of language from our cultureBecause language is not only a form of pres
9、erving culture but also a means of sharing culture. Language is an organized, generally agreed-upon, learned symbol system that is used to represent the experiences within a cultural community.8. What are the nonverbal behaviors that people can attach meaning toPeople can attach meaning to nonverbal
10、 behaviors such as gestures, postures, facial expressions, eye contact and gaze, touch, etc.9. How can a free, culturally diverse society existA free, culturally diverse society can exist only if diversity is permitted to flourish without prejudice and discrimination, both of which harm all members
11、of the society.Discovering Problems: Slim Is BeautifulQuestions for discussionWhich do you think is the mark of beauty, thin or fat Why is it often said that beauty is in the eye of beholderOne sociologist once said that with the greater influence of American culture across the world, the standard o
12、f a beauty is becoming more and more Hollywood-like, characterized by a chiseled chin and a tall, slim figure. One can see such beautiful images in almost any American movie. We Chinese also share the notion that the standard idea of beauty includes being tall, thin, and light skinned. It seems that
13、 with the process of globalization, eastern and western beauties look more and more alike.But we have to remember that the definition of beauty differs from culture to culture. For example, Hispanic standards of female beauty are to have big hips, a moderate tan, and a short height. As is described
14、in the article, in southeastern Nigeria, Coca-Cola-bottle voluptuousness is celebrated and ample backsides and bosoms are considered ideals of female beauty.Whatsmore, the ideal standard of beauty varies from time to time. For instance, during timesof famine, the ideal standard of beauty for women i
15、s a much larger body size. Larger size and more body fat may reflect ones status; for it suggests that the person is well fed and healthy. Thinness then would reflect malnutrition. However, during times of plenty, plumpness is not a reflection ofstatus. People may easily associate fatness with hyper
16、tension, heart disease or other potential diseases. Likewise, during eras in which lower-class labors had to toil predominantly outside for hours a day, tanned skin was an indication of lower status, and therefore the ideal standard of female beauty was very pale skin;women during those times actual
17、ly used a lot of white powdered cosmetics to exaggerate the paleness of their skin. Now, however, tan is a reflection of having more leisure time spent on seashores instead of working in an office all the time, and therefore it may suggest higher status, so women strive for darker skin tones.It is t
18、rue that beauty is in the eye of the beholder because people of different cultures and in different situations may have different ideas about what is beautiful and what is not.Group WorkFirst share with your group member whatever experiences you have had in communication events that can be considere
19、d as intercultural. Then work together to decide whether each of the following cases of communication is possibly intercultural or not and, if it is, to what extent it is intercultural. Try to place all the cases along a continuum of interculturalness, from the most intercultural to the least interc
20、ultural.All the cases may seem to be intercultural but they differ in the extent to which they are intercultural. However it may be very difficult for us to place all these cases along a continuum of interculturalness from the most intercultural to the least intercultural, for many other factors hav
21、e to be taken into consideration if we have to decide which is more intercultural than another. For instance, whether communication between a male manager and a female secretary is intercultural or not and, if it is, how intercultural it may be, may depend on the cultural and social backgrounds of t
22、he two persons. If they are from drastically different cultures, communication between them is surely intercultural and may be very intercultural. If they are from the same culture, communication between them may be little intercultural.The following is tentatively suggested for measuring the interc
23、ulturalness of the cases of communication, and the cases are presented from the most intercultural to the least intercultural:Communication between a Chinese university student and an American professor; Communication between a Canadian girl and a South African boy;Communication between a first-gene
24、ration Chinese American and third generation one; Communication between a businessperson from Hong Kong and an artist from Xian; Communication between a teenager from Beijing and a teenager from Tibet;Communication between a father who is a farmer all his life and his son who works as an engineer;Co
25、mmunication between a software technician and a fisherman;Communication between a male manager and a female secretary （supposing they are of the similar cultural and social backgrounds） .DebateThe class is to be divided into two groups and debate on the two different views mentioned in the following
26、 on intercultural communication. State your point view clearly and support your argument with convincing and substantive evidence.Pro:are people;more interactions would lead to greater understanding each other.（Commonality precedes）Con: People are shaped by different environments they find themselve
27、s in, therefore, the difference overrides. （Differences precedes）Possible Arguments for Pro: Human beings tend to draw close to one another by their common nature. We all share the common basic needs. Rapid expansion of worldwide transportation and communication networks have made it far easier than
28、 ever before for people throughout the world to contact with one another.3. The process of globalization may reduce the regional differences between people all over the world. We are all members of the global village.4. Economic interdependence in todays world requires people of different countries
29、to interact onan unprecedented scale, and more interaction will result in more similarity among people.5. More and more people from various cultures have to work and live together and they will adapt to each other to such an extent that cultural differences between them may no longer matter.Possible
30、 Arguments for Con: People throughout the world may be similar in many aspects, but differences in habits and customs keep them apart. Though the basic human needs are universally the same, people all over the world satisfy their basic common human needs in different ways. As our society is becoming more and more diversified, differences between people tend to grow larger in some aspects. It is differences between people that underlie the necessity of communication, and it does not follow that communication which may increase the possibility of understanding between people will always reduce
