Fluent Essays

This assignment requires that you engage with and learn about a culture that is different from your own. The important consideration here is involvement, not just as a bystander or observer, but engagement with people from a cultural group other than your own. Attendance at cultural events or rituals, spending time at places where people from the culture hang out, along with interviews of people from the culture are all excellent ways to engage with the cultural group you select. As you do your field experience, you will also support your understanding of the culture through library research. Examples and ideas will be discussed in class. Must include Introduction paragraph, Body paragraphs (with a., b., c., etc. in beginning of paragraph to identify which question you are answering, and Conclusion paragraph. A Reference page/Work cited pages required!(not included as one of your 6 pages) o Must cite sources in text and in bibliography (6 Scholarly Sources—not including the textbook/course reader) Must attach 2 pictures from event (one picture with you in it)For this assignment, students are required to type a five-seven page(double-spaced)paper that must include all 4 sections in the Body of your essay: Section A: A description of the cultural experience o Write an overview of the experience (e.g., foods, decorations, stories, etc.) Section B: Analysis of the experience using theories and concepts from the course text-book o Must cite concepts, key-terms, definitions, and examples from textbook Section C: Use of scholarly research o Must cite scholarly articles, books, etc. o Must cite 6 sources (scholarly articles, books, etc.) in this section. Section D: A summary of reflections on what you have learned from the experience o (changed preconceived notions, differences/similarities of your culture) Use the Jewish Culture for this assignment and compare it to Christianity (my culture) Use a Jewish church/temple in Los Angeles, CA as the place of the event! This assignment requires that you engage with and learn about a culture that is different from your own. The important consideration here is involvement, not just as a bystander or observer, but engagement with people from a cultural group other than your own. For this assignment you will be required to: Attend a cultural event: Examples of a cultural event include a Bar/Bat-Mitzvah, Quinceanera, cultural wedding, church/temple/mosque service, LGBTQ event, sporting event, music concert, a friend's home, a restaurant, etc. The cultural event that you attend must be from a culture that you have never experienced before (the intention is to experience what it is like to be immersed in a culture that you have no exposure to). Write a research paper about the event: You must write a 6 - 7 page research paper that includes 1) a description of your event, 2) concepts and theories from the textbook, 3) research from scholarly articles that explain aspects of the culture you experienced, and 4) disclosures about what you learned and gained from the experience. You must include concepts and theories from the textbook in the form of direct quotations, and cite the textbook using MLA or APA formatting both in the paragraphs AND in the Works Cited page. You must include 4 - 6 scholarly articles in the form of direct quotations, and cite each author and page number in the paragraph AND in the Works Cited page. Must include: Introduction paragraph, Body paragraphs (with A., B., C., and D. in beginning of paragraph to identify which question you are answering), and Conclusion paragraph. Must include a Works Cited/Reference Page with 6 scholarly articles cited in MLA or APA format, and the textbook citation (not included as one of the 4 - 6 sources). The Works Cited/Reference Page is NOT included as one of the 5 - 7 pages of the essay, Must attach 2 pictures from event (one picture with you in it) These are the four sections that must be included in your body paragraphs. Remember, each section must begin with the words "Section A," "Section B," "Section C," and "Section D" so that you identify which section you are writing about (only need to place "Section" at the beginning of the section - not for each paragraph within the section) Each section needs to be equal in length (at least 1-2 pages each section): Section A: A description of the cultural experience Write an overview of the experience (e.g., foods, decorations, stories, etc.) Describe where you went, who you met, what you ate, witnessed, discussed, etc. Section B: Analysis of the cultural event using theories and concepts from the course text-book Include concepts, theories, key-terms from the course textbook. Quote the definitions of the concepts/terms form the course textbook and apply the concepts to your event (e.g., applying the six points of Intercultural Praxis to your cultural event). Must cite concepts, key-terms, definitions, and examples from textbook after the quotes using MLA or APA In-Text citations. Section C: Analysis of the cultural event using research from scholarly articles Include research from experts writing about aspects of the culture you experienced. Must use quotes from the research that you apply to your cultural event (e.g., include history, statistics, information about food, clothing, music, beliefs, traditions, rituals, and relate the scholarly research to your event). A specific example would be including research about why the culture uses the ingredients in their food and how you experienced the ingredients when you tasted the food. You may use scholarly articles, books, news websites, etc. Must cite 5 – 6 sources (scholarly articles, books, etc.) in this section only (Section C). Section D: A summary of reflections on what you have learned from the experience In this section you will discuss what you learned from the experience. You can include the following: Did you have assumptions or biases about the culture before you experienced the event; did your assumptions change? What were the similarities and differences to your own culture? What did you learn about yourself from the experience? Attachments area Intercultural Communication Second Edition 2 3 Intercultural Communication Globalization and Social Justice Second Edition Kathryn Sorrells California State University, Northridge 4 FOR INFORMATION: SAGE Publications, Inc. 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 E-mail: [email protected] SAGE Publications Ltd. 1 Oliver’s Yard 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP United Kingdom SAGE Publications India Pvt. Ltd. B 1/I 1 Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area Mathura Road, New Delhi 110 044 India SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte. Ltd. 3 Church Street #10-04 Samsung Hub Singapore 049483 Copyright © 2016 by SAGE Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America ISBN 978-1-4522-9275-5 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Acquisitions Editor: Matthew Byrnie Associate Editor: Natalie Konopinski Editorial Assistant: Janae Masnovi eLearning Editor: Gabrielle Piccininni Production Editor: Laura Barrett Copy Editor: Janet Ford Typesetter: C&M Digitals (P) Ltd. Proofreader: Jeff Bryant Indexer: Sylvia Coates Cover Designer: Leonardo March Marketing Manager: Ashlee Blunk 5 6 Detailed Contents 7 Detailed Contents Preface Acknowledgments 1 Opening the Conversation: Studying Intercultural Communication Definitions of Culture Anthropologic Definition: Culture as a Site of Shared Meaning Cultural Studies Definition: Culture as a Site of Contested Meaning Globalization Definition: Culture as a Resource Studying Intercultural Communication Positionality Standpoint Theory Ethnocentrism Intercultural Praxis in the Context of Globalization Inquiry Framing Positioning Dialogue Reflection Action Summary Key Terms Discussion Questions and Activities 2 Understanding the Context of Globalization The Role of History in Intercultural Communication The Role of Power in Intercultural Communication Intercultural Communication in the Context of Globalization Intercultural Dimensions of Economic Globalization Global Business and Global Markets Free Trade and Economic Liberalization Global Financial Institutions and Popular Resistance Intercultural Dimensions of Political Globalization Democratization and Militarism Ideological Wars Global Governance and Social Movements Intercultural Dimensions of Cultural Globalization Migration and Cultural Connectivities Cultural Flows and Unequal Power Relations Hybrid Cultural Forms and Identities Summary Key Terms Discussion Questions and Activities 3 Globalizing Body Politics: Embodied Verbal and Nonverbal Communication Hip Hop Culture Constructing Social Worlds Through Communication Semiotic Approach to Difference Marking Difference Through Communication Gender Difference Racial Difference Intersectionality The Social Construction of Race: From Colonization to Globalization 8 Inventing Race and Constructing the “Other” The Power of Texts Resignifying Race in the Context of Globalization From Race to Culture: Constructing a Raceless, Color-Blind, Post-Race Society From Race to Class: Rearticulating Race in the Neoliberal Context Hip Hop Culture: Alternative Performances of Difference Summary Key Terms Discussion Questions and Activities 4 (Dis)Placing Culture and Cultural Space: Locations of Nonverbal and Verbal Communication Placing Culture and Cultural Space Cultural Space Place, Cultural Space, and Identity Displacing Culture and Cultural Space Glocalization: Simultaneous Forces of Globalization and Localization Case Study: Hip Hop Culture South Bronx Back in the Day Going Commercial Global Hip Hop Culture Cultural Space, Power, and Communication Segregated Cultural Spaces Contested Cultural Spaces Hybrid Cultural Spaces Summary Key Terms Discussion Questions and Activities 5 Privileging Relationships: Intercultural Communication in Interpersonal Contexts Topography of Intercultural Relationships Interracial Intercultural Relationships Interethnic Intercultural Relationships International Intercultural Relationships Interreligious Intercultural Relationships Class Differences in Intercultural Relationships Sexuality in Intercultural Relationships Multidimensional Cultural Differences in Intercultural Relationships Intercultural Relationships in the Workplace Cultural Values in the Workplace Forming and Sustaining Intercultural Relationships Intercultural Friendships Cultural Notions of Friendship Intercultural Relationship Development Processes Intercultural Romantic Relationships Intercultural Romantic Relationships Development Cyberspace and Intercultural Relationships Intercultural Alliances for Social Justice in the Global Context Summary Key Terms Discussion Questions and Activities 6 Crossing Borders: Migration and Intercultural Adaptation Migrants Historical Overview of World Migration 9 Migration Trends in the Context of Globalization Theories of Migration and Intercultural Adaptation Macro-Level Theories Micro-Level Theories Meso-Level Theories Case Studies: Migration and Intercultural Adaptation Villachuato, Mexico, to Marshalltown, Iowa: Transnational Connections Fujian, China, to New York, New York: Human Smuggling of Low-Skilled Workers North Africa–France: Postcolonial Immigrant Experience Summary Key Terms Discussion Questions and Activities 7 Jamming Media and Popular Culture: Analyzing Messages About Diverse Cultures Media, Popular Culture, and Globalization Defining Media Defining Popular Culture Popular Culture, Intercultural Communication, and Globalization Global and Regional Media Circuits Producing and Consuming Popular Culture Popular Culture, Representation, and Resistance Resisting and Re-Creating Media and Popular Culture Step One: Increased Awareness Step Two: Informed Action Step Three: Creative Production Summary Key Terms Discussion Questions and Activities 8 The Culture of Capitalism and the Business of Intercultural Communication Historical Context: Capitalism and Globalization Capitalism 101: The Historical Emergence of the Culture of Capitalism Capitalism and Colonialism: Capital Accumulation and the Nation-State Capitalism and the Industrial Revolution: Creating the Working Class Capitalism and Consumption: Creating the Consumer Capitalism, Corporations, and Global Bodies of Governance Capitalism, Neoliberalism, and Globalization The Culture of Capitalism The Intercultural Marketplace Commodification of Culture Case Study 1: Consuming and Romanticizing the “Other” Case Study 2: Consuming and Desiring the “Other” Tourism and Intercultural Communication Case Study 3: Consuming Cultural Spectacles Economic Responsibility and Intercultural Communication Summary Key Terms Discussion Questions and Activities 9 Negotiating Intercultural Conflict and Social Justice: Strategies for Intercultural Relations Intercultural Conflict: A Multidimensional Framework of Analysis Micro-Frame Analysis of Intercultural Conflict Cultural Orientations Communication and Conflict Styles Facework 10 Situational Factors Meso-Frame Analysis of Intercultural Conflict Prejudice, Ethnocentrism, and Racism Cultural Histories and Cultural Identities Religious Fundamentalism Power Imbalance Macro-Frame Analysis of Intercultural Conflict Media Economic and Political Factors Geopolitical Power Inequities Case Study 1: Interpersonal Context Case Study 2: Intergroup Context Case Study 3: International and Global Context Strategies for Addressing Intercultural Conflict Inquiry Framing Positioning Dialogue Reflection Action Summary Key Terms Discussion Questions and Activities 10 Engaging Intercultural Communication for Social Justice: Challenges and Possibilities for Global Citizenship Becoming Global Citizens in the 21st Century Capacities for Global Citizenship Intercultural Competence “Hope in the Dark”: From Apathy to Empowerment Another World Is Possible: Student to Student Empowerment for Change Another World Is Possible: Individual and Collective Action for Change Intercultural Alliances for Social Justice Case Study: Community Coalition of South Los Angeles Summary Key Terms Discussion Questions and Activities Glossary References Index About the Author 11 12 Preface 13 Purpose of the Text I wrote Intercultural Communication: Globalization and Social Justice with the goal of creating a new kind of introductory text for the undergraduate intercultural communication course that would provide students with critical and social justice perspectives on the dynamics of globalization that have brought so many people and cultures into contact and conversation. I want to help students understand and grapple with the interconnected and complex nature of intercultural communication in the world today. Students in my intercultural communication courses are clearly affected in direct and indirect ways on a daily basis by the forces of globalization. Their lives, livelihoods, and lifestyles are influenced in both challenging and beneficial ways by the forces of globalization—through rapid advances in communication and transportation technologies as well as changes in economic and political policies locally and globally. Globalization has catapulted people from different cultures into shared physical and virtual spaces in homes, in relationships, in schools, in neighborhoods, in the workplace, and in political alliances in unprecedented ways. 14 Culture Is Dynamic and Multifaceted Central to this text is the idea that our understanding of culture must be dynamic and multifaceted to address the fast-paced, complex, and often contradictory influences that shape intercultural communication today. The advantage of this approach is that it reflects a world that students will recognize as their own: a world in which notions of culture are fluid, not static. Therefore, this text aims to move beyond the basic distinctions between international and domestic U.S. communication issues to also highlight the many connections between local and global issues. To help students better understand the challenges and complexities of intercultural communication in the global context, I have also drawn attention to histories of intercultural conflict and the role power plays on macro- and micro-levels in intercultural relations. Thus, my aim in writing was to produce a text as vibrant, multifaceted, conflicting, and creative as intercultural communication itself! Intercultural Communication: Globalization and Social Justice is built around these key concepts: A globalization framework A critical, social justice approach An emphasis on connections between the local/global and micro-, meso-, and macro-levels An emphasis on intercultural praxis 15 A Globalization Framework Globalization provides a ubiquitous and complex context for studying intercultural communication. The context of globalization is characterized by an increasingly dynamic, mobile world and an intensification of interaction and exchange among people, cultures, and cultural forms; a rapidly growing global interdependence leading to shared interests and resources as well as greater intercultural tensions and conflicts; a magnification of inequities both within and across nations and cultural groups with significant impact on intercultural communication; and a historical legacy of colonization, Western domination, and U.S. hegemony that continues to shape intercultural relations today. Studying intercultural communication in the context of globalization allows us to highlight the following: Definitions of culture that address cultural continuity, contestation, and commodification Intercultural dimensions of economic, political, and cultural globalization Role of power and the impact of asymmetrical power relations on intercultural communication Rapid movement of people, cultures, verbal and nonverbal languages, and rhetoric through interpersonal and mediated communication Multifaceted, hybrid, and negotiated cultural identities Resignification of identity categories such as race, culture, gender, and sexuality today Changing nature of intercultural relationships and intercultural alliances Culture of capitalism and the commodification of culture Intercultural conflict through a multidimensional framework Dynamic intercultural alliances and movements for social justice 16 A Critical Social Justice Approach This text takes a critical social justice approach that provides a framework to create a more equitable and socially just world through communication. In the context of globalization, finding solutions to local and global challenges inevitably requires intercultural communication. Today, some of the most innovative answers to difficult social, political, and economic problems develop through intercultural alliances. And, regrettably, some of the most egregious injustices—exploitation of workers in homes, fields, and factories and violence perpetrated through racial profiling, ethnic cleansing and religious fervor—are performed within intercultural contexts and are enabled by intercultural communication. Today, we face many intercultural challenges—for example, wealth disparity in the United States and globally and the percentage of people in the world living under the poverty line have become steadily worse in the new millennium. It is my hope that this text will not only help students develop a deeper understanding of the opportunities and challenges of intercultural communication today but also empower students to use their knowledge and skills to confront discrimination and challenge inequities. Over the past five year, I have had the honor and privilege of working directly with Reverend James M. Lawson Jr., a close associate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and leading architect of the civil rights movement, on the Civil Discourse & Social Change Initiative at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). Reverend Lawson’s deep regard for all humanity, his appreciation of cultural differences, and his unwavering respect for the power of intercultural alliances stem from and are informed by his years of work in India in the 1950s, his leadership in the civil rights movement, his efforts to dismantle racism and sexism, and his efforts to gain living wages for workers and equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities. We all have the opportunity to use the knowledge, attitudes, and skills gained by studying and practicing intercultural communication to build relationships, imagine possibilities, and develop alliances to create a more equitable and socially just world. 17 Local/Global Connection and Multilevel Framework of Analysis Life in the globalized 21st century is characterized by a complex web of linkages between the local and the global as well as the past and present. People—and their languages, identities, cultural practices, and ideas—are based in particular geographic locations, but they are also simultaneously connected—whether through communications technology (e.g., phone, e-mail, social media), interpersonal networks (e.g., friends, family), and memories with different locations around the globe. Studying intercultural communication in the context of globalization requires us to pay attention to continuities and fragmentations of global communities over time and place. For example, globalization links the distant towns of Villachuato, Mexico, and Marshalltown, Iowa, through global flows of capital, goods, and labor. A meatpacking plant in Marshalltown employs many Mexican workers, who return regularly to Villachuato for annual religious events, weddings, and funerals. Like many towns across the United States and Mexico, the lives of people from Villachuato and Marshalltown are intertwined and interdependent in the global context. Intercultural connections do not necessarily require travel to forge links across the globe. For example, diasporic Indian communities in the United States and around the world enjoy watching Hindi films and keeping up on the latest popular culture from India. Much more than entertainment, these experiences of cultural consumption educate younger generations born outside of India about their culture, serve as cultural bridges across time and place, and play a role in developing their bicultural identities. Of course, global intercultural links are not solely positive. The roots of many intercultural conflicts happening today can be linked to historic transgressions and involve communities that are interconnected around the globe. In this text, key concepts in intercultural communication—identity construction; the use of verbal and nonverbal communication; the creation and re-creation of cultural spaces; interpersonal relationships; as well as migration, adaptation, and intercultural conflict—are addressed in ways that underscore the connections and disjuncture between the local and the global and the relationships between the past and the present. A multilevel framework that focuses attention on three interrelated levels—(1) the micro (individual level), (2) the meso (intermediate, group-based level), and (3) the macro (broad economic–political level)—is introduced and applied to various case studies throughout the text to examine the complexities of intercultural communication in the context of globalization. 18 Intercultural Praxis This text engages students in a process of critical, reflective thinking and acting—what I call intercultural praxis— that enables them to navigate the complex, contradictory, and challenging intercultural spaces they inhabit interpersonally, communally, and globally. At all moments in our day—when we interact with friends, coworkers, teachers, bosses, and strangers; when we consume pop culture and other entertainment; when we hear and read news and information from the media outlets; and in our daily routines and travel—we have the opportunity to engage in intercultural praxis. The purpose of engaging in intercultural praxis is to raise our awareness, increase our critical analysis, and develop our socially responsible action in regard to intercultural interactions in the context of globalization. Through six interrelated points of entry—(1) inquiry, (2) framing, (3) positioning, (4) dialogue, (5) reflection, and (6) action—intercultural praxis uses our multifaceted identity positions and shifting access to privilege and power to develop our consciousness, imagine alternatives, and build alliances in our struggles for social responsibility and social justice. The focus on intercultural praxis is intertwined with the content of the text from initial discussions of culture in the global context to explorations of our identities and finally in our roles as global citizens. 19 Organization of the Text This book offers an innovative approach to address the rapid, complex, and often contradictory forces that propel and constrain intercultural communication in the context of globalization. A fundamental goal of the book is to understand and analyze intercultural communication on three interlocking and interrelated levels: (1) the micro, individual level; (2) the meso, cultural group level; and (3) the macro, geopolitical level. I think of it as breathing in and breathing out. As we breathe in, we focus our attention on individual levels of communication and then, breathing out, we expand to the broader levels of cultural group and macro-level intercultural communication issues. This metaphor helps my students understand the movement between levels from chapter to chapter as well as the connections that are made throughout the text between the past and the present. My goal is to encourage and support a way of thinking and being in the world that accounts for multiple frames of reference—like zooming in and zooming out on a Google map—across place and time. Given that certain topics—language use, nonverbal communication, and cultural identity, for example—are so central to and interconnected with all facets of intercultural communication, these areas are addressed throughout the text in all chapters rather than isolated within stand-alone chapters. The organization of this text, therefore, highlights the many interconnections that define intercultural communication while also offering complete coverage of all topics commonly addressed in an introductory intercultural communication text. 20 New to the Second Edition The second edition augments and updates keys features and themes of the first edition. My goal then and now is to contextualize, historicize, and politicize our understanding and practice of intercultural communication. To accomplish this, the subject of each chapter is presented as a whole highlighting broad systemic views of the content as well as in-depth treatment of interrelated concepts and issues. Case studies, new and expanded in the second edition, illuminate critical concepts, address current events, and illustrate how intercultural communication is a site of negotiation and contestation. Extended examples and case studies are also used to demonstrate methods of analysis central to intercultural praxis. In the second edition, content on interpersonal relationships in the workplace is addressed in Chapter Five in conjunction with friendship and romantic relationships. This re-organization allows for more extended treatment of the commodification of culture in Chapter Eight. The new edition also attends in greater depth to the centrality of new media for intercultural communication in the global context as well as the increasing impact of religious fundamentalism throughout the world. The theme of social justice and our roles as students and practitioners of intercultural communication in imagining, creating, and enacting a more social just world is introduced earlier in the text and threaded throughout. New in the second edition: Chapter objectives Additional case studies Updated statistics Extended examples addressing current events Expanded treatment of new media 21 Continuing Pedagogical Features of the Text A number of special features appear in each chapter of this text to encourage reflection and to move theory into practice for teachers and students of intercultural communication. Highly popular in the first edition, additional textboxes both revised and new appear in the second edition. 22 Engaging Textbox Features Highlight the Challenges and Rewards of Intercultural Communication Communicative Dimensions Boxes allow students to explore vivid examples of intercultural communication in action to see how different facets of communication—language use, nonverbal communication, rhetoric, and symbolic representation—play out in the global intercultural context. Cultural Identity Boxes help students understand how communication and culture shape and reflect identity and in turn how identity plays a role in communicating within and across cultures. Intercultural Praxis Boxes emphasize ways of developing our awareness and using our power and positionality to enable more equitable and socially just relationships across different cultures by engaging in dialogue, reflecting, and taking informed action. 23 Ancillary Material In addition to the text, a full array of ancillary website materials for instructors is available at study.sagepub.com/sorrells2e. The password-protected site contains a test bank, PowerPoint presentations, sample syllabi, lecture notes, course projects, in-class activities, video links, and web resources. These ancillaries further support the goals of critical reflection, engaged learning, and informed action for social change presented in Intercultural Communication: Globalization and Social Justice. 24 Acknowledgments A book like this, while written by one person, could not have been imagined or completed without the critical and creative contributions of many. In writing the second edition, I have received invaluable feedback, suggestions, and insights from students and colleagues who I work with daily, from those who teach and engage in intercultural research across the United States as well as from those using the book in Japan, Mexico, China, India, and Europe. I am honored and grateful for these meaningful conversations, connections, and opportunities to engage with others in making a difference in the world. Sachi Sekimoto, my former undergraduate and graduate student and now Associate Professor, provided invaluable research and editorial assistance and developed the discussion questions and activities at the end of the chapters for both the first and second editions. Our work together as co-editors of the book Globalizing Intercultural Communication: A Reader provided opportunities for lengthy and lively discussions as well as careful reading of compelling and innovative research in the field of intercultural communication, which enriched and strengthened the conceptual and theoretical foundations of the second edition. I want to thank Julie Chekroun and Hengameh Rabizadeh, also former graduate students, for their meticulous edited and research assistance for the text. Thanks also to Mandy Paris and Robert Loy for their assistance with the ancillary material. A second edition is inevitably an extension and elaboration of a vision and groundwork developed in the first edition; thus, I continue to feel tremendous gratitude for my colleagues Sheena Malhotra and Bill Kelly for their careful reading and rereading of each chapter of the first edition. Sheena’s insightful comments and encouragement, her examples that illustrate subtlety and ambiguity, and her feedback from using chapters in her classes all enhance the first and second editions tremendously. Over the years, I have benefited greatly from hours of conversation with Gordon Nakagawa, Breny Mendoza, Lara Medina, and Reverend James M. Lawson Jr. who, each in their own way, have had a hand in guiding the critical theoretical approach of the book. I also want to acknowledge both of my parents, Daniel Jackson Sorrells and Eleanor Kathryn Sorrells, whose love for learning and cultures continues to inspire me. Their memory is inextricably bound to this book as they both passed away during the research and writing of the first edition. The team at SAGE deserves many thanks for all their support, patience, and sustained effort. Matthew Byrnie, believing in the importance of the project, brought the first edition to fruition and enthusiastically embraced the second edition. The expert and patient assistance of Natalie Konopinski gently yet firmly moved this project forward. Janae Masnovi’s helpful and timely assistance put all the final pieces together to complete the project. I want to thank Janet Ford for her careful editing of the book. Finally, I am grateful to the production editor, Laura Barrett, and marketing manager, Ashley Blunk, for bringing the second edition of the book into the world! The book was much improved by the encouragement, insights, critical comments, and suggestions offered by the reviewers. I would like to thank Andy O. Alali (California State University, Bakersfield), Nilanjana Bardhan (Southern Illinois University, Carbondale), Devika Chawla (Ohio University), Daniel Chornet Roses (Saint Louis University, Madrid Campus), Robbin D. Crabtree (Loyola Marymount University ), Melissa L. Curtin (Southern Illinois University, Carbondale), Alexa Dare (The University of Montana), Sara DeTurk (University of Texas at San Antonio), Jane Elvins (University of Colorado, Boulder), Gloria J. Galanes (Missouri State University), Rebecca S. Imes (Carroll College), Peter Oehlkers (Salem State College), Ruma Sen (Ramapo College of New Jersey), and Curtis L. VanGeison (St. Charles Community College). 25 Chapter 1 Opening the Conversation Studying Intercultural Communication What creates positive intercultural interactions? © iStockphoto.com/monkeybusinessimages 26 Learning Objectives 1. Identify the opportunities and challenges of intercultural communication in the context of globalization. 2. Describe three definitions of culture that influence intercultural communication in the global context. 3. Explain how our social location and standpoint shape how we see, experience, and understand the world differently. 4. Describe the goals and six points of entry into intercultural praxis. We, the people of the world—over 7 billion of us from different cultures—find our lives, our livelihoods, and our lifestyles increasingly interconnected and interdependent due to the forces of globalization. Since the early 1990s, changes in economic and political policies, governance, and institutions have combined with advances in communication and transportation technology to dramatically accelerate interaction and interrelationship among people from different cultures around the globe. Deeply rooted in European colonization and Western imperialism, the forces of this current wave of globalization have catapulted people from different cultures into shared physical and virtual spaces in homes, in relationships, in schools, in neighborhoods, in the workplace, and in political alliance and activism in unprecedented ways. Today, advances in communication technology allow some of us to connect with the world on wireless devices sitting in the backyard or in our favorite café. While almost 40% of the …