1. Intercultural Communication
IDENTITY
Unit 1
Week 2 / Session 1

2. Overview
Discussion point 1 – what does culture and identity mean to you?
What is culture?
What is identity
The Web of Identity (Live­sey, 2004)
What is social and ethnic identity?
Discussion point 2
Ways to compare and contrast cultures
Fundamental differences between cultures
Discussion point 3 - Fundamental differences between cultures
Discussion point 4 – History and culture
In sociology and social psychology, ingroups and outgroups are social groups to which an individual feels as though he or she belongs as a member, or (for outgroups) to which they feel contempt, opposition, or a desire to compete.
People tend to hold positive attitudes towards members of their own groups

3. Discussion Point 1
In small groups, discuss and make notes on the following questions below:
What does cultural identity mean to you?
What elements contribute to a persons cultural identity?
How would you identify your culture?

4. What is culture?
“People become aware of their culture when they stand at its boundaries: when they encounter other cultures, or when they become aware of other ways of doing things, or merely of contradictions to their own culture” Cohen, Anthony P. (1985)

5. What is culture?
There are many interpretations of what is defined and known as culture.
Acquired and passed down through generations.
A system of beliefs and values within a society.
Culture has been described as ‘…shared features which encapsulate people together in a community’ (Shah, 2003).

6. What is identity?
The entirety of how we as individuals view or perceive ourselves as unique from others.
Racial, cultural and ethnic identities form part of one's identity, and identity will change with development at a personal as well as at a social level along with migration and acculturation (Bhugra, 2004).
Perceived as ‘dynamic’ and ‘fluid’ - because it is established and extracted in interaction
Has substance - not only transmitted from generation to generation, but from cultural group member to newcomer.
One or more specific cultural identities may be noticeable in a given conversation
It is perceived as ‘dynamic’ and ‘fluid’ – as it is necessary to understand how communication works in diverse and transitory situations.

7. The Web of Iden­tity
Complex and multi-layered inter­ac­tion between iden­tity and social struc­ture.
Indi­vidu­als are sur­roun­ded by large social forces; they live their lives with lim­ited options avail­able to them when mak­ing decisions and choices (Live­sey, 2004).
Example:
 Ang (1998) grew up in Indone­sia and is of Chinese des­cent. Ang describes how her iden­tity (as a for­eigner and stranger) was con­struc­ted by the indi­gen­ous Indone­sians and was not truly accep­ted as a mem­ber of the com­munity. This social mech­an­ism has a significant influ­ence upon people who are con­struc­ted as a for­eigner and ‘people who are posi­tioned as ‘for­eign’ develop all kinds of strategies to deal with it—some people will try to deny their for­eignness, and self hatred is part of this, or they will try to assim­il­ate into the dom­in­ant cul­ture as much as pos­sible’ (Ang 1998, 153–154).

8. What is Social and Ethnic identity?
Social identity is thought of as the culturally defined personality characteristics, which are ascribed to social roles, such as the role of being a father, mother, friend, employer or employee (Bhugra and Becker, 2005).
Ethnic identity is a source of social identity.
Composed of people who may or may not share the same race but do share common cultural characteristics, including history, beliefs, values, food and entertainment preferences, religion and language.
Ethnicity typically incorporates both race and culture (Shah, 2004).

9. Discussion Point 2
In small groups, discuss and make notes on the following questions below:
What elements could be considered when comparing and contrasting cultures?
Which of these elements would you consider to be the most significant?
Point 2:
Significant differences are often noted in the following:
Laws
Religion
Ceremonies
Festivals
Family
Language
Food
Clothing

10. Ways to compare and contrast cultures
Several methods and frameworks have been constructed to address variances of cultural identities:
Gudykunst’s (1985) variables measured in Intergroup research - attitudes, perceived similarity, uncertainty, and attributions
Giles and Johnson’s (1981, 1986) attention to variables - such as group vitality, ethnic boundaries, and status
Hofstede’s (1983) core symbols - identifies four dimensions of culture: individualism-collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity-femininity.
DeVos’ (1982) symbolic emblems - used by ethnic groups to differentiate themselves from other groups.
Examples:
3rd example: Hofstede’s (1983) core symbols can be differentiated from one another on a variety of dimensions and can be used to compare and contrast cultures. Culture manifests itself in four ways: through symbols, heroes, rituals and values. Symbols are the  words, gestures, figures or objects that carry a particular meaning, recognized only by those who share a particular culture. 
4th Example: DeVos (1982) describes the process of culture and ethnic groups using symbolic emblems to differentiate themselves from other groups.
An emblem can be anything from a mode of dress to a code of language or a key term or reference in conversation. We believe that these types of emblems and core symbols should be generated by researchers from the participants' perspectives and then tested or posited as potential etic categories across cultures (Pike, 1966).

11. Fundamental differences between cultures
In any given nation or culture, differences between people are much greater than differences between groups (Billikopf, 2009).
Education, social standing, religion, personality, belief structure, past experience, affection shown in the home, and numerous other factors will affect human behaviour and culture.
Fundamental differences:
There are differences in approach as to what is considered polite and appropriate behaviour both in and out of work. In some cultures "yes" means, "I hear you" more than "I agree." Length of pleasantries and greetings before getting down to business; level of tolerance for being around someone speaking a foreign (not-understood) language; politeness measured in terms of gallantry or etiquette (e.g., standing up for a woman who approaches a table, yielding a seat on the bus to an older person, etc.); and manner of expected dress are all examples of possible cultural differences and traditions.

12. Discussion Point 3 Fundamental differences between cultures
In small groups/pairs discuss the similarities and differences between your cultures  with regard to:
Dress
Gender roles
Social activities
Meeting and Greeting
Gestures
Dining Etiquette
Food
Language
Task:
If from different countries/cultures – if not, then compare contrast between stds country and the UK.
Gestures – There is an additional worksheet on this.

13. Discussion Point 4
Another important contributor to the cultural difference is the history of a particular region or country. The events of the past certainly shape the moods and opinions of people living in that specific country. When a large group of people observe a set of traditions, social norms and values, it gives rise to culture.
Pair work
Discuss possible examples of where history has had an effect on your culture. Can you think of examples for other cultures?

14. Homework – Blog task 1 Individual task – Out-of-class work
Interview an international student (preferably from a different country to that of your own) and find out how they felt when they first arrived in the UK. When preparing your questions consider the following cultural differences we looked at in our workshop today that they may have experienced. Write a short summary of your interview and post it on your blog site.

15. References
Ang, I. (1998), Out of bounds: inau­thentic spaces and the pro­duc­tion of iden­tit­ies, in M. Zournazi(ed.), For­eign Dia­logues: Memor­ies, Trans­la­tions, Con­ver­sa­tions, pp. 153–167. Bhugra, D. (2004). Migration, distress and cultural identity. British Medical Bulletin. 69:1–13. Billikopf, G (2009). Cultural Differences? Or, are we really that different? [online] Available at: [Accessed on 18th July 2012] DeVos, G. A. (1982). Ethnic pluralism: Conflict and accommodation. In DeVos, G. A., and Romanucci-Ross, L. (eds.), Ethnic Identity: Cultural Continuities and Change, Mayfield Publishing, Palo Alto,CA, pp. 5–41. Giles, H. and P. Johnson (1981). The role of language in ethnic group relations. In Intergroup Behaviour. J. Turner and H. Giles. Chicago, University of Chicago Press. Gudykunst, W. B. (1985). The influence of cultural similarity, type of relationship, and self monitoring on uncertainty reduction processes. Communication Monographs, 52, Hofstede, Geert (1983a), "Dimensions of National Cultures in Fifty Countries and Three Regions," in Expiscations in Cross-Cultural Psychology, J.B. Deregowski, S. Dziurawiec, and R.C. Annis, eds., Lisse, Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger, Live­sey, C. (2004). Cul­ture and iden­tity, Soci­olo­gical Path­ways. Available at: [Accessed 10th July 2012] Shah, S. (2003) The researcher/interviewer in intercultural context: a social intruder! British Educational Research Journal. 30:4, Tylor, Edward B [1871] The Science of Culture. In Morton Fried, ed., Readings in Anthropology, vol. II: Cultural Anthropology. New York: Crowell