Cross-cultureCommunicationlesson3.ppt

Cross-culture CommunicationLesson 3Some questions about the readingWhat is the purpose of culture?What are the key characteristics of culture?Explain a way in which culture is learned.A Western Folk TaleA very popular folk story from Europe is Beauty and the Beast.An arrogant,rich young prince is bewitched and turned into a hideous beast.One day a beautiful girl comes to his castle and he takes her hostage.Time and experience has changed the beast,and,gradually,the girl falls in love with him,despite his ugliness.Eventually they kiss and the Beast turns back into a handsome Prince.This story tells us something about what true beauty consists in,and the power of love.A Western Folk TaleChinese folk tales,myths and legends?Can you tell me a Chinese folk tale,myth,or legend,and what you think it is trying to teach you?Work in pairs,and talk in English!ArtArt is a symbolic way of communicating.One of the most important functions of art is to communicate,display,and reinforce important cultural themes and values(Nanda)Mass MediaBooks,magazines,newspapers,radio,television,cinema,DVDs and so on,have an enormous role in enculturation in technologically advanced societies.One example is in learning what our bodies should look like.Women,in particular,are constantly presented with images and descriptions of the ideal body.Women are told daily,and through a variety of media,that their physical appearance is important.In my culture this ideal is presently focussed on weight the thinner the better.Mass MediaCan you give me an example of how the mass media teaches you something about your culture?Work in pairs and talk in English!Culture is transmitted from generation to generation communication makes culture a continuous process,for once cultural habits,principles,values,attitudes and the like are formulated,they are communicated to each member of the culture(Samovar et al.:43)Culture is based on symbolsHuman language without culture is unthinkable(Kluckhohn)Language is our primary means of transmitting information from individual to individual,and it is essential for transmitting information from generation to generation.Without it culture is impossible.But there are many other kinds of symbol that are important for transmitting cultural informationPicturesFlagsReligious symbolsStatus symbolsCulture is subject to changeCulture is not static.It is always changing.Through innovation the discovery of new practices,tools,or concepts that many members of the culture eventually acceptThe computer has changed culture in the developed worldThe civil rights movement in America changed its cultureCan you think of a new practice,tool or concept that has changed a culture?Work in pairs and talk in English!Culture is subject to changeThrough diffusionthe borrowing by one culture from another(Samovar et al.:45)Where there is cultural contact there is diffusionCan you give an example of cultural diffusion?Culture is subject to changeThrough acculturationoccurs when a society undergoes drastic culture change under the influence of a more dominant culture and society with which it has come in contactThis happens to communities of immigrantsCan you think of any other examples?Work in pairs in English!Culture is subject to changealthough many aspects of culture are subject to change,the deep structure of a culture resists major alterations(Samovar et al.:46)Changes in dress,food,transportation and so on are not changes to the deep level of culture,which involve things like ethics,attitude to gender,and religious beliefCulture is adaptiveCultures can endure through quite catastrophic circumstances.The American Civil WarThe HolocaustCulture is integratedyou touch a culture in one place and everything else is affected(Hall)For example,a change in how a culture views women will result in changes in education,law,entertainment and so onCulture is ethnocentricthe technical name for the view of things in which ones own group is the center of everything,and all others are scaled and rated with reference to it(Sumner)This can be positive,in that it gives people a strong sense of identityBut it also has the potential to be negative,creating an us and them mind-setCulture is ethnocentricEthnocentrism can be destructive when it is used to shut others out,provide the basis for derogatory evaluations,and rebuff changeIt is important to note that most ethnocentrism is unconscious.Your school curriculum,for example,will have focussed on Chinese history,literature and art.Merely by omission,you will end up perceiving China and Chinese culture as what is most important.Culture is ethnocentricCan you think of a positive and a negative example of ethnocentricity?One negative example might be found in the colonialism of the nineteenth and early twentieth century.Many cultures were destroyed or persecuted because of their differences to Western cultural values(such as the North American Indians)A positive example might be the spirit with which sporting events like the Olympic Games are conducted