Interpersonal Communication

Cultural Analysis Paper

Instructor directions below:

Our world is extremely diverse in terms of physical qualities, gender, ethnicity, religion, age, group affiliation, et cetera. Therefore, communicating with someone that differs culturally from us is inevitable. David Johnson, author of Reaching Out, asserts that "In order to build relationships and interact effectively with diverse individuals you must

1. Recognize that diversity exists and is a valuable resource.

2. Seek out relationships with different individuals within a cooperative context (not a competitive or individualistic one).

3. Include in your identity your historical and cultural heritage.

4. Respect and appreciate the historical and cultural heritage of others.

5. Establish superordinate identity that unites all relevant groups.

6. Reduce the internal cognitive barriers to building positive relationships with diverse individuals (such as stereotyping and prejudice).

7. Understand how to resolve conflicts constructively and skillfully use the procedures for doing so.

8. Learn and internalize pluralistic, democratic values including the commitment to the equal worth of all persons and each individual's inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
(Excerpt from Reaching Out: Interpersonal Effectiveness and Self-Actualization 2000)

The paper should include the following:

A. Define yourself through your cultures. You should have a discussion of the cultural groups to which you belong. Are some more influential than others on you, your perceptions, your communication etc.?

B. Choose a cultural group to analyze (one to which you do not belong).

C. What are your perceptions of this culture before the interaction? What do you believe to be part of this diverse culture's worldview? Discuss and relate perceptual biases found in the textbook in chapter 4.

D. Create a list of open-ended questions and conduct a 30 minute interview with a representative member of the chosen culture. Please review proper interviewing techniques and be prepared. The list of questions should be stapled to the back of your paper.

E. Continue the body of your paper with a detailed description of the interview experience and responses to the questions/discussion. Be careful to analyze the non-verbal and verbal differences , if any. Was the interaction smooth or somewhat problematic? What barriers to cross-cultural communication were at work?

F. Did your perceptions of the culture change at all after the interview?

G. What did you learn about the culture that you didn't know prior to the interview?

H. Has the interaction increased your understanding of their worldview?

I. Do you believe that person interviewed truly represents the whole of the culture?

J. How does culture act as a lens through which we view the world, shaping what we are interested in, pay attention to, etc.?

Organization: You will follow the standard format for essay writing: intro, body, and conclusion.

Introduction: Here you will grab the reader's attention and introduce the topic. You will tell the culture you analyzed and your methods of organization. (Ex. In the following study, I will...). Use clear, direct language to set up the paper. The intro should also explain the conclusions you came to after the analysis. (Ex. In applying the communication concepts of ____, I found that...).

Body: Here you will address the discussion questions A-J from above. You should include citations from chapters 1-6 throughout. You will be using both verbal and nonverbal examples during your interview description. Refer to the chapters on language and nonverbals which discuss verbal and nonverbal competence. As I am not requiring outside research for this paper, I will require you to utilize the concepts that we discussed in chapters 1-6 to further support your examples. Support all claims and statements.

Conclusion: Here you will wrap up the paper by reviewing your key findings, and making final remarks. You can state opinions (your evaluation of the experience, proposal for future encounters).

PLEASE NOTE: Passing papers will be 3-5 pages double-spaced. An adequate size font should be used (ex. Times New Roman 12 points). Each paper should have all main sections described above. The papers should be well edited for grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes. While a certain amount of mistakes are avoidable, you will be penalized for consistent mistakes that might easily be corrected with a spell check, and/or careful revision of the essay. DO NOT give me your essay without having read through it carefully fro grammar mistakes. Finally, be careful to cite all words AND IDEAS of another to avoid plagiarism. Refer to the MLA guidebook for any questions on citing quotations and paraphrasing. The LEAST plagiarism can bring you is a failing grade. Also, parts A and B have already been completed so there's no need to do those two parts.