The Internet and Health Communication: Experiences and Expectations

369 Pages·2000·1.607 MB·English

by  Ronald E. Rice, James E. Katz

Transcultural Realities:
Interdisciplinary
Perspectives on Cross-
Cultural Relations

Virginia H Milhouse

Copyright©2001bySagePublications,Inc.
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Transculturalrealities:Interdisciplinaryperspectiveson
cross-culturalrelations/editedbyVirginiaH.Milhouse,
MolefiKeteAsante,PeterO.Nwosu.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-7619-2375-6(cloth:alk.paper)—
ISBN0-7619-2376-4(pbk.:alk.paper)
1. Interculturalcommunication.2. Cross-culturalorientation.
3.Culturalrelations. I.Milhouse,VirginiaHall,1950-
II.Asante,MolefiK.,1942-III.Nwosu,Peter.
HM1211.T732001
303.48’2—dc21 2001000423
01 02 03 04 05 06 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
AcquiringEditor: MargaretH.Seawell
EditorialAssistant: AliciaCarter
ProductionEditor: ClaudiaA.Hoffman
EditorialAssistant: KathrynJourney
CopyEditor: JacquelineA.Tasch
Typesetter: MarionWarren
Indexer: MollyHall
CoverDesigner: JaneQuaney
TRANSCULTURALREALITIES Contents
Contents
Acknowledgments viii
Introduction ix
VirginiaH.Milhouse,MolefiKeteAsante,andPeterO.Nwosu
PART I
Transcultural Issues in
International and Cross-Cultural Contexts
1. PerspectivesonHumanCommunication:
ImplicationsforTranscultureTheory 3
Min-SunKim
2. TransculturalCommunicationintheU.S.-AfricaContext:
CanItHelpAfrica’sEmergingNationalDevelopment? 33
VirginiaH.Milhouse
3. TowardTransculturalUnderstanding:
AHarmonyTheoryofChineseCommunication 55
Guo-MingChen
4. TransculturalRealitiesandDifferentWaysofKnowing 71
MolefiKeteAsante
5. TheEffectsofComputer-MediatedCommunication
onTransculturalism 83
BolanleA.Olaniran
PART II
Historical and Religious
Struggles Within and Between Nations
6. HistoricalStrugglesBetweenIslamicandChristianWorldviews:
AnInterpretation 109
AliA.Mazrui
7. AHistoriographicalSurveyofthe
DeterminantsoftheNorth-SouthDivideinSudan 121
AymanOmar
8. AnAnalysisofDiscourseontheSpokenandWrittenWords:
AHistoricalComparisonofEuropeanandAfricanViews 131
AmaMazama
PART III
Socially Constructed Racial Identities
and Their Consequences for Transculturalism in America
9. MultipleIdentities:TheCaseofBiracialChildren 145
ChevelleNewsome
10. ACulturallyBasedConceptionoftheBlackSelf-Concept 161
RichardL.Allen
11. CommunicationandSocialScientificDiscourse:
TowardanUnderstandingoftheDuBoisianPerspective 187
AnthonyMonteiro
12. SocialCognitionandRacialStereotypinginTelevision:
ConsequencesforTransculturalism 215
TravisL.Dixon
PART IV
The Transformative Effects of
Sojourning in Diverse Cultural Environments
13. InterculturalAdaptation:AStrangerButNotStrange 227
Toni-MokjaetjiHumber
14. TheImpactofCulturalDynamicsonthe
NewcomertotheOrganizationalEnvironment 251
EmekaJ.Okoli
15. ResearchandTraininginCross-CulturalReadjustment:
RecommendationsforAdvancements 267
ChukaOnwumechiliandJoyOkereke-Arungwa
PART V
Toward the Fundamentals
of Transcultural Research
16. TowardanEthicofInterculturalCommunicationResearch 283
JudithN.MartinandRuthLeonW.Butler
17. AfrocentricEmpiricism:AModelfor
CommunicationResearchinAfrica 299
DonaldS.TaylorandPeterO.Nwosu
18. FrameworksforAssessingContactas
aToolforReducingPrejudice 313
DonaldL.RubinandPamelaJ.Lannutti
19. TheKemeticParadigm:
AnAfrocentricFoundationforRhetoricalTheory 327
CynthiaL.Lehman
Index 335
AbouttheAuthors 345
TRANSCULTURALREALITIES Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
W
orking on a project of this magni- scholars whose comments, during a rigorous
tude has been both a challenging blindreviewprocess,helpedtoguideandre-
and exciting experience. For us, it fine all of the book’s chapters. And to those
hasgivenaddedmeaningtothevalueofcom- scholarswhoseoriginalessaysappearherein:
munication in an increasingly transcultural Guo-Ming Chen, Min-Sun Kim, Bolanle A.
world. Olaniran, Ali Mazrui, Ayman Omar, Ama
Severalpeoplewerehelpfultousinthere- Mazama, Chevelle Newsome, Richard Allen,
fining and development of this project. First, Anthony Monteiro, Travis Dixon, Toni-
we express much appreciation to our editor, Mokjaetji Humber, Emeka Okoli, Chuka
MargaretSeawell,forherassistancethrough- Onwumechili, Joy Okereke-Arungwa, Judith
out the process of the book’s development. H. Martin, Ruth L. Butler, Donald S. Taylor,
And,ofcourse,weoweadebtofgratitudeto Don Rubin, Pam Lannutti, and Cynthia L.
those scholars who, more than 20 years ago, Lehman, we express our deep appreciation
recognizedtheimportanceoftransculturalism andgratitudeforyourtirelesseffortsandwill-
and its benefits to the study of cross-cultural ingnesstoadaptyourchapterswhilemeeting
relations. all of the imposed but necessary deadlines.
Certainly, this book could not have hap- But over and above these acknowledgments,
pened had it not been for such a diversified we acknowledge especially the giver of all
group of scholars who share this vision and knowledge,withoutwhomtheideas,perspec-
helpedtoshapetheinterdisciplinarynatureof tives, and principles expressed in this book
the book. We are similarly indebted to those would not have been possible.
TRANSCULTURALREALITIES Introduction
viii
Introduction
T
his book is a first attempt to dialogue from the conventions and obsessions of cul-
abouttheimportanceoftransculturein ture itself (Epstein, 1995). So many of us
interdisciplinary contexts. Its primary human beings live as prisoners of our own
goalistohelpreadersunderstandthatastate culturesandfeelboundtoactandthinkinto-
ofcommunityorharmonycannotbeachieved tal agreement with their presumptions and
in the world until we are all ready to accept teachings, no matter how narrowly defined
different cultural forms, norms, and orienta- they may be.
tions. The concept transculture is, therefore,
Butfirst,becausetheconcepttransculture basedontheprinciplethatasingleculture,in
mayseemsomewhatambiguoustosome,itis andofitself,formaturityrequiresinteraction
important, as a point of departure, to offer a anddialoguewithothercultures.Thisprinci-
clarificationofit.Insodoing,weintendalso pleisclearlyproposedinEpstein’s(1995)dis-
toprovideanexplanationofhowtheconcept courseoncontemporaryculture.Inthiswork,
is used in this text. For the purpose of this he suggests that “the transcultural world lies
book,transcultureisdefinedasaformofcul- notapartfrombutwithinallexistingcultures,
ture created not from within its separate like a multidimensional space which appears
spheres but in the holistic forms of diverse gradually over the course of time” (p. 13).
cultures.Whereasculturemayhavethecapacity And within this space exists realized and un-
tofreeusfromthedictatesofnature—thatis, realized potential, the latter no less meaning-
from its restrictions and necessities—the fulthantheformer.Buttheinteractionamong
meritandcapacityoftranscultureistofreeus allexistingandpotentialculturesmakeseven
ix