Introduction: Intercultural Studies within Central States

The study of intercultural communication (IC) has a long history in the Central States Communication Association (CSCA). Some of the earliest work in IC has come from universities in the CSCA region, such as Indiana University (William Starosta) and University of Minnesota (Vernon Jensen and Rosita Albert). Since the inception of the Intercultural Communication Interest Group within CSCA in the early 1990s, IC scholars have contributed immensely to the discipline by studying different aspects of the relationship between communication and culture. Several active IC scholars present their recollections of the development of IC research in this issue.     

论“风险社会”危机的跨文化传播

世界已经进入“风险社会,”风险并非自然的风险,乃是“人造风险”。风险具有全球性、知识依赖性和“不确定性”等特征,对危机的跨文化传播研究显得尤为必要和紧迫。传媒具有风险认知和沟通功能,预测、凸现隐形的风险并对现实危机进行“定义”、“冠名,”以提高不同文化背景下的人们对同一危机的“在场感”以及经验、认知的相互交流。大众传媒要尽量减少传播的悖论和破除话语中心论,同时,对危机的跨文化传播研究应该从研究“误传”、“误读”转向研究如何协调合作与建构意义。     

An Exploration of the Relationship Between Intercultural Communication Competence and Bilingualism

Research in intercultural communication competence (ICC) has flourished in the past several decades, arguably due to its relevance in an increasingly multicultural world. In fact the pervasive pragmatic relevance of effective and appropriate engagement with cultural diversity has spurred intercultural or cultural “competence” research in a variety of disciplines. While some scholars question the very concept of ICC as a Western formulation, researchers’ interest in studying the phenomenon of authentic, positive connection between individuals from different cultures is indisputable.     

Further Testing of a New Model of Intercultural Communication Competence

Recently, a new model of intercultural communication was proposed and later empirically tested (Arasaratnam, 2004 Arasaratnam , L. A. ( 2004 ). Intercultural communication competence: Development and empirical validation of a new model . Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association , New Orleans , LA . [Google Scholar]; Arasaratnam & Doerfel, 2005 Arasaratnam , L. A. & Doerfel , M. L. ( 2005 ). Intercultural communication competence: Identifying key components from multicultural perspectives . International Journal of Intercultural Relations , 29 , 137 – 163 . [CSA] [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). The present study was designed to further test the model and address the limitations of the previous test. Survey data were collected from participants (N = 400) and analyzed using regression analyses. The results mostly supported the previous model. These results plus some new findings in the relationship between empathy and intercultural communication competence are discussed.     

A U.S.-Chinese Comparison of Affectionate Communication in Parent-Child Relationships

Affectionate communication is central to the maintenance of relational closeness, but it is also subject to relational, contextual, and cultural factors. This study was designed to examine the cultural effects on affectionate communication in parent-child relationships in the United States and China. Results indicated that Chinese fathers and mothers expressed less verbal, nonverbal, and supportive affection to their children than American parents. Both Chinese and American parents expressed affection to their children more through supportive behaviors than through verbal and nonverbal behaviors. In both cultures, mothers engaged in more verbal, nonverbal, and supportive affection with their children than fathers.     

紧急状态下跨文化传播的焦虑及其消解

跨文化传播的焦虑常常表现为文化身份焦虑,其原因可从“自我不一致”理论、归因理论以及认知失调理论中得到解释。要摆脱焦虑,必须回到文化的主体间性上来建构文化身份,使之处于动态的过程之中。     

Identity Gaps of Contemporary U.S. Immigrants: Acknowledging Divergent Communicative Experiences

Through the lens of the communication theory of identity (e.g., Hecht, Collier, &; Ribeau, 1993 Hecht , M. L. , Collier , M. J. , &; Ribeau , S. A. ( 1993 ). African American communication: Ethnic identity and cultural interpretation . Newbury Park , CA : Sage . [Google Scholar]), this study examines how immigrants living in the United States negotiate multiple dimensions of their identities. A thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with 17 immigrants from 16 countries explores what identity gaps exist for immigrants in the contemporary United States. Findings suggest that several identity gaps permeate immigrants' lived experience, including personal-enacted, personal-relational, enacted-relational, communal-relational, personal-communal, and enacted-communal gaps. Specific attention is paid to how these gaps are expressed differently by different immigrants.     

Ethnographic Facilitation as a Complementary Methodology for Conducting Applied Communication Scholarship

This essay presents a methodological approach, ethnographic facilitation (EF), through which applied communication scholars (1) employ ethnographic practices to develop a rich, nuanced understanding of communication within and constitutive of groups, organizations, and/or communities; (2) intervene into communicative practices using group facilitation processes to promote change or development for the group, organization, community, and/or its members; and (3) report their findings to scholarly and relevant practitioner communities. The essay explains how EF draws on, yet differs from, and extends related methodological approaches, such as ethnography, critical ethnography, discourse tracing, and participatory action research, and integrates traditional facilitation practices with ethnography. Implications of the methodology are discussed regarding site selection, researcher conduct and relationships, techniques used to describe and facilitate communication, facilitation assessment, and dissemination of research findings. To illustrate the principles that inform this methodology, examples are included from a case study conducted with a church leadership team.     

Re-Learning American History: Understanding the Assumptions Underlying Intercultural Communication

Course: Intercultural Communication

Objectives: Students will challenge their assumptions about other cultures and question ethnocentric understandings of other cultures     

Theorizing Difference in Intercultural Communication: A Critical Dialogic Perspective

Difference between cultures is one of the foci of cross-cultural and intercultural communication research. Difference is often viewed as a problematic source of misunderstanding and conflict. Dialogic scholarship is extensive in interpersonal, organizational, and public communication. However, in the field of intercultural communication, the dialogic approach has not yet been explicitly explored. Based on the dialogic theories of Buber, Levinas, and Bakhtin, this paper argues that to be intercultural is to be dialogic, to celebrate difference, otherness, and plurality. This paper further proposes a critical dialogic approach to understanding difference in intercultural communication, which values both the grand narratives about intercultural power relations and the local meanings of situated intercultural interaction and competing discourses.     

Wikipedia as Public Scholarship: Communicating Our Impact Online

Although computer-mediated support groups have been argued to be beneficial for individuals coping with health-related stigma, few studies have explored how communication processes may moderate perceptions of stigma and health outcomes. Increasing our understanding of the relationships among these variables may help to inform social support interventions for individuals facing stigmatized health issues. Drawing from the optimal matching model, the reported study examined the relationships among strong-tie/weak-tie support network preference and health-related stigma for stress and depression among members of health-related computer-mediated support groups. The results indicated that health-related stigma was positively associated with preference for weak-tie support, and preference for weak-tie support was found to moderate the relationship between stigma and both stress and depression. The implications of the findings for the role of on-line weak-tie network supportive relationships in reducing stigma and its application to developing support-focused health interventions and segmenting potential intervention participants are discussed.     

跨文化传播的全球化背景

我们面临着传播全球化的时代 ,不同文化间的传播活动正以日新月异的方式加速世界一体化的进程 ,这种跨文化传播的产生机制是什么 ?传播的作用以及对传播生态的影响是什么 ?文章就这三个命题略做阐述     

Intercultural Communication and the Central States Region

This reflection essay describes the Central States Region as an area rich in intercultural communication. González describes Mexican American migrant farmworker organizing as an intercultural activity since the union activists attempted to influence both Mexican heritage and European heritage audiences. González also describes the many interculturalists working in the Midwest who influenced his early research.     

Crossing Paths: Intercultural Collaborations

There are unusual elements in this essay. It is a coconstructed intercultural narrative about spaces, places, people, and ideas, about their influence on us and our academic journeys, separately and together. Each narrative considers the intercultural footpaths and bridges that have connected us to one another and to others in the Central States Communication Association (CSCA) and the Intercultural Communication (IC) interest group.     

美国的人际传播研究及代表性理论

本文在前人研究的基础上,对美国人际传播的研究视角进行了划分,并梳理出每种视角的代表性理论。本文认为,美国人际传播研究的视角有情境、能力、关系、过程、规则、功能、文化和心理八个方面的视角。这些研究视角对我国学者从事人际传播研究,建立具有中国特色的人际传播理论具有重要的借鉴价值。     

Nonverbal Communication in Friends

Objective: To demonstrate how relational levels of meanings are communicated through nonverbal behaviors in a cultural context

Courses: Interpersonal Communication, Gendered Communication, Nonverbal Communication     

Large-Scale Patterns of Entertainment Gratifications in Linguistic Content of U.S. Films

We count words in film subtitle files in an attempt to reveal morally relevant patterns of linguistic content. We argue that function words (e.g., pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions) should be positively associated with thought-provoking narrative forms. To test this hypothesis, we associate function words to aggregate measures of film viewership and appraisals. Results suggest that function words are negatively associated with measures of viewership but positively associated with appraisals. As such, our finding is consistent with the idea that function words are more likely to occur in narrative forms that audiences value more than they actually consume. We relate this finding to past research, which has shown the same pattern for hedonic versus meaningful entertainment gratifications. Discussion centers on implications for recent theorizing in this area.     

Interiority as Epistemology: Situating Myself in the Central States Communication Association

I describe my approach to writing this essay as one of interiority, of exploring my deep inner thoughts and reflections on why I did what I did in CSCA over the years. Beyond saying that my CSCA activities were my attempt to be a good citizen of the academy through what is normalized as professional participation, I, through deeper reflection, now aim to write an African American female scholar’s interiority as discursive content.     

被经验的中介和被中介的经验——从传播理论教材的译介看传播学在中国

本文以国外传播理论教材的译介作为视角,考察了欧美传播理论话语在中国的诠释和变异,研究了西方客观经验主义的大众传播理论如何被潜移默化地等同于传播学的过程,同时以《传播理论导引:分析与应用》为例,对我国目前传播学的教学与研究中存在的一些问题进行了探讨,提出应该进一步开阔视野、注重研究范式、重新思考传播理论的教学与应用。