Ronnie's Blog Spot

Critical Cultural Approach to Intrercultural Communication or the lack thereof

For me, the critical/cultural approach would almost always be more effective in studying intercultural interaction or conflict. I think it’s absolutely necessary to meld the different approaches as espoused by the critical/cultural perspective – and that is something the psychological approach does not do. I also believe the psychological approach has too much of a Western orientation – in that the values and concerns put forward through psychology come within the context of our norms and may not reflect worldviews of other cultures.

I lived in Puerto Rico during the 1970s at a time when there was a lot of fervor within Puerto Rican independence circles. This generated a lot of debate about a Puerto Rican “identity” and what needed to be done to keep Puerto Rican culture from being absorbed by the U.S. way of life. As a young woman – and young idealist – I was particularly sensitive to those concerns. I worked as a reporter for the English-language newspaper there, coincidentally the most liberal mainstream paper on the island at the time. Most of the Puerto Rican staffers – while quite fluent in English were staunch “independentistas.”

My way of being culturally sensitive was to go out of my way to learn Spanish. I was adamant that I was not going to be like some long-time “gringo” residents of the island who after 20 years in Puerto Rico could barely stammer out a sentence in Spanish. So I learned and absorbed and immersed myself in Puerto Rico and found out that not only was I learning a language but I was learning a culture, too.

I bring this up in the context of what kind of approach to take when studying an intercultural interaction or conflict. There was a lot of misunderstanding between Puerto Ricans and Americans in Puerto Rico at that time – just as there were misunderstandings because of intercultural differences between mainland Puerto Ricans and those on the island. There were different cultural values and different cultural experiences and a psychological approach toward examining these differences would not have sufficed. They needed – and still need – to be viewed within a total political, social and economic context. What led to the Puerto Rican diaspora? Why was (and perhaps still is) it so difficult for so many young Puerto Ricans who have been raised in the U.S. to adjust to life on the island. And what about the blending of languages that we know of today as “Spanglish?” What does this say about intercultural communications?

I also think it is worth considering the ramifications of an issue that has been in the news in the past few days as it pertains to our class and to our discussions of intercultural communications. A mayor of a small town in Texas has proposed a law that would make it a punishable offense to use the “N-word” when referring to people of African-American descent. The mayor of the town of Brazoria, Texas is white.

In an article that I viewed on ABC’s website, Mayor Ken Corley, said he was inspired by comments made by the Rev. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. Corley said he did not believe the use of the N-word was an issue in his town. “It is a national issue he said. “The word is used and abused…it would be great (for the town) to play a leadership role. That is a stand I have decided to take.”

Corley has asked City Council to approve an ordinance that would allow officials to fine offenders up to $500. The City Council has yet to act and of course the proposed law has already come under attack for possible infringements upon free speech. Other critics say you can’t fine people for being stupid, while others feel it may unfairly target whites and not take into account African-Americans who may use the “N-word” among themselves. I think there’s plenty of food for thought here within the realm of intercultural communications. I’m attaching the link to this article so that if you like, you can read it in full.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/print?id=2822656

posted by Ronnie @ 12:21 PM