Final Summary

An Intercultural Communication Summary

By Nolan DeBord

Introduction

            Before even starting this project I could honestly say that I had no idea that I had my own cultural identity.  I didn’t know that the things that I am involved in and things that define who I am as an American and person were my own cultural identity.  Some of the things that I felt defined my cultural identity were my religion, involvement in the military, and the region that I call home.  The most important of these that led me to my topic on cultural identity was my religion.  I have been an active Methodist my whole life but did not know that much of other religions.  Even the ones that were in some way related to mine.  I chose Judaism because is an actively practiced religion here in the U.S. and I knew little about it.  When choosing Judaism I had no idea how I was going to approach a topic for the project until I conducted interviews and actually got to interact with people who are currently practicing.

Analysis on Intercultural Relationships

            After completing my last interview was the point where discovered that a lot of my data was  centered around intercultural relationships and communicating with peers, coworkers and fellow students about their religious identity.  In regards to the text, my approach to the research was an Interpretive approach because of the emphasis on communication.(Martin/Nakayama 2010)  The focus from the text that was emphasized most in my research was self-disclosure, which is when an individual reveals information about themselves that can possibly make or break relationships.  The text describes this as a “turning point”. (Martin/Nakayama 2010)  Brenda J. Allen gives an example of this from the perspective of the interpretive approach by explaining an instance when a close friend revealed, or self-disclosed, her sexual identity as gay.  Through her experience she said “Thanks to Anna, I have become far more sensitive and enlightened.”  What is interesting is that this directly coordinates with the benefits that are received from intercultural relationships. These benefits are acquiring knowledge, breaking down stereotypes, and acquiring new communication skills and competency.

            Through my interviews I noticed that one of the most important things in the Jewish community in regards to intercultural relationships was breaking stereotypes.  As I am sure, some of us have probably heard some of them.  Through communicating and interacting in the Jewish community I could see this come alive in myself.  In no way am I saying that I had previous built up stereotypes but I could see that those that people hear are most certainly not true and thus increasing my knowledge about society as a whole.

            One of the subjects I touched on in my interview was disclosing this information in the workplace.  Like I have said in my previous blog, my interviewees described this as a place where your religious views are definitely not needed.  The only time it is necessary to disclose information about your religious identity is when it comes to requesting time off.  Now, I wouldn’t say it conflicts with the text we are given but it is a subject that I feel wasn’t evaluated in our textbook.  The aspect of religious identity is much different than that of people who have no way of avoiding disclosing their identity.  What I mean by this is that it is impossible to sometimes hide race and ethnicity.  When it comes to diversity in the work place a person’s nationality can automatically be known just by the way one talks or looks.  At this point I believe it is necessary to disclose the information one is comfortable with just so there is an understanding between co-workers.  In a perfect society this wouldn’t matter at all but it is obvious that we are from that along with all the rest of the world.

My Own Thoughts

            Through this project I have learned that communication and intercultural relationships is something that everyone needs to have some knowledge in.  People need to be aware of their needs and the needs of others and be conscious about this.  Through my project on religious identity I realized how sensitive of a subject this can really be.  Religion can be very personal to someone and be an extremely important part of their life as well.  In regards to personal advice the only thing I can say is that you really cannot judge a book by its cover.  Until you talk to them and get to know them there is no way of knowing there personality or the things that make them unique just like the rest of us.  To improve communication competence the first thing would be to acquire knowledge.  This is knowledge about yourself as well as people around you. (Martin/Nakayma 2012)  With knowledge about cultures and communication combined you can form intercultural relationships that are beneficial to both parties.  Overall, I have discovered a lot about myself and people that actively practice Judaism.  This project has increased my communication skills as a whole in a way that will for sure benefit me for the rest of my life.

I found this video to be very informative on Relgious Diversity as well as having some extremely interesting facts.  I hope you enjoy it.

References:

Martin, J., & Nakayama, T. (2010). Intercultural Communication in Contexts. New York: McGraw Hill.

Intercultural Relationships and Self-Disclosure

Intercultural Relationships and Self-Disclosure

A study by Nolan DeBord

            No matter what culture you call yours, friendship and relationships are always valued.  With this being a country of a grand variety of different cultures it is safe to say that the majority of us are involved in several intercultural relationships.  In fact, with the definition of culture being expanded in my mind through our text you could say that just about all relationships are intercultural.  While conducting my research on Judaism I found this to be a topic most touched on through observation and certainly through my interviews.  Intercultural relationships are formed between individuals from different cultures. (Martin/Nakayama,2010)  In the context I will be speaking about these intercultural relationships are in regards to religious identity.

            Through my process of interviews I analyzed the responses to several questions in regards to intercultural relationships from two Rabbi’s and a recent Georgetown graduate.  To make this more applicable to us as students, a lot of these questions were centered on a college setting.  Majority of the questions I asked received a lot of the same responses which leads me to believe that the data I have collected is fairly accurate with intercultural relationships envolving from the Jewish community.

Communication in an Intercultural Friendship

            Some of the benefits of intercultural relationships are acquiring knowledge about the world, breaking stereotypes, and acquiring new skills. (Martin/Nakayama,2010)  When I asked which was most important to my interviewee’s the same response I got for all three was breaking stereotypes.   Rabbi Lewis explained that stereotypes prevent people from having an understanding about a culture, and when engaging in an intercultural relationship more often than not people find that most stereotypes are not true and that everyone is different and should not be labeled by their religious preference.  When engaging in a relationship with someone it can, at times, be necessary for there to be an understanding of your views and beliefs.  Breaking stereotypes help people live together peacefully.

            This led me to what I found to be the most important topic of my interviews, self-disclosure.  Self-disclosure is revealing information about oneself. (Martin/Nakayama,2010)  In this situation it would be their religious identity.  I saw that a lot of my answers leaned to disclosing information about being Jewish.  This helped me revise a lot of my questions in further interviews.  A specific question I asked David Phillips, a recent graduate from Georgetown, was “Do you feel it’s beneficial for you to self-disclose your religious identity to enhance an intercultural relationship?”  He explained that it is important but not critical.  It helps you identify yourself in relation to others and he continued to explain that he feels that it is important to align your own identity especially in college.

            Disclosing your religious identity in a personal relationship could be very challenging.  Even for myself I feel that my religious identity is more private and the comfort level to do this is a huge factor in an intercultural relationship.  David and Rabbi Lewis explained that there can be challenges in disclosing this information especially in regards to the comfort level. The consequences they explained were that you never know how someone is going to react when you tell them you are Jewish.  It is a harsh reality but there are people in our world today that still persecute Jews and this is something that needs to be approached with caution.  So when do you feel it is absolutely necessary to disclose your religious identity?  Through all three interviews the answer I got was only in a romantic relationship. (Martin/Nakayama,2010,pg 397)  A lot of people that practice Judaism feel that it is necessary to be involved with other Jews and this can be very important when taking a friendship to a more intimate level.  Rabbi Gross also made the point that when someone criticizes you or your faith it is also necessary to make a statement of your belief to lay ground rules on your relationship with that person.

Intercultural Relationships at Work

            Since I am a college student with hopes of someday having a career I also tried to focus on the workplace as well as the college setting.  Through research I have discovered that this can be an entirely different ballgame.  My father and I have both worked with David.  The only reason I know his religious identity is because of his relationship with my Dad.  I asked him if he felt it was necessary for people to disclose their religious identity at work and if it benefits them as he described it does in college.  “I am disposed to disclosing that information at work” said David.   He explained that except for in situations where time off is needed it is not necessary.  The work place needs to remain professional and only on that basis.  If you choose to create friendship, that is on your own terms and should be handled outside of work.  Rabbi Gross and Lewis both agreed that an intercultural relationship that involves religious identity is neither relevant nor needed in the workplace.

Conclusion

            This project has opened my eyes on a personal level.  I have had the privilege to interact and conduct interviews with people and shed light on a culture that I did not know much about.  Intercultural relationships without a doubt are the backbone to most American friendships.  The melting pot we live in is indescribable.  We all have different traditions, history, and religions yet we all live together and aim for the same goal in life which is to interact in a certain way or achieve a certain thing in our society.  I hope that one day culture and religion are a non-issue and we can all enhance our knowledge through intercultural communication and friendship.

References:

Lewis, Rabbi. Personal Interview. 7 March. 2012

Gross, Rabbi. Personal Interview. 5 March. 2012

Phillips, David. Personal Interview.  2 March 2012

Martin, J. N., & Nakayama T. K. (2009). Intercultural communication in contexts (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Introduction Blog

            Through observing my own cultural identity it has allowed me to take a look at myself from a perspective that I had never thought to do.  I realized what is important to me and the things that build me and my personality to make me who I am.  It is obvious that one of the things that I consider very important in my life is my religion, or my “religious identity.’  Religious identity as described in Intercultural Communication in Contexts by Judith N. Martin and Thomas K. Nakayama, is a sense of belonging to a religious group.  The religious group I identify with is Christianity or Methodist to be more specific.  With this being close to me I felt that it was necessary for me to expand my knowledge on another religious identity.

            Religion has been the cause of wars and conflict since the beginning of time.  We are fortunate to live in a place that gives you the freedom to practice any religion you choose.  In our culture people identify with many different religions, but in our society most people do identify as Christian.  For this reason, I have chosen to expand my knowledge and find out the history and culture of one of these religions that is practiced by many in our country. 

            The religion I have chosen is Judaism.  I chose Judaism for the fact that it ties into Christianity and also because my knowledge is extremely limited on the subject.  The Old Testament is collection books that was the original Bible before the start of the New Testament.  The beginning of Judaism is described in the first 5 books of the Old Testament.  It describes how God began his relationship with the chosen people who were the Jews.  He also chose Abraham to be the father of these chosen people and lead them according to God’s will.

            With the opportunity of this project to research this subject, I will expand my knowledge on Judaism as well as the Old Testament of the Bible.  I plan to enlighten myself on the history of Judaism as well as their culture in modern society.  My hopes are to be able to apply this project to my own identity and build on the knowledge I am going to gain.

Below is a link to a you tube video I found that was a great introduction for my research:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buhBtLWzSUU&feature=related

References:

Martin, J.N., & Nakayam, T.K. (2010). Intercultural Communication in Contexts (5^th Edition ed). New York, NY: McGraww-Hill.

History of Judaism (n.d.). In BBC Religions. Retrieved July 1, 2009, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/history/history_1.shtml

Culture Identity Video