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.