Culture And Communication

Focusing on three primary systems of communication, spoken, written and visual, the authors outline the key concepts and skills in the fields of communication studies, cultural studies and textual studies.

This introductory textbook of culture and communication shows students how to use language as a tool to reveal cultural phenomena.

Edmund Leach's book investigates the writings of 'structuralists,' and their different theories: the general incest theory and of animal sacrifice. This book is designed for the use of teaching undergraduates in anthropology, linguistics, literary studies, philosophy and related disciplines faced with structuralist argument. It provides the prolegomena necessary to understand the final chapter of Levi-Strauss's massive four-volume Mythologiques. Some prior knowledge of anthropological literature is useful but not essential. The principal ethnographic source is the Book of Leviticus; this guide should help anyone who is trying to grasp the essentials of 'seminology' - the general theory of how signs and symbols come to convey meaning. The author's core thesis is that: 'the indices in non-verbal communication systems, like the sound elements in spoken language, do not have meaning as isolates, but only as members of set'; the book's special merit is that it makes this kind of jargon comprehensible in terms of our everyday experience.

Today, students are more familiar with other cultures than ever before because of the media, Internet, local diversity, and their own travels abroad. Using a social constructionist framework, Inter/Cultural Communication provides today's students with a rich understanding of how culture and communication affect and effect each other. Weaving multiple approaches together to provide a comprehensive understanding of and appreciation for the diversity of cultural and intercultural communication, this text helps students become more aware of their own identities and how powerful their identities can be in facilitating change—both in their own lives and in the lives of others.

Carey's seminal work joins central issues in the field and redefines them. It will force the reader to think in new and fruitful ways about such dichotomies as transmissions vs. ritual, administrative vs. critical, positivist vs. marxist, and cultural vs. power-orientated approaches to communications study. An historically inspired treatment of major figures and theories, required reading for the sophisticated scholar' - George Gerbner, University of Pennsylvania ...offers a mural of thought with a rich background, highlighted by such thoughts as communication being the 'maintenance of society in time'. - Cast/Communication Booknotes These essays encompass much more than a critique of an academic discipline. Carey's lively thought, lucid style, and profound scholarship propel the reader through a wide and varied intellectual landscape, particularly as these issues have affected Modern American thought. As entertaining as it is enlightening, Communication as Culture is certain to become a classic in its field.

A textbook for students in Japanese, communication, or international studies, assuming no previous background in Japanese language or culture. Donahue (Japanese studies, Nagoya Gakuin U., Japan) first surveys the perceptual barriers to communicating between Japan and North America, then examines the Japanese communication style, differences in discourse, and images of the Japanese in the mass media. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Conflict, Culture and Communication provides a coherent, research-informed overview of conflict and intercultural communication. Aimed at encouraging and enabling conflict prevention, this book contributes to a better understanding of the factors that create, foster and exacerbate conflict in intercultural interaction and discusses how conflict can be handled, managed and resolved once it has manifested. Furthermore, this book: Critically assesses the repercussions of prevalent conflict management approaches, providing insights into best practices and sustainable conflict resolution outcomes. Combines insights from multiple disciplines and cultures, including Asia, Europe, Oceania, and North and South America, in order to arrive at a holistic and balanced understanding of the complexities inherent in negotiating conflict across cultural contexts. Avoids cultural stereotyping by discussing both between-culture variation and within-culture variation. Conflict, Culture and Communication is essential reading for students and researchers of applied linguistics, communication studies and international business, as well as anyone interested in learning more about this growing area.

An analysis of the extent to which culture plays a part in communication. This title explores topics such as context and culture in theoretical issues in intercultural communication, and incorporates a number of case studies from East and West German communication, collaboration and pleasure at work, and negotiation to address the relation of culture to communication.