Cada día es más patente la multiculturalidad de Alcalá. Una ciudad con una tradición como la nuestra, en la que convivieron las tres culturas en el pasado, es normal que hoy siga siendo un importante núcleo intercultural.

Este fin de semana se celebra en la plaza de Cervantes la Feria Intercultural. Actuaciones y casetas de los diferentes centros y asociaciones culturales de la ciudad para dar a conocer las diferentes culturas, costumbres y productos.

Another great talk from TED, this one just up today from TED India.

Devdutt Pattanaik of Future Group aims to explain common misperceptions and misunderstandings between Indians and westerners. To do so, he takes a look at the mythology that underlies western and Indian culture. He explains why western linear thinking isn’t a universal logic, why there is no concept of harmony in Indian music – and he tells the story of Alexander, the conqueror, and the Gymnosophist, a naked wise man, who thought of each other as fools.

Watch the clip here

Una vez, mientras estudiaba la asignatura de Sociología, leí que el capitalismo y las Nuevas Tecnologías habían encontrado su marco base en la democracia. Este sistema era el estanque en el que estas dos ranitas querían nadar por siempre, según el manual. Al principio no entendí por qué. Con el tiempo voy entendiendo.

El capitalismo, porque los inversores quieren unas reglas claras, a las que se tenga que atener todo el mundo, incluido el propio gobierno. ¿Cómo invierto yo mi dinero en un país controlado por un dictador, si precisamente por serlo el año que viene le puede dar un ataque de originalidad y expropiarme la fábrica que tanto dinero me ha costado? Por supuesto, hay excepciones para esto.

Pero esto también es así para las Nuevas Tecnologías.
Hoy estaba yo hablando con una compañera acerca de Living Heritage, el sistema de almacenamiento de entrevistas que estamos desarrollando en la Youth.

- David, creo que esto debería funcionar así
- ¡No me digas! ¿De veras crees que esa opción es mejor que la mía?

El sistema consiste en entrevistas almacenadas en una base de datos, que han sido realizadas por gente joven a gente mayor que vivió la época soviética. Busca un acercamiento entre generaciones. En las ex-republicas soviéticas la brecha generacional es enorme debido a la marca que dejó el Telón de Acero.
Mi propuesta era que los propios alumnos subieran las entrevistas a la base de datos y luego fuera un profesor/coordinador, como se quiera llamar, llamémosle editor, quien visionara ese contenido y decidiera si puede ser publicado y por tanto consultado por cualquier internauta o si, por el contrario, por ser inadecuado, incompleto o por cualquier otra razón, era mejor desecharlo o mantenerlo privado dentro de la base de datos hasta nueva orden.

La propuesta de mi compañera consistía en que los alumnos no pudieran mandar contenido a la base de datos. Deberían meterlo todo en un CD y dárselo a un profesor, que se lo daría a un coordinador, que revisaría el contenido y decidiría si se manda a la base de datos o no.
- Pero, vamos a ver, escucha: si el contenido no es público hasta que ha sido validado, ¿qué más te da que esté en la base de datos a que esté en un CD?
- No sé, David, creo que prefiero que haya un control sobre ese contenido

Con mi sistema cualquier alumno puede mandar información a la base de datos desde cualquier equipo con conexión a internet de manera intantánea. Con el suyo la broma puede suponer dos o tres semanas de espera. Con mi sistema cualquier editor del país puede validar ese contenido. Con el suyo cada alumno depende de su editor en cuestión, y de los profesores por cuyas manos haya de pasar el contenido antes de llegar a ese editor, con el riesgo de que el CD en cuestión se pierda, sea robado, etc.

¿Cuál es la diferencia para que le interese la segunda opción?
Sí hay una diferencia. La información está en un soporte tangible. En un DVD. Y no va a llegar a ninguna base de datos hasta que un editor la mande. Hay muchos problemas respecto a esto, como ya he mencionado, pero en principio esto da una imagen de control. Ficticio, pero control. Tienes la información en tus manos, y no te la van a quitar (o eso crees). Es la mentalidad soviética.

En un mundo en que las Nuevas Tecnologías buscan agilizar procesos para hacer más cosas en menos tiempo puede haber momentos en que se deje de lado el control (o sólo parezca dejarse de lado, aunque no sea así) en pro de una mayor agilidad para hacer las cosas. La mentalidad soviética, del gusto por la burocracia, de la necesidad de ejercer un estrecho control sobre los procesos y demás es, por tanto, opuesta al salto que cada día ofrecen las Nuevas Tecnologías. Me costará mucho convencer a esta compañera de que el sistema funcionará mejor con mi propuesta que con la suya, si es que lo consigo.

Y esto, hablamos de una persona licenciada, con buen nivel de inglés y experiencia en trabajo con profesionales de otras partes del mundo. Me resulta bastante ilustrativo observar su visión del proyecto, en cuanto a relación entre Tecnologías de la Información y mentalidad post-soviética.,

_Abstract

A maior parte da pesquisa feita nas culturas media opera num enquadramento “nacional-territorial”. As culturas media são consideradas como culturas nacionais e as outras formas de cultura media ( por exemplo a cultura do jornalismo profissional, diásporas, cultura das celebridades,etc.) não são investigadas no seu carácter “deterritorial”. Mas são exactamente essas formas “deterritoriais” da cultura dos media que estão a ganhar relevância na constante globalização dos media: têm então de ser colocadas no centro dos media comparativos e da pesquisa na comunicação. Começando com esta consideração, este artigo desenvolve uma perspectiva transcultural na pesquisa das culturas media. Dentro desta perspectiva torna-se possível conduzir comparativamente a pesquisa nas culturas media nacionais (territoriais) como noutras formas presentes das culturas media (deterritoriais), sendo que esta perspectiva faz mover os processos  de construção e articulação culturais como foco da sua análise. Para se chegar a um melhor entendimento desta perspectiva, as “culturas media” são definidas como um fenómeno translocal nas suas próprias relações territoriais e deterritoriais. Baseado nisto, a “semântica” duma perspectiva de pesquisa transcultural é delineada, o que torna possível formular princípios práticos para alcançar uma pesquisa comparativa qualitativa dentro deste modo de a pensar.

_link Transculturality as a Perspective: Researching Media Cultures Comparatively

___________________________________________________________

Neste artigo, Andreas Hepp (presentemente professor na Universidade de Bremen, Alemanha) propõe  esta perspectiva de pesquisa e estudo comparativo das culturas media. Explica-nos por etapas como se desenrola este processo:

“_First, data has to be structured in cases of social entities, as for example, individuals (combining different person-related data sources like interviews, media diaries etc.), organizations (combining different organizational related data sources like interviews with different person, group discussion transcripts, observation protocols etc.) or similar entities.

_Second, the process of comparing these different cases transculturally follows by categorizing different cultural patterns. The important point here is to be open to different cultural mappings; having a careful view on the question whether a certain pattern is, for example, national-specific, transculturally stable or characteristic of a deterritorial community, like for example a diaspora, a political or religious movement.

_Third, the results of this comparison are structured along the variety of the differently occurring cultural thickenings, for instance, either on a territorial level (region, nation) or on a deterritorial level (different kinds of deterritorialized translocal communities)—or at the level of patterns that are stable across them.”

e não só pela análise per se, mas também com princípios básicos que permitem uma crítica multi-perspectivada:

_1º princípio – “focusing on the construction processes of cultural articulation

(…)”the media” themselves are constructed by certain cultural patterns as part of the “center.” In additional, further patterns of “centering” media cultures exist: for example, of centering the “national-territorial” in national media cultures, the “deterritorial-religious” in transnational religious movements, the “global popular” in popular cultural communities and so on. The outlined non-essentialistic approach of analyzing media cultures makes it possible to focus such implicit processes of “centering” as it does not set certain main variables at the beginning.”

_2º princípio – “focusing on the relation of cultural patterns and questions of power

Emphasizing “centering” aspects within construction processes of cultural articulation already provides a link to questions of power, as the building of a “cultural center” is always a power force. But also beyond these “centering” aspects patterns within media cultures can be related to power: certain cultural patterns open chances of hegemony or domination, others not. Consequently, the second principle means to reflect how far analyzed cultural patterns are related to power relations within media cultures, but also how far they open or close certain spaces of agency in everyday life.”

_3º princípio – ” the integration of all this in a multi-perspectival description.

Thus, when comparing transculturally different perspectives on thickenings of media cultures, one can analyze their processes of cultural articulation and power relations. Because of that, the aim of a multi-perspectival critique cannot be mono-semizing this complexity. Moreover an analytical description should make the different cultures in their power-related inconsistency accessible, especially when comparing them with each other.”

Esta proposta de análise das culturas media é importante e reveladora de várias questões, a meu ver muitas vezes esquecidas, como a dimensão cultural e religiosa bem como da definição de territórios específicos dentro desses próprios territórios. É um pouco confuso relacionar estes territórios e estas culturas mas esta perspectiva metódica traz uma mais valia na pesquisa que se segue dentro desta análise dos novos media.

_Notas

_Para uma perspectiva global dos diferentes projectos desenvolvidos pela  German Research Foundation (DFG) e a União Europeia (UE) ver http://www.imki.uni-bremen.de/

_Palavras-chave

media culture; intercultural communication; international communication; transcultural communication; comparison; media globalization; qualitative media research; critique; cultural studies; cultural analysis

Hello everybody, we’re back, as happy and as full of ideas and initiatives as always! For a 2-3 days we will improve our blog, but in the meantime you can enjoy a shot montage that speak both about our past and future projects! Non of this would be possible withought the support of ‘Youth in action’ Europe and D.G. Educatie si Cultura Programul Tineri in Actiune, Romania!

Music: Fleur-de-Lis ”Todas as ruas do amor”- Portugal

Why does it amaze me that things like this still happen? We’re supposed to be so enlightened, ushered in to a new age of racial friendship by President McNobelPrize, the deeply-rooted problems of this country solved miraculously over a Bud.

And yet. And yet.

I have a son. He’s mixed. He’s not remotely Mexican (and even if he were, should that matter?), but he could be walking home one day with his white girlfriend and be beaten senseless by “good kids”. Track stars. 4.0 GPAs.

And it terrifies me.

I hear statements from my students so many times, running the gamut of misinformed to shockingly prejudiced. But these are students from other countries, some having herded camels as recently as last week, from societies rife with tribal warfare and barbarically- enforced religious law.

This is not that place. These are not those people (yes, I know, and even if they were….).

I hear so many people say with such conviction that we’re all blank slates- born with nothing but goodness, sweetness, and an evolutionary predisposition to do good and save the earth. Babies are born good, right? Full of potential, only lacking a little “pruning”, straight little shoots going right up toward the sun.

So explain this. What do you do when kids with such stable backgrounds, such middle-America ethos, such blond-crew-cut upbringings- with everything in the world going for them, beat a man into the ground?

And how, as parents, do we prepare our kids for this? How did the parents of these kids prepare them?

And how do I prepare myself?

Since it is Fall Break, I have been catching up with reading John Howard Yoder’s For The Nations: Essays Public and Evangelical and I found an interesting critique by Yoder of cases for human rights grounded in natural law and creation narratives.

To be ‘in Christ’ through baptism means to have entered this new history. Interethnic reconciliation is a part of redemption.  It is not a social idealism supported by an appeal to creation or reason.  It is the result of the cross.

(page 44).

Now, we have probably have heard time and time again that the Founders were for the most part, deists, with a few exceptions, and deism constantly refers to creation accounts and a non-intervening God much like in process theology and Intelligent design. But this approach has significant implications for race relations. Yoder continues,

According to an ancient American document, as you well know, we are supposed to hold it to be a self-evident truth that all “men” are equal by creation. We could of course dwell on more than one shortcoming of that revolutionary vision. “All men,” when that declaration was trumpeted across the Atlantic in 1776, did not include women or black or red men or poor men. Nor is the notion of creation endowing creatures with rights self-evident. But the more fundamental error is that people are in fact not equal by creation. Every well-established understanding of creation in the roots of our culture has seen it as explaining not how we are the same but how we are different. Slaveholders in the antebellum South of this country, Africkaners in the Republic of South Africa, and Ian Paisley in Belfast have all rooted their ethnic separatism in a doctrine of creation. [..] According to the apostolic witness, interethnic harmony is a work not of creation but of redemption.

(page 45)

I have found that many process theologians and liberal Christians point to the Creation stories in Genesis to argue for equality and this is mistaken, as complementarian Christians have suggested. Original human equality was disrupted with the fall of humanity, first with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Arguments grounded in the imago Dei are mistaken if their image of God excludes the narrative of our Messiah from that doctrine. Yes, all human being are created equal and are equally made in the image of God, but we also have to be conformed to the image of God as the apostolic tradition informs us from the letter to the Colossus and Paul’s letter to the Roman church. The Son of God broke every barrier on the cross, across racial, ethnic, gender, and class lines, tearing down the walls of division and inhumanity, in order to establish a new humanity. Our humanity is not a given from nature; our humanity is a gift from the Redeemer God.

Acesta este noul meu blogusor. Nu puteam sa stau eu prea mult fara sa scriu, asa ca iaca-ta-ma. Pentru ca momentan sunt imigranta in Spania, inca una dintre cei multi, a capatat numele asta.

Sa fii imigrant roman e greu oriunde, mai ales in Spania sau Italia unde s-au saturat astia pana peste cap de noi. Pentru ca am avut niste probleme cu actele, anul asta va trebui sa muncesc si sa-mi aman masterul pentru la anu. Dar nu-i bai ca niste banuti in plus si putina experienta nu strica niciodata. Asta presupune insa, sa ma invart intr-un mediu putin atipic mie, printre oameni care toata viata au facut munca de jos si care sunt mult mai in varsta decat mine.

Problema cea mai mare este ca ma confrunt cu prejudecatile bastinasilor. Lumea din mediul asta nu prea judeca oamenii dupa caracter, majoritatea sunt romani si atat. Trebuie sa recunosc totusi ca faptul ca am studii superioare imi ofera oarecare privilegii. Oamenii nu se grabesc sa ma eticheteze si unii din ei imi acorda prezumptia de nevinovatie.

In cateva cuvinte inainte sa ma culc, cea mai inalta in grad daca se poate spune asa, adica sefa de sala este o romanca. Are 28 de ani, a fost casatorita, inainte a muncit in Italia si stie spaniola de la telenovele. Cred ca asta spune totul. Nu ma grabesc sa o judec, desi o idee mi-am facut despre ea, problema este ca lumea nu prea o sufera si pt k eu sunt tot romanca, risc sa mi-o cam iau pe coaja la nivel de socializare interculturala.

Am o colega lesbiana sau bisexuala, Dumnezeu stie ce e si cred k i-am picat cu tronc, lucru care ma sperie.  Iar colegii mei, eu sunt cea mai mica, cel mai batran are 60 si, media de varsta cred k e undeva la 30, sunt ahtiati dupa sex. Nush dak asa or fi toti spaniolii, da’ astia isi baga limbile in urechi una doua si asta ma face sa fiu mereu in garda.

By Steven G. Mehta

It’s as easy as 1-2-3 you say.  Well that may not be so easy if you are dealing with intercultural communications.  I recently read some research on that highlighted the importance of intercultural communications.  Negotiations are often fraught with problems anyway.  Adding the additional element of intercultural differences can make it extremely difficult to deal with

In a recent study by the University of Alberta’s Elena Nicoladis, an experimental psychologist, and Simone Pika, a lecturer at the University of Manchester, the researchers highlighted the simple issue of counting as creating an intercultural fiasco.   The article, published in the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, examines cultural differences in the use of hand gestures that could lead to miscommunications or misunderstandings.

Nicoladis and colleagues studied one and two-hand counting gestures and cultural differences between Germans and French and English Canadians. While the majority of Germans use their thumb to begin to sequentially count, the majority of Canadians, both French and English, use their index finger as the numerical kick-off point when counting with their hands.

This simple difference can create major communications errors.  For example, Nicoladis recounted one small problem when she was traveling.  “I asked for directions on the U-Bahn to an older woman and she told me to get off in four stops, so I said, ‘ja, vier’ and held up my four fingers,” she said. “She went off on a tirade saying ‘nein, nein, vier’ and held up the conventional gesture (using her thumb and three fingers).” The differentiation is because, in Germany for instance, the thumb is automatically counted as a numerical value. Thus, Nicoladis was showing five digits instead of four.

Knowledge of this small difference could have also saved the life of an British spy in Quentin Tarantino’s new film Inglourious Basterds; in which a character, an English army officer posing as a German SS captain, is exposed when he orders drinks without using his thumb in the count. He and his colleagues are shot for his faux pas.

While seasoned travellers will often research local customs and social practices to acclimatize themselves to life in their destination of choice, the same must be done when negotiating with people from different cultures.

There are several strategies that can be placed before negotiating with someone from a different culture.

First, remember there are NO STEREOTYPES.  Any information you obtain regarding a culture should be evaluated in the context of the individual.  Relying on stereotypes can be dangerous.

Second, understand that culture does make a difference in how people view the world.  Culture, by the way, is not just a different ethnographic background.  But it can the norms of different groups.  For example, real estate negotiations are different than legal negotiations.  Medical Malpractice negotiations are different than divorce.  Each group can be considered a culture and can have an affect on the negotiation.

Third, conduct research about the culture.  Learn about its history, its art, its sayings, and its beliefs.  What is important to the people from that culture. For example, the Chinese culture is hierarchical, whereas the American society is less so.  Indian history reveals a caste system that has affected the people of that culture.

Fourth, develop a plan of attack that takes into consideration the negotiating research and the cultural norms.  For example, some cultures do not like to get straight down to business; whereas others, like Americans, do.

Fifth, trust your instinct if something seems amiss, it probably is.  Step back and evaluate why.  Is it cultural?

Sixth, build in times or spots where you can take a timeout that you can use to evaluate the new information and reconsider whether your responses and moves are appropriate.

Finally, maintain flexibility at all times.  Don’t just be locked into one course of conduct.

Research Source:

University of Alberta (2009, September 30). Ein, Zwei, Molson Dry? Researcher Says Hand Gesturing To Count In Foreign Countries Can Be Tricky. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 30, 2009

(continuation of My Culture Shock Experience)

I was happy at first, then I found the difficulty of adjustment and challenges, and as a result I’m considering returning to the Philippines. As soon I experienced the different stages of culture shock (I’m not even aware) and found different ways to cope up. I learned and adapted some of the culture and happy to live in Taiwan.

Pederson (1995) has described culture shock as a five- stage process:
1. Honeymoon (2-8 weeks) – The first and second paragraph are very common to a person traveling for the very first time, the feeling of excitement. Some people might even miss it.
2. Disintegration (2-3 months) – The third paragraph of the case were the reason why a person moves to a new country, the real situation. This stage then begins the real culture shock.
3. Reintegration (3-6 months) – The last paragraph shows the determination to work things out and get things done soon, the positive attitude.
4. Adjustment (6- 8 months) – The gradual adjustment continues toward autonomy and seeing “good” and “bad” elements in both the home and new culture.
5. Interdependence (9 -12 months) – the person achieved biculturalism by becoming able to cope comfortably in both home and new cultures.

In dealing with new culture we can face it with either of two basic attitudes. First consists of understanding and acceptance. The second is rejection and culture shock. A lot of research provided different suggestions on how to treat culture shock. Adapting another culture and getting to know the people in a host country will depend on a person. The sooner of understanding, the sooner the culture shock will disappear. In my case, it took me six months before I do something to integrate to a new culture.

There are three possible solutions, the advantages and disadvantages after analyzing the case. First, “I could quit the job and just return home to my country and enjoy the support of the family and friends. I could eat the food that I used to eat, and then my energy will soon recover. But I will always know that I’m a quitter, and may regret this decision later in life”. Second, “I just continue what I am doing and hoping the situation will improve”. This attitude is already in the stage of adjustment, the last stage will occur soon. Doing nothing maybe good chance things will improve. Third, I could seek help regarding difficulties in adjusting. I didn’t bother to ask help in the beginning since I don’t know that emotional stress that I’m encountering was symptoms of culture shock. I always told myself, I have enough English to converse, but in reality I did not know the culture. Integration to a new culture is very difficult to achieve because my norms and values aren’t ready yet by that time. When we relate to another culture, we need to understand the people and their language. If language is the soul of every culture, so let it be. If we don’t have a command of the language, especially for adults, we’re just like children. We have to ask someone to show us what to do and do all the talking for us. Then we become frustrated.

In my experience, getting to know Taiwanese people helped me get over culture shock. Learning the language of the host country is vital. It was difficult, especially for the adult. This task alone is quiet enough to cause frustration and anxiety, no matter how good my teacher was. But once I started communicating with people around me specially buying things alone, I did not only gain confidence but also a feeling of pride, the meaning of culture shock was clearer to me. I began to find that not only what and how people do things but also what their interests are. In return, I share and teach Taiwanese people who are curious of my culture.

In human resource manager perspective, orientations could offer information regarding culture shock and cultural transitions. During orientation, sessions could offer new employee an opportunity to describe their experiences. The sessions could then provide information about coping strategies for the transition period. Mentoring is one good suggestion that should intentionally focus on new hire’s cultural experiences. Organizations should equip enough to provide accessible and relevant support for the newcomer so that their stay in a new culture will be richer and rewarding.

References:
Chaney, L. H. & Martin, J. S. (2004). Intercultural Business Communication (2nd ed.) Prentice Hall

Pederson, P. (1995). The Five Stages of Culture Shock: Critical Incidents Around the World. London: Greenwood Press