Starting with Culture

There are two primary ways in which culture has been identified and studied - as a structure and as a  transaction.  The most common approach is to view culture as a "national" structure.  The structural study of culture focuses on large-scale differences in values, beliefs, goals and preferred ways of acting among nations, regions, ethnicities and religions.  Obviously, there are limitations with the broad and simple nature of this approach, but it has also provided a wealth of information about what happens when cultures meet by providing a better understanding of different groups and improving interactions.  From a communication point of view, we can study how all members of a structural or national group practice national beliefs, values, and behaviors along with communication patterns and styles.

The second approach to studying intercultural communication is focused on the transactional communication model introduced in chapter 1.  The transactional study of culture focuses on the conformity of culture through the communication, interactions, contexts, and relationships that senders/receivers have with others in daily life.  In this approach, values, beliefs, and behaviors is being transacted as a meaning system in communication therefore it leaves room to explore how styles of communication serve to include and/or exclude people within a culture.

Both approaches offer insights into our quest for greater understanding of intercultural communication.  Both approaches also come with limitations that can hinder the understanding of intercultural communication.  In an introductory course, it makes sense to broadly consider both approaches to add a richer depth to our exploration of communication across cultural boundaries.