Week Five Final Assignment

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Jan 9, 2024

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Week Five Final Assignment Nikki Spears COM370: Intercultural Communication Instructor Caleb Lamont December 4, 2023

When discussing an individual's identity, there are numerous area that one could deem vital to their identity. There are various components that go into making up each of our unique identities; some people may view their religion, class, or nationality as integral parts of who they are. Everyone is a member of various subcultures, such as the job or school subcultures, which frequently have a significant impact on an individual's identity as well. Culture can be difficult to define as each person views culture differently. The way I understand it, intercultural communication is the way people communicate with others who may be of a different culture and how culture affects the way we communicate. Jandt (2018) explains that culture includes the symbols, values, rituals, norms, and traditions within a group. The culture grows when the older generations share their culture with the newer, younger generations. This is how traditions are continued within a culture. Doing an interview with someone, even someone you know well, can help you learn a lot about a person. An interview with someone, especially an interview about one’s culture can teach us a lot about intercultural communication. For example, when I conducted my interview, I learned that my fiancée, Jerry, finds that he has an easier time communicating with people of other cultures than I do because of his upbringing. He explained that because he was in a military family that moved often, he learned a lot about how to communicate without judging others. For this interview, I interviewed my fiancée. We have been dating for almost four years, and doing this interview has increased my knowledge of both him and our cultural backgrounds. I gained a deeper understanding of him as a result of the questions posed, since his responses explained to me the reasons behind his actions and the development of his character. Because he is conscious of and values his cultural background, he was easy to interview. I enjoyed doing his

interview because we shared a lot of differences which was interesting to learn about from him. I also feel that he learned a lot because he had to think about things he never considered before regarding his culture. My fiancée, Jerry is a white American man who is 33 years old. He comes from Irish descent and is very aware of his culture, however he has gained even more knowledge about his culture since the interview. He is a manager at Walmart which means he spends a lot of time at work at least five days a week. His work is probably his most important subculture. He is also an avid gamer and plays various video games when he has the chance. He plays online and has a lot of gaming friends he plays with regularly. He also grew up in a military family which means that he moved around a lot growing up and experienced various cultures. He has been to different countries and has seen more of the world than I could ever imagine. The first question I asked Jerry was about his first childhood memory and how that reflected his culture or subculture. He explained that he had a memory of going skiing with his dad when he was around four years old. He said that this will be a memory that he remembers forever as this is when he gained his love for the outdoors. I then asked how this reflected his culture or subculture. At first, he didn’t know how to answer, so I helped him understand what the question was asking. He then agreed that this was part of his culture because his community in Montanna and living in the mountains was when he was the happiest and it helped him grow in his love for nature. The next question which was asked was about the government, transportation, economic system, and education system when he was younger. He explained that he was homeschooled, so until he was older and started meeting individuals who attended public schools, he didn't know as much about the educational system. He also explained that it was then that he realized

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how different his circumstances were from theirs. Jerry said that the economics wasn't something he paid much attention to growing up, but he does remember that his family wasn't wealthy and that they had a lot of financial struggles since his mom homeschooled the kids and his dad didn't make much money from the military at that time. I then asked him how being homeschooled affected his ability to communicate with others once he got older. He explained that because he didn’t socialize with many peers as a child, he suffered from social anxiety for a long time. He had a difficult time learning to open up to people and being confident when socializing. He explained that it got easier as he got older, but he always felt like an outsider because he didn’t have the same experience as the other children he knew outside of his siblings. I asked Jerry what has changed in the United States with language, religion, family customs, etc. from childhood to adulthood. He said that a great deal has changed since he was a child. The greatest shift in the last thirty years has been the increased acceptance of individuals from all backgrounds and lifestyles. Unfortunately, he believes there are less close-knit families nowadays that share stories about their lives over dinner. Children gain so much from these intimate bonds between family members. I asked Jerry about how his religion affected his culture. He explained that his family was religious when he was growing up, however it was not a major part of their life. He was raised in the Christian faith, but he had a terrible experience that led him to leaving that religion. He now follows a Norse Pagan religion and follows the God named Odin. I then asked how his gender has affected his culture and communication skills. He mentioned that he never really thought about this until we previously discussed it. Since women

have endured so much at the hands of men, he does believe that he needs to communicate with them with even more caution and mindfulness. Jerry said “I make an effort to be mindful of the fact that many women are not as trusting of guys.” I think this is very important because he is right, women are not often very trusting of women. This assignment has taught me a lot about culture and how even knowing someone for nearly four years, when you start to talk deeply about culture, you will learn a lot about a person. Knowing about a person’s culture can help you understand their behavior and what makes them who they are as a person. Culture is valuable and is a big part of us as individuals.

References: Jandt, F. E. (2018). An introduction to intercultural communication: Identities in a global community (9th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

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Week Five Final Assignment

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