IDENTITY AND INTERCULTURAL
COMMUNICATION
PROSPER YAO TSIKATA
P.Y. TPpppppsPPpPPPPP

SOME BASICS
Under standing who we are Approaches and Concepts
The Self and the other Social Science
Recall encounter with Dr.Winsome, Interpretive
the Jamaican lady who came to speak Critical
with us (mother Jamaican and father
Dialectical
Indian, grew up in Jamaica). Who do
people think she is in the US? Is she Gender, race/ethnicity, class,
confirmed or disconfirmed? religion, and nationality
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= Stereotype, prejudice, and
P7nuGpSQUj4 discrimination

IDENTITY MANAGEMENT
Fluid and Static Constant Interaction
Impression management (spin
control, damage control, frontstage
and backstage behaviors).
Can you identify which parts of your
identity are fluid and which are
static?
Whose label matters?

PERSPECTIVES
Social Science I n t e r p r e t ive
nationality, race, ethnicity, religion, gender Self arises in interaction with others
constant and unchanging Negotiated, co-created, reinforced, and
challenged through communication with
self in relation to group membership
others
Cross-Cultural: the individualistic verses the
Avowal and ascription (professor-student
collectivistic; independence verses encounter, doctor-patient, and courtship).
interdependence; “I am because you are” or
Ubuntu; Ascribed (ibn) status verse achieved Core symbols : African America
status emphasizes sharing, uniqueness, realism;
while European American emphasizes
Spiritual identity through religious groups, we individualism
define the self
Labels – African-American, Latino, White,
Identity negotiation theory – constant tension etc.
between inclusion and differentiation

PERSPECTIVES
Critical Dialectical
Dynamic nature of identity (the How would you use the dialectic
emergence of the EU) approach in understanding identity?
Contextual and conflictual nature of
identity - economical, historical, and
political (we were pigeonholed before
we were born).
Attention to social structures and
institutions
Socially constructed by social forces
Louis Althusser and interpellation

LANGUAGE AND IDENTITY
L ab e l s L ab e l s f r o m H i s t o r i c a l F i g u r e s
They exist in intercultural What do you think about the following
claims?
communication (with relational
Civil Rights Right Movement Self-
meanings). Identification:
They are both interpersonal and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x
social DXPpfGAZrU
Popular Culture:
They can be singular or multiple.
Compare these labels – Spanish, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W
PriRdOpENw
Mexican America, Latina, and Fluid and relational (fragments and
Chicana contradictions of them all).

IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT ISSUES
M i n o r i t y I d e n t i t y D e ve l o p m e n t M a j o r i t y I d e n t i t y D e ve l o p m e n t
Stage 1: unexamined identity – lack of Stage 1: unexamined identity (awareness of
exploration of identity, be it gender, being male or female, but unaware of its
social consequences
racial, ethnic, or sexual orientation
Stage 2: internalization (conscious or
Stage 2: internalization of values and unconscious) of a racist ideology. The
norms of the dominant and social hierarchy is experienced as normal
deprecating attitude towards own Stage 3: Resistance – naming and blaming
group minority groups for their condition
Stage 4: Redefinition – recognition of own
Stage 3: Resistance and separatism privileges and attempts to eliminate
often triggered by negative events oppression
Stage 4: Welcome home – integration Stage 5: Recognize their identity but
into own group (an achieved identity appreciate other groups.

QUESTIONS
Who are you – how do you define yourself and how do people define you?
Are you confirmed or disconfirmed by others?
Does that influence the way you communicate with others?
You can continue to ponder over these things as you prepare for our next
encounter….