Attached are the 3 documents:

1. Draft copy submitted

2. Sample final paper from a different student for reference on how to write our proposed paper.

3. Comments suggested from Professor

** Need a Final paper based on the above suggestions/comments and samples – 1800words (300 WORDS each page * 6pages)

Running Head: CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE IN ACTION 2

CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE IN ACTION 2

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Course

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Date

Cultural Intelligence in Action

Introduction

Culture plays a very significant role in our lives as individuals. It is through culture that individuals are in a position to define themselves, and comfortably conform to different values and contributions in the society. Culture gives a definition of different norms that are shared by a group of individuals. The influence that culture has on individuals can be identified as being both tangible and intangible (Buchtel et al., 2018). Most of the people’s attitudes and values are usually a direct result of the cultural environment that they come from. It is important to come to a realization of the fact that cultural environments go through an evolution, and the evolution process takes a long period of time. The patterns of living are as a result of culture.

In this paper we are going to look into the differences between the Indian and US cultures. Gaining an understanding of the difference between these two cultures will make it possible to comprehend how individuals who come from these two cultures are able to comply to different societal norms. The differences will make it easy to outline the cultural facts in existence between the two cultures.

The Role of Culture in US and India

The idea of “race” was born in the United States of America. “Race” was originally meant to refer to the differences that were in existence between the “Indians” and their conquerors, the Castilian. The idea of race through history originated from the European perspective (Quijano, Questioning Race (50). This was clearly shown in the practice and ideology of the Americans colonial domination. The issue of race was consolidated and reinforced through the general expansion of the European colonialism. Modernity which was the main pattern of material, social and subjective experience really emphasized on the significance of character of the new global power.

Note that no two cultures can be categorized as being the same. In other words, the India and American culture can never be the same. There is a very big difference between the two of them. The American culture is a mixture of different cultures that are present in its environment. On the other hand, the Indian culture is very unique and made up of its own values that are strictly followed (Buchtel et al., 2018).

One of the main differences between the American and Indian culture is in the family relations. Senior Indians are very family oriented individuals, whereas senior Americans are individual oriented people. The Indian culture gives prominence to different family values. They are respected by all the family members. Indians are very committed to their families. Americans tend to be committed to their own individual values and no one cares about the family values. The individual values play a significant role in the United States.

Most of the senior Indians can go to an extent of forsaking their own personal wishes, and happiness for the sake of the whole family. However, this trend can never be observed in the senior Americans (Nishi et al., 2017).

Most of the senior Indians are dependent on others whereas according to the American culture most of the individuals think about independence and self-reliance (Nishi et al., 2017).

Being from an Indian culture, I think I will defend my culture more by outlining its advantages. However, I can also appreciate the presence of the American culture and the significance that come with it. I love the Indian culture because we are taught to respect each and every individual. The elderly present in the community and neighbors are greeted and treated with high regards. Moreover, individuals in the Indian culture know how to solve differences and live-in harmony with each other.

Guidance in Enrolling to get the Covid-19 vaccines for senior citizens in the USA

Covid-19 has had an impact on different daily operations around the globe. It has had an effect not only on the economy of the country but on the individuals, who live in the given countries. Moreover, the Covid-19 pandemic is causing a lot of suffering and fear on the older individuals around the world. This is due to the fact that they are the most vulnerable population. The virus has already taken hundred of thousands of individuals with a fatality rate of over 80 years old. As a result of this, there is need to make sure a protection strategy has been laid down to protect the older persons (Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Research Center., 2020).

Most of the older Americans are living on their own but most of the older Indians are living with their relatives or families. This makes it easier for them to acquire the Covid-19 vaccine. In this class I will be helping the older Americans to understand how they can enroll online for the Covid-19 vaccine. The steps include:

· Visit the Covid-19 vaccine website to see if you are eligible to get a vaccine. Make sure as an individual that you do prior registration.

· After confirming that you are eligible for the vaccine, you will go ahead into completing the form provided in the website. The form will require details such as your name, date of birth, age, email address or zip code. Note that the information filled will be kept private and confidential.

· After filling in for enrollment, you will receive a confirmation number within a period of 24-48 hours. A link will be provided to finish the registration process and successfully schedule for the administration of Covid-19 vaccine.

These are some of the significant steps that will help the older Americans enroll for the Covid-19 vaccine.

The Relevant Strategies in the Administration of the Covid-19 Vaccine

In coming up with relevant strategies, there is need to look into the diversity present within the category of older individuals. For instance, in the older generation there are more women compared to men. This replicates in the unpaid and paid healthcare professionals who look after them.

It has been difficult for elderly individuals to be vaccinated through the online enrollment. Most of them do not know how to access the online platform due to tech illiteracy. However, there are some of the older persons who are tech literate tech and have been in a position to schedule and gain access to the Covid-19 vaccine without any struggle (National Academies Press, 2020).

This challenge can be tackled by the government taking the initiative to ensure that the Covid-19 vaccines are available for the older population. This can be achieved through organizing for the local mobile camps which will be used in educating and administering the vaccine to the elderly. This means that they will not have to enroll for online scheduling. Bringing medicine to the elderly homes makes it easy to protect them and thus protect the most vulnerable population.

Conclusion

Vaccines should be made a priority especially for the vulnerable population. The elderly need to be protected because they have a positive impact on the society. Reaching out to the elderly physically rather than online will be one of the best strategies in ensuring that the vaccine reaches the desired population. Most of the people’s attitudes and values are usually a direct result of the cultural environment that they come from. In the Indian community, respect is upheld to neighbors and elderly individuals. Culture has an impact on the way individuals behave and the way they treat each other. Through this pandemic, individuals have learnt to live and tolerate each other as a community in this hard time.

References

Buchtel, E. E., Ng, L. C., Norenzayan, A., Heine, S. J., Biesanz, J. C., Chen, S. X., … & Su, Y. (2018). A sense of obligation: Cultural differences in the experience of obligation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 44(11), 1545-1566. Retrieved from

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0146167218769610

Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Research Center, COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University (2020);

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

.

L. Matrajt, J. Eaton, T. Leung, E. R. Brown, Vaccine optimization for COVID-19: who to vaccinate first? medRxiv 20175257 [Preprint]. 15 December 2020.

https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.08.14.20175257

.doi:10.1101/2020.08.14.20175257

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Framework for Equitable Allocation of COVID-19 Vaccine (National Academies Press, 2020);

https://doi.org/10.17226/25917

.doi:10.17226/25917

Nishi, A., Christakis, N. A., & Rand, D. G. (2017). Cooperation, decision time, and culture: Online experiments with American and Indian participants. PloS one, 12(2), e0171252. Retrieved from

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0171252

CulturalIntelligence in Action []

In June, I am going on a mission trip to _______ through an organization called ______. The mission of ______.is to promote meaningful conversations about the bible with people from all around the world. These conversations take place by workers, like me, teaching and improving English through ______.. Readers will sign up to learn and improve their English, and they will come in every day to work one-on-one with one of my teammates or me. We will then facilitate the reading session and guide them through ______.. The goal of these conversations is to share our lives with the readers and show how Christ has been at work in our lives, while also helping them with the English they need to succeed in their careers. For six weeks I will be doing this evangelistic work in ______.. Because I want to learn more about the culture of _____ and the changes I will need to make before going, I have decided to do this project on my upcoming trip.

Known for its rich and well-preserved history, the capital city of ______. has an extremely diverse background. With a population of over 2,000,000 people (unesco.org), there are many different cultures and subcultures present, different languages spoken, and a variety of customs practiced throughout the city. One of the big ethnic distinctions is that of indigenous peoples and non-indigenous peoples. This is a very dividing factor in the community, as indigenous people are frequently seen as a lower class and often live in poverty. For the purpose of this assignment I will be focusing on the culture of indigenous peoples in ______., specifically the ______. people living in ______.. There are many cultural differences which I could discuss, and I will focus on three here. First, I will talk about the religious beliefs among the indigenous population of ______.; Second, I will discuss how ______. live in a polychronic time society; Finally, I will discuss the collectivist society in ______.

Knowing about the religions and beliefs present in ______. is very important to my trip since it is an evangelical mission trip. It is so crucial to know about what people believe and where they come from before teaching them and trying to make more followers for our own beliefs. Religion is one of the most important parts about a culture. For a lot of people around the world, it determines what people do and why they do it, it shapes what they believe as well as how they act. The beliefs, traditions, and rituals that the ______. people of ______. practice really set them apart from other groups present in the area.

In _____ who identify as ______., there are several different beliefs that show up in culture. Some ______. identify as Catholic, along with ninety percent of the entire population of _____. Other native ______. have mixed Catholicism in with their original tribal or native beliefs, creating something they call “Folk Catholicism”. In Philip Jenkins article “______. and Catholic”, he discusses Folk Catholicism and some of the ways it is seen in the ______. culture. One example is how they relate the virgin Mary to the ______. goddess Pachamama, or Mother Earth. Pachamama is known for taking care of the harvest, causing earthquakes and other natural disasters, and controlling all the natural parts of the world. The ______. believe in changing worlds and ages in a complex cosmological system. They celebrate different feasts and rituals throughout the year to honor Pachamama, Mary, and the cosmology that they believe in. Some of these include the festival of Carnaval, Todos los santos (Day of the Dead), and the midsummer and winter solstices which combine the catholic beliefs about the virgin Mary with celebrations that are traditional to the ______. people. Other indigenous people leave Catholicism altogether and believe strictly in their own ______. views.

These views are very different than what I am used to in the United States. Rituals to honor goddesses of the earth are not typical, at least not with the people I grew up around. To maintain cultural intelligence while on this trip, it will be very important for me to not force any of my beliefs on anyone. My focus while on this trip is to be the illustration of God and to show his love to the ______ culture, not to spend all my time forcing my beliefs on anyone. Yes, it is important to share my beliefs because this is an evangelical mission, but I must be aware of what I am saying and how I am acting while on this trip. It will be important for me to learn about the culture and have conversations with people about their beliefs. Livermore discusses the importance of Knowledge CQ and how we must strive to understand different cultures and where they come from. Knowledge CQ is very essential for dealing with the cultural difference of religion while on this short-term trip. In any mission work, it is so important to know what the people you are working with believe so that you can reach them best.

According to Edward T. Hall, there are two different kinds of cultures when it comes to time management. The first, which is usually seen in the United States, is monochronic time. This type of time is divided into segments and is considered sticking to a schedule and doing one thing at a time. Hall talks about how people who use monochronic time are governed by it and let it control their lives; they let some people in and keep others out. Time is tangible in monochronic cultures. On the other hand, a polychronic society sees time as being very flexible. You can do multiple things at once, and there is much less of a schedule to keep. In a polychronic time society people are valued above time and events, and relationships are more important to these cultures than being on time to an event.

While talking to the family that will be hosting me in ______., I learned that ______. is somewhere in the middle of these two, depending on what type of event you will be attending. In the modernizing workforce the idea of being punctual is becoming more prevalent and employees are expected to be on time. In the past this hasn’t been stressed as much, but as ______. becomes more economically developed and modern it is becoming more important to employers that their workers be there on time. Church-goers are also encouraged to show up on time to worship services in order to show respect to God. For social events, however, it’s very common for events to begin later than the suggested hour. Guests frequently arrive late to parties and sometimes being on time can even be considered rude in this culture. It is very normal for events to start hours later than the time mentioned, and everyone is very relaxed and comfortable with that.

Since I am used to a society which runs on monochronic time, it will be a big change for me to enter into ______.where time is much more flexible in social events and meetings. In order for my project to be successful, it will require me to be more flexible with my time and to relax more instead of always worrying about what is coming next. It will be important for me to put relationships first while in that culture, so as not to offend anyone by leaving them in order to stick to schedule. Specifically, I will need to remember this is when I am waiting for my readers to come work with me, I will need to be more flexible with my time and more understanding if people are not “on time” to the lessons.

One of the conclusions that can be drawn from the polychronic time in ______. is that they are a more collectivist society than the United States. In our society in the United States, emphasis is put on being an individual. People take care of and are responsible only for themselves and their direct family. As children grow up in America, they are expected to become independent, move out and fend for themselves instead of relying on their parents. In ______., groups of people are formed based on class and ethnicity, and those groups take care of each other. They feel connected and feel a sense of responsibility to take care of each other. When talking with the hosts of my trip, ______., we discussed how the family life in ______. is affected by the community-oriented culture there. They told me that extended family is very valued and that many families will live together or very close to each other for the entirety of their lives. Mothers have very strong bonds with their children that extend far into the adulthood of the child. In general, the good of all people is regarded more highly than the good of one individual which is shown in the socialistic democratic political system in ______.. The idea of being a community and caring for each other extends throughout all types of people in ______. and throughout all classes of people.

When I am in ______., it will extremely important for me to be aware of how I manage relationships, and make sure that I am taking care of and interacting warmly with those around me. Coming from a society that is very individualistic, it will be a big change to come into a society that is so community oriented. The sense of connectedness is strong in ______. and it a significant thing to think about as I prepare to go there. With ______. there are weekly parties that workers throw for their readers and their families, and I believe this will be a great opportunity to make more connections between the members of the church and the readers from around the community. Since ______. are attracted to a strong sense of community and caring about those around them, these parties will be a good chance to welcome the ______.readers into the church family that will care for them.

While there are many more cultural differences I could discuss in this paper, I believe that these are three of the biggest things that will affect me while I am working in ______. and that they are the most important things for me to be aware of. Much of being culturally intelligent is simply knowing about that culture and being aware of the differences between your culture and theirs. Interpretive intelligence, as David Livermore puts it, is “being able to accurately make meaning from what we observe”. Going into a culture with information about their beliefs and behaviors is important because then when we enter we will be able to make sense of what we are seeing and understand why the people do what they do.

Religion is a very significant part of my trip. Knowing about the ______. folk religions and their beliefs is crucial to my understanding of the culture of ______. and will change the way I interact with the people of ______.. If I know about their religious culture, it will be easier for me to relate and talk about how my beliefs differ from theirs. The polychronic time society is something that will require me to change some, and it will be necessary to be understanding when I face circumstances involving time that don’t play out the same way as they would here in the United States. Knowing about the community-oriented culture will help me know how to best reach the readers that I will be working with and help me know how to connect them better with the local church there so that I will have a successful ______.project.

Word count: 2

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22

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Topic proposed for your information:

Guidance in enrolling to get the COVID-19 vaccine for senior citizens in the USA. (This is my approved Topic)

Comment 1 from Professor:

You need to fundamentally shift the focus and emphasis of your paper away from a broad examination of the notion of culture and the overall difference between Indian culture and American culture. What do you need to shift your focus to? You need to identify three specific cultural differences between India and the U.S.–excluding language that would present significant challenges to you in undertaking your proposed project.

Currently there is no place in your proposal where you mention any personal involvement on your part in carrying out some kind of project to assist American senior citizens in figuring out when and where they can obtain their vaccinations. That is what I recall you telling me that you wanted to propose as your project. So what you need to do is propose how you would go about it. Would you simply assist them in navigating the existing systems for signing up for vaccines.

(You should be able to find a fellow student who can help you get into one of these systems for scheduling vaccines to see for yourself how they function and where might be the places that could easily confuse or thwart the efforts of elderly digital immigrants who are not accustomed to computerized systems.)

Both of these elements–1) describing a specific project in which you would be directly and personally involved in assisting some American citizens in obtaining their Covid vaccines, and       2)  identifying three specific cross-cultural differences between Indian culture and American culture, that you would have to successfully navigate or overcome in order to carry out your project–constitute the heart of this assignment.

You have very clearly identified a problem. Now you have to propose a specific project or program in which you would be personally involved — either by yourself or with others — in carrying it out to alleviate the problem. (This can be hypothetical; I’m not expecting everyone in the class to actually carry out ther projects that they’re proposing–though some of them might.) Here you need to explain how you would apply the different dimensions of Cultural Intelligence–Knowledge CQ, Interpretive CQ, Perseverance CQ, and Behavioral CQ–in order to overcome the challenges stemming from those three particular cross-cultural differences that you have identified as particularly problematic for your particular project.

Comment 2 from Professor:

You need to substantially restructure your CIA paper. Instead of starting off wth two pages about cultural differences in general between India and the U.S., I recommend that you mention your proposed project first. As I understand your project, you’re proposing to assist elderly Americans in navigating the process for obtaining Covid vaccinations. That’s a great project for this assignment–so long as you include a significant amount of direct personal interaction with those elderly Americans.

After all, it’s precisely in that personal interaction where you would directly encounter cultural differences. The ones that would require the most of you in terms of Cultural Intelligence. (You’ll need to consult a resource on international cultural characteristics in order to identify where india and the U.S. differ the most.) Then you need to explain where in the course of assisting the elderly Americans you would need to draw on specifc dimensions of Cultural Intelligence (Knowledge CQ, Interpretive CQ, Perserverance CQ, and Behavioral CQ).

ETHNICITYAND “RACE” — PART 2: contesting/questioning the concepts of ethnicity and race

Readings: Rynkiewich, Ch. 9, pp. 155-168

Quijano, “Questioning ‘Race,’” pp. 45-53

Resources: David Livermore, “Twenty-first Century CQ” and “CQ 101,” in Livermore, Cultural Intelligence (2009), 21-31 and 45-59

Elizabeth Tuleja, “Developing Cultural Intelligence for Global Leadership through Mindfulness,” Journal of Teaching in International Business 25 (2014): 5-24

1

ETHNIC GROUPS AND ETHNICITY
Conrad Kottak observes that “members of an ethnic group share certain beliefs, values, habits, customs, and norms because of their common background. They define themselves as different and special because of cultural features. This distinction may arise from language, religion, historical experience, geographic placement, kinship, or ‘race’…. Markers of an ethnic group may include a collective name, belief in common descent, a sense of solidarity, and an association with a specific territory, which the group may or may not hold.” (Kottak, Mirror, 213-214 — emphasis added).

Example of Ron and “Quem fala?”
2

ETHNICITY AS SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED
Michael Rynkiewich raises the question of whether ethnicity is inherent or socially constructed. After briefly touching on the respective rationales for both positions, he predictably weighs in on the side of social construction, in keeping with his affinity with postmodernism and sensitivity to globalization (Rynkiewich, 164-166).
“Ethnicity is about a relationship negotiated with a dominant cultural group and shared with other ‘minorities’ in a given society….Ethnic identity does not derive entirely from within the ethnic group but in interaction with other groups…. (continued)

ETHNICITY AS SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED
(cont.)
….The issues that stand in marked contrast to the nearest neighbor or most powerful neighbor tend to be emphasized while other issues are downplayed because they do not make a difference in that context.”
Rynkiewich cites Fredrick Barth’s research that redirected attention from the core to the periphery of ethnic groups to focus on boundary maintenance as the key factor in the likelihood of the group assimilating into the larger culture: the stronger the internal conformity (e.g., Amish vs. German-American), the less likely assimilation is.

CASTE AND ETHNICITY IN INDIA
Rynkiewich cites the example of caste in India as the most extreme system of social hierarchy in the world, with four major classes derived from the Hindu creation myth of the sacrifice of Purusha, the Cosmic Man, whose body gave rise to everything in the universe, including the four major classes in the caste system (Rynkiewich, 154-156).

CASTE AND ETHNICITY IN INDIA
The four major classes in the caste system, which comprises more than 1,000 individual castes altogether:
Brahmins (priests)
Kshatriyas (rulers and warriors)
Vaishyas (merchants
Shudras (peasants
the Untouchables (now known officially as “scheduled classes”) are outside the caste system

HINDU NATIONALISM (HINDUTVA)
Rynkiewich also discusses the extreme form of Hindu nationalism known as “Hindutva.” The government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently issued a decree stripping thousands of Indian Muslims of their citizenship.

HUMAN BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AND “RACE”
Conrad Kottak says, “When an ethnic group is assumed to have a biological basis (distinctively shared ‘blood’ or genes, it is called a race. Discrimination against such a group is called racism.”
However, Kottak agrees with Rynkiewich and Anibal Quijano (and the vast majority of cultural anthropologists today) that “race” is a concept that has been shown to have no authoritative biological basis; instead, “race” is socially constructed on the basis of people’s subjective perceptions. This means that Caucasoid, Negroid, and Mongoloid no more valid scientifically than white, black, and yellow; where, for example, do Polynesians, Native Americans, Native Australians, and darker-skinned southern Indians fit?

QUIJANO’S QUESTIONING OF THE “RACE” CONCEPT
An important aspect of Peruvian sociologist Anibal Quijano’s critique of the “race” concept is his framing of it as part of the legacy of the “coloniality of power”:
“The idea of ‘race’ is surely the most efficient instrument of social domination produced in the last 500 years. Dating from the very beginning of the formation of the Americas and of capitalism (at the turn of the 16th century), in the ensuing centuries it was imposed on the population of the whole planet as an aspect of European colonial domination….It was taken as the principal determinant of the world’s new social and geocultural identities: on the one hand, ‘Indian,’ ‘black,’ ‘Asiatic,’ ‘white,’ and ‘mestizo’; on the other, ‘America,’ ‘Europe,’ ‘Africa,’ ‘Asia,’ and ‘Oceania.’ (continued)

QUIJANO’S QUESTIONING OF THE “RACE” CONCEPT
(cont.)
On its basis was constituted the Eurocentering of capitalist world power and the consequent global distribution of labor and trade.”
“In this way, ‘race,’ a phenomenon and an outcome of modern colonial domination, came to pervade every sphere of global capitalist power. Coloniality thus became the cornerstone of a Eurocentered world. This coloniality of power has proved to be more profound and more lasting than the colonialism in which it was engendered and which it helped to impose globally” (Quijano, 45-46).

QUIJANO’S QUESTIONING OF THE “RACE” CONCEPT
“There is a profound, tenacious, and virtually universal assumption that ‘race’ is a phenomenon of human biology which has necessary implications for the natural history of the species and hence for the history of power relations among people. This is surely what accounts for the exceptional efficiency of this modern instrument of social domination. Nonetheless, what we are dealing with here is a blatantly ideological construct, which has literally nothing to do with anything in the biological structure of the human species, and everything to do — by contrast — with the history of the power relations of Eurocentered colonial/modern global capitalism” (Quijano, 48).

CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGISTS AND CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES— FRIENDS OR FOES?

Readings: Kottak, Mirror for Humanity, Ch. 1

Rynkiewich, Soul, Self and Society, Ch. 1

Kraft, “Why Anthropology for Cross-Cultural Witnesses?”

WHAT IS CULTURE?
A classic definition of culture from 19th-century British anthropologist Edward Tylor, cited by Conrad Kottak, is difficult to improve upon: “Culture…is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, arts, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society” (Tylor, 1871—cited in Kottak, 19).

WHAT IS CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY?
Conrad Kottak, author of Mirror for Humanity: A Concise Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, gives us the following characterization of the broader science of anthropology:
“a comparative science that examines all societies, ancient and modern, simple and complex….[that] offers a unique cross-cultural perspective, constantly comparing the customs of one society with those of others (Kottak, 1).

WHAT IS CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY?
What about our particular subject, Cultural Anthropology? It is one of four subfields of the broader field of Anthropology, alongside Biological Anthropology, Linguistics, and Archaeology
Kottak describes Cultural Anthropology as a science that focuses specifically on all aspects of culture.

ANTHROPOLOGY AND THE COLONIAL ERA
Kottak mentions that the discipline of Anthropology came into being in the latter part of the 19th century, primarily as a result of the extensive contact that European powers had had with the inhabitants of regions in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and North America — first through exploration and eventually through the often brutal and oppressive process of colonization.

ORIGINS OF CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
People of European heritage were encountering and interacting with beings in these regions who were quite different from them, in terms of skin pigmentation, facial features, languages, and customs.
Many Europeans questioned whether these beings who were so different from them were even human, leading to extensive debates, even of a religious nature.
Eventually, the position that these were actually human beings prevailed. This prompted those of European heritage to set out to research and analyze all the differences, giving rise to the subdiscipline of Cultural Anthropology.

CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND CHRISTIAN MISSIONS—A COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP
In a 2018 article entitled “Missionaries and Anthropologists,” anthropologist Edwin Zainer points out that, at the onset of the discipline of Anthropology in the late 19th century, anthropologists relied heavily on missionary accounts and notes as data sources for various cultures around the world (Zainer, “Missionaries and Anthropologists,” The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology (2018)).
In recent decades, the relationship has largely been inverted.

CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND CHRISTIAN MISSIONS—
A COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP
Eminent Christian anthropologists Charles Kraft and Paul Hiebert frankly acknowledge the existence of longstanding tensions between Christianity and anthropology, with the latter’s “anti-Christian reputation” (Kraft, 2).
Non-Christian anthropologists have often accused missionaries of disrupting indigenous cultures and pressuring them to change their beliefs.
Christians should be aware of pervasive, overarching evolutionary presuppositions in the field of anthropology that have both biological and cultural ramifications. (Examples in Kottak’s first chapter?)

CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND CHRISTIAN MISSIONS—
A COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP
However, both Kraft and Hiebert affirm that Christians can derive considerable benefits from the study of anthropology, particularly related to the area of missions. Kraft argues that anthropology’s basic inclination toward nonwestern cultures makes it an ideal field of study to help prepare missionaries to “go into all the world” (Kraft, 3).
Kraft also sees anthropology helping westernized internationals gain a valuable perspective concerning their own cultures (Kraft, 3).
 

CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND CHRISTIAN MISSIONS—
A COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP
Anthropology’s cross-cultural perspective helps lessen Christians’ innate ethnocentrism, thereby helping them become “all things to all persons” (1 Corinthians 9:19-22) (Kraft 7, 9).
a. A fresh perspective on our own culture
b. Deeper insight into the cultures of others
c. Greater appreciation for the cross-cultural aspect of biblical interpretation
d. An enhanced capacity to communicate the Bible in a more meaningful way to people from cultures other than our own
e. “We are seeking learn how to be as open to cultural differences as God is” (Kraft, 2)

CULTURE AS A COMPLEX, DYNAMIC ENTITY—Part 1

Readings: Kottak, Mirror, Ch. 2, pp. 19-40

Hall, “The Power of Hidden Differences,” pp. 53-67

Tough Nickel, “High-Context vs. Low-Context Communication”

Both Conrad Kottak and Michael Rynkiewich cite a classic definition of culture by 19th-century British anthropologist Edward Tylor: “Culture…is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, arts, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society” (Tylor, 1871 — cited in Kottak, 19, and Rynkiewich, 19).
Consider Edward Hall’s definition: “Any culture is primarily a system for creating, sending, storing, and processing information” (Hall, 53).
Which of the two definitions do you prefer? Why?

Culture is inherently a collective phenomenon that results in a distinctive cultural identity, which uniquely characterizes a particular group. It doesn’t function at the level of the individual person but is shared. How?
Culture is neither biologically nor genetically transmitted; instead, it is “acquired…as a member of society” by means of enculturation, which Kottak explains as being “the process by which a child learns his or her culture” (Kottak, Mirror,19-20).
In other words, people acquire culture neither by means of inheritance nor [solely] by means of trial and error but by learning through imitation, communication, observation, and inference.

CULTURE IS LEARNED
What about people who transition between cultures, such as immigrants, refugees, military and diplomatic personnel, missionaries, foreign workers, international students, and others who move from one culture to another.) Their learning process, called acculturation, is different in some significant ways from enculturation because it is more self-conscious.
Conrad Kottak defines acculturation as “the exchange of cultural features that results when groups have continual firsthand contact with each other” (Kottak, Mirror, 36). (Here Kottak is referring to distinct groups, each originating from a different culture.)

CULTURE IS LEARNED — SYMBOLS
Symbols play a vital role in cultural learning. According to Conrad Kottak, symbols are “signs that have no necessary or natural connection to the things they stand for or signify” (Kottak, 20). James Peoples and Garrick Bailey point out that symbols function on the basis of being arbitrary (in that their meaning is not derived from any inherent qualities in the symbol) and conventional (in that their meaning exists solely because people have agreed to attribute a specific meaning to them) (Peoples and Bailey, Humanity, 10th ed., 32). What are some examples that you can think of?

“The word religion (shukyo) [was] originally devised to answer pesky missionaries who asked Japanese to state what their religion was. It was taken to refer to a separate set of beliefs, removed from everyday life, and not to some everyday activity like stopping for a moment at a shrine to make an offering….akin to asking someone in the United States or Germany if she is a member of a religious movement…” (Bowen, RP, 34).

CULTURE IS LEARNED–SYMBOLS

The Confederate battle flag — the “Stars and Bars” — has become a dramatic example in recent years of the fact that, even when symbols are widely acknowledged to have a particular frame of reference, their significance can be contested by different groups in an effort to ensure that the specific ideas, practices, values, and goals that they embrace prevail within a given society (Kottak, Mirror, 30).
CONTESTED SYMBOLS

CONTESTED SYMBOLS
Other examples of contested symbols include the cross of Christ (Protestants vs. Catholics), the Nazi swastika, and, more recently, several cases of NFL players kneeling during the playing of the American national anthem prior to the start of games as an expression of protest against racism in American society and culture. What other contested symbols come to mind?

SYMBOLS CAN EVOLVE AND BE UPDATED WITH CHANGING TIMES
Traditional “Aunt Jemima”
Contemporary “Aunt Jemima”

Cultures can exist at the national level and even transcend national boundaries to exist at the international level. What examples of international cultures that simultaneously function in several geographic areas come to mind?
Subcultures, which Kottak defines as being “different symbol-based patterns and traditions associated with particular groups in the same complex society,” exist within nations. Kottak acknowledges that many cultural anthropologists shy away from this term “subculture” because they deem it to be pejorative, actually serving to demean those who are thereby labeled. The main reason for such aversion on the part of such anthropologists is their association of the prefix “sub-“ with the notion of “below” or “less than” (Kottak, 32-33).

LEVELS OF CULTURE

Kottak defines ethnocentrism as being “the tendency to view one’s own culture as superior and to apply one’s own cultural values in judging the behavior and beliefs of people raised in other cultures.”
The opposite perspective is cultural relativism, an attitude proverbially associated with the field of Cultural Anthropology. This attitude is defined by Kottak as being “the viewpoint that behavior in one culture should not be judged by the standards of another culture.” Kottak himself mentions potential problems with cultural relativism in cases where it is taken to such an extreme as to deny the existence of any universal moral standards, extrapolating from the underlying principle that the moral and ethical rules of all cultures deserve equal respect (Kottak, Mirror, 33). Quite often this stance is criticized as constituting moral relativism.
ETHNOCENTRISM VS. CULTURAL RELATIVISM

In his chapter entitled “The Power of Hidden Differences,” Edward T. Hall focuses on how the subtle complexity of culture affects interaction between cultures: “We humans are guided by two forms of information, accessed in two entirely different ways: type A — manifest culture [also called “word culture”] — which is learned from words and numbers, and type B — tacit-acquired culture [also called “unconscious culture”] — which is not verbal but is highly situational and operates according to rules which are not in awareness, not learned in the usual sense but acquired in the process of growing up or simply being in different environments” (Hall, 54, 63).
“HIDDEN DIFFERENCES”

“HIDDEN DIFFERENCES”
Regarding “hidden differences,” Hall says “humans must take into account the existence of ‘out-of-awareness’ features of communication” (Hall, 58-59).
1. “When interacting with each other, it should never be assumed that we ever achieve full awareness of all the implications of any communication” — particularly nonverbal communication.
2. “Culture hides much more than it reveals and…what it hides, it hides most effectively from its own participants.” (How does this work?)

“CROSS-CULTURAL”/”INTERCULTURAL”: A NOTE ON USAGE
An admittedly subtle distinction between the respective connotations of two closely-related related terms:

“Cross-cultural” — used in the sense of “pertaining to or contrasting between two or more cultural groups” (as in, “cross-cultural comparison” or “cross-cultural differences”)
“Intercultural” — used in the sense of “pertaining to or taking place between two or more cultures” (as in, “intercultural encounters” or “intercultural communication”)

THE METADISTINCTION BETWEEN
INDIVIDUALISTIC AND COLLECTIVISTIC CULTURES
As anthropologist and former missionary Michael Rynkiewich observes, “Western thought, especially as revealed in the social sciences, has imagined that the basic unit of society is an individual” (Rynkiewich, 11). This definitely is not the case in the Majority World, where the most basic sociocultural unit is the group, whether that be the extended family, the tribe, the clan, or the social caste. Within the respective cultural contexts, these contrasting priorities and emphases make perfect sense.

INDIVIDUALISTIC CULTURES
COLLECTIVISTIC CULTURES
INDIVIDUALISTIC CULTURES VS. COLLECTIVISTIC CULTURES
Individual rights and privileges prized over group preferences
Nuclear families predominate, with expectation that children will eventually seek independent existence
“Love marriages” predominate
Prevailing expectations for “self-made” identity for individuals

Group preferences prevail over individual rights
Extended families predominate, with children expected to maintain proximity and loyalty to family
Arranged marriages predominate
Prevailing dependence by individuals upon “in-group” for identity, contacts, support, and influence
See EIC, pp. 101, 154-155

INTERRELATED CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

Monochronic Time Orientation (“Clock Time”)
Low-Context Communication
Innocence-Guilt (or Justice) Orientation
Low Power Distance
“Masculine Culture”
INDIVIDUALISTIC CULTURES

Polychronic Time Orientation (“Event Time”)
High-Context Communication
Honor-Shame Orientation
High Power Distance
“Feminine Culture”

COLLECTIVISTIC CULTURES

THE METADISTINCTION BETWEEN
INDIVIDUALISTIC AND COLLECTIVISTIC CULTURES
The previous slide shows how various pairings of opposite cultural characteristics are consistently aligned in accordance with the overarching contrast between the individualistic cultures that predominate in the West and the collectivistic or group-oriented cultures that predominate outside the West, in the “Majority World,” which is inhabited by the vast majority of the Earth’s inhabitants.

Edward Hall distinguishes between two basic cultural orientations towards time (Hall, 60). On the one hand there is “monochronic time” (also called “clock time”), in which time is perceived as being tangible, relatively scarce, and spendable. It is associated with an emphasis on punctuality, which tends to mean that schedules, planning, and timely completion of tasks are valued more highly than people.
As you might expect, this orientation towards time is generally identified with more industrialized, technologically oriented, and/ or urbanized cultures.   (continued)
MONOCHRONIC TIME VS. POLYCHRONIC TIME

MONOCHRONIC TIME VS. POLYCHRONIC TIME
On the other hand, Hall observes that, in accordance with the “polychronic time” orientation (also called “event time”), time is perceived as being flexible and unlimited in supply. Hence, spontaneity is highly valued, and people are considered to be more important than the completion of tasks. In general, this orientation towards time tends to be more characteristic of more rural or less technologically oriented cultures — particularly in the Majority [non-Western] World.”

MONOCHRONIC TIME
POLYCHRONIC TIME
MONOCHRONIC TIME VS. POLYCHRONIC TIME
Time viewed as being limited, rigid, and measurable
Punctuality valued more highly than human relationships
Considerable reliance upon scheduling

Time viewed as being unlimited and flexible
Human relationships valued more highly than punctuality
Considerable reliance upon spontaneity
See EIC, pp. 146-150; Hall, p. 60; Changing Minds.org

HIGH-CONTEXT VS. LOW-CONTEXT COMMUNICATION
M.Q. Jeffrey, the author of the online article “High-context vs. Low-context Communication” from Tough Nickel, provides some helpful clarifying insights:
“High-context and low-context communication refers to how much speakers rely on things other than words to convey meaning…. In each culture, members have been supplied with specific ‘filters’ that allow them to focus only on what society has deemed important. In general, cultures that favor low-context communication will pay more attention to the literal meanings of words than to the context surrounding them” (Jeffrey, 1-2).

HIGH-CONTEXT VS. LOW-CONTEXT COMMUNICATION
Moreau, Campbell, and Greener, the authors of the chapter on “Contexting” in the book Effective Intercultural Communication, point out that the distinction between high-context and low-context communication doesn’t only refer to a unconscious, passive phenomenon; it can also function as a deliberate strategy.
“‘Contexting’ refers to a strategy of choosing the appropriate mix of verbal and extraverbal communication to get a message across.” The authors provide a biblical example of this point in the episode of Abraham effectively and appropriately negotiating with Ephron the Hittite to purchase a burial plot for his wife Sarah (Genesis 23) (Moreau, Campbell, and Greener, 129, 132-133.

LOW-CONTEXT COMMUNICATION

HIGH-CONTEXT COMMUNICATION
LOW-CONTEXT COMMUNICATION VS. HIGH-CONTEXT COMMUNICATION
Greater focus upon verbal communication than upon nonverbal communication
Direct communication–primary meaning conveyed in the explicit words of the message
The speaker has the primary responsibility for communication

Greater focus upon nonverbal communication than upon verbal communication
Indirect communication–primary meaning conveyed via the corresponding physical, social, interpersonal, and emotional context
The listener has the primary responsibility for communication

See EIC, pp. 129-131; Hall, p. 61; Changing Minds.org

INNOCENCE-GUILT
Essential focus: what a person has done
Ethical standards: universal, internalized by individuals
Violation of standards: requires restitution, whether financial penalty, incarceration, or even death

Essential focus: what a person’s
standing within his or her “in-group” is
Ethical standards: based on group expectations, enforced by group
Violation of standards: requires ritualized removal of impurity to restore ties to group
See EIC, pp. 196-199
HONOR-SHAME

INNOCENCE-GUILT ETHICAL ORIENTATION VS.
HONOR-SHAME ETHICAL ORIENTATION

LOW POWER DISTANCE
Social inequality and titles deemphasized
Rules assumed to apply equally to everyone
Personal initiative encouraged
Mutual respect cultivated between bosses and workers
Social hierarchy pronounced and titles emphasized
Rules applied differentially as a function of social class
Personal initiative discouraged
Generalized social dependency sustains pervasive patron-client relationships
See EIC, pp. 166-169 and 171-174
HIGH POWER DISTANCE
LOW POWER DISTANCE VS. HIGH POWER DISTANCE

“MASCULINE” CULTURE
Comparatively greater distinction between respective expectations for gender roles
Materialism, competitiveness, and assertiveness highly valued
Considerable overlap between gender roles
Compassion and concern for the less fortunate in society highly valued
See EIC, pp. 181-183
“FEMININE” CULTURE
“MASCULINE CULTURE” VS. “FEMININE CULTURE”

“ETHNOCENTRISM” REVISITED
With all these specific examples of cross-cultural differences in mind, it is worth revisiting the concept of “ethnocentrism,” this time defined by Michael Rynkiewich as “the all-too-human tendency to respond to other people’s ways by using one’s own culture, especially values and feelings, to prejudge people’s behavior and explain differences as if they were the result of perceived physical and mental differences (racism) or spiritual and moral differences (elitism).” Rynkiewich goes on to point out the ironic contrast between Greeks labeling all other peoples as “barbarians” and American English speakers complaining “It’s all Greek to me” when they can’t understand either speech or text (Rynkiewich, 24, 25).

CONCLUSION
An insightful grasp of these cross-cultural differences is crucial for engaging effectively in intercultural relationships.
The Cultural Intelligence in Action (CIA) assignment in this course will require you to show how you would apply your understanding of cross-cultural differences in addressing a true-to-life scenario.