Theories of identity have been built largely upon biological, psychological, sociological, and anthropological grounds. Missing from each of these, yet of potential relevance to them all, is a community theory of identity such as the one developed here. Situating Selves presents studies of five American scenes, focusing on the ways social identities are communicatively crafted. Based on 15 years of fieldwork, the book presents fine-grained analyses of the playful self during sporting events (with special attention given to crowd activities at college basketball games), the working self in a television company, the marital self in weddings and marriages, the gendered self in television "talk shows," and conflicted selves during a community's hotly contested land-use controversy. Carbaugh shows how listening to communication in cultural scenes like these can help reveal how deeply identity is situated in various communicative practices. These include a ritual of play, symbolic allusions to different classes of people, a diversity in the forms of names used upon marriage, the play between genders and gender-neutral language, and the relationship between language, nature, community, and politics. Concluding commentary links the studies to the contemporary American scene, and shows how the focus on communication can integrate into community living both shared and separate identities. Emerging from these studies is a view of communication as not only a situated expression of selves in American scenes, but also an active contributor in constituting those very identities and scenes.
Global communication can be difficult in the best of circumstances. The contributors in this book take seriously the premise that one can examine communication within specific global settings and scenes with the goal of ensuring that the meanings made among those within specific communities is more clearly understood. This includes recognizing that we often communicate based on specific assumptions and act in ways that have normative bases that are shared with those within communities, but are often difficult to discern or navigate by those who are not members of them. Situated within the Ethnography of Communication research program, the contributors in this volume use Cultural Discourse Analysis to examine such practices, a theory and methodology developed by Donal Carbaugh over the past thirty years. The book is a celebration of his work and career, in which forty-four prominent Communication scholars and practitioners come together to use this framework to examine pressing communication issues across the globe. The book includes a preface by Gerry Philipsen that is an academic history of Carbaugh’s career, an introduction outlining the history and current practice of Cultural Discourse Analysis, sixteen data based chapters using the framework to examine a broad range of inter/cultural communication practices across the globe, and an epilogue by Carbaugh reviewing this research and its future trajectory. The book is a handbook of Cultural Discourse Analysis for examining the latest in Cultural Discourse Analysis research and learning how to do such work that will be useful to advanced undergraduate and graduate students in a broad range of fields, inter/cultural communication scholars, and all those who seek to better understand and communicate in the global world today.
This work delves into the act of reporting on different cultures as a means of exploring our own. The way culture is presented to the media highlights various international and intercultural dynamics, as well as the complexity involved in reporting from a cultural standpoint. Reporting Cultures in 60 Minutes is a study covering the journalistic practice of reporting culture by examining "Tango Finlandia," a broadcast report on Finnish culture produced by the American television news magazine 60 Minutes. It covers the journalistic practice of reporting culture broadly by looking specifically at Finns and Americans reporting about their respective homelands and about the other’s culture and social interactions. Unique in its content and approach, this volume: Demonstrates how reports are constructed as deeply cultural forms, couched in points of view derived from one’s discursive habits and their meanings. Analyzes reporting done in professional practice/journalism as well as in common social routine. Offers a way through the process that can move reporting on culture from a self-reflective mirror to opening a window onto another cultural world. Scholars and students in communication, intercultural/international studies, and related areas will find much to consider in this work
Theories of identity have been built largely upon biological, psychological, sociological, and anthropological grounds. Missing from each of these, yet of potential relevance to them all, is a community theory of identity such as the one developed here. Situating Selves presents studies of five American scenes, focusing on the ways social identities are communicatively crafted. Based on 15 years of fieldwork, the book presents fine-grained analyses of the playful self during sporting events (with special attention given to crowd activities at college basketball games), the working self in a television company, the marital self in weddings and marriages, the gendered self in television "talk shows," and conflicted selves during a community's hotly contested land-use controversy. Carbaugh shows how listening to communication in cultural scenes like these can help reveal how deeply identity is situated in various communicative practices. These include a ritual of play, symbolic allusions to different classes of people, a diversity in the forms of names used upon marriage, the play between genders and gender-neutral language, and the relationship between language, nature, community, and politics. Concluding commentary links the studies to the contemporary American scene, and shows how the focus on communication can integrate into community living both shared and separate identities. Emerging from these studies is a view of communication as not only a situated expression of selves in American scenes, but also an active contributor in constituting those very identities and scenes.
New technology in vehicles is transforming the way people move around as well as what they do in their vehicles. How does one communicate with an in-car speech system and how does this vary by language or cultural community? This book explores this process by focusing on the communication practices that people engage in when using their in-car systems and when talking about their vehicles with co-passengers. Chapters present a robust theory and methodology for studying communication in cars, how tasks are begun and ended, how people switch between tasks, how non-task talk appears, what ways and styles of communication drivers prefer, and how they expect the system voice to respond, among other things. Particular attention is given to cultural preferences as they are evident in this communication; these preferences are found to ground various trajectories in the use and meaning of in-car communication practices. The book explores these matters with a focus on the United States and Mainland China. Implications are drawn for the design and utilization of in-car communication systems.
This work delves into the act of reporting on different cultures as a means of exploring our own. The way culture is presented to the media highlights various international and intercultural dynamics, as well as the complexity involved in reporting from a cultural standpoint. Reporting Cultures in 60 Minutes is a study covering the journalistic practice of reporting culture by examining "Tango Finlandia," a broadcast report on Finnish culture produced by the American television news magazine 60 Minutes. It covers the journalistic practice of reporting culture broadly by looking specifically at Finns and Americans reporting about their respective homelands and about the other’s culture and social interactions. Unique in its content and approach, this volume: Demonstrates how reports are constructed as deeply cultural forms, couched in points of view derived from one’s discursive habits and their meanings. Analyzes reporting done in professional practice/journalism as well as in common social routine. Offers a way through the process that can move reporting on culture from a self-reflective mirror to opening a window onto another cultural world. Scholars and students in communication, intercultural/international studies, and related areas will find much to consider in this work
Cultures in Conversation introduces readers to the ethnographic study of intercultural and social interactions through the analysis of conversations in which various cultural orientations are operating. Author Donal Carbaugh presents his original research on conversation practices in England, Finland, Russia, Blackfeet County, and the United States, demonstrating how each is distinctive in its communication codes--particularly in its use of symbolic meanings, forms of interaction, norms, and motivational themes. Examining conversation in this way demonstrates how cultural lives are active in conversations and shows how conversation is a principal medium for the coding of selves, social relationships, and societies. Representing 20 years of research, this volume offers unique insights into the ways social interactions not only gain shape from, but also are formative of cultures. It makes a significant contribution to communication scholarship, and will be illuminating reading in courses focusing on cultural communication, language and social interaction, intercultural pragmatics, and linguistics.
This timely volume provides an in-depth look at why the field of communication is so central in initiatives for social impact around the world. Editors Donal Carbaugh and Patrice M. Buzzanell bring together scholars with varied and productive approaches to communication to address the question of what distinguishes communication research from similar studies in other disciplines. The work provides an invaluable resource for defining the role of communication research in the academic community and the contributions it makes to the study of human interaction.
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