Wood Chapter 10 Lecture 1 1

1. Wood Chapter 10 Lecture11 Theories about Culture and Communication Communities Culture & Communities

2. Developmental theories focus on how relationships develop, grow, and decline over time. First generation developmental theories had serious limitations. •      1.  They were excessively and inappropriately linear. •      2.  They implied an inevitability to relational development. •      3.  They did not include, nor apply to, a number of intimate relationships, such as gay and lesbian commitments. •      4.  They focused on external, observable phenomena to define stages in relational life. Culture & Communities

3. Second generation developmental models are more sophisticated and useful.  James Honeycutt emphasized that relationships develop not because of events themselves, but because of how we interpret events. Culture & Communities

4. Individual have "imagined trajectories," which are their understandings and expectations of the typical paths relationships follow. •      They are a type of knowledge schemata that guides how we think about what is happening between us and others. •      Relationships may also have turning points, which exist when we interpret certain relational events or moments as significant in changing the direction or nature of a relationship. Culture & Communities

5. Second generation developmental theories have not been seriously criticized. • The outsider within is a person who is inside a particular social group through daily interactions and activities but is also excluded from that group because the person is not "one of them." Culture & Communities

6. Communication reflects cultural values and perspectives. •      1.  The language of different cultures reflects different view of identity.  Western cultures tend to emphasize individual, whereas many Eastern cultures place greater emphasis on family and community.  •      2.  In the process of learning language, we learn our culture's values. Culture & Communities

7. Language reflects cultural views of identity. •      1.  Cultures vary in the extent to which they define this in terms of individual or collective/communal criteria. •      2.  Cultures vary in the extent to which they assume this is rooted in family ties. • Can you think of an example of how language might affect perception? Culture & Communities

8. Standpoint theory • Standpoint theory entails three central ideas and a premise about the relationship between standpoint and communication. •   A.  Cultures are organized hierarchically so that different groups experience dissimilar power, opportunities, and perspectives. Culture & Communities

9. Standpoint theory traces how distinct social groups within a society shape members' experiences, knowledge, and ways of interacting. Culture & Communities

10. Speech community theory • Offers a more specific analysis of how interaction with particular social groups shapes styles of communication that differ for women, men, and members of different ethnicities. • WITH A PARTNER Take a look in your wallet—what groups are suggested by the cards in your wallet. Write down a list of all the groups you belong to. Culture & Communities

11. Organizational culture theory • illuminates the role of communication increasing and sustaining distinct cultures in organizational life. • What cultural groups do you belong to? Culture & Communities

12. Societies define distinct groups not only as different but as differentially worthy, valuable, or capable. • Group • Rank how worthy according to US society • Rank how valuable according to US society • Rank how capable according to US society Culture & Communities

13. Standpoint arises out of the material, social, and symbolic conditions that shape a group's experiences. • Standpoint is not a birthright. • Standpoint is an achievement--something that is accomplished only if someone who is born into a group engages in political struggle to understand and critically question the conditions that shape the group's life. • For example, if you are _____ (e.g., African American, low socio-economic class, female), what have you done to improve the position of that group? Culture & Communities

14. What do you think? • According to standpoint theory, different social standpoints produce different knowledge. Culture & Communities

15. Critical race theory examines how laws and legal institutions have constructed race. • Georg William Fredrick Hegel discussed the master-slave relationship and noted that the master and slave experience the "same relationship" in distinct ways because of their standpoints. • When in DC, there was talk of a master-slave relationship between the federal government and the city of DC. Culture & Communities

16. Can you think of an example of how your perspective is partial? • Because members of every social group experience culture from the perspective of their groups, all perspectives are partial. Culture & Communities

17. What does this statement mean to you?  • Our social groups powerfully shape how we communicate with ourselves, others, and the world; those in less powerful positions have more comprehensive views of social life. Culture & Communities

18. Agree or Disagree?  • According to Wood, whiteness is assumed and unquestioned in the United States. • "White is to be "without race" because the culture defines whiteness as the norm" (p. 214) Culture & Communities

19. Situated knowledges • Knowledge is situated in social circumstances.  • Refers to the overall ways of perceiving, experiencing, and knowing that are shaped by our social locations. • Some standpoints are more complete and thus more accurate than others. • What do you think makes a more accurate and complete standpoint? Culture & Communities

20. Power • Who benefits most from the status quo? • Subjugated groups have no personal investment in maintaining, much less justifying, the status quo. Culture & Communities

21. Do you have a spouse, parent, or boss you must keep happy? • Subordinate positions of power, their comfort and well-being and perhaps their survival depend on understanding the views, values, and even the moods of their masters. Culture & Communities

22. Muted group theory • Explores how dominant groups control language and meanings and silence others. • Dominant groups want to preserve a system of power relations that benefits them. • The richest way of knowing is as an outsider within. Culture & Communities

23. Groups of LESSER power in a society have a MORE comprehensive, more accurate knowledge of social life than groups of a higher social position. Culture & Communities

24. Communication • We develop standpoints by communicating with others in our groups and by participating in society as a whole. • Social location is a primary influence on the experiences, opportunities, and understandings of group members. Culture & Communities

25. Two reservations about standpoint theory •   A.  The theory inappropriately privileges marginalized standpoints. •   B.  Standpoint theory obscures human diversity. Culture & Communities

26. What are examples of speech communities? • Question!?!? • What are examples of vocabulary for the Park University Speech Community? Culture & Communities

27. Tell a Story about Park University. • "Frank (1995) notes that the core morality of personal narratives is a dual responsibility to self and others. . . when the teller of a story and the listener accept this responsibility, each has the potential to enter the other's life and to be changed by the entry" (p. 129). • Wood, J. T.  (2004).  Communication theories in action: An introduction.  Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Culture & Communities

28. Purpose:  To develop awareness of how your standpoint affects how you communication and how you interpret the communication of others. •  1.  What is your race/ethnicity?  2.  What is your sex?  3.  What is your sexual orientation?  4.  What is your socio-economic class?  What is (are) your ethnic identifications)?  6.  Describe any disabilities that you have.  7.  What are your spiritual beliefs (these may or may not be part of a formal religion)?  8.  What is your age?  9.  Are you currently involved in a serious romantic relationship?  10.  Identify other facets of your identity that you consider important influences on who you are.REFLECTIONLook over your answers.  1.  What do they tell you about who you are?  2.  Compare your communication style and goals with the communication styles and goals of others in your class who answered the questions in different ways.  3.  Can you identify connections between aspects of personal identity and communication behaviors? Culture & Communities

29. SPEECH COMMUNITIES • Different social groups teach members distinct styles of communicating and interpreting the communication of others. • Langer discussed discourse communities--language is the key to shared cultural life.  Collective life is possible only when a group of people shares a symbol system and the meanings associated with it. • 6-10,000 languages in the world Culture & Communities

30. Speech community:  • A group of people who share not only a common language but also understandings of rules and norms that guide how members of the group practice and interpret speech activities. • Exists when a group of people understands goals and styles of communication in ways not shared by people outside of the group. Culture & Communities

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