Week 3: History Analysis

1.   Why would it be important to examine the role of history in Intercultural Communication?

                Culture and cultural identities are intimately tied to history, as they have no meaning without history (Martin and Nakayama, 2011, pg 68).  With so many different cultures in the world, it is important that people understand and respect the fact that their culture’s history may not be the same as someone close to them.  A person’s history may speak a lot about their personality and be helpful in identifying proper communication styles and techniques.

Especially in the business world, it is extremely important to examine the history of hopeful future clientele.  If a company has a better understanding of where their client’s history and directive influence come from, a person can better prepare themselves with a sales pitch.  For example:  In the United States, it is proper to maintain direct eye contact when speaking with someone.  In Zimbabwe, however, it is considered rude to maintain eye contact while conversing (Wu, 2011).   So, if an American business is wishing to do business with Zimbabwe, they must make sure they are aware of their cultural gesture differences before they ever meet in person.

2.   What are hidden histories and how might hidden histories affect intercultural interactions?

In a nutshell, hidden histories are histories that typically are not conveyed in a widespread manner (Martin and Nakayama, 2011, pg 87).  When looking more into the term, I began researching online and found out that some Canadians are actually trying to teach readers about one of their hidden histories called The Canadian Holocaust… who knew? 

If you’d like you read about The Canadian Holocaust visit: http://www.hiddenfromhistory.org/

 I have also come to understand that not only do countries have hidden histories but people may as well.  For example, in many adoption cases medical backgrounds are hard to trace, leaving the child without an accurate medical history.  My mother, for example was adopted shortly after she was born.  Her fraternal mother was unaware of her own medical background so when she was adopted by my grandparents they were unaware of her complete history.  To this day, my mother is still completely unaware of her fraternal family’s cultural background.  And much like my mother’s case, when people adopt from other cultures, they may undergo similar complications. Therefore, a hidden history can subsequently hurt or alter future planning and/or decisions, especially with intercultural communication.  (i.e. If a country is unaware of their other country’s business partners faulty history, they run the risk of damaging their own company.)

3.   Compare and contrast family histories with national histories.

As we have learned, a single person takes part in many different cultures throughout their lifetime; and within each culture a history is created.  Much like other cultural histories, national and family histories rely on the spread of communication.  If it were not for the generations of people recreating and retelling tales of greatness and traditions, histories would be lost and forgotten.  National and family histories also may also differ from other national or family histories, making them somewhat unique to their cultural members.

Even though these two histories appear similar, they could not be more different.  A national history is much more widely known and embraced by all of its nation’s inhabitants.  It is made up of great events/important figures from events in which the nation has deemed of great importance.  Many people, within the nation, learn of their national history through school books and historical narratives.  On the other hand, family histories occur at the same time as other histories but on a more personal level.  They are made up of special moments and influenced by every family member.  In most cases, they are not written down, but are passed along orally from one generation the next (Martin and Nakayama, 2011, pg. 70).

4.   How is the history of gays and lesbians relevant to intercultural communication?

Our book states, “sexual orientation histories emphasize the significance of sexuality in understanding the past and the present, yet these histories are often overlooked or silenced” (Martin and Nakayama, 2011, pg 77).  This statement is very true.  History of sexual orientation has often been overlooked; take Abraham Lincoln for example.  Did you know that President Abraham Lincoln was/is rumored to have had homosexual tendencies?  A recently published book, entitled The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln written by C.A. Tripp, takes an in-depth look at Lincoln’s life and explores his changing sexual orientation throughout his lifetime.  This book shocked many people when it first came out, as they were unaware of President Lincoln’s hidden love life.  However, considering they did not have the titles of ‘gay’ and ‘lesbian’ back in his time, Lincoln cannot be accurately be identified as gay by today’s standards.  (And regardless to his orientation, Lincoln is remembered for his great work.)

I believe the overall importance in knowing the history of gays and lesbians is primarily for the purpose of other cultures acknowledging its existence.   Within intercultural communication, a person is most likely going to work with someone of a different sexual orientation.  And by a person learning about the histories of different sexual orientations, they broaden their awareness and possibly become more accepting of current or future co-workers.

5.   How can we negotiate histories in interactions?

“The desire to escape history is significant in what it tells us about how our own culture negotiates its relation to the past and how we view the relation of other nations and cultures to their pasts” (Martin and Nakayama, 2011, pg. 75).  By learning about other culture’s histories, we give ourselves a better understanding to the world around us and increase the chance for successful intercultural interaction. 

For example:  Recently my family and I traveled abroad to Paris, France for a vacation.  Prior to our trip we were aware that the French culture was not fond of our American culture, so in our careful planning we planned to stay in the areas that would be deemed as “tourist friendly.”  By having prior knowledge of the French history and culture, we were able to negotiate our trip successfully and interact with French people who were more welcoming to tourists.

References

Hidden From History. Hidden From History: The Canadian Holocaust: The Untold Story of the Genocide of Aboriginal Peoples. 2008. <http://www.hiddenfromhistory.org/>.

Martin, Judith N. and Thomas K. Nakayama. Experiencing Intercultural Communication. 4th. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011.

Tripp, C. A. The Intimate World Of Abraham Lincoln. Free Press, 2005.

Wu, Charlene. Cultural Gestures. 2010. <http://soc302.tripod.com/soc_302rocks/id6.html>.