Engaging Intercultural Communication for Social Justice

1. Engaging Intercultural Communication for Social Justice • Lindsey Lancette • CMST 203 HONR

2. Important Terms • Social Justice: • “full and equal participation of all groups in a society that is mutually shaped to meet their needs” (Bell and Griffen 1, quoted by Sorrells) • “should be democratic and participatory, inclusive and affirming of human agency and human capacities for working collaboratively to create change” (Adams et al. 3, quoted by Sorrells) • Plurally: viewing culture differences non-judgmentally • Intercultural Competency: knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to engage in intercultural situations.

3. McIntosh’s Capacities for Global Citizenship • Based on needs, not rights • Abilities of the mind: • 1. Observe self and surrounding world • 2. Compare and contrast own world and surrounding world • 3. See plurally because of this process • 4. Understand that reality and language can vary from person to person • 5. See and understand power relations • 6. Balance awareness of one’s realities and others’ realities

4. McIntosh’s Capacities for Global Citizenship Part 2 • Capacities of the heart: • 1. Ability to respect and examine one’s own feelings • 2. Awareness of others’ feelings and ability to validate them • 3. Ability to experience mixed feelings without losing integrity • 4. Ability to experience worlds plurally without losing core orientation • 5. Capacity to wish competing parties well • 6. Ability to understand “politics of location’s” effect on one’s own and others’ positions and power • 7. Ability to balance being heartfelt while knowing how cultures are embedded

5. Discussion! • What role does “politics of location” play regarding power? • McIntosh states that those with less formal education have stronger capacities of the heart than those with more formal education. Why might this be? • How might a shift in emphasis from “human rights” to “human needs” affect global discourses?

6. Intercultural Praxis as a Blueprint for Intercultural Competency • Inquiry • Challenges and complements Western traditions of equating statements/assertions as truths • Allows us to engage with others and recognize the plurality of beliefs and experiences • Framing • Awareness that our perspectives of ourselves, others, and the world are enabled and restricted by frames (highlighting and hiding) • Shifting frames help us to better understand various misunderstandings and conflicts within intercultural communication • Positioning • Understanding our positions in relation to others • Reminder to look into who speaks and who is silent in certain situations

7. Blueprint Part 2 • Dialogue • Ability to step outside of our comfort zones when communicating interculturally • Reflection • Needed every step of the way! • Allows for awareness of how culture shapes a person • Can allow for reframing and repositioning from “how things are/must be” to acknowledgement of oppressive conditions or relations of power • Action • Use previous steps to take responsible actions that make a difference in the world.

8. More Discussion! • Working with your previous discussion groups, describe a situation where intercultural praxis as a blueprint for intercultural competency could be used for social justice. • The situation can be real or made up. • However, if it is made up, try to base it off of actual international events. • Information on the blueprint can be found on pages 231-234 in the section titled “Intercultural Competence.”

9. Example (Made Up) • Basis: Female genital mutilation (FGM) has been problematic in Africa to the point that several governments have outlawed it. However, governments in Western Africa have been more successful than those in Eastern Africa. How might intercultural praxis have played a role in this success? • Inquiry: Communicating with and learning about cultures that practice FGM non-judgmentally helps to begin positive relationships between these cultures and those who want to end it. • Framing: Shift frame of reference from culture where FGM is barbaric to frame where this practice is an important religious ritual • Positioning: Understand that those wishing to end FGM are oftentimes in positions of power, while groups practicing it may have less power. Within these groups, understand who has the power and how they may be influencing the practice. • Dialogue: Engage in more intense discussions with groups who perform FGM. Get to the root of why it happens, finding information that may not have been revealed during the inquiry stage. • Reflection: Think about information gathered throughout the process and act accordingly. If reflecting on the action phase, think about how and why the action worked or didn’t work. Figure out how to make plan of action more successful. • Action: Don’t present abolition of FGM as the dominant group subjecting its will onto a non-dominant group. In addition to legally abolishing the practice, emphasize other aspects as to why FGM is problematic, such as the health risks that women who experience it face.

10. Thank you for your attention and participation!

11. Sources • Basis information for example courtesy of Dr. Richard Liebendorfer’s Philosophy 205W course • Sorrels, Kathryn. Intercultural Communication: Globalization • and Social Justice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, • Inc., 2012. Print.