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Chapter 3: History and Intercultural Communication

Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e

Chapter 3

History and Intercultural Communication

Study Objectives

After studying the material in this chapter, students should be able to accomplish the following

objectives.

1. Understand the role of history in intercultural communication interactions. Describe some

of the histories that influence our communication.

2. Explain the importance of “nonmainstream” histories and their relation to cultural

identities. Explain why it is necessary to recover nonmainstream histories.

3. Understand the role of narratives in understanding various histories.

4. Understand the importance of history in contemporary intercultural relations.

5. Explain how diasporic histories influence intercultural interactions.

6. Explain how we can negotiate histories in interactions.

Key Terms

• Colonial histories

• Cultural group histories

• Diaspora

• Diasporic histories

• Ethnic histories

• Family histories

• Gender histories

• Grand narrative

• Homo narrans

• Intellectual histories

• National histories

• Political histories

• Postcolonialism

• Racial histories

• Religious histories

• Sexual orientation histories

• Social histories

• Socioeconomic class histories

Chapter 3: History and Intercultural Communication

Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e

Detailed Chapter Outline

Introduction

• It is not always immediately apparent what history has to do with culture, communication,

or intercultural communication. The history that people know and their feelings about that

history are strongly influenced by their culture. When people from differing cultural

backgrounds encounter one another, these differences can form hidden barriers to

communication.

o However, people often overlook this set of dynamics in intercultural communication.

Although people typically think of “history” as something contained in history

books, an awareness of history is important in understanding intercultural interaction.

• History, of course, spans a long, long time. Many events have happened in the past that

have created differences among cultural groups and then maintained those differences. It is

not always easy to look back and deal with some of these events.

• Culture and cultural identities are intimately tied to history, as they have no meaning

without history. Yet there is no single version of history; the past has been recorded in

many different ways.

• The stories of the past, accurate or inaccurate, help people understand why their families

live where they do, why they own or lost land there, and so on. It helps them understand

who they are and why they live and communicate in the ways they do.

I. From History to Histories

• Many different kinds of history influence people’s understanding of who they are—as

individuals, as family members, as members of cultural groups, as citizens of a nation.

These histories necessarily overlap and influence one another.

o Identifying the various historical contexts is the first step in understanding how

history affects communication.

A. Political, Intellectual, and Social Histories

• Some people view “history” as only that information contained in documented events.

o When these types of history focus on political events, they are called political

histories. Political histories are often the type of history taught in history courses.

In these histories people learn about the past through politicians, such as Roman,

Chinese, and other emperors, monarchs, as well as presidents and their decisions

that helped shape the past.

Chapter 3: History and Intercultural Communication

Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e

o When the focus is on the transmission and development of ideas or ways of

thinking, they are called intellectual histories. An intellectual history might trace

the development of ideas about the unconscious or democracy.

o And when the focus is on the everyday life experiences of various groups in the

past, they are called social histories. Social histories tell people about how they

understand the past, but from a focus on their everyday lives.

• The ways of organizing and thinking about history, as mentioned above, may seem

more manageable than the broad notion of history as “everything that has happened

before now.” But many different kinds of history influence people’s views and

knowledge about the past, and many historical events never get documented.

B. Family Histories

• Family histories occur at the same time as other histories but on a more personal level.

Often, they are not written down but are passed along orally from one generation to the

next.

• Many family histories are deeply intertwined with ethnic group histories and religious

histories, but the family histories identify the family’s actual participation in these

events. A key issue is whether it is possible or even desirable to escape from the history

of one’s family.

C. National Histories

• Obviously, the national histories of nations—its great events and figures—are

important to the people of that nation.

o U.S. national history typically begins with the arrival of Europeans in North

America. U.S. citizens are expected to recognize the great events and the so-called

great people (mostly men of European ancestry) who were influential in the

development of the country.

• National history gives people a shared notion of who they are and solidifies their sense

of nationhood.

D. Cultural Group Histories

• Although people may share a single national history, each cultural group within the

nation may have its own history. The history may be hidden, but it also is related to the

national history. These cultural group histories help people understand the identity of

the group.

• History represents the many stories people tell about the past, rather than one ongoing

Chapter 3: History and Intercultural Communication

Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e

story on a singular time continuum. Certainly, the events of families, cultural groups,

and nations are related; even world events are related. Ignorance of the histories of other

groups makes intercultural communication more difficult and fraught with potential

misunderstandings.

E. The Power of Other Histories

• The past is very complex and people have attempted to understand history in a way that

helps make sense of this complexity. In order to do so, many cultures developed what is

called a “grand narrative” to explain the past and, in part, the future. By telling a

particular story about the past, the grand narrative brings coherence to everything that

has happened before now.

• Since then, many other stories have arisen that have challenged the grand narrative.

• In place of the grand narrative are revised and restored histories that had been

suppressed, hidden, or erased.

• It may seem daunting to confront the history of the world, and, indeed, there are many

histories of the world. Nevertheless, the more one knows, the better one will be

positioned to engage in successful intercultural interactions.

II. History and Identity

A. Histories as Stories

• According to communication scholar Walter Fisher, telling stories is fundamental to the

human experience. Instead of referring to humans as Homo sapiens, Fisher prefers to

call them Homo narrans, because that label underscores the importance of narratives in

human life.

• Histories are stories people use to make sense of who they are and who they think others

are. However, it is important to recognize that a strong cultural element sometimes

encourages people to try to forget history.

• By ignoring history, people sometimes come to wrongheaded conclusions about others

that reinforce particular stereotypes.

B. Nonmainstream Histories

• For people whose histories are hidden from the mainstream, speaking out is an

important step in the construction of personal and cultural identities.

• Different religious groups have had very different experiences throughout history.

Religious histories emphasize the role of religions in understanding the past.

Chapter 3: History and Intercultural Communication

Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e

o Religious histories are never isolated; rather, they crisscross other cultural

trajectories. Thus, people may feel placed in the role of victim or victimizer by

historical events, or even both roles at the same time.

• Gender histories emphasize the importance of gender in understanding the past,

particularly the role of women. These histories are important in understanding how

people live today, but they are often ignored.

• Although contemporary scholars are very much interested in women’s history, they find

it difficult to write that history due to the historical restrictions on women’s access to

public forums, public documents, and public records.

• It is important to note that contemporary life continues to be influenced by gender

histories. Traditionally, many women were encouraged to focus on the home and on

domestic concerns. Even today, many women in dual-career couples feel tremendous

pressure to do the bulk of the housework, reflecting the influence of the past on the

present.

• Sexual orientation histories emphasize the significance of sexuality in understanding

the past and the present, yet these histories are often overlooked or silenced.

o If people do not listen to or cannot hear the voices of others, they will miss

important historical lessons and create enormous misunderstandings about who

they are.

o Martin Duberman notes that “until recently the official image of the typical

American was hysterically suburban: Anglo-Saxon, monogamous, heterosexual

parents pair-bonded with two children and two cars—an image as narrow and

propagandist as the smiling workers of China saluting the rice fields.” To correct

this narrow view of the past, he wrote a partial history of gays and lesbians in the

United States.

o How people think and what they know about the past contribute to building and

maintaining communities and cultural identities. For example, stories of the

treatment of gays and lesbians during World War II promote a common history

and influence intercultural communication among gays and lesbians in France,

Germany, the Netherlands, and other nations.

• People from nonmainstream cultural groups often struggle to retain their histories.

Mainstream history has neither the time nor the space to include all ethnic and racial

histories, which focus on the significance of race and ethnicity in understanding the

past.

o Sometimes, the histories of such cultural groups seem to question, and even

undermine, the celebratory nature of a national history.

o The injustices done by any nation are often swept under the carpet.

• A massive migration, often caused by war, famine, enslavement, or persecution, that

results in the dispersal of a unified group is called a diaspora.

Chapter 3: History and Intercultural Communication

Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e

o A cultural group (or even an individual) that flees its homeland is likely to bring

along some old customs and practices to its new homeland.

• Diasporic histories help people understand the important cultural connections among

those affected by diasporas and other transnational migrations.

• Due to overpopulation, limited resources, notions of grandeur, or other factors, many

people in recent centuries left their homelands to colonize other lands. It is important to

recognize these colonial histories, which emphasize the important role of colonialism

in understanding the past and its influence on the present, so people can better

understand the dynamics of intercultural communication today.

• The imposition of language is but one aspect of cultural invasion. Much colonial history

is a history of oppression and brutality. To cast off the legacy, many people have looked

toward postcolonialism—an intellectual, political, and cultural movement that calls for

the independence of colonized states and for liberation from colonialist ways of

thinking.

• Many U.S. Americans prefer to ignore class differences, but socioeconomic class has

been a significant factor in the way people experienced the past. Socioeconomic class

histories focus on the role of class in understanding these experiences. While people

often overlook the importance of socioeconomic class as a factor in history,

socioeconomic class helps explain why many people have immigrated to the United

States.

III. Intercultural Communication and History

• People are often uncomfortable in dealing with the past because they do not know how

they should feel about or deal with many of the ugly things that have happened.

o Native peoples throughout most of the United States were exterminated or removed

to settlements in other regions, and many states now have few Native Americans and

few, if any, reservations.

o The current residents had nothing to do with the events in their state’s history, but

they are the beneficiaries through the ownership of farms and other land. So,

although contemporary U.S. Americans are not in a position of fault, they are,

through these benefits, in a position of responsibility.

• It is important to recognize that one’s identities—as a member of a racial or ethnic group, a

nationality, a socioeconomic class, and so on—do not have the same meanings for one as

they might for someone with differing identities.

• Also, people should understand the role that histories play in their identities, in what they

bring to the interaction.

A. Historical Legacies

Chapter 3: History and Intercultural Communication

Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e

• What is important to understand is that the past is not simply over; rather, people should

consider all of the ways that the past has constructed how they live in the present and

what they think should happen in the future. These are all influences in intercultural

interaction and how people think about themselves and others.

Discussion Questions

1. How do the differing viewpoints about history affect communication?

2. Where are you from, and what does that mean to you? What does it mean to be a mid-

westerner, a southerner, a Californian, and a New Yorker?

3. Why do regional identities exist in the United States? What do they mean?

4. Think about your family’s history—in what ways has your family history been influenced

by your family’s membership in certain cultural groups but not others?

5. How does your family history tie into the larger story of U.S. history?

6. Is it possible to escape from the history of your family? Why would someone want to do

so?

7. What historical events have been ignored in the national history of the United States?

8. What historical forces led you to speak one language and not others?

9. What are some examples of political histories, intellectual histories, and social histories?

10. What are some examples of “hidden” histories, and why are they hidden?

11. Do you agree with the phrase “Everybody loves Americans”? Why, or why not?

12. How might the lack of historical awareness affect communication? Provide an example.

13. Why might it be unwise to ask people where they are really from?

14. What makes diasporic histories different from other types of histories?

Classroom Exercises and Chapter Activities

1. Defining History Exercise: Ask students what the term “history” means to them. Have

them explain their answers (in a culturally diverse class, students will probably give a

variety of answers; in a monocultural class, answers might be more unified, suggesting that

history is not very important). This exercise should be used as an introduction before

students have read the chapter. You can list the various responses on the board and ask

students to think about them as they read the chapter, have the students respond in a journal

entry, or use the responses to start a lecture and a discussion about the different histories.

2. Family/Local History Assignment: The goal of this assignment is to help students become

more familiar with their own personal family history or the history of their community.

Have students interview an elderly (at least 70 years old) family member or member of

Chapter 3: History and Intercultural Communication

Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e

their community (preferably someone who has spent the majority of his or her life in the

community). Students should prepare questions that invite the interviewees to talk about

what they remember about growing up, including the following: the changes they have

witnessed (social, technological, economic, and so on), how they feel these have affected

the family/community, what they know about the origin of the family/community, how

they think growing up today is different from when they grew up, and whether they feel

that values in society have changed and what effect this change has had on their life today.

Students should take notes or ask permission to record the interview. After completing the

interview, they should write a paper that addresses questions such as the following:

• How do you think growing up in your family/community is different today than it

was for your interviewee?

• What are some of the changes that have occurred in the United States during the

lifetime of your interviewee, and how do you think those changes have affected your

family/community?

• What new information did you learn about your family/community?

• What did you learn about the origins of your family/community in the United States?

• Of the information you gained, what was the most interesting/meaningful to you?

3. Negotiating History Exercise: This exercise is designed to encourage students to

investigate a significant event in U.S. history from different cultural perspectives. Have

students identify each of the parties involved, and then have the students produce different

historical accounts of the same event based on the perspective(s) of the various

participants. Research may include videos or magazine articles concerning the event(s), but

it is likely that students will need to look at nonacademic resources for this assignment. In

addition, students may want to interview cultural informants asking for their opinions

about this event.

For example, the event might be Christopher Columbus’s “discovery” of America and the

parties involved include Native Americans, European Americans, African Americans,

Asians, Latinos, Europeans, and Spaniards.

During the class, students can present this event from an assigned perspective, or they can

gather in small groups or as a whole class to discuss variations in the perspectives and how

these variations might affect communication. Students should be able to

understand/defend/support why the group perceived the situation the way it did.

4. Variation to Negotiating History Exercise: Pick a recent event that focuses on intercultural

communication that has been in the news, and have students investigate the event

following the guidelines given in the previous exercise.

5. History Assignment: This assignment is designed to encourage students to learn about

someone whose culture is different from their own by reading about that person’s life.

Have students read an autobiography or essay about a person whose culture, religion,

gender, sexual orientation, or social class status is different from their own. The person

may be famous, but this is not necessary to meet the goals of the assignment. Students can

either make verbal presentations to the class or write a two- to three-page report about the

person’s life. Ask them to point out how events in the person’s cultural, gender,

socioeconomic, or other histories influenced her or his life.

6. Ethnicity and Communication Assignment: This assignment is designed to motivate

students to think about their own ethnic histories and the extent to which their histories

influence their communication. It may be useful as a required entry in a larger journal

assignment. Instruct students to research their own family background to gain a sense of

their ethnic identity. They should talk with parents and other family members to find out

where each generation of their ancestors was raised. With this information, they should

address the following questions:

• What is your ethnic background?

• What are the influences of ethnic background on your personality (who you are) and

how do they influence it?

• In case your ethnic background has very little influence on your behavior, what other

variables do you feel contribute to your behavior?

• To what extent do you think people are aware of your ethnic background? Do you

think this influences the way they communicate with you?

7. Guest Lecture Exercise: Invite individuals from the college or the community who are

comfortable discussing the hidden histories of the group to which they belong into your

classroom. Be sure to allow enough time for a short presentation and for students to ask

questions of each guest about the history of his/her group.

8. Guest Lecture Exercise Variation: After the guest lecture about non-mainstream histories,

have students write a one- to two-page essay or assigned journal entry on their reactions to

one of the guest lecturer’s stories, answering the following questions:

• What is the history of the guest lecturer you are writing about?

• What is your personal history? (That is, if the guest discussed a religious history

different from the student’s, the student should discuss his or her own religious

history.)

• How does your history and the guest lecturer’s history differ?

Chapter 3: History and Intercultural Communication

Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e

• What factors might contribute to the success or failure of an intercultural interaction

between the two of you?

9. Holocaust History Project: Use the recordings or writings of American Jews that can be

found on the Holocaust History Project website

(http://holocausthistoryproject.blogspot.com/), and have students discuss the power of such

histories on how events are remembered.