Unlock document.
This document is partially blurred.
Unlock all pages and 1 million more documents.
Get Access
1
Chapter 8: Culture, Communication, and Conflict
Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
Chapter 8
Culture, Communication, and Conflict
Study Objectives
After studying the material in this chapter, students should be able to accomplish the following
objectives.
1. Identify and describe the characteristics of intercultural conflict.
2. Define interpersonal conflict and its characteristics.
3. Identify five different types of conflict.
4. List the basic principles of nonviolence.
5. Suggest some ways in which cultures differ in their views toward conflict.
6. Understand how people come by their conflict strategies.
7. Identify and describe four styles for dealing with intercultural conflict.
8. Discuss the relationship between ethnicity, gender and conflict communication.
9. Define social movements.
10. Explain why it is important to understand the role of the social and historical contexts in
intercultural conflicts.
11. Discuss some suggestions for dealing with intercultural conflicts.
Key Terms
• Accommodating style
• Anti-Americanism
• Conflict
• Direct approach
• Discussion style
• Dynamic style
• Emotionally expressive style
• Engagement style
• Facework
• Facilitated intergroup dialogue
• Incompatibility
• Indirect approach
• Intercultural conflict
• Interdependent
2
Chapter 8: Culture, Communication, and Conflict
Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
• Intermediary
• International conflict
• Interpersonal conflict
• Mediation
• Pacifism
• Peacebuilding
• Political conflict
• Religious conflict
• Restraint style
• Social conflict
• Social movements
Detailed Chapter Outline
I. Introduction
• One thing to be sure of is that conflict is unavoidable. Conflicts are happening all around
the world, as they always have, and at many different levels. For example, conflicts can
happen on the interpersonal level, called interpersonal conflict.
• Interpersonal conflicts can also be intergenerational.
• Conflicts can also happen on a societal level, known as political conflict.
• An example of international conflict has been seen tensions between the United States,
Russia, and their allies being played out in the proxy war in Syria.
• Conflicts in one country can spill over into another—the thousands of refugees from Syria
(and Iraq and Afghanistan) fleeing to nearby and even distant countries, often encountering
violence and conflict in their new country.
• One conflict may have interpersonal, political, and international dimensions, dramatically
seen, for example, in clashes between migrants and residents in many European locales in
2015.
II. Characteristics of Intercultural Conflict
• Conflict is usually defined as involving a perceived or real incompatibility of goals,
values, expectations, processes, or outcomes between two or more interdependent
individuals or groups.
• One unique characteristic of intercultural conflict is that it tends to be more ambiguous
than intracultural conflict. Other characteristics involve language issues and contradictory
conflict styles.
3
Chapter 8: Culture, Communication, and Conflict
Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
A. Ambiguity
• There is often some ambiguity in intercultural conflicts.
o People may be unsure of how to handle the conflict or of whether the conflict is
seen in the same way by the other person. And the other person may not even
think there is a conflict.
• However, often when people encounters ambiguity, they quickly resort to their default
style of handling conflict—the style they learned in their family.
o If one’s preferred way of handling conflict is to deal with it immediately but one
is already in a conflict with someone who prefers to avoid it, the conflict may
become exacerbated as both people retreat to their preferred styles.
B. Language Issues
• Language can sometimes lead to intercultural conflict, and it can also be the primary
vehicle for solving intercultural conflict.
• However, when people don’t know the language well, it is very difficult to handle
conflict effectively.
o At the same time, some silence is not necessarily a bad thing.
o Sometimes it provides a “cooling off” period during which the participants can
calm down and gather their thoughts.
C. Contradictory Conflict Styles
• In the maquiladoras, the biggest difference between U.S. Americans and Mexicans
seems to be in the way U.S. Americans express disagreement at management meetings.
o The Mexican managers tend to be more indirect and more polite in conflict
situations, whereas the U.S. American managers prefer to confront conflict
directly and openly.
III. Conflict Types and Contexts
• Perhaps if everyone agreed on the best way to view conflict, there would be less of it. The
reality is that different approaches to conflict may result in more conflict.
A. Types of Conflict
• Affective conflict occurs when individuals become aware that their feelings and
4
Chapter 8: Culture, Communication, and Conflict
Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
emotions are incompatible.
• A conflict of interest describes a situation in which people have incompatible
preferences for a course of action or plan to pursue.
• Value conflict, a more serious type, occurs when people have differing ideologies.
• Cognitive conflict describes a situation in which two or more people become aware that
their thought processes or perceptions are in conflict.
• Goal conflict occurs when people disagree about a preferred outcome or end state.
B. The Importance of Context
• How people choose to manage conflict may depend on the particular context or
situation.
o Thus, the conflict context can be viewed in the following two ways:
▪ In terms of the actual situation in which the conflict happens
▪ As a larger societal context
IV. Influences on Conflict Management
• A key question is this: Is open conflict good or bad? That is, should conflict be welcomed
because it provides opportunities to strengthen relationships? Or should it be avoided
because it can only lead to problems for relationships and groups?
• Another key question is this: What is the best way to handle conflict when it arises? Should
individuals talk about it directly, deal with it indirectly, or avoid it? Should emotions be
part of the conflict resolution? Are expressions of emotions viewed as showing
commitment to resolving the conflict at hand? Or is it better to be restrained and solve
problems by rational logic rather than emotional expressiveness?
A. Cultural Values Influence
• How do cultural values influence conflict management? One way to answer this
question is to look at cultural variations in facework.
o Facework refers to specific communication strategies people use to “save” their
own or another person’s face and is a universal concept; how people “do”
facework varies from culture to culture and influences conflict styles.
o For example, people from individualistic societies tend to be more concerned with
saving their own face than another person’s, so they tend to use more direct
conflict management styles.
o In contrast, people from collectivistic societies tend to be more concerned with
preserving group harmony and with saving the other person’s face (and dignity)
5
Chapter 8: Culture, Communication, and Conflict
Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
during conflict.
▪ They may use a less direct conversational style; protecting the other
person’s face and making him or her look good is considered a skillful
facework style.
B. Family Influences
• The ways in which people respond to conflict may be influenced by their cultural
background. More specifically, most people deal with conflict in the way they learned
while growing up—their default style.
• Conflict resolution strategies usually relate to how people manage their self-image in
relationships.
o They may prefer to preserve their own self esteem rather than help the other
person “save face.”
o They may prefer to sacrifice their own self-esteem in order to preserve the
relationship.
• Sometimes people try very hard to reject the conflict styles they saw their parents using.
• Family conflict can also arise from generational differences in immigrant families that
reflect intercultural differences.
C. Two Approaches to Conflict
• There are at least two primary ways that one can approach conflict. An individual can
be either direct or indirect, and can be either emotionally expressive or restrained.
o This direct/indirect approach to conflict is similar to the direct/indirect language
dimension.
• Some cultural groups think that conflict is fundamentally a good thing; these groups feel
that it is best to approach conflict very directly, because working through conflicts
constructively results in stronger, healthier, and more satisfying relationships.
• Similarly, groups that work through conflict can gain new information about members
or about other groups, defuse more serious conflict, and increase group cohesiveness.
o People who take this approach concentrate on using very precise language.
o The goal in this approach is to articulate the issues carefully and select the “best”
solution based on an agreed-upon set of criteria.
• However, many cultural groups view conflict as ultimately destructive for relationships.
o When conflict does arise, the strong spiritual value of pacifism dictates a
nonresistant response—often avoidance or dealing with conflict very indirectly.
o Also, these groups think that when members disagree they should adhere to the
consensus of the group rather than engage in conflict. In fact, members who
6
Chapter 8: Culture, Communication, and Conflict
Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
threaten group harmony may be sanctioned.
• A second broad approach to conflict concerns the role of emotion in conflict. People
who value intense and overt displays of emotions during discussion of disagreement
rely on the emotionally expressive style.
• On the other hand, people who believe in the restraint style think that disagreements
are best discussed in an emotionally calm manner.
• These two approaches to conflict resolution reflect different underlying cultural values
involving identity and preserving self-esteem.
D. Intercultural Conflict Styles
• It is possible to combine the four dimensions discussed and come up with four different
conflict resolution styles that seem to be connected to various cultural groups: the
discussion style, the engagement style, the accommodating style, and the dynamic style.
o The discussion style combines the direct and emotionally restrained dimensions
and emphasizes a verbally direct approach for dealing with disagreements—to
“say what you mean and mean what you say.”
o The engagement style emphasizes a verbally direct and confrontational approach
to dealing with conflict. This style views intense verbal and nonverbal expression
of emotion as demonstrating sincerity and willingness to engage intensely to
resolve conflict.
o The accommodating style emphasizes an indirect approach for dealing with
conflict and a more emotionally restrained manner. People who use this style may
be ambiguous and indirect in expressing their views, thinking that this is a way to
ensure that the conflict “doesn’t get out of control.”
▪ People who think that interpersonal conflict provides opportunities to
strengthen relationships also use mediation, but mainly in formal settings.
For instance, people retain lawyers to mediate disputes, hire real estate
agents to negotiate commercial transactions, and engage counselors or
therapists to resolve or manage interpersonal conflicts.
o The dynamic style uses an indirect style of communicating along with a more
emotionally intense expressiveness. People who use this style may use strong
language, stories, metaphors, and use of third-party intermediaries.
• As with any generalization, however, it must be remembered that all conflict resolution
styles can be found in any one cultural group, and while cultural groups tend to prefer
one style over another, people must be careful not to stereotype.
o Also, these cultural differences may depend on a number of factors, including the
following:
▪ Whether regions have been historically homogeneous and isolated from
7
Chapter 8: Culture, Communication, and Conflict
Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
other cultures
▪ The influence of colonization
▪ The immigration history of different cultural groups
E. Gender, Ethnicity, and Conflict
• People’s gender and ethnicity may influence how they handle conflict.
• Some research shows that men and women do tend to behave in stereotypical ways in
some contexts—men use a more engagement conflict style, whereas women use a more
accommodating style.
o This may reflect the fact that in many cultures, women are socialized to focus on
relationships and to be more accommodating and indirect in their interaction,
while men are socialized to be more competitive.
• Ethnicity may also influence conflict style.
o At least one study showed that Asian and Latino Americans tended to use
accommodating and third-party conflict styles more than African Americans and
Asian Americans also tended to use more accommodating conflict tactics than
European Americans.
F. Religion and Conflict
• Religious differences also can be an important source of conflict.
o Religious beliefs are often a source of very strongly held views that can cause
religious conflict with others who may not share those views.
o While not all people read the Bible in the same way, religious differences can
influence how people view their civic responsibilities and how to appropriately
respond.
V. Managing Intercultural Conflict
A. Productive Versus Destructive Conflict
• Given all the variations in how people deal with conflicts, what happens when there is
conflict in intercultural relationships? One option involves distinguishing between
productive and destructive conflict in at least four ways:
o First, in productive conflict, individuals or groups try to identify the specific
problem; in destructive conflict, they make sweeping generalizations and have
negative attitudes.
o Second, in productive conflict, individuals or groups focus on the original issue;
8
Chapter 8: Culture, Communication, and Conflict
Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
in destructive conflict, they escalate the conflict from the original issues and
anything in the relationship is open for reexamination.
o Third, in productive conflict, individuals or groups direct the discussion toward
cooperative problem solving (“How can we work this out?”); in destructive
conflict, they try to seize power and use threats, coercion, and deception (“Either
you do what I want, or . . .”).
o Finally, in productive conflict, individuals or groups value leadership that stresses
mutually satisfactory outcomes; in destructive conflict, they polarize behind
single-minded and militant leadership.
B. Competitive Versus Cooperative Conflict
• Conflict often spirals into long-term negativity, with the conflicting parties establishing
a self-perpetuating, mutually confirming expectation.
• According to Morton Deutsch, the general tone of a relationship will promote certain
processes and acts.
• Exploration may be done in various ways in different cultures, but it has several basic
steps.
o The issue is put on hold
o Both parties explore other options.
o They delegate the problem to a third party.
VI. Understanding Conflict and Society
• Many intercultural conflicts can be better understood by looking at the social, economic,
historical, and political forces.
A. Social and Economic Forces
• Social conflict arises from unequal or unjust social relationships.
o Some experts say it’s just hooliganism—young undisciplined looters lashing out
against society. And some point out the religious element, describing the conflict
as rooted in Islamic discontent with the West, particularly in France, because
many of the rioters come from Islamic backgrounds.
• However, people need to look beyond religious or ethnic differences to economic,
political, and even historical contexts and emphasize the point that conflicts are often
more complicated than they first appear.
• Some experts said that it was more a lack of jobs than religious fanaticism that
motivated the riots and may have even contributed to the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris.
9
Chapter 8: Culture, Communication, and Conflict
Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
o On the other hand, to exclude other explanations is to insult the poor people who
didn’t riot (i.e., most of them).
• In addition to economic marginalization, many ethnic and racial minorities who rioted
feel excluded from French and English society.
o Unlike the United States and Canada, where there is a belief (not always realized)
that anyone can become American or Canadian, immigrants in France,
particularly of African heritage, can never really become French; they remain
forever on the margins.
• Similar conflicts can be seen in the United States as the disparity between the wealthy
and the poor steadily increases.
o The Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011 and 2012 drew attention to the “greed
and corruption” of the top 1 percent of the U.S. population that controls almost 50
percent of the country’s wealth.
• Some believe protests and even violence are ways that society can be forced to confront
social inequalities and begin the long process of improving the situation.
B. Historical and Political Forces
• Many derogatory words gain power from their historical usage and the legacy of
oppression that they reference.
• It is only through understanding the past that people can understand what it means to be
a member of a particular cultural group.
o For example, understanding the history of Ireland helps one understand the
meaning of Irish identity.
o Other examples of historical and political forces can be seen in international
conflicts over border disputes.
• Sometimes ongoing tensions between groups is not limited to those groups and draws in
others.
o For example, the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians is not limited to
those two groups.
• Another type of political influence on intercultural conflict is anti-Americanism.
o Anti-Americanism refers to the ideas, feelings, and sometimes actions against the
United States—most often against the U.S. government, although it can also refer
to the culture and people.
o Anti-Americanism is complex because it is a unifying perspective that crosses
many cultures in ways that many cultural values do not: Foreign policy decisions
by the U.S. government, like U.S. and NATO presence in the Middle East and
unmanned drone attacks on civilians in Pakistan and Afghanistan, have resulted in
anti-American sentiments in many parts of the world.
10
Chapter 8: Culture, Communication, and Conflict
Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
• When people witness conflict, they often assume that it is caused by personal issues
between individuals. When people reduce conflict to the level of interpersonal
interaction, they lose sight of the larger social and political forces that contextualize
these conflicts.
C. Societal Responses to Conflict
• Some conflict may be motivated by a desire to bring about social change. In social
movements, individuals work together to bring about social change. They often use
confrontation as a strategy to highlight the injustices of the present system.
o For example, when African American students in Greensboro, North Carolina, sat
down at white-only lunch counters in the 1960s, they were pointing out the
injustices of segregation. Although the students were nonviolent, their actions
drew a violent reaction that, for many people, legitimized the claims of injustice.
o The women’s suffrage movement of the early twentieth century is another
example of a social movement, a mass effort to win women the right to vote in the
United States.
o Many contemporary social movements involve conflicts, including movements
against racism, sexism, and homophobia; movements to protect animal rights, the
environment, free speech, civil rights; and, recently, the Black Lives Matter
movement.
o College campuses are likely locations for much activism and a 2016 survey found
that the number of students who said there was a “very good chance” they would
participate in a protest while in college rose to 8.5 percent (up from 5.6 percent in
2014).
o There is, of course, no comprehensive list of existing social movements. They can
arise and fall apart, depending on the opposition they provoke, the media attention
they attract, and the strategies they use.
o Confrontation, then, can be seen as an opportunity for social change, and social
movements have also used violent forms of confrontation.
▪ Groups such as Action Directe in France; the Irish Republican Army; the
environmental group Earth First!; and independence movements in Corsica,
Algeria, Kosovo, and Chechnya have all been accused of using violence,
which tends to result in their being labeled as terrorists rather than simply
protesters.
• However, confrontation does not necessarily mean violence. Nonviolent sanctions like
strikes and boycotts confront and undermine the status quo. For example, in the
resistance to apartheid in South Africa, widespread boycotts and strikes put pressure on
white business owners, employers and government officials.
11
Chapter 8: Culture, Communication, and Conflict
Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
• Even the suggestion of violence can be threatening to people.
D. Peacebuilding
• Some of the conflicts described in this chapter involve long standing and violent
intergroup conflicts that have lasted for decades, often between ethnic or religious
groups within the same geographic area (e.g., Palestinians and Israelis, Sunni and Shia
Muslims in Iraq and other countries, Hindus and Muslims in India, Serbs and Croats in
former Yugoslavia, Greeks and Turks in Cyprus).
• These conflicts—where neighbor or sometimes members of the same family are on
different sides—are particularly horrific and have devastating psychological effects,
often enduring for generations.
• After years of working with these types of conflicts, communication scholar Benjamin
Broome has developed a particularly effective type of dialogue group—facilitated
intergroup dialogue.
o Dialogue differs from conversation in that it focuses on the power of speaking and
being understood; it involves listening and speaking, not to persuade, but to
clarify—even to clarify and truly understand an opposing viewpoint.
• Intergroup dialogue is one of several strategies of peacebuilding (working toward
equilibrium and stability in a society so that new disputes do not escalate into violence
and war).
o The idea behind facilitated intergroup dialogue, and peacebuilding, is that
government leaders alone cannot negotiate a true peace in these types of conflict.
• The facilitated intergroup dialogue process usually begins with bringing together
members from the two sides—persons, often community leaders, who are interested in
working toward peace.
• Sometimes, presentations are made by each party describing their view of the conflict.
Then a three-phase systematic dialogue—an exchange of ideas and perceptions—is
conducted, facilitated by an impartial, third-party expert, like Ben Broome.
o The first step involves analyzing the current situation that affects peacebuilding
efforts, the second is building a collective vision for the future, and the final step
is developing a specific action plan to achieve peaceful collaboration.
• Third-party facilitator need to deal with cultural differences as per the following, when
conducting peacebuilding efforts.
o Between the two groups (e.g., Greek Cypriots tend to be more expressive than
Turks and so, monopolized some of the early dialogue sessions)
o Between the facilitator’s own cultural orientation and the culture orientation of
those involved in the discussion.
12
Chapter 8: Culture, Communication, and Conflict
Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
E. Forgiveness
• Today, forgiveness is the strategy being used around the world to break the trap of
conflict.
o This means letting go of—not forgetting—feelings of revenge.
• It often includes an acknowledgement of feelings of hurt and anger and a need for
healing.
• Perhaps the most fundamental aspect of forgiveness is trying to let go of hostile feelings
and desire for revenge and retribution.
• Yet forgiveness is often complicated, as one can see in the case of Michael Lapsely, an
anti-apartheid chaplain who was targeted with a letter bomb in 1990 which took both
hands, an eye, and both eardrums.
Discussion Questions
1. Why is it important to understand the context in which an intercultural conflict occurs?
2. What are the characteristics of intercultural conflict?
3. How can people overcome conflict and put it behind them?
4. How do cultural values influence conflict management?
5. How can families and individuals restore relationships after hurtful interpersonal conflict?
6. Identify and provide examples of the five different types of conflict.
7. Should conflict be welcomed or avoided?
8. What are some gender and ethnic group conflict style differences?
9. How does your family handle conflict? Do you handle conflict in the same manner?
10. Identify an instance in which the conflict parties used direct or indirect approaches to
conflict resolution.
11. How might emotional expressiveness be interpreted in Chinese people versus the Amish?
12. What are some of the differences between constructive and destructive conflict?
13. Can you think of any local examples of religious conflict?
14. How might a competitive approach to conflict impact interpersonal relationships?
15. In what ways might economic forces influence conflict?
16. How do we escape the historical, political, and social forces that entrap us in conflict to
work toward a more peaceful society and world?
17. Identify a social movement that has brought about (or is bringing) social change in your
lifetime. What strategies were used? Were they effective?
18. What, in your opinion, is the possibility that the war in Iraq will result in historical
antagonism?
19. Is it possible to achieve peace?
20. Forgiveness is the strategy being used around the world to break the trap of conflict. Do
13
Chapter 8: Culture, Communication, and Conflict
Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
you think this can be successful? Can you think of any examples of world conflicts in
which forgiveness could be the answer to bring peace?
Classroom Exercises and Chapter Activities
1. Guest Lecture on Cultures in Conflict Exercise: The purpose of this exercise is to acquaint
students with a cultural conflict and the history of that conflict. You should invite a speaker
who has studied a particular cultural conflict between national or local cultural groups and
who can provide students with an update of the current situation as well as explain the
history of the conflict and the relations between the two groups. For example, you might
invite a professor from the political science department who has comprehensive knowledge
about issues like the political conflict in Kosovo. Have students write a two- to three-
paragraph analysis describing what conflict styles are in play and what each side might
need to do to resolve the conflict.
2. Intercultural Conflict Role-Plays: This exercise encourages students to practice various
strategies for managing or resolving intercultural conflict. Form students into groups.
Instruct each group to develop a scenario that depicts an intercultural conflict, which they
should then resolve using one of the styles discussed in the textbook. Each group can then
perform their role-play in front of the class, and the class can try to guess which conflict
strategy the group enacted. After each role-play, the actors should remain at the front of the
class to answer any questions or offer any comments they may have about their role-play.
3. Alternative to Intercultural Conflict Role-Plays: Have the students enact their role-plays
without offering a strategy or resolution to their scenario. The class can then try to answer
the following questions about the scenario:
o Is this productive or destructive conflict?
o Is this competitive or cooperative conflict?
o What strategies could the persons in the role-play employ to manage the conflict?
(Students could even try the suggested strategy to test its appropriateness.)
4. Identifying One’s Preferred Style of Managing Conflict Exercise: Often, people’s preferred
style of dealing with conflicts is based (perhaps unconsciously) on the style they saw
modeled as children. This exercise is designed to help students identify their preferred style
of dealing with conflict by reflecting on the style(s) they grew up with or the style that
stands out for them. Begin the exercise by asking students to reflect on the style of conflict
they were most exposed to as children. Instructors may need to suggest to students to think
about specific instances in which a conflict arose in their family and the way it was
14
Chapter 8: Culture, Communication, and Conflict
Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
handled. For instance, in one family, every time there was a conflict, a loud shouting match
ensued, and then everybody went to their rooms for a nap. When they all awoke, the family
members acted as if the conflict had never happened. After the students identify the style(s)
of handling conflict to which they were exposed, ask them to reflect on whether this is their
preferred style as adults or whether they have consciously or unconsciously changed their
preferred style. Debrief this exercise by asking students to share their answers, which will
expose the class to various styles. The discussion that follows should be respectful of the
different styles of dealing with conflict that emerge, and you should urge students to think
more about the implications of these styles, rather than dichotomizing them in terms of
right or wrong.
5. Alternative to Identifying One’s Preferred Conflict Style: Have students take one of the
free online conflict inventories that provide printable results: (1) Kraybill’s Conflict
Response Inventory http://mediationchannel.com/2006/08/17/free-review-copies-of-
kraybill-conflict-style-inventory-now-available-to-trainers/; Adult Personal Conflict Style
Inventory: http://www.uuasouthernregion.org/images/ADULT-PERSONAL-CONFLICT-
STYLE-INVENTORY.pdf; Or to receive training in the use of Mitch Hammer’s
Intercultural Conflict Inventory http://www.icsinventory.com/about-us/our-
people/Mitchell-R.-Hammer-Ph.D. Contact the Intercultural Communication Institute,
8835 SW Canyon Lane, Portland, OR 97225, 503-297-4622.
6. Attitudes toward Conflict Exercise: As a first step to understanding and managing conflict,
students need to become aware of their personal feelings toward conflict. In this simple
exercise, ask students to write down the first words that come to mind when they think of
conflict. Then, ask them to share some of their words with the class and write them on the
board. After a few minutes, ask the students to reflect on the words written on the board
and share their thoughts. One of the most powerful observations that comes out of this
exercise is the negative feeling people have about conflict. Another important observation
is that often, the behaviors for managing conflict are negative or destructive, such as
hatred, yelling at someone, or hitting someone. Once students have had an opportunity to
explore their attitudes toward conflict, you can introduce alternate, positive views of
conflict.
7. Dealing with Everyday Conflict: Since the majority of students will confront intercultural
conflict on a small scale, have them identify how the various styles of conflict resolution
might be appropriate in responding to small conflict events, such as those involving
prejudicial statements and actions. Be sure to focus on the ramifications to the relationship
as well as the resolution of the issue at hand for each conflict style. This can be role played,
but it can also make for an excellent class discussion.
Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
8. Case Study Analysis: Have students form small groups and discuss and analyze case
studies that involve intercultural conflict and misunderstandings. Such case studies can be
located in the news, in a variety of intercultural training, and in resource books available
through Intercultural Press. A few comprehensive sources would include: Conflict across
Cultures: A Unique Experience of Bridging Difference’s by Michelle LeBaron and
Venashri Pillay; The Art of Crossing Cultures, by Craig Sorti; and Exploring Culture:
Exercises, Stories, and Synthetic Cultures, by Gert Jan Hofstede, Paul B. Pedersen and
Geert Hofstede. Be sure to debrief the discussions by having students apply what they
know about conflict resolution values and conflict style.
Suggested Videos
1. Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land (Distributed by PBS Video,
Alexandria, VA, 1989, 118 minutes)
This video explores the cultural tensions between Arabs and Jews in Israeli territories.
2. A Conflict of Cultures (Distributed by Annenberg/CPB Project, 1986, 60 minutes)
This video shows the conflicts that emerge from the mixing of cultures in Africa.
3. Chairy Tale (Distributed by Film and Video Rental Center, Syracuse University, 10
minutes)
This video is a fairy tale told in a modern manner, without words. The film depicts a
simple ballet between a young man and a kitchen chair. As he tries to sit, the chair declines
to be sat upon. The ongoing struggle, first for the boy’s mastery over the chair, and then for
his understanding, forms the story.
9. The Story of Qui Ju (Director: Zhang Yimou, Sony Pictures 1993, 100 minutes)
This movie begins with Qui (Gong Li) taking her injured husband Qailing (Liu Pei Qi) to
see a doctor. He has just been in a fight with the village chief (Lei Lao Sheng). When Qui
approaches the authorities to seek recompense for her husband’s injury, she receives an
unsatisfactory response. The film offers a lesson in some of the cultural distinctions of
rural mainland China and the process of conflict resolution within the country. Subtitles are
available for this movie.
10. Communicating Across Cultures (Griggs Productions
http://www.griggs.com/videos/cac.shtml 1987)
This video examines differences in the communication styles of various individuals.
Misunderstandings can emerge when people of different national origins or ethnic
16
Chapter 8: Culture, Communication, and Conflict
Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
backgrounds try to communicate. A trainer’s guide is also included in this video.
11. Village of 100 (Sum Fun Productions, 2 minutes)
The video provides a statistical analysis of the composition and diversity of the planet
Earth. “If we shrunk the earth’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all
existing rations remaining the same, what would it look like?” It can be useful as a
discussion starter.
12. Cold Water: Intercultural Adjustment and Values Conflict of Foreign Students and
Scholars (The Intercultural Press, 1987, 48 minutes)
This video consists of interviews with 13 students, each from a different country, who
describe the experiences they have had in America. The students explain what it felt like
being a new student in a different culture. Other topics covered in the video include
privacy, Americans’ superficiality, and competitiveness.
13. A Tale of O (Distributed by Good Measure Inc. 1993, originally 1979, 1986, 30 minutes).
This videotape explores the consequences of being different. It focuses on a group of
people in which some are “the many,” called the X’s, and some ‘are the few,” called the
O’s. Differences can arise from a variety of factors—age, gender, race, language,
occupation, status, or even such matters as one’s hair style or length. The video is a
particularly good start for opening a talk about diversity or local conflict issues. While it is
not technologically advanced, it is useful.
14. Conflict related YouTube videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT0kzF4A-WQ&feature=related (Sudan boys)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EinACxyI7k4&feature=related (Creeping out Japanese
women)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9PW4lWYVeA&feature=relmfu (Gaijin moment)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwVKU_ko274 (Bloomberg Spanish)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODHgoLqODoA (Racist UK woman)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0Qb9AU4WMQ&feature=related (UK racist tram
woman)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slliR7IiAQ8 (Public displays of affection)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NadxZhWCM9A&feature=related (France police)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQLtJxKVjkU (Grey’s anatomy gay)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21ujWvE7r3I&feature=related (Racist Fights)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJeSJhb3Hc4 (Snackman)
17
Chapter 8: Culture, Communication, and Conflict
15. Conflict and forgiveness related Youtube videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXFCmcgenFY (forgiveness and Ireland)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwvbtuIz6Hs (Eva Kors and Nazi forgiveness)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeBy_q4i40s (European campaign)
