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Chapter 3
ETHICS IN A DIVERSE SOCIETY
Diversity often divides people whose core beliefs, values, attitudes, and cherished behaviors vary
significantly; individuals and groups deal with diversity in both unproductive and productive ways.
Fortunately, leading communication scholars offer several ethical responses that apply both to
listening and speaking in a diverse culture. The chapter uses principles from both the dialogical and
democratic approach to ethical speaking and listening. Although Chapter 3 emphasizes ethical issues,
you’ll find additional opportunities to discuss moral reasoning throughout the text.
Chapter Goals
At the end of this chapter your students should be able to:
•
Define ethical communication
•
Describe two responses to diversity
•
Explain three democratic principles for public speaking
•
Identify characteristics of dialogical speaking and listening
•
Discuss ethical responsibilities of listeners
•
Define two kinds of academic dishonesty: plagiarism and fabrication
•
Explain three types of plagiarism
•
Paraphrase and cite sources correctly
At the end of this chapter you should be able to:
Identify ways your campus encounters diversity, and help students see that dialogical and
democratic principles can help them be actors in creating a more civil campus culture.
Chapter Outline
I.
A range of differences among people calls for ethical communication in which we focus on
both rights and responsibilities (rightsabilities) as we respond to diversity.
A.
Resisting groups or individuals refuse to change and defend their positions, withdraw
from situations, or attack the other.
1.
We live in an argument culture.
B.
Accommodating people or groups listen and evaluate the views of others; both sides
adapt, modify, and bargain to reach mutual agreements.
DC.A multivocal society actively seeks expression of a variety of voices or viewpoints.
People who accommodate hear and evaluate diverse views open-mindedly.
II.
As a speaker, you have ethical responsibilities to your audience, your topic, and yourself.
A.
Speaking ethically is a democratic principle
1.
Practice democratic principles including free and responsible expression.
2.
Develop a habit of research.
3.
Be honest and fair.
4.
Practice civility, a social virtue that involves moderation instead of pride.
B.
Dialogical communication relies on a mindset that has three essential components.
1.
Dialogue theory has three essential components.
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a.
Equality requires mutual respect between speaker and audience.
b.
Empathy means all participants try to see the others’ perspectives.
c.
Examination requires all participants to be willing to look at theirs as well as the
others’ assumptions with an open mind.
2.
This perspective also helps create a multivocal society.
3.
Amitai Etzioni suggests several rules of engagement.
a.
Don’t demonize the other side.
b.
Don’t offend the other side.
c.
Talk less about “rights” and more about negotiable needs, wants, and interests.
d.
Don’t deal with every issue.
e.
Don’t abandon your convictions, but balance them against the convictions of
others.
4.
Dialogue has brought about international as well as local changes.
III.
Ethical listeners take a dialogical attitude.
A.
Polite listening affirms another person’s right to speak and your respectful attention is
one way to empower others.
B.
Some situations pose ethical dilemmas for listeners.
1.
Some unethical responses are heckling, interrupting, or shouting down a
speaker.
C.
Classroom listening also has ethical implications.
1.
Many universities are addressing classroom incivility.
D.
You can ask yourself these questions to evaluate your ethical responsibilities as a listener.
1.
Do I keep myself informed about significant issues?
2.
Do I fulfill my ethical responsibilities to other listeners?
3.
Do I fulfill my responsibilities to speakers by letting them know they are being
heard?
4.
Do I encourage speakers to meet ethical standards?
5.
Do I evaluate my feedback?
IV.
Ethical speakers practice academic honesty.
A.
Ethical speakers avoid plagiarism.
1.
Plagiarism is presenting the ideas of others as if they were one’s own.
2.
Deliberate fraud is intentional plagiarism.
3.
Cut-and-paste plagiarism
involves copying entire sections from other people’s work and
pasting them together without quotation marks or citations.
4.
Improper paraphrase involves changing a few words but keeping the basic structure and
ideas intact without citing the source.
5.
Accidental plagiarists innocently plagiarize because they don’t know the rules.
6.
Plagiarism can result in severe penalties.
7.
Sources can be published or unpublished; either way, they should be cited using a
standard format.
8.
To avoid plagiarism, name each source as you deliver your speech.
9.
Be sure to list your references at the end of your outline using a standard format.
B.
Ethical speakers avoid fabrication.
1.
They will not make up or guess at information and present it as factual.
2.
Citing a reference you did not actually read or passing along rumors or other
unsubstantiated information are types of fabrication common in public speeches.
3.
The best ways to avoid fabrication are to use a number of sources and to be alert for
conflicting data.
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Suggested Videos or Audio Resources
Audio, Video, and Written Texts. Michael Eidenmuller, from Texas Tech University, is creating a
website, American Rhetoric (www.americanrhetoric.com), which provides scripts and audio and
video recordings of thousands of contemporary and historical speeches. (analysis)
•
To illustrate dialogical speaking: Bono’s commencement address (2001, Harvard University)
on American Rhetoric.com. Read the text and/or listen to the audio of Bono’s speech and
notice all the ways he invites his audience to think along with him about the problems that
concern him.
•
To illustrate civility in a democracy: Justice Clarence Thomas’s speech, “The New
Intolerance,” (1993, Mercer University). Www.americanrhetoric.com provides the text and an
audio recording. Thomas’s confirmation hearing as Supreme Court justice was intense and
heated. He continues to be a polarizing figure. Direct students to the section in which
Thomas addresses the issue of civility.
News Clips on YouTube. Share stories from nightly news shows or from cable news channels found
on YouTube that highlight the kinds of differences illustrated in Figure 3.1. (Use local, national,
or global conflicts.)
•
Discuss Figure 3.1 (p. 34) and the responses to diversity explained in the text.
•
Play the clip.
•
Ask students to analyze the conflict. Are basic beliefs the issue? Core values? Attitudes?
Behaviors? (See Chapter 1.)
•
Ask how a dialogical approach to communication, taken by both sides, could potentially
change the problem. (application, analysis, synthesis)
Feature Films. Cultural differences provide the theme for many movies and television shows. Movies
include
Stand and Deliver
,
The Birdcage, Smoke Signals,
and
Finding Forrester.
(comprehension)
Mr. Baseball. This movie illustrates the opposite of dialogical speaking. In the press conference scene
early after his arrival in Japan, Mr. Baseball speaks through the Japanese interpreter who changes
the star’s disrespectful words to respectful comments that the press corps then writes down.
(comprehension)
Televised Awards Show. If possible, show a segment of a televised awards show to illustrate cultural
values. (Oscar.com, for example, has video highlights of previous award ceremonies.)
1.
Present some common values.
2.
Show the clip, asking students to identify the values.
3.
Give students five or ten minutes for in-class writing about values. Possible questions to
address: When people cheat, they balance one value (let’s say success) against another
(honesty, trustworthiness). How do they rationalize their choice? OR When people face an
ethical dilemma of speaking up or remaining silent about a controversial topic that matters to
them, what values are they weighing? What contexts might compel them to speak up? When
might they remain silent? OR Describe some-one who consistently enacts your ideals
regarding ethical communication. (application, analysis)
Discussion Topics
Responses to Diversity. (pp. 29-30) Discuss current events or campus events that highlight resistance,
assimilation, and accommodation. Use videos or news clips, or use Teaching Idea 3.1:
Irreconcilable Differences located in the Supplemental Resources at the end of this chapter.
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Seeds of Peace Consult the Seeds of Peace website for more information about this inspiring
organization, which continues to expand the number of people it influences. (comprehension)
Policy Positions of the National Communication Association (NCA) p. 31NCA scholars are concerned
about ethics and communication in a diverse culture. The Credo for Free and Responsible
Communication in a Democratic Society (1972) is printed in the Supplemental Resources at the end
of this chapter in a form suitable for duplication and distribution. The text prints the 1999
version.
•
Divide the class into six subgroups, and assign each group one section of the document to
explain and illustrate with an example.
•
After all the groups’ spokespersons have finished, discuss with the entire class the questions
that follow the Credo. (Refer back to Chapter 1 for a list of some core cultural resources that
underlie the Credo’s assertions.)
•
Compare and contrast the 1972 Credo with the most recent NCA Credo for Ethical
Communication, located on page 31 of the text. In which one is the dialogical perspective more
evident? The democratic ethic? Ask students to account for the differences.
•
A search on the NCA website www.natcom.org will also turn up the Credo for Free and
Responsible Use of Electronic Communication (1994), Policy on Political Communication (1995), and
Policy on Diversity (1995). Have students correlate these policy statements with current
political and social events.
Academic Honesty (p. 35). Internet sources like School Sucks (www.schoolsucks.com) or Evil House
of Cheats (www.cheathouse.com) make plagiarism—at least of papers—easy and common. Frat
files are no longer necessary. Interestingly, professionals commonly use speechwriters, and
www.buyaspeech.com is a successful enterprise.
•
In class, log onto one of the Internet sites mentioned in the text. OR make a handout of your
college’s or university’s plagiarism policy. Ask students to discuss the reasons students cheat,
the upside, the downside, and the consequences of cheating. Then ask reasons that students
do their own work, the upside, the downside, and the consequences of avoiding plagiarism.
•
Discuss the use of professional speechwriters in politics and other professions. Is this
plagiarism? Why does society consider this OK but penalize students for not doing their own
work in their speech classes?
•
Remind students that plagiarism has consequences. On October 20, 2005, Wal-Mart heir,
Paige Laurie, surrendered her University of California degree in communication after her
roommate’s 20/20 confession that Laurie paid her $20,000 for writing term papers and doing
other assignments over a period of 3 ½ years. (The roommate dropped out for lack of funds,
but she said she learned a lot!)
Plagiarism and Culture(p. 37). Ask students to discuss the challenges of developing ethical standards
or criteria regarding plagiarism in our global age.
Critical Thinking Exercises
(See p. 40 of the textbook for Critical Thinking Exercises)
Application Exercises
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(See pp. 40-41 of the textbook for Application Exercises)
Internet Activities
You can access instructor’s resources at http://www.cengage.com/us/. You will need your instructor’s
access code. Students and instructors may also go to MindTap to find a broad range of resources that
will help students better understand the material in the chapter, complete assignments, and succeed
on tests. MindTap also features speech videos with critical viewing questions, speech outlines, and
transcripts.
Supplemental Resources
•
Teaching Idea 3.1: Irreconcilable Differences
•
Teaching Idea 3.2: Ethical Research
•
Credo for Free and Responsible Communication in a Democratic Society
Teaching Idea 3.1: Irreconcilable Differences
(for use with Seeds of Peace website
http://www.seedsofpeace.org/)
Purpose: To have students examine underlying core beliefs and values that create irreconcilable
differences between people and groups. To help students listen to both sides of such an argument.
Procedure: Choose one or more of the following activities, then discuss the two sides’ differing core
beliefs, values, and attitudes. Explore shared beliefs, values, and attitudes that might allow both
groups to construct civil interactions with one another. (For example, neither pro– or anti-war
advocates want innocent civilians to be slaughtered):
•
Invite representatives of two opposing sides of a controversial national topic to come to class and
share their views.
•
Show videotapes of student speeches about both sides of a controversial topic and then ask
students to discuss the underlying core beliefs, values, attitudes, and behaviors that are in
dispute. Analyze how the dispute has typically been handled, and suggest ways to respond more
ethically. (For example, educational reformers typically value education highly; they also tend to
see a role for public education. However, they disagree on traditional means of educating and on
the role of nonpublic sources in education.)
•
Use written materials from the National Issues Forum (NIF). These publications present many
perspectives on controversial issues. Write National Issues Forums, 100 Commons Road, Dayton,
Ohio 45459-2777. Phone 1-800-433-7834. Or look at their website, www.nifi.org, for topic
suggestions. The NIF Forums emphasize deliberation, not debate.
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•
Have students explore an issue of interest that’s covered in the Congressional Digest: The Pro and
Con Monthly.
Teaching Idea 3.2: Academic Honesty
(p. 35)
Purpose: To help students identify deliberate fraud.
Procedure: Have students examine plagiarized outlines from your files, but be sure that all
identifying features are omitted in order to protect the plagiarizers’ privacy.
1.
Divide the students into groups of two or three.
2.
Give each group an outline. I give a “culture shock” outline (copied exact words) to one group,
another just like it to a second group. I similarly give three groups three separate outlines on “fat
in our diet” (copied idea for idea). Two groups get a “phobias” outline, and so on until every small
group has an outline.
3.
Have them examine their outline, noting the opening, the central idea, the main points, and the
conclusion.
4.
After a few minutes, have them trade outlines with the other pair with the matching outline. They
usually read for a few seconds and look up, quizzically, saying, “This is the same outline.” Some
are identical, and others are rephrased, which leads to a discussion of deliberate fraud and
plagiarism of ideas.
5.
Explain your campus’s policies for dealing with plagiarism. Discuss the effects of plagiarism on
the students who cheat and on those who don’t.
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Credo for Free and Responsible Communication in a Democratic Society
Recognizing the essential place of free and responsible communication in a democratic society,
and recognizing the distinction between the freedoms our legal system should respect and the
responsibilities our education system should cultivate, we members of the Speech
Communication Association endorse the following statements of principles:
WE BELIEVE that freedom of speech and assembly must hold a central position among
American constitutional principles, and we express our determined support for the right of
peaceful expression by any communicative means available to humans.
WE SUPPORT the proposition that a free society can absorb with equanimity speech which
exceeds the boundaries of generally accepted beliefs and mores; that much good and little harm
can ensue if we err on the side of freedom, whereas, much harm and little good may follow if we
err on the side of suppression.
WE CRITICIZE as misguided those who believe that the justice of their cause confers license to
interfere physically and coercively with the speech of others, and we condemn intimidation,
whether by powerful majorities or strident minorities, which attempts to restrict free expression.
WE ACCEPT the responsibility of cultivating by precept and example, in our classrooms and in
our communities, enlightened uses of communication; of developing in our students a respect for
precision and accuracy in communication, and for reasoning based upon evidence and a
judicious discrimination among values.
WE ENCOURAGE our students to accept the role of well-intentioned and articulate citizens, to
defend the communication rights of those with whom they may disagree, and to expose abuses of
the communication process.
WE DEDICATE ourselves fully to these principles, confident in the belief that reason will
ultimately prevail in a free marketplace of ideas.
Endorsed by the Speech Communication Association, December 1972. Reprinted by permission of the
Speech Communication Association.
1.
This credo (Latin for “I believe”) was endorsed in 1972. What happenings in the USA in the
late 1960s and early 1970s might have led members of the Speech Communication
Association to endorse this statement of beliefs?
2.
Some of these ideas are encoded into law. What laws are you aware of that support these
principles?
3.
Discuss the balance between freedom and responsibility in this document.