This book addresses the cross-cultural variations in the conceptions of face and facework from a multidisciplinary communication perspective. Facework represents one of the most important theoretical concepts available to us in contemporary communication literature as it encompasses a dynamic network of cross-cultural, social cognitive, affective, interpersonal, interactional, and identity issues. The book serves a dual purpose: to raise issues and to extend some of the current ideas in face and facework research in the cross-cultural and interpersonal communication settings, and to illuminate some specific directions for future research into the face and facework management process. Face and facework are presented in conjunction with phenomena such as politeness, request interaction, embarrassment, conflict, business negotiation, and international diplomacy.
In this volume, Ting-Toomey and Oetzel accomplish two objectives: to explain the culture-based situational conflict model, including the relationship among conflict, ethnicity, and culture; and, second, integrate theory and practice in the discussion of interpersonal conflict in culture, ethnic, and gender contexts. While the book is theoretically directed, it is also a down-to-earth practical book that contains ample examples, conflict dialogues, and critical incidents. Managing Intercultural Conflict Effectively helps to illustrate the complexity of intercultural conflict interactions and readers will gain a broad yet integrative perspective in assessing intercultural conflict situations. The book is a multidisciplinary text that draws from the research work of a variety of disciplines such as cross-cultural psychology, social psychology, sociology, marital and family studies, international management, and communication.
On social media platforms - such as Facebook and Twitter, message boards, blogs, and commentaries - users interact as if they know each other personally. Malicious verbal behavior is found next to clapping and kissing emoticons, both indicative of users' relational work strategies. This book contains 17 papers that examine 'face work' in social media - theoretical reflections, as well as corpus-based studies - thus opening the way to rethink linguistic pragmatics in computer-mediated communication. (Series: Hildesheimer Contributions to Media Research / Hildesheimer Beitrage zur Medienforschung - Vol. 2) [Subject: Sociology, Media Studies, Communication, Computer Technology]
Written in a clear, engaging style Facework: Bridging Theory and Practice introduces a new paradigm that identifies facework as the key to communication within the management of difference. Authors Kathy Domenici and Stephen W. Littlejohn illustrate how facework is a central process in the social construction of both identity and community.
This book uses a post-modern approach to explore how Japanese returnee students (kikokushijo) and former returnees who work in Japanese industry, negotiate multiple identities. Methodological triangulation is used to study inner perception of face, emotional state and the dynamics of negotiating multiple-layering of identities. The work considers the relationship between face and identities, and the function of the affective aspects of face, shame and pride in identity negotiation. Readers will discover how Japanese returnees deal with shame and pride in face-threatening or face-promoting situations that affect their identity negotiation. Many such returnees stayed abroad because of their parents’ jobs and the author explores variations among them, in terms of how they identify with their identity as a returnee. We discover how there are multiple levels of identities instead of ‘identity’ as a singular. Two phases of research, carried out across ten years and involving some participants in both phases, are explored in this work. Although the participants in the research are Japanese returnees, the findings drawn from the study have implications for others who spend an extensive period of time overseas, who migrate from one place to another or who have multiple cultural backgrounds. The book incorporates ideas from Western and Eastern literature on intercultural communication, sociology and social psychology and it blends both micro and macro analysis. This book is recommended for scholars, educators, students and practitioners who seek to understand better how people negotiate their multiple identities in this globalising world.
Offering a direct sightline into communication theory, Explaining Communication provides in-depth discussions of communication theories by some of the foremost scholars working in communication today. With contributions from the original theorists and scholars known for their work in specific theoretical perspectives, this distinctive text breaks new ground in giving these scholars the opportunity to address students firsthand, speaking directly to the coming generations of communication scholars. Covering a wide range of interpersonal communication theories, the scope of this exceptional volume includes: *the nature of theory and fundamental concepts in interpersonal communication;*theories accounting for individual differences in message production; explanations of human communication from dyadic, relational, and/or cultural levels; and*a history of communication theory. Chapter authors offer their own views of the core ideas and findings of specific theoretical perspectives, discussing the phenomena those perspectives are best positioned to explain, how the theories fit into the field, and where future research efforts are best placed. While by no means comprehensive, Explaining Communication includes those theories that rank among those most often used in today’s work, that have generated a substantial body of knowledge over time, and that have not been articulated in detail in other publications. With detailed explorations and first-hand discussions of major communication theories, this volume is essential for students in communication studies, interpersonal communication, and advanced theory courses, as well as for scholars needing a thorough reference to some of the most salient theories in communication today.
In the 1960s, feminists voiced their outrage about the health care system in the United States which routinely discriminated against women and, in so doing, literally jeopardized their health and well-being. Over a decade later, women's health advocates still stressed the need for reform of this male-dominated institution because of the on-going threat to the health of American women. In the 1990s, nearly 40 years after women began their fight for quality and equitable treatment from the medical profession, women unfortunately continue to confront problems on numerous levels including discrimination in medical research and in the availability of insurance and health care providers. Most alarming, however, is the fact that women today--like women in the '60s and before--lack information, understanding, and adequate diagnoses and treatment from their health caregivers. This book extends from a program of research on women's health issues by the authors. More than 150 audio-taped, naturally occurring interactions between health caregivers and their female patients from three different health care settings--as well as ethnographic field notes in three additional settings which provide health care to women-- constitute the data for this investigation. They explore the consequentiality of relational issues during women's health care encounters and examine how health care participants save face, enact roles, co-construct their encounters, and accomplish the objective of education and medical care. Unlike earlier works, this study utilizes an extensive data collection derived directly from hundreds of interactions between health care providers and their patients, as opposed to surveys or case studies of singular practitioners. The authors examine the data in light of insights from a variety of theoretical perspectives and are committed to exploring the implication that medical encounters are collaboratively managed by both patients and caregivers. Given these theoretical and empirical contributions, the authors believe this book will advance present understanding in the areas of health and relational communication, women's health care, gender issues in communication, conversation analysis, discourse processes, and institutional talk.
"For Thais, face is a fact," writes Flanders. However, "whether in theology, evangelism, or issues involving sin, salvation, or atonement, Thai Christians and missionaries alike seem either uninterested in or possibly incapable of addressing issues related to face. This glaring incongruity between the value of face for Thais and the lack of intentional engagement within the Thai Christian community is deeply troubling."Surely, such a lack of careful attention to face is a dangerous posture. Uncritical views of face, furtively attaching to the theology of the Thai church, are potentially detrimental for its life and mission. Such seems to be an unavoidable situation without proper attention to face. Additionally, to ignore face is to run the risk of missing valuable cultural resources, implicit in the Thai experience of face, for the critical task of authentic Thai theological reflection."This lack of engagement with face raises critical issues with which we must wrestle. How is it that such a central sociocultural issue has not been a more significant part of the Thai Christian vocabulary or experience? How pervasive are these negative attitudes regarding face? What lies behind them? Might this lack of self-conscious engagement with face have any relationship to the persistent Thai perception of Christianity as a foreign, Western religion? How should Christians understand this notion of face and how it relates to the ways we understand and proclaim the gospel?"
This is the first edited collection to examine politeness in a wide range of diverse cultures. Most essays draw on empirical data from a wide variety of languages, including some key-languages in politeness research, such as English, and Japanese, as well as some lesser-studied languages, such as Georgian.
Intercultural communication competence is an indispensable ability for people to interact appropriately and effectively across nations and regions in the globalized world. Competent intercultural communication enables people to reach mutual understanding as well as reciprocal relationships. In recent decades, considerable progress has been made in the research of intercultural communication competence. However, due to its complexity, many problems remain unanswered and need to be addressed. This book seeks to conceptualize intercultural communication competence from diverse perspectives, explore its re-conceptualization in globalization, and investigate its development in cultural contexts and interaction scenarios. A group of leading international scholars in different academic disciplines join to map out a comprehensive picture, providing an in-depth and up-to-date work on intercultural communication competence. The book adopts an interdisciplinary approach and enhances readers’ understanding on the concept of intercultural communication competence. It is a useful source for educators, researchers, students and professionals.
