“Now that’s what I’m talking about with Intercultural Communications,” I thought when I read this story about acceptance of bomb sniffing dogs in Iraq. The good is clear and measurable–it’s a known, effective defense against bomb attacks. The cultural implications are readily definable: dogs are considered unclean, getting in the way of the important bond…
DetailsThere’s an exercise that I’ve seen used in diversity trainings that has to do with labeling or cultural identification. On a piece of paper, create two columns. On the left, list the groups you would use to describe yourself, that you might identify with. For example I’m white, Jewish, Female, mother, social justice, close affinity…
DetailsPhoto from the Chicago Daily News There was an interview on Chicago Public Radio’s Eight Forty-Eight today with Bill Tuttle, a professor emeritus at University of Kansas, who wrote the book Race Riot: Chicago in the Red Summer of 1919. He was interviewed on the 90th anniversary of the riots, which left many dead.The arrest…
DetailsI am admittedly a woman of action. I see something broken, and I want to fix it. In the annals of ‘how to lists’ advising employees to get noticed, there’s the advice if you see a problem have at least one suggestion solution to present to the boss before you go in and speak to…
DetailsI was searching for demographics for Chicago’s Hyde Park Neighborhood for background information for a call for volunteers I am posting for the Hyde Park Jazz Festival. Known to be the home of the University of Chicago, the Museum of Science and Industry, and a very diverse neighborhood, I was surprised to find that 2000…
DetailsI know everyone has moved onto the Henry Louis Gates story, which is awful-I would be furious if that happened to me-oh, wait, it did, after I accidentally set the alarm off in our new house before I knew the code. When the police arrived I said something coy like “I have absolutely nothing in…
DetailsTalking about racial identity and multiculturalism is trendy, and what good marketer doesn’t immediately exploit a trend to make a buck? Take a look at these three ads that incorporate interracial themes in the creative development of the ad for their client: Starburst-Multiculturalism is the “punch-line” (by TBWA\Chiat\Day New York) This ad builds an analogy…
DetailsIt is a little ironic that some of the line of questioning in the comfirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor question whether she is too tied to her cultural identity to be impartial. It’s ironic because it assumes that those already on the bench, primarily white males, are NOT influenced by their racial,…
DetailsMy favorite story about my mother-in-law is this: It had to have been 1989 or ‘90, and Dona Antonia was visiting us in Boston from Brazil. Because the trip was long, she usually stayed for two or three months once she was there. When Mãe (pronounced ‘my,’ Portuguese for mom) visited, she readily cared for…
DetailsComedian Elon James White’s take on Pool Racism In intercultural communications, the emphasis is on cultural understanding and appreciating that sometimes people might unintentially offend because of unconscious bias. Such was not the case with 60 African American children who were kicked out of a pool at a private club in Philadelphia, being told that…
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