William J. Starosta

Intercultural Communication Competence: A Synthesis

As we encounter ever greater cultural and co-cultural diversity, the careful study of intercultural communication competence becomes increasingly important. Only through competent intercultural communication can persons from different cultures communicate effectively and appropriately in the upcoming global society. Following a recounting of themes of research on intercultural communication, this chapter presents arguments concerning individuals’ need to negotiate multiple identities in terms of culture, race, ethnicity, gender, and religion in the interdependent and interconnected network of global society. This requires a functional and theoretical transformation of the study of intercultural communication competence.

Perceptions of Minority Invisibility Among Asian American Professionals

Minority invisibility often goes unnoticed by those of the communication discipline. “Invisibility” denies the existence of racial concerns by consciously or unconsciously, deliberately or non-deliberately downplaying, ignoring, or oversimplifying them. It manifests itself as color blindness, claims of reverse discrimination, the belief in a model minority, and exaggerated/negative/purposeful racial displays by those of the mainstream. Fourteen Asian American professionals were interviewed in-depth about their perceptions of invisibility, imposing an etic framework of self, own group, other groups, and possible solutions over the reported emic themes. Most co-researchers reported invisibility, if not for themselves personally, then for their group or for other co-cultural groups. Many of these thought it best to accept invisibility, to work harder, and to swallow their frustration without comment. What is common, if sometimes subtle, for these 14 may be more egregious for others of less means and professional attainment.

Roots for an older rhetoric: On rhetorical effectiveness in the third world

This essay explores some of the pre‐rhetorical restraints in third‐world societies that condition the rhetorical act. Four factors extracted from third‐world settings which are of importance to the rhetorical critic are elaborated upon: role shifts; fashioning a suitable critical perspective; choosing a meaningful level of analysis; and defining exigence.

Reflections on “Race” and Publication in Communication Journals: The Case of The Howard Journal of Communications

This commentary from the perspective of the founding editor of The Howard Journal of Communications speaks to the editors perception that communication research involving race, ethnicity, and gender inherently risks some editorial resistance. While writing about these topics raises few issues for readers, using them in an interpretive or critical analysis potentially invites negative responses from readers.

Ceteris Paribus in the Global Village: A Research Agenda for Intercultural Communication Theory Building

Critics from outside the field noted that nothing significantly new happened if one merely added the word culture to communication, without demonstrating that such interactions differed significantly from interpersonal, group, or media communication within the culture.—Casmir and Asuncion-Lande (this volume)It commonly is accepted that cultural variability in peoples’ backgrounds influences their communication behavior. This “fact” leads many scholars studying intercultural communication to view it as a unique form of communication differing in kind from other forms of communication (e.g., communication between people from the same culture). This point of view, however, is not widely accepted.—Gudykunst and Kim (1984, p. 19)