Eight Dimensions of American Culture

Posted by Marcia Carteret, M. Ed. on Oct 19, 2010 in American Culture, Culture-Specific Topics, Key Concepts in Cross-Cultural Communications | 1 comment Cultural aspects of everyday life are often difficult for people of dominant cultures to discern because their practices, traditions, values, and understandings are taken for granted as the norm. For them, there’s no apparent need to examine cultural difference, and thus, no inclination to do so. In the US, middle-class European Americans are typically so unaware of their own culture they...
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Understanding Your Own Culture First

Posted by Marcia Carteret, M. Ed. on Oct 19, 2010 in American Culture, Key Concepts in Cross-Cultural Communications | 0 comments   “In all affairs it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.” — Bertrand Russell Self-reflection is crucial to the cross-cultural learning process. Without understanding that everyone has a culture, and that knowledge of one’s own culture is crucial, we have a tendency to reduce learning about culture...
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