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Intercultural communication: an advanced resource book

Abstract
As human society becomes increasingly pluricultural and more complex, we need resources to educate people about intercultural communication and cultural otherness. Holliday, Hyde and Kullman’s new book Intercultural Communication: An Advanced Resource Book responds to this need by providing a rich learning and research resource for all students, not only those learning another language, who will inevitably work and live in pluricultural contexts. The book provides a new and much-needed contribution to the literature in the field by positioning an exploration of intercultural understanding and communication within the disciplines of cultural studies, anthropology and ethnography. As the authors argue, ‘the book is not based upon the principle that cultural differences exist as real and tangible entities, but are inter-subjective and negotiated processes (admittedly affected by power structures)’ (p. xv). The authors work from the tenet that all communication is intercultural. Therefore, the book is about ‘developing skilled communication strategies and principles in a globalizing world’ (p. xv). Students learn how culture is (re)constructed and (re)negotiated in everyday communication with cultural others through examples and texts that encourage multifaceted interpretations and analyses, thus avoiding the essentialising or stereotyping of people, communication and events.
Type
Journal Article
Type of thesis
Series
Citation
Holmes, P. (2009). Intercultural communication: an advanced resource book. Language & Intercultural Communication, 9(1), 57-59.
Date
2009
Publisher
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Rights
Publisher version