Transcultural Realities

Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Cross-Cultural Relations

Virginia H. Milhouse, Molefi Kete Asante, Peter O. Nwosu

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Year: 2001
• Print ISBN: 9780761923763, 9780761923756
• eBook ISBN: 9781452262765
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Communication Studies
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Transcultural Realities is an important collection of essays written by an outstanding cast of critical scholars who discuss the importance of transculture in interdisciplinary contexts. The primary goal of the contributors is to help the reader to understand that a state of "community" or "harmony" cannot be achieved in the world until we are all ready to accept different cultural forms, norms, and orientations.

In this book, transculture is defined as a form of culture created not from within separate spheres, but in the holistic forms of diverse cultures. It is based on the principle that a single culture, in and of itself, is incomplete and requires interaction and dialogue with other cultures.

Transcultural Realities is divided into five parts:

• Transcultural issues in international and cross-cultural contexts
• Historical and religious struggles within and between nations
• Socially constructed racial identities and their consequences for transculturalism in the United States
• The transformative effects of sojourning in diverse cultural environments
• The fundamentals of transcultural research

Editors Virginia H. Milhouse, Molefi Kete Asante, and Peter O. Nwosu set out to meet three specific needs. First, that the book?s interdisciplinary approach to theory and practice in cross-cultural relations will make it an important book for several fields of study, including intercultural and interpersonal communication, international relations, human relations, psychology, anthropology, philosophy, and sociology. Second, that the book will be a reference tool for scholars of transcultural researcch, providing up-to-date information on cross-cultural relations that are transcultural in nature. And finally, through the use of research is critical to a fuller understanding of cross-cultural relations in a transcultural world.  

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Introduction
• Part I: Transcultural Issues in International and Cross-Cultural Contexts
• 1 - Perspectives on Human Communication
• 2 - Transcultural Communication in the U.S.-Africa Context
• 3 - Toward Transcultural Understanding
• 4 - Transcultural Realities and Different Ways of Knowing
• 5 - The Effects of Computer-Mediated Communication on Transculturalism
• Part II: Historical and Religious Struggles Within and Between Nations
• 6 - Historical Struggles Between Islamic and Christian Worldviews
• 7 - A Historiographical Survey of the Determinants of the North-South Divide in Sudan
• 8 - An Analysis of Discourse on the Spoken and Written Words
• Part III: Socially Constructed Racial Identities and Their Consequences for Transculturalism in America
• 9 - Multiple Identities
• 10 - A Culturally Based Conception of the Black Self-Concept
• 11 - Communication and Social Scientific Discourse
• 12 - Social Cognition and Racial Stereotyping in Television
• Part IV: The Transformative Effects of Sojourning in Diverse Cultural Environments
• 13 - Intercultural Adaptation
• 14 - The Impact of Cultural Dynamics on the Newcomer to the Organizational Environment
• 15 - Research and Training in Cross-Cultural Readjustment
• Part V: Toward the Fundamentals of Transcultural Research
• 16 - Toward an Ethic of Intercultural Communication Research
• 17 - Afrocentric Empiricism
• 18 - Frameworks for Assessing Contact as a Tool for Reducing Prejudice
• 19 - The Kemetic Paradigm
• Index
• About the Authors