There is a saying that "culture is everywhere and culture is nowhere", already hinting at the fact that the culture as a concept is notoriously complex to define and explain. Despite this, the term is frequently used to explain a wide range of phenomena. Before we take a more detailed look at the concept from a theoretical perspective, let us look at some incidents and try to identify where culture might have influenced the encounters.
Task: Case "On the way to the cafeteria"
Read the short case study and answer the questions. Note down the answers in your learning journal.
Tom, a postgraduate philosophy student, and his German roommate Christian go to the cafeteria. Suddenly Christian notices that his cafeteria card is not charged and asks Tom whether he can borrow 3 Euro from him. Tom doesn’t have a problem with this, so he gives his friend the money and both go and eat together. When they have finished, Christian immediately goes to the bank and withdraws money, so that he can give it back to Tom. Tom is surprised. He was happy to give his friend the money, and he definitely didn’t want it back. But Christian insists and makes Tom accept the money. Tom is disappointed and from now on prefers to go to the cafeteria with other friends.
Source: Translated and adapted from the research project "Mehrsprachigkeit und Multikulturalität im Studium" (Multilingualism and multiculturalism in studies / higher education, MuMis project, 2011)
- What might be reasons for Tom’s disappointment with his friend’s behaviour?
- What could the gesture of helping his friend out with 3 Euro have meant to him?
- Why might Christian be adamant about paying back the money?
- What might friendship mean to Tom and Christian?
- What could be cultural about their behaviour and perception?
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1. What might be reasons for Tom’s disappointment with his friend’s behaviour?
Tom was disappointed because he treated Christian, as he thinks, with respect and was generous, while Christian couldn’t accept his generosity. Christian behaved impolite in Tom’s eyes. He also might have been disappointed because he might have seen Christians behaviour as a sign of mistrust. He might have thought that Christian did not wanted to feed “indebted” to him. Tom also might feel unwell around Christian now because he finds Christian’s behaviour petty, and is afraid that his German friend might also expect the same behaviour of him for favors he barely finds noteworthy himself.
2. What could the gesture of helping his friend out with 3 Euro have meant to him?
His gesture might have meant a sign of trust. It is also possible that for Tom, it was not a big deal at all, especially not with the specified amount.
3. Why might Christian be adamant about paying back the money?
Because in his culture borrowing money is not common and money relations are not mixed with private sphere, e.g. friendship. Also, Christian asked Tom to lend the money to him, not to give it. For him, it might be a sign of accountability to make good on the implicit concept of borrowing something- to give it back as soon as he is capable of. Christian might not have wanted to be seen as unreliable to his friend.
4. What might friendship mean to Tom and Christian?
Tom: generosity, help, trust
Christian: time together, common interests
5. What could be cultural about their behaviour and perception?
The cultural aspect could be about trust and readiness to help. Tom was ready to help Christian immediately, he also trusted him with money. However for Christian it was a matter of fact to give money back as soon as possible to eliminate possible misunderstanding.
Task: Case "Exchanging business cards"
Read the short case study and answer the questions. Note down the answers in your learning journal.
Janina, a recently graduated IT student, has been invited to give a short talk at a local consumer electronics conference. At this event she gets into a conversation with a participant at the conference, Seo-jun, who is on his first trip to Germany from South Korea. His knowledge of German is not particularly good, but the two talk to each other intensively and get along well. During the course of the day, they decide to keep in touch and exchange their business cards. First Seo-jun takes his business card out of a silver case and gives it to Janina. Janina then begins to look for the business cards that she had printed a long time ago for such cases. She reaches into her back pocket and takes out her wallet. The card is a bit bent, and Janina comments on this with a laugh when it is handed over. Despite this, the card is still easy to read. Seo-jun, who was previously friendly and open-minded, is suddenly visibly reserved and becomes quieter and quieter. This irritates Janina. She senses something is wrong, but she doesn't know what.
Source: Translated and adapted from the research project "Mehrsprachigkeit und Multikulturalität im Studium" (Multilingualism and multiculturalism in studies / higher education, MuMis project, 2011)
- What could be possible interpretations as to why Janina behaves the way she does?
- What could be possible interpretations as to why Seo-jun behaves the way he does?
- What might Janina be thinking?
- What is cultural about interpretations and thinking patterns?
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1. What could be possible interpretations as to why Janina behaves the way she does?
Janina saw that her business card was a bit worn-out, that is why she tried to joke about it while handing it over to Seo-jun.
2. What could be possible interpretations as to why Seo-jun behaves the way he does?
Perhaps Seo-jun found it impolite to get a worn-out business card.
3. What might Janina be thinking?
Janina now thinks that South Koreans behave inappropriate, because a business card is just a means of sharing and exchanging contact details. Although her business card was old, still the information there was quite readable.
4. What is cultural about interpretations and thinking patterns?
The cultural aspect could be about respect. It might be important for Asians to be given something new from a suitable box, because it means that they are treated with respect.
Task: Case "Being a good student"
Read the short case study and answer the questions. Note down the answers in your learning journal.
Jane, an American student, spends a year at a German university. She finds it particularly difficult to contact German lecturers. In America you can speak to your lecturers at any time and anywhere and when you do, they take a lot of time for each issue that you might have, while in Germany you have to make appointments with the lecturers or go to their consultation hours. Jane needs a lot of help with her first term paper, so she tries to ask her lecturer questions about writing the term paper at every opportunity. But the lecturer is usually in a hurry and asks her to come to his consultation hour. However, even during the consultation, Jane has the impression that the time for the consultation is relatively limited, because there are many other students waiting in front of the door of the office who also want to have their turn. This causes Jane to be briefer than she actually intended. At the same time she is disturbed by the time pressure she feels.
Source: Translated and adapted from the research project "Mehrsprachigkeit und Multikulturalität im Studium" (Multilingualism and multiculturalism in studies / higher education, MuMis project, 2011)
- What is Jane's guiding behaviour?
- What might be reasons for the lecturer to behave the way he does?
- What might the lecturer be thinking about Jane?
- How does Jane feel about the lecturer?
- What could be cultural about the encounter?
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1. What is Jane's guiding behaviour?
Her original American behaviour guides her in this situation. She is used to have closer connection with lecturers and always refer to them when needed.
2. What might be reasons for the lecturer to behave the way he does?
Traditional behaviour typical for lecturers in Germany. The understanding that students are more independent.
3. What might the lecturer be thinking about Jane?
Perhaps the lecturer thinks that she is too dependent on him, pushy, requires too much help and attention. He might not conceive her behavior as something regular. He might also think that it is important to structure his time for the students in a fair way for everyone.
4. How does Jane feel about the lecturer?
She feels irritated that she doesn’t receive enough help and she is also shy because she is in a foreign country. She might feel she receives a lesser degree of service from the lecturer in Germany than from her professors in the United States.
5. What could be cultural about the encounter?
The aspects of how we structure our time and communicate with each other could be different depending on where we come from.
What we can take away from our discussion so far is that culture has many facets. It may relate to behaviour, influence perceptions, expectations, values and norms and cultural differences obviously may cause confusion and irritations which in turn influence behaviour and reactions to behaviour.
In the following, we will discuss the various concepts of culture and argue that an open, multi-relational approach to culture serves as a good foundation for intercultural understanding and cultural analysis.
Download: Learning journal for session 1
Ultime modifiche: venerdì, 9 maggio 2025, 13:56