You should now be able to define and explain culture from a dynamic and multi-faceted perspective and discuss interpersonal encounters based on a dynamic understanding of culture as well as discuss the opportunities inherent in a multi-faceted perspective of culture.
As we have seen, cultures are dynamic, ever-changing networks without sharply definable borders. Each individual is 'part' member of a multitude of cultures. With this knowledge in mind, read the case studies from the beginning of this unit again and go through the questions below.
Task: Case "On the way to the cafeteria" (Reprise)
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)
Answer the following questions in your learning journal:
- If Tom had been living in Germany for a longer time and had experienced that Christian's behaviour is not a singular case but that the majority of his friends here behaved like Christian, how might this influence his thinking and behaviour?
- If you look into the answer above, which of the ideas we discussed within the concept of open culture is it based on?
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If Tom had been living in Germany for a longer time and had experienced that Christian's behaviour is not a singular case but that the majority of his friends here behaved like Christian, how might this influence his thinking and behaviour?
Tom might realize that Christian's behaviour might not be a sign of distrust, but a common expectation in the collective he is in. However, let us keep in mind that Christian's behaviour might not be typical for the German collective as a whole. Many Germans might argue that they would not share in his behaviour. It is entirely possible that Christian has a family that influenced him to repay any debts, no matter how little, so his way of behaving could be a sign of respect, or he might be influenced by any other cultural group, other than "being German". This being said, if Tom observed this behaviour with many of his German friends, he might feel obligated to behave in the same way. Having lived in this environment for a longer time, he could adapt to the same behaviour over time.
If you look into the answer to the previous question, which of the ideas we discussed within the concept of open culture is it based on?
Mainly, we can see two ideas embedded in the previous answer. Firstly, the notion not to interpret Christian's behaviour based on his nationality points to the open concept of culture. Here, we discussed that members of one nationality are not one homogeneous group whose members all share the same behaviour or values. Rather we should keep in mind the multi-relational idea of culture, and that Christian's behaviour might be influenced by many different factors (his age, profession, family upbringing etc.) other than his national culture.
Secondly, we discussed that culture possess a knowledge-based and processual nature. Living in another cultural context might enable us to gain this new knowledge about “how things are being done here”. This in turn can influence us in our cultural behaviour, as we discussed with Tom. The firstly unfamiliar behaviour Tom observes with Christian might become very familiar over time, to a point where he might even adapt it for himself.
Task: Case "Exchanging business cards" (Reprise)
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)
Answer the following questions in your learning journal:
- Let us review the answers you gave to the questions in the beginning of this session. When you guessed the interpretations of Seo-jun's and Janina's behaviour, were they based on an open or closed concept of culture?
- What could be the danger of viewing this case solely from a closed-concept perspective?
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When you guessed the interpretations of Seo-jun's and Janina's behaviour, were they based on an open or closed concept of culture?
If your answer tried to explain the behaviours of our two protagonists being "German" or "South Korean", it would be more based on a closed culture concept. It is a possible explanation: In South Korea, business cards might be seen as a symbol for the person behind it, and not just as a means to exchange information. Based on this, Seo-jun might have felt disrespected to get a worn-out business card from the wallet, as he might think that Janina did not think of him as a serious business partner. This closed concept scenario does not consider however that Janina and Seo-jun might also be influenced by other collectives rather than the origins of their passports. Possibly, in the IT-department Janina works in, her colleagues barely use business cards at all, as contacts would be exchanged virtually. For her, the reason to give any business card at all could have been to pay Seo-jun the same respect he did to her. Seo-jun might have worked in a more traditional setting like a bank, where business cards were still important, regardless of the national background.
What could be the danger of viewing this case solely from a closed-concept perspective?
If Seo-jun assumed that Janina behaved like this because "she is German", he might conclude that all Germans would be like this as a homogeneous group. He might not bother with business cards himself in his next meeting with his German banking clients, which might lead to other misunderstandings. If Janina interprets to always treat business cards with high regards when passing them to South-Koreans, she might be confused if the next person she meets from this region does not behave like this at all, as he might be influenced by another cultural background. It might lead her to wrongly assume that this person would not respect her.
Even though it is attractive to explain the behaviour of others with quick categories, we should keep in mind they might not be the only, or even a right explanation at all.
Task: Case "Being a good student" (Reprise)
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 anytime 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)
Answer the following questions in your learning journal:
- To review some of the principles we discussed in this session, let us take another look at your answer to question 2 from the first series of questions about this case in the prelude ("What might be reasons for the lecturer to behave the way he does?") Knowing now about the open concept of culture, would you change your answer?
- How can this answer help Jane in this situation?
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"What might be reasons for the lecturer to behave the way he does?" > Knowing now about the open concept of culture, would you change your answer?
In your previous answer, you might have argued with a possible German background of the lecturer, and tried to find an explanation for his behaviour through a closed culture lense, arguing with a possible typical German behaviour. This is a possible explanation. However, keeping the either/or AND both/and perspective in mind, let us not forget that we do not know the specific background of the lecturer. Even if he has a German name, he might not have grown up in Germany, or has any direct affiliation here.
Even if the lecturer was born and raised in Germany, let us not forget that, like all of us, his cultural identity is much more than only based on the country he grew up in. It is quite possible that the lecturer offers fixed sessions because this is expected in the university context he works in, and because it allows him to help his students in the best way possible, without being late for other responsibilities.
How can the answer help Jane in this situation?
Her disappointment with the lecturer was mostly based on her frustration that she felt she did not get the help she needed. When Jane comes to the conclusion that “I guess the service towards students is just not as good in Germany as in the States”, it could lead her to simply accept her level of frustration, and build further stereotypes. When she acknowledges that she does not really know the reason for the lecturer's behaviour, she could think about a way to solve her problem. For example, Jane could openly tell the lecturer in Germany that she had quite some questions on her term paper and ask if he minds to take the time to answer them. They might then either conclude that her worries about the term paper are unfounded, or he might suggest another time to answer the remainder of her questions.
آخر تعديل: الجمعة، 9 مايو 2025، 1:39 PM