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Review: Intercultural Communication: a Contextual Approach (3Rd Ed.): James W. Neuliep. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2006, 479 pages Alison Kuiper Business Communication Quarterly 2008; 71; 516 originally published online Jul 22, 2008; DOI: 10.1177/1080569908321864 The online version of this article can be found at: http://bcq.sagepub.com
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committed in making contracts, especially that which involves selling the same thing (or the rights to the same thing) to different persons, often a thing that is not the fraudster’s possession to begin with” (p. 208). The text’s illustrative example of this term—“not just selling the Brooklyn Bridge, but selling it twice” (p. 208)—would liven up any hypothetical in a legal environment of business course. Finally, no doubt, every successful businessperson should have at least an awareness of the word nod-crafty, “an adjective meaning ‘able to nod with an air of great wisdom’ ” (p. 146). Clearly, the words selected for this text have the potential to intrigue many individuals both inside and outside of the business world. In light of this potential, it is rather apropos that the text’s final pages consist of sections that explain “How to Create Your Own Weird and Wonderful Words” and “Finding New Weird and Wonderful Words.” Furthermore, the text concludes with “The Logophile’s Bibliography” (p. 267), which provides a list of reference works with particular attention paid to the Oxford dictionaries. These creative offerings and the guide to more traditional references successfully invite the reader to continue to hone an interest in the expanding world of linguistic possibilities. Address correspondence to Amanda Harmon Cooley, North Carolina A & T State University, Department of Management, 1601 East Market Street, Greensboro, NC 27411; email:
[email protected].
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION: A CONTEXTUAL APPROACH (3RD ED.) James W. Neuliep. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2006, 479 pages. Reviewed by Alison Kuiper, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand DOI: 10.1177/1080569908321864
THE THIRD EDITION of James Neuliep’s introductory text on intercultural communication will no doubt be welcomed by those who teach introductory classes in this subject, as well as their students. It is attractively presented and readable, with numerous examples, photographs, and diagrams. Teachers are likely to appreciate the communicative contexts in the first five chapters: cultural, microcultural (a useful term), environmental, sociorelational, and perceptual.
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They will also appreciate the content in the later chapters: verbal and nonverbal codes, relationships in organizations, acculturation, and intercultural competence. Most chapters contain self-assessment instruments, and each chapter concludes with a summary, a glossary of terms, and an extensive reference list. Indeed, with this edition of Intercultural Communication: A Contextual Approach, Neuliep has expanded his successful text; there are, however, a number of reasons why I hesitate to recommend it, even though I enjoyed the book’s useful examples and its glimpses of other cultures and intercultural interactions. My concerns were first raised by the introduction, when it became clear through references to Japan, Germany, and Mexico as “three of our largest trading partners” that the book is targeted at American college students, as opposed to college students from other Englishspeaking countries (p. xiv). This audience is hardly surprising; however, those of us who live outside the United States will find ourselves construed as “the other” as we read on. I do not pretend that avoiding ethnocentrism is easy, but the impressive lists of references at the ends of the chapters focus mainly on works published in the United States; references to works published elsewhere are very much in the minority. In addition, the works of researchers outside of the United States, such as Stella Ting-Toomey, Roger Keesing, and Francis Hsu, are mentioned as if the works had been published in the United States. The following examples illustrate my other major concern about the text. At first sight, the text appears to investigate intercultural communication in depth. It extensively reports research on many different topics, giving the impression of comprehensive treatment, but the book’s treatment of its many topics is at times superficial. For example, in his treatment of separatism and assimilation, Neuliep fails to acknowledge debates over the concepts of the melting pot and unity. The book’s apparent depth of coverage comes from the number of pieces of research that Neuliep mentions. Unfortunately, Neuliep often paraphrases one article after another, without analysing or evaluating them, threading topics together serially with little integration or crossreference. For example, I was surprised to get to the last section of the second chapter, “The Cultural Context,” before I saw Geert Hofstede mentioned. By that point, though, his dimensions of individualism and collectivism, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance had already
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been discussed. Sometimes, Neuliep fails to transition from one summary to another. Chapter 1, “The Necessity of Intercultural Communication,” includes McCroskey’s self-assessment exercise on human communication apprehension. Why does Neuliep include this exercise in chapter 1? Its relevance is not clear. Chapter 7, “The Verbal Code,” also illustrates my concern that pieces of research are reported serially and without analysis. Often, no discernable connection among topics exists. For example, the book juxtaposes the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis and Chomskyan universal grammar but attempts no reconciliation of the two. Discussion of Chomsky’s contribution to linguistics is immediately followed by discussion of Bernstein’s elaborated and restricted codes, but Neuliep does not acknowledge that Bernstein’s position counters Chomsky’s. It will be clear that I have found this book to be lacking in a number of ways. Probably the greatest failing throughout is that Neuliep fails to make his textbook as coherent as it should be. Even so, students will enjoy reading the book, as I did. They will increase their understanding of intercultural communication and, therefore, become better intercultural communicators. Like me, they will enjoy the anecdotes, such as Neuliep’s account of the life of the Amish, and the many examples of cultural difference. I doubt that students will share my concerns about the book, but their instructors might. Address correspondence to Alison Kuiper, Teaching and Learning Services, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand; email:
[email protected].
HANDBOOK OF VISUAL COMMUNICATION: THEORY, METHODS, AND MEDIA K. Smith, Sandra Moriarty, Gretchen Barbatsis, and Keith Kenney. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2005, 575 pages. Reviewed by Steven John Thompson, Clemson University DOI: 10.1177/1080569908321862
THE HANDBOOK OF Visual Communication: Theory, Methods, and Media evaluates the field of visual communication, identifies research methods within that field, and explains the application of theory to visual elements in commercial areas, such as television advertising and persuasion.
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