本书作者客观地审视了目前跨文化交际研究的众多方法，在综合和批判的基础上，提出了一个新的研究视角一辩证法。作者首先强调应在社会、政治、历史等大环境中研究和探索跨文化交际；其次，作者非常重视权势与交际的关系，交际中的交往双方地位“永远不平等”的观点，是本书两位作者的独特见解；再之，本书把研究重点放在美国国内不同亚文化或不同共存文化之间的交际方面，对读者了解和认识美国不同群体文化的交际大有助益。

Preface

To the Student

PART I FOUNDATIONS OF INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

 Chapter 1 hy Study Intercultural Communication?

The Technological Imperative

Technology and Human Communication

Access to Communication Technology

The Demographic Imperative

Changing U.S. Demographics

Changing Immigration Patterns

The Economic Imperative

The Peace Imperative

The Self-Awareness Imperative

The Ethical Imperative

Relativity Versus Universality

Being Ethical Students of Culture

Discussion Questions

Activities

References

 Chapter 2 The History of the Study of Intercultural Communication

The Early Development of the Discipline

Nonverbal Communication

Application of Theory

An Emphasis on International Settings

An Interdisciplinary Focus

Perception and Worldview of the Researcher Three Approaches to Studying Intercultural Communication

The Social Science Approach

The Interpretive Approach

The Critical Approach

A Dialectical Approach to Understanding Culture and Communication

Combining the Three Traditional Paradigms:The Dialectical Approach

Six Dialectics of Intercultural Communication

Keeping a Dialectical Perspective

Discussion Questions

Activities

References

 Chapter 3 Culture, Communication, Context, and Power

What Is Culture?

Social Science Definitions: Culture as Learned, Group-Related Perceptions

Interpretive Definitions: Culture as Contextual Symbolic Patterns of Meaning

……

PART II INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION PROCESSES

Credits