Communicating Ethnic and Cultural Identity - by Mary Fong & Rueyling Chuang (Paperback)

About the Book

This intercultural communication text reader brings together the many dimensions of ethnic and cultural identity and shows how they are communicated in everyday life. Introducing and applying key concepts, theories, and approaches_from empirical to ethnographic_a wide variety ...

Book Synopsis

This intercultural communication text reader brings together the many dimensions of ethnic and cultural identity and shows how they are communicated in everyday life. Introducing and applying key concepts, theories, and approaches_from empirical to ethnographic_a wide variety of essays look at the experiences of African Americans, Asians, Asian Americans, Latino/as, and Native Americans, as well as many cultural groups. The authors also explore issues such as gender, race, class, spirituality, alternative lifestyles, and inter- and intra-ethnic identity. Sites of analysis range from movies and photo albums to beauty salons and Deadhead concerts.

Review Quotes

[This] book is thought-provoking, and many of its essays are insightful illustrations of communication practices.

An important addition to the study of cultural and intercultural communication. The authors provide a rich variety of applied and theoretical sites for understanding the meaningful ways in which communication both reflects and constitutes individual and group human identities. It is particularly useful to see the inclusion of material artifacts as means by which men and women construct identity.

This book makes an important contribution to the growing literature on communication and cultural identity. I appreciate the range of theoretical frameworks and the many sites where identity is performed in particular ways. The collection demonstrates methodological diversity and a strong sense of how identity is both a cultural and a personal journey.

About the Author

Mary Fong is associate professor of communication studies at California State University, San Bernardino. Rueyling Chuang is assistant professor of communication studies at California State University, San Bernardino.