Suchergebnisse

"Communication Technology and African Politics" published on by Oxford University Press.

"Communication Dynamics in Religion and Politics" published on by Oxford University Press.

Introduces Vol 20 of the International & Intercultural Communication Annual (each Chpt abstracted), which analyzes the relation between culture & politics from various communication perspectives. Though the contributors' perspectives are diverse, all are oriented toward the study of politics as a cultural practice in local contexts. Contexts analyzed include the debate between relativists & antirelativists over the UN 1949 Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the role of mythic discourse in the political communication of a Hawiian sovereignty group; the role of ritual in Chinese political practices; & the relation between national identity & political practice in the Chicano movement. Appended to these discussions is a forum on the teaching of politics in intercultural training programs. D. M. Smith

Methodological approaches to ethnographic research are explored through case study analysis of a cross-cultural examination of women in local politics in Israel & the US. Two major methodological themes are discussed: (1) the need for flexibility in the research process & the value of the researcher's choice of appropriate methods & procedures while in the field; & (2) the role of research & researcher in the S's world. The use of new & unplanned methods in the study of female Israeli local politicians is demonstrated. Unlike the deferential perspective used to investigate political elites in the US, an inverse researcher status was found in the study of Israeli local politics. The research & researcher served to validate the S's status as a participant in the Israeli political process. 39 References. D. Generoli

Presents a conception of dialogue on complicity & coherence in intra- & intercultural communication that examines the politics of pedagogy & intellectual inquiry, drawing on a literature review. Various theories of dialogue exist, most stressing the necessity of reflexive engagement between equals. In this model of dialogue, interlocutors are imagined as stressing commonality, caring, & compassion toward each other. This dialogic notion is contrasted to the dominant form of argumentation in Western cultures, which insists on a subject-object dichotomy & argumentative essentialism. Rather than arguing for a position, interlocutors in the dialogic perspective actively "nonargue" by narrating their positions. Positions are arrived at not through a process of debate, but one of gradual coherence in which not only final beliefs, but the techniques used to acquire those beliefs, remain open to inquiry. It is suggested that this dialogic model of coherence opens the possibility for a dynamic emancipatory approach to intercultural communication. D. M. Smith

Italy lagged somewhat behind the rest of Europe in setting up offices to promote equal status for women. The solution Italy chose in the 1980s was a plurality of agencies rather than a single department or ministry, so that there would be better focus on the different issues within each agency. Equal Status & Equal Opportunity National Commission (ESONC) was charged with promoting equal opportunity for women in the fields of communication, culture, politics, & power positions. The Equal State Committee for the Implementation of Equal Treatment & Equal Opportunities for Men & Women in the Workplace (ESC) focused on equality in the workplace. The establishment, organization, & activities of these two agencies & the interaction between women's political machinery & the women's movement in Italy are reviewed. ESONC has had a cultural impact, but limited influence, on policy making. ESC has recently been important in affirmative action labor legislation, but has not yet infiltrated the collective bargaining process. M. Pflum