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Cultural Relations and Beyond is an initiative of the International Alliance for Cultural Relations (IACR). Launched in 2021, its mission is to provide opportunity for researchers, professionals and cultural relations practitioners to present their works on various topics within and beyond cultural relations. Each issue presents one essay written by an author or a team of authors with the aforementioned backgrounds.

The content of the essay serial is peer-reviewed by the fellows of the IACR member organisations and published in cooperation with the Institute for Cultural Relations Policy on the culturalrelations.network website.

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Cultural Relations and Beyond is an initiative of the International Alliance for Cultural Relations (IACR). Launched in 2021, its mission is to provide opportunity for researchers, professionals and cultural relations practitioners to present their works on various topics within and beyond cultural relations. Each issue presents one essay written by an author or a team of authors with the aforementioned backgrounds. The content of the essay serial is peer-reviewed by the fellows of the IACR member organisations and published in cooperation with the the member organisations of the Alliance.

This publication is made possible with the support of the member organisations of the International Alliance for Cultural Relations. The views expressed in the publication are the sole responsibility of the author and do not in any way represent the views of the member organisations of the Alliance.

Technical editor: Andras Lorincz

All rights reserved and belong to the International Alliance for Cultural Relations – Nemzetkozi Kulturalis Kapcsolatokert Szovetseg. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, including electronic and mechanical, without the prior written permission of the publisher. The opinions and conclusions expressed are those of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect views of the International Alliance for Cultural Relations.

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102 Intercultural Communication Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best intercultural communication topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 good essay topics on intercultural communication, 📌 most interesting intercultural communication topics to write about, ❓ questions about intercultural communication.

• 6 Barriers of Intercultural Communication Essay Cross cultural or intercultural communication is a part of the interaction of different people from different backgrounds and heritages. In this way, prejudice is inevitable blockage of cross-cultural communication as it is a source to […]
• Reasons for Not Appreciating Different Cultural Point of View One of the reasons why people may not appreciate the cultural point of view of others is because of the differences in cultural values.
• Diverse Contexts and Intercultural Communication at Work As the world moves to the global environment, the modern workplace becomes more and more diverse. When individuals are educated about intercultural differences are more likely to alter their communication styles to suit the needs […]
• The Role of Ethnocentrism in Intercultural Communication The only way to control ethnocentrism is to avoid biases as we find better ways to understand other people’s point of view.
• Intercultural Communication Perspectives These include the definition of intercultural communication and an overview of the contents involved in teaching it; it also provides a brief overview of personal experience as a teacher in an intercultural learning institution.
• Intercultural Communication in Various Contexts Code switching practices have led countries to declare the official languages in a country in order to promote the assimilation of the people in the country.
• Religion in Intercultural Communication The main political message in the scripture explains God’s role as the creator and master of everything in the universe. The excerpt is generally acknowledged as one of the most important verses in the sacred […]
• Effects of the Language Barrier on Intercultural Communication This paper will argue for some of the major problems of language barriers in the context of intercultural communication, highlighting the severity of the issue and its effect on the practice.
• Fundamentals of Intercultural Communication This education is one that derived from the cultural point of view of the society and hence the early childhood education strove to inculcate this sense in the young minds.
• Intercultural Communication: Self-Awareness’ Importance However, to understand it, a person must be able to connect to the lives of others and to observe these processes in other people.
• Intercultural Communication in the Workplace For this to happen, both men and women do not have to be in a relationship as it happens in many cases. In business matters, it is very significant to appreciate the morals and customs […]
• Intercultural Communication in Contexts: Chapters Review As it is clear in this chapter, one of the ways by which the two differ from each other is that; nonverbal communication which includes the use of facial expressions, gestures, and proxemics among other […]
• Efficient Intercultural Interaction and Communication This way, they will be able to learn the different languages and this is important for communication and good co-existence in the societies. The kind or number of affiliations that a person may have with […]
• The Importance of Intercultural Communication Engaging in dual perspectives is among the concepts I would apply to improve communication of my ideas and needs to the Chinese friend.
• Understanding Intercultural Communication by Ting-Toomey and Leeva Christianity in the North American and European tradition has a hard-hitting history of Christian colonialism, when the faith was imposed on the inhabitants of the territories of the occupied countries, with the belittling of the […]
• Intercultural Communication and Success at Work Such people have limited abilities to consider alternative behaviours in processes of interpersonal communications that involve different cultures. Such forms of cross-cultural communications are difficult and may lead to interpersonal conflicts in communications.
• Intercultural Communication in “Gran Torino” Movie However, it is also quite peculiar that the scene in question allows viewing the issue of the culture clash on so many different levels; specifically, the fact that the conflict occurs not only between an […]
• Interpersonal and Intercultural Communication in the UAE Since the business and cultural links established between the UAE and other states are crucial for the process of the states’ development, it is highly required that the root causes of intercultural and intracultural conflicts […]
• Martin and Nakayama: Intercultural Communication in Contexts In their book, the authors reveal to the readers that there are two types of nonverbal communication. To this end, they state that motivation, knowledge, attitude and behavior are the major components for facilitating intercultural […]
• Personal Worldview and Intercultural Communications God sacrificed Jesus to wash the sins of people and get rid of the iniquities and curses on the earth. From a Christian worldview, I could easily identify topics and teachings of the Christian religion […]
• Franco-Italian Intercultural Communication As a result, collective approaches to the problems created by their uprooting and by the necessity of adjusting to the new society tend to be organized along village lines, or at best on the basis […]
• Reducing Intercultural Communication Barriers To reduce the above challenges, I must be aware of the barriers, be empathetic, pay careful attention to communication cues, and always verify with the receiver that I have understood his or her response. Academically, […]
• Face Concept in Chinese Culture: A Complication to Intercultural Communication One of the concepts of face in Chinese culture is that of losing face. This paper set out to argue that the concept of face in Chinese culture complicates intercultural communication.
• Intercultural Communication Principles In other words, if good interpersonal and international relationships are not managed through intercultural communication, there is no possibility of gaining benefits from all other areas.
• Australian Education and Intercultural Communication Australian education is among the best globally, offering quality education that has led to the growth and development of the nation socially, culturally, and economically.
• Intercultural Communication in Business For an organization to be successful in the global market, leaders must conduct extensive research and fully understand the cultural and social values of the foreign country.
• The Engagement of Christian Intercultural Communication Therefore, the text generally provides the comparison between the Christian Intercultural Communication in the missionaries and theologians concerning the intercultural Communication and its impact on the fulfillment of the great commission.
• Intercultural Communication in Chinese Business Despite the accelerating processes of globalization, the diversity of cultures still obliges people to be familiar with values and customs in advance to create the best and most delicate communication channel.
• Local Community and Intercultural Communication: Helping Immigrants I will organize community events and invite both local members of the church and the immigrants in order to create a safe environment for them to meet.
• Limitations in Intercultural Communication The main barriers that reduce the effectiveness of interactions are the differences in cognitive schemes used by representatives of different cultures 1.
• Intercultural Communication and Healthcare Delivery: Cranford Population The racial composition of the Cranford population shows that it comprises of different races, which implies that cultural communication is essential in the delivery of healthcare services.
• Relationship Between Ethnocentrism and Intercultural Communication The scaling for the questions administered ranged from 1 to 5; a score with a mean of 1 showed a low level of ethnocentrism, while a score with a mean of 5 showed a higher […]
• Intercultural Communication Campaign: Asian Students’ Reticence Issues The given communication campaign will primarily focus on the issues of reticence among Asian international students through the socio-centric and non-argumentative approaches.
• Intercultural and Cross-Cultural Communication It examines Agar’s specific approach to the notion of culture, the preconditions for intercultural breakdowns, and the appropriate solution to prevent them.
• Effective Intercultural Communication Culture is collective programming, a system of meanings and notions, which are shared between the members of one culture group and are used to construe the world around them.
• Intercultural Communication Attitudes It’s important to take into account cultural differences to make intercultural teams effective. It’s also necessary to pay attention to gender, age, and socioeconomic status.
• Intercultural Communication: Aspects In order to fulfill my interests, I always ensure that I make good use of every opportunity I get by interacting a lot with the people I meet.
• Intercultural Communication Led by UNESCO The organization aspires to achieve universal respect for justice, the rule of law, human rights, and freedom for all the communities in the world.
• Intercultural Communication in the Global Workplace This intercultural communication can be defined as the process which involves a combination of various skills, knowledge plus the combination of theoretical insights in trying to exchange meaningful and unambiguous information across the cultural boundaries […]
• The Effect of Global Technology on Intercultural Communication Global technology allows for open access to a wealth of information, resources, and influence that can encourage change in cultures and societies.
• Personal Worldview and Intercultural Communication Since I believe that living according to the word is the only right thing to do, I tend to disregard other people’s cultures because, in my view, my culture is right and other people’s cultures […]
• Intercultural Communication as Practiced in the US There are certain patterns of nonverbal behavior disclosing a particular communicative idea, but there are cases when it is impossible to display those patterns successfully. Therefore, it is much harder to conceal nonverbal signals that […]
• Intercultural Communication in the Arabian Gulf Region The concept of intercultural communication is particularly important to the countries in the Arabian Gulf where the rate of cultural diversity is at an all time high.
• Intercultural Communication Sensitivity Against Ethnocentrism While examining the ethnocentric limitations of the humanistic theory, it is necessary to consider the theoretical concept of ethnocentrism in detail.
• Intercultural Communication in the Series “Tyrant” Caught up in the middle of a revolt against the ruling family, he loses his father, who died during the coup, and is forced to help his brother and the new president to overcome the […]
• Culture Shock and Intercultural Communication The challenges of mistreatment of women and religious orientations can be addressed by conducting workshops and trainings aimed at assisting expatriate employees to develop adequate cultural competence on how to deal with culturally diverse others […]
• Intercultural Communication in Contexts: Fifth Edition Review Another aspect of language to consider is the evolvement of technology in the digital age and the emergence of online communication.
• Intercultural Communication in the Business World In the context of the case study, one of the mistakes Clyde made was the failure to take time to learn about the culture of Senseyans before interacting with them.
• Intercultural Communication Barriers There is absolutely no way through which one is able to learn all the norms of every culture and their sub-culture all in a bid to understand the various barriers to intercultural communication.
• Intercultural Communication: Different Aspects Discussing the main aspects of the inter-cultural communication, Carol Myers-Scotton focuses on the role of globalisation in the process, on differences between collectivistic and individualistic cultures which influence the particular features of the representatives’ communication, […]
• Intercultural Communication: Workers From Diverse Backgrounds Verderber and Verderber allege that communication is quite intricate in multinational organizations due to a diverse body of workers with distinct educational, cultural, and social backgrounds.
• Computer Mediated Interpersonal and Intercultural Communication Despite the fact that social media clearly poses a tangible threat to the culture of live communication and, therefore, will contribute to the shriveling of people’s social skills, computer mediated interpersonal and intercultural communication will […]
• Intercultural Communication: Stereotypes and Perspectives Finally, it is possible to say that being a rather complicated issue; communication also has a great number of different prejudices connected with the culture of people and their behavior.
• International and Intercultural Communication On the masculinity and femininity dimension, the scores of the two countries are 62 for the United States and 40 for Tanzania.
• Intercultural Interaction and Communication Plan: Merced, CA The documents help to inform the school and students about the changes in education and ensure communities and parents participate in the process of learning.
• Interpersonal and Intercultural Communication at the Workplace The interview was explained to the reasons of the interview and the need for the specific information being searched for. The key concept to retain in communication, is that no one component of communication – […]
• Kinesics and Proxemics in Intercultural Negotiations There are a myriad of kinesics and it will be hard for the US Company to learn all of the applicable kinesics when relating to the Japanese people.
• Intercultural Communication in Society Unlike other people in New Jersey, Alexander Mathew has a friendly attitude towards tourists, as he likes sharing his cultural beliefs and traditions with different people.
• Intercultural Communication Experiences: Interview With an Immigrant Sheik Omar is an immigrant to the United States and lives in the Atlantic City, New Jersey. The writer thought that Sheik Omar has adopted American culture since he has lived in the United States […]
• Intercultural and International Differences in Professional Communication On the other hand, the Americans communication culture is comprised of verbal communication. In this case, the Taiwanese culture is the high context culture while Americans is the low context culture.
• Intercultural Communication Patterns in the U.S. and UK Additionally, the concept of equality is notable in the American culture. Contrastingly, in the American culture, people are more casual and less formal compared to Britons.
• Language and Culture: Language Acquisition The process of the first language acquisition is considered to be a psycholinguistic process, while the second language acquisition is the area for study for linguists.
• Fundamentals of Intercultural Communication Unlike other minority groups in Europe, the Jews face more segregation owing to the stereotype created about them in reference to the past association with the communities there, particularly, Germany and Austria, countries that were […]
• “Intercultural Communication in Business Ventures” Article Study Upon determining the market potential in the international market, it is critical for firms’ management teams to evaluate the various factors that would be necessary in the exploitation of the market opportunities.
• Ways to Improve Intercultural Communication There may be lack of understanding between the two parties because information may be misunderstood because of the preconceived beliefs about members of one’s cultural background which may not apply to the individual involved in […]
• Islamic Living: Effective Cross-Cultural Communication It is not possible to separate Islam as a religion and the way one who professes the faith lives because it has been said to be a way of life.
• Intercultural Business and Legal Communication Additionally, the scholarly critique shall attempt to identify the goals of the article and the key theories and concepts used and whether are not these theories and concepts achieved the goals of the article. The […]
• Cross Cultural Communications in the Globalized World Among the cultures that have always been in conflict are the Islamic culture and the American culture. Assimilation in the American and Islamic cultures is desirable if effective communication is to occur between adherents of […]
• Inter-Cultural Communication Skills in Career Goal at the Contemporary Workplace It will be necessary for me to use emotional intelligence, for example in a scenario where the customer was mean or rude to one of my graphic designers’ due to dissatisfaction, it will be imperative […]
• Challenges of Effective Intercultural Communication Inter-cultural communications professionals work with global firms to play down the aforementioned results of poor inter-cultural understanding. Lingual acquaintance serves to bridge the cultural bridges and evening lines of communication.
• What Are Some Examples of Intercultural Communication?
• How Can Barriers to Intercultural Communication Be Overcome?
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• How Does Poor Intercultural Communication Affect International Commerce and Foreign Policy?
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• What Makes Intercultural Communication Essential in the Process of Globalization?
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• What Is the Role of Intercultural Communication in Work-Life?
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• Why Do We Need to Understand Intercultural Communication?
• How Important Is Intercultural Communication to Our Society?
• What Makes for Good Intercultural Communication?
• What Are the Four Elements of Intercultural Communication?
• What Role Does Intercultural Communication Play in Achieving Effective Communication?
• What Is the Difference Between Cultural and Intercultural?
• What Are the Six Dichotomies of Intercultural Communication?
• What Are the Challenges of Intercultural Communication?
• What Is the Meaning of Intercultural?
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Understanding Cultural Relativism and Its Importance

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Beliefs of Cultural Relativism

• Limitations
• In Mental Health

Cultural Relativism vs. Ethnocentrism

• How to Promote

Cultural relativism suggests that ethics, morals, values, norms, beliefs, and behaviors must be understood within the context of the culture from which they arise. It means that all cultures have their own beliefs and that there is no universal or absolute standard to judge those cultural norms. 

"Cultural relativism leads us to accept that cultures are foundationally different, with differing social and ethical norms. This includes understanding that a person’s place of birth, including where or how a patient was raised during their formative years, is the basis of a person’s approach to the world and emotional self," says Anu Raj, PsyD , a clinical psychologist at New York Institute of Technology.

Advocates of cultural relativism suggest that one culture's values, beliefs, and norms should not be judged through the lens of another culture.

It is the opposite of ethnocentrism, which involves judging or understanding cultural beliefs from the perspective of your own. Instead, cultural relativism suggests that observers and researchers should focus on describing those practices without attempting to impose their own biases and judgments upon them.

History of Cultural Relativism

The concept of cultural relativism was introduced by anthropologist Franz Boas in 1887. While he did not coin the term, it later became widely used by his students to describe his anthropological perspective and theories.

Cultural relativism suggests that:

• Different societies have their own moral codes and practices.
• Norms, beliefs, and values must be judged and understood from the context of the culture where they originate.
• No culture is objectively better than others; cultures and their customs and beliefs are not objectively superior or inferior to any other culture.
• Practices and behaviors considered acceptable or unacceptable vary from one culture to the next.
• Cultural relativism aims to help promote acceptance, tolerance, and an appreciation for diverse cultural beliefs and practices.
• No universal ethical or moral truths apply to all people in all situations.
• What is considered right and wrong is determined by society’s moral codes.
• Researchers and observers should strive to observe behavior rather than pass judgments on it based on their own cultural perspective.

Different Types of Cultural Relativism

There are two distinct types of cultural relativism: absolute cultural relativism and critical cultural relativism.

Absolute Cultural Relativism

According to this perspective, outsiders should not question or judge cultural events. Essentially, this point of view proposes that outsiders should not criticize or question the cultural practices of other societies, no matter what they might involve.

Critical Cultural Relativism

Critical cultural relativism suggests that practices should be evaluated in terms of how and why they are adopted. This perspective suggests that cultural practices can be evaluated and understood by looking at factors such as the historical context and social influences.

It also recognizes that all societies experience inequalities and power dynamics that influence how and why certain beliefs are adopted and who adopts them.

Strengths of Cultural Relativism

Cultural relativism has a number of benefits that can help people gain greater insight into different cultures. This perspective can help:

• Promote cultural understanding : Because cultural relativism encourages seeing cultures with an open mind, it can foster greater empathy , understanding, and respect for cultures different from ours. 
• Protect cultural respect and autonomy : Cultural relativism recognizes that no culture is superior to any other. Rather than attempting to change other cultures, this perspective encourages people to respect the autonomy and self-determinism of other cultures, which can play an important role in preserving the heritage and traditions of other cultures.
• Foster learning : By embracing cultural relativism, people from different backgrounds are able to communicate effectively and create an open dialogue to foster greater learning for other cultures of the world.

Cultural relativism can also be important in helping mental health professionals deliver culturally competent care to clients of different backgrounds.

"What’s considered “typical and normal versus pathological” depends on cultural norms. It varies between providers and patients; it impacts diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis," Raj explains.

When mental health professionals account for the differences in values, and attitudes towards and of marginalized people (including communities of color and LGBTQ+ communities), providers develop respect for individual patients. Consequently, patients are less likely to be misdiagnosed and more likely to continue treatment.

Limitations of Cultural Relativism

While cultural relativism has strengths, that does not mean it is without limitations.

Failure to Address Human Rights

This perspective has been criticized for failing to address universal rights. Some suggest that this approach may appear to condone cultural practices that constitute human rights violations. It can be challenging to practice non-judgment of other cultures while still protecting people’s right to live free from discrimination and oppression.

Cultural relativism may sometimes hamper progress by inhibiting the examination of practices, norms, and traditions that limit a society’s growth and progress.

Reducing Cultures to Stereotypes

Cultural relativism sometimes falls victim to the tendency to stereotype and simplify cultures. Rather than fully appreciating the full complexity and diversity that may exist within a culture, people may reduce it to a homogenous stereotype. This often prevents outsiders from seeing the many variations that may exist within a society and fully appreciating the way cultures evolve over time.

Individual Rights vs. Cultural Values

This perspective may sometimes lead observers to place a higher priority on a culture’s collective values while dismissing individual variations. This might involve, for example, avoiding criticism of cultures that punish political dissidents who voice opposition to cultural norms, and practices.

Examples of Cultural Relativism

In reality, people make cultural judgments all the time. If you've ever eaten food from another culture and described it as 'gross' or learned about a specific cultural practice and called it 'weird,' you've made a judgment about that culture based on the norms of your own. Because you don't eat those foods or engage in those practices in your culture, you are making culture-biased value judgments.

Cultural differences can affect a wide range of behaviors, including healthcare decisions. For example, research has found that while people from Western cultures prefer to be fully informed in order to make autonomous healthcare conditions, individuals from other cultures prefer varying degrees of truth-telling from medical providers.

An example of using cultural relativism in these cases would be describing the food practices of a different culture and learning more about why certain foods and dishes are important in those societies. Another example would be learning more about different cultural practices and exploring how they originated and the purpose they serve rather than evaluating them from your own cultural background. 

In medical settings, healthcare practitioners must balance the interests and autonomy of their patients with respect and tolerance for multicultural values.

Cultural Relativism in Mental Health

Cultural relativism can also play an important role in the practice and application of mental health. "An individual’s perception of mental health, including stigma, is often influenced by their cultural identity and social values," explains Raj.

People who experience cultural discrimination are also more likely to experience higher stress levels, which can seriously affect mental health. Research has shown that perceived discrimination increases psychological distress and predicts symptoms of anxiety and depression. It also contributes to worse physical health, including a higher risk for heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and stroke.

Therapists must strive to understand people from different backgrounds to provide culturally competent care. "Through the lens of cultural competency, providers can educate themselves and elevate the plethora of coping mechanisms that a patient already might possess," says Raj. 

Cultural relativism and ethnocentrism are two contrasting perspectives that can be used to evaluate and understand other cultures.

Ethnocentrism involves judging other cultures based on the standards and values of one's own culture, often leading to a biased or prejudiced perspective .

Where cultural relativism suggests that all cultures are equally valid, ethnocentrism involves seeing your own culture as superior or more correct than others.

Cultural relativism emphasizes the importance of diversity and recognizes that values, beliefs, and behaviors can vary across societies. This can be contrasted with ethnocentrism, which promotes the idea that your own culture is the norm or benchmark against which others should be evaluated. This can limit understanding and decrease tolerance for people of different backgrounds. 

How Do You Promote Cultural Relativism?

There are a number of strategies that can help promote cultural relativism. This can be particularly important for mental health professionals and other healthcare practitioners. 

"Therapists must be able to view the world through the eyes of their patients. Most importantly, culturally competent therapists understand their patient’s behavior through the cultural framework in which they live," Raj says.

Promoting cultural relativism involves adopting an open-minded and respectful approach toward other cultures. Some things you can do to foster greater cultural relativism:

• Embrace cultural diversity : Strive to appreciate other cultures, including their unique values, traditions, and perspectives. Remember that diversity enriches our lives, experiences, and world knowledge.
• Learn more about other cultures : Take the time to explore cultures other than your own, including histories, traditions, and beliefs. Resources that can help include books, documentaries, and online resources.
• Practice empathy : Seek to understand others by imagining things from their perspective. Try to understand their experiences, challenges, and aspirations. Cultivate empathy and respect for the differences between people and cultures.
• Seek diversity : Make an active effort to spend more time with people from different walks of life. Talk to people from diverse backgrounds and approach these discussions with an open mind and a desire to learn. Be willing to share your own perspectives and experiences without trying to change others or impose your beliefs on them.
• Challenge biases : Try to become more aware of how your unconscious biases might shape your perceptions and interactions with others. Practicing cultural relativism is an ongoing process. It takes time, open-mindedness , and a willingness to reflect on your biases.

Promoting Cultural Relativism Among Mental Health Professionals

How can therapists apply cultural relativism to ensure they understand other cultural perspectives and avoid unintentional biases in therapy?   

A 2019 study found that the ideal training for therapists included graduate coursework in diversity, supervised clinical experiences working with diverse populations, experiential activities, didactic training, and cultural immersion when possible.

Avoiding Bias in Therapy

Raj suggests that there are important questions that professionals should ask themselves, including:

• How do I identify?
• How does my patient identify? 
• What prejudices or biases am I holding? 
•  Are there biases or stereotypes I hold based on my own upbringing and culture? 

She also suggests that therapists should always be willing to ask about client involvement in treatment planning. She recommends asking questions such as: 

• What approaches have been successful or failed in the past? 
• How does the patient perceive their ailment? 
• What were the results of the patient’s previous coping mechanisms? 
• How does the patient’s culture drive their behavior, coping skills, and outcomes?

By making clients an active part of their treatment and taking steps to understand their background better, therapists can utilize cultural relativism to deliver more sensitive, informed care.

The New Republic. Pioneers of cultural relativism )

Kanarek J. Critiquing cultural relativism . The Intellectual Standard. 2013;2(2):1.

Rosenberg AR, Starks H, Unguru Y, Feudtner C, Diekema D. Truth telling in the setting of cultural differences and incurable pediatric illness: A review . JAMA Pediatr . 2017;171(11):1113-1119. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2017.2568

Williams DR, Lawrence JA, Davis BA, Vu C. Understanding how discrimination can affect health . Health Serv Res . 2019;54 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):1374-1388. doi:10.1111/1475-6773.13222

Benuto LT, Singer J, Newlands RT, Casas JB. Training culturally competent psychologists: Where are we and where do we need to go ? Training and Education in Professional Psychology . 2019;13(1):56-63. doi:10.1037/tep0000214

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Civic Participation Is the Defining Challenge of Our Time

With every act of giving and volunteering, we strengthen our social fabric.

Civil society is America’s great strength. We have a tradition of generosity that derives from the collective efforts of millions of ordinary Americans giving their time and money to the issues that matter most to them, adding up to monumental social good.

And yet this core part of who we are does more than just meet local needs. Everyday giving and volunteering mobilizes communities around shared values. It creates connections across differences. It gives us space to imagine—and create—a better future. It encourages civic engagement writ large—the kind of engagement that is crucial to a thriving democracy.

That is why, while overall giving in America remains strong, the underlying data gives us cause for concern. In terms of total dollars, year-over-year contributions are rising, but they are coming from fewer Americans.

According to Indiana University’s Philanthropy Panel Study , 2018 marked the first time in its research that less than half of households reported any charitable giving. More recent data from Giving Tuesday’s Data Commons shows this decline continued post-pandemic–in 2021, as fewer people donated to nonprofit groups than did so in 2019. Similarly, Americorps found that the rate of volunteering had fallen from 30% in 2019 to 23% in 2021—the steepest decline in the history of their research, going back to 2002. These numbers are worrying, but we also see them as a call to action and a pathway toward a stronger future.

We are the co-chairs of the Generosity Commission, a blue-ribbon panel of social sector leaders committed to casting light on the critical role of what we call “everyday givers and volunteers,” celebrating their efforts, and encouraging others to join them.

The Commission’s capstone report, “Everyday Actions, Extraordinary Potential: The Power of Giving and Volunteering,” out today, posits several hypotheses to explain the steep fall in giving to and volunteering with nonprofits. Economic precarity is chief among them. Beyond that, our systems are not built to encourage everyday giving and volunteering. Tax incentives for charitable giving, for example, aren’t available for those who are only able to give at smaller levels.

Our report points to other possible social factors, including the rise in social isolation , the decline in religious and civic connection, and a broad decrease in social trust. These paint a complex picture of generosity today—and point to the civic power and potential of the very act of giving and volunteering.

Read more: America Must Face Its Civic Crisis

In fact, everyday giving—of dollars or time—is a bellwether of other forms of civic engagement. The University of Maryland’s Do Good Institute, in research commissioned by the Generosity Commission, found that generous, or “pro-social” behaviors tend to cluster. Those who volunteer and donate are more likely to belong to organized groups and even to vote .

In a time marked by vitriolic polarization and an epidemic of loneliness, we can scarcely think of something more important. We know that giving and volunteering are the critical methods by which Americans practice the essential human enterprise of working together with others towards a greater purpose; that they serve as an indispensable bulwark of connection. It turns out, they are also fundamental underpinnings of our democracy.

To continue broadening the base of American generosity, we need to get all segments of our society involved. Businesses can contribute by convening employees to give and volunteer, and building their own social impact programs. Engaging public figures, community leaders and business leaders, and encouraging them to speak publicly about how and why they participate in their communities can cause ripple effects. Taking younger generations seriously and empowering their impulses to innovate can lay a stronger foundation for future participation. 

Further research into the changing nature of generosity, and making research more accessible, are also critical components in any campaign to reverse our current trajectory. And in all this, charitable organizations of all sizes can be further enabled to dedicate resources to encourage everyday giving and volunteering, so that they can reach everyday givers and volunteers at the grassroots level instead of being driven to only seek support from larger donors.

While the challenges facing civil society are difficult, they are not intractable. Significant, coordinated actions across our society—like the recommendations outlined in this report—can reengage Americans in the time-honored tradition of supporting each other through nonprofit groups, and inducting new generations into the same.

There is a role for all sectors, for media organizations, academic institutions, as well as each one of us, to play in this work. In an era when we disagree more on a shared vision for our future than ever before, few efforts could be more worthwhile.

More Must-Reads from TIME

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• New American Nation

Cultural Relations and Policies

Akira Iriye

Cultural relations may be defined as interactions, both direct and indirect, among two or more cultures. Direct interactions include physical encounters with people and objects of another culture. Indirect relations are more subtle, involving such things as a person's ideas and prejudices about another people, or cross-national influences in philosophy, literature, music, art, and fashion. When cultural interactions deal with such matters as officially sponsored exchange programs or dissemination of books and movies, they may be called cultural policies. But not all cultural relations are cultural policies; there are vast areas of cultural interactions that have nothing or little to do with governmental initiatives. This essay, therefore, will deal primarily with broad themes in the history of American cultural relations, mentioning cultural policies only when they play a significant role in determining the nature of the overall cultural relationship with other countries.

The basic assumption here, of course, is that the United States is definable as a culture, as are all other nations in the world. In other words, each country has its own cultural identity in that it is defined by people who share certain traditions, memories, and ways of life. In this sense, all international relations are intercultural relations. The United States's dealings and contacts with, and the American people's attitudes and policies toward, any foreign country are conditioned by the historical and cultural outlooks of the two countries. Insofar as no two nations are completely identical, any discussion of foreign affairs must start with the assumption that we are analyzing two societies of different traditions as well as two entities embodying distinct sets of interests.

This is a different approach to the study of foreign affairs from the usual interpretations that stress military, security, trade, and other issues that affect a country's "interests." In terms of such factors, nations are more or less interchangeable. Balance-of-power considerations, for instance, have a logic of their own irrespective of the cultural identity of a given actor, as do commercial interests or national security arrangements. In a "realist" perspective, international affairs are comprehended in the framework of the interplay of national interests, and while each nation determines its own interests, all countries are similar in that they are all said to be driven by, or to pursue, considerations of their interests.

Cultural relations, in contrast, are both narrower and broader than the interaction of national interests. Instead of power, security, or economic considerations, cultural affairs are products of intangible factors such as a nation's ideas, opinions, moods, and tastes. Symbols, words, and gestures that reflect its people's thought and behavior patterns comprise their cultural vocabulary in terms of which they relate themselves to other peoples. Not so much a realistic ("rational") appraisal of national interests as a "symbolic" definition of a people's identity determines how they may respond to the rest of the world. In this regard, there are as many cultural relations as there are national cultures, and nothing as vague as "national interests" suffices to account for them. At the same time, cultural relations are also broader than the interplay of national interests in that they include cross-national interactions such as emigration and immigration, tourism, educational exchange, missionary and philanthropic activities, and various movements to promote human rights or the protection of the natural environment. These are cultural phenomena in that they cannot be reduced to security or economic considerations and deal with the interrelationships of individuals and groups across national boundaries.

A history of U.S. cultural relations, then, must deal with all those themes that together define a different world from the one consisting of sovereign rights and interests of nations. The bulk of work in international relations still focuses on the latter phenomenon, and historians have only begun to take the former themes seriously as objects of study.

The early republic to the civil war: defining an "american" culture

Expansion and the age of imperialism, late nineteenth-century encounters: art, religion, and everyday life, twentieth century through world war ii: americanization and reaction, globalization and the cold war, intercultural relations since the 1970s, bibliography.

Chisolm, Lawrence W. Fenollosa: The Far East and American Culture. New Haven, Conn., 1963. Biography that illuminates intellectual interchanges between Americans and Asians. Cohen, Warren I. East Asian Art and American Culture: A Study in International Relations. New York, 1992. Analysis of the American reception of Asian art.

Costigliola, Frank. Awkward Dominion: American Political, Economic, and Cultural Relations with Europe, 1919–1933. Ithaca, N.Y., 1984. A close examination of transatlantic cultural influences during the interwar years, going in both directions.

Diggins, John P. Mussolini and Fascism: The View from America. Princeton, N.J., 1972. A detailed study of what Mussolini meant to various segments of the U.S. population.

Field, James A., Jr. America and the Mediterranean World, 1776–1882. Princeton, N.J., 1969. The best historical treatment of American cultural relations with Middle Eastern countries.

Gienow-Hecht, Jessica C. E. Transmission Impossible: American Journalism as Cultural Diplomacy in Postwar Germany, 1945–1955. Baton Rouge, La., 1999. A fascinating study of an attempt to reshape German culture after World War II.

Hay, Stephen N. Asian Ideas of East and West: Tagore and His Critics in Japan, China, and India. Cambridge, Mass., 1970. Another biography that casts light on the discourse on East-West relations.

Hixson, Walter L. Parting the Curtain: Propaganda, Culture, and the Cold War, 1945–1961. New York, 1997. A good study of U.S. cultural policy during the Cold War.

Iriye, Akira. Mutual Images: Essays in American- Japanese Relations. Cambridge, Mass., 1975. Includes several monographs on American-Japanese cultural relations.

——. "Culture and International History." In Michael J. Hogan and Thomas G. Paterson, eds. Explaining the History of American Foreign Relations. New York and Cambridge, 1991. An essay that notes some of the landmark studies of the history of intercultural, as distinct from intra-cultural, relations.

——. Across the Pacific: An Inner History of American-East Asian Relations. Rev. ed. Chicago, 1992. A multicultural treatment of American–East Asian relations.

——. Cultural Internationalism and World Order. Baltimore, 1997. Puts international cultural relations in the framework of the development of internationalism in modern history.

Isaacs, Harold R. Scratches on Our Minds: American Images of China and India. New York, 1958. American attitudes toward China and India.

Kloppenberg, James T. Uncertain Victory: Social Democracy and Progressivism in European and American Thought, 1870–1920. New York, 1986. Analyzes transatlantic intellectual and political movements at the turn of the century, comprehending developments within the United States as an integral part of the story of the Western world's coming to terms with the realities of modernization.

Koppes, Clayton R., and Gregory D. Black. Hollywood Goes to War: How Politics, Profits and Propaganda Shaped World War II Movies. New York, 1987. Study of wartime culture that focuses on use of the movies as a tool for indoctrination at home and propaganda abroad.

Kuklick, Bruce. Puritans in Babylon: The Ancient Near East and American Intellectual Life, 1880–1931. Princeton, N.J., 1996. Studies American fascination with and archaeological activities in the Ottoman Empire and Near East.

Lancaster, Clay. The Japanese Influence in America. New York, 1963. Impact on American philosophy and literature.

Ninkovich, Frank A. The Diplomacy of Ideas: U.S. Foreign Policy and Cultural Relations, 1938–1950. Cambridge and New York, 1981. Treats the origins and development of official U.S. cultural relations.

Northrop, F. S. C., and Helen H. Livingston, eds. Cross-Cultural Understanding: Epistemology in Anthropology. New York, 1964. Contains essays dealing with the problem of cross-cultural understanding.

Nye, Joseph S., Jr. Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power. New York, 1990. One of the most penetrating analyses of the relationship between the cultural and other aspects of U.S. foreign affairs.

Park, Robert E. Race and Culture. Glencoe, Ill., 1950. Contains some of the earliest and most penetrating observations on the global "melting pot."

Pells, Richard. Not Like Us: How Europeans Have Loved, Hated, and Transformed American Culture Since World War II. New York, 1997. One of the few systematic studies of transatlantic cultural relations.

Reynolds, David. Rich Relations: The American Occupation of Britain, 1942–1945. New York, 1995. Study of American culture during the war that explicitly treats international affairs.

Rodgers, Daniel T. Atlantic Crossings: Social Politics in a Progressive Age. Cambridge, Mass., 1998. Analyzes transatlantic intellectual and political movements at the turn of the century, comprehending developments within the United States as an integral part of the story of the Western world's coming to terms with the realities of modernization.

Rosenberg, Emily S. Spreading the American Dream: American Economic and Cultural Expansion, 1890–1945. Rev. ed. New York, 1982. Argues that officials in Washington often informally cooperated with private businessmen, religious organizations, and philanthropic as well as other associations to spread the American way of life to other lands.

——. "Cultural Interaction." In Stanley I. Kutler, ed. Encyclopedia of the United States in the Twentieth Century. Vol. 2. New York, 1996. Incorporates the vocabulary of cultural hegemony into a discussion of U.S. foreign relations.

Sumner, William Graham. Folkways: A Study of Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals. Boston, 1913. An American anthropologist who not only described but also raised methodological questions about the study of other cultures.

See also Colonialism and Neocolonialism ; Globalization ; Human Rights ; Imperialism ; Race and Ethnicity .

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Writing China: Essays on the Amherst Embassy (1816) and Sino-British Cultural Relations

• Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory
• Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies

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• https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7722/j.ctt1c3gx5k

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• Cultural Relation Arts and Humanities 100%
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• Emperor Keyphrases 50%
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Introduction: Writing China

Research output : Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

The Amherst Embassy in the Shadow of Tambora: Climate and Culture, 1816

T1 - Writing China

T2 - Essays on the Amherst Embassy (1816) and Sino-British Cultural Relations

A2 - Kitson, Peter J

A2 - Markley, Robert

PY - 2016/7

Y1 - 2016/7

N2 - On 29 August 1816, Lord Amherst, exhausted after travelling overnight during an embassy to China, was roughly handled in an attempt to compel him to attend an immediate audience with the Jiaqing Emperor at the Summer Palace of Yuanming Yuan. Fatigued and separated from his diplomatic credentials and ambassadorial robes, Amherst resisted, and left the palace in anger. The emperor, believing he had been insulted, dismissed the embassy without granting it an imperial audience and rejected its "tribute" of gifts. This diplomatic incident caused considerable disquiet at the time.Some 200 years later, it is timely in 2016 to consider once again the complex and vexed historical and cultural relations between two of the nineteenth-century world's largest empires. The interdisciplinary essays in this volume engage with the most recent work on British cultural representations of, and exchanges with, Qing China, extending our existing but still provisional understandings of this area of study in new and exciting directions. They cover such subjects as female foot binding; English and Chinese pastoral poetry; translations; representations of the trade in tea and opium; Tibet; and the political, cultural and environmental contexts of the Amherst embassy itself. Featuring British and Chinese writers such as Edmund Spenser, Wu Cheng'en, Thomas De Quincey, Oscar Wilde, James Hilton, and Zhuangzi, these essays take forward the compelling and highly relevant subject for today of Britain and China's relationship.

AB - On 29 August 1816, Lord Amherst, exhausted after travelling overnight during an embassy to China, was roughly handled in an attempt to compel him to attend an immediate audience with the Jiaqing Emperor at the Summer Palace of Yuanming Yuan. Fatigued and separated from his diplomatic credentials and ambassadorial robes, Amherst resisted, and left the palace in anger. The emperor, believing he had been insulted, dismissed the embassy without granting it an imperial audience and rejected its "tribute" of gifts. This diplomatic incident caused considerable disquiet at the time.Some 200 years later, it is timely in 2016 to consider once again the complex and vexed historical and cultural relations between two of the nineteenth-century world's largest empires. The interdisciplinary essays in this volume engage with the most recent work on British cultural representations of, and exchanges with, Qing China, extending our existing but still provisional understandings of this area of study in new and exciting directions. They cover such subjects as female foot binding; English and Chinese pastoral poetry; translations; representations of the trade in tea and opium; Tibet; and the political, cultural and environmental contexts of the Amherst embassy itself. Featuring British and Chinese writers such as Edmund Spenser, Wu Cheng'en, Thomas De Quincey, Oscar Wilde, James Hilton, and Zhuangzi, these essays take forward the compelling and highly relevant subject for today of Britain and China's relationship.

SN - 9781843844457

T3 - Essays and Studies

BT - Writing China

PB - Boydell and Brewer Ltd

CY - London

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Cultural relations essay.

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In terms of foreign relations and policies, cultural relations exist at various levels. Cultural relations can be set between a given government and its artists, writers, and producers. Cultural relations can exist within the private sector; between countries; ministries between universities in different countries; or involve states, nongovernmental organizations and institutions like the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a promoter and facilitator of cultural endeavor s. Cultural relations may include the arts and artists, producers and distributors, but also museums and donors.

Over the past twenty years, the balance of cultural relations has been faced with the issue of diversity of cultural expressions, which seeks to promote—in a single place—a broader horizon of artists and works from various cultural backgrounds and countries. Since the 1990s, diversity of cultural expressions has become a significant issue for many states where the cultural landscape is heavily influenced by a significant proportion of products (movies, popular music, magazines, television programs) from the United States, in particular, through the phenomenon of cultural dumping. The commerce of culture is not like others because art and culture cannot be reduced only to mere merchandise. In 2005, UNESCO approved a Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in recognition of the importance of cultural diversity around the world.

The basic notion of cultural relations as a dialogue of cultures can take many forms of expression, sometimes unsuspected or unpredictable. The Olympic Games with official ceremonies and national anthems, an exhibition about a foreign country in a national museum, the world tour of the Red Army Choir, and the banning of Salman Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses are all examples of cultural relations that simultaneously carry, at an international level, a strong political dimension within the expressions of art and culture. Here, culture is understood as the expression of a nation’s specificity and uniqueness through its art, language, literature, history, symbols, and traditions.

Scholars in political science and international relations have mixed perspectives about cultural relations: Some academics in North America often neglect these aspects as being outside of their discipline, while others, especially in Europe, would likely consider cultural relations as a core, although overlooked, part of their field.

The relationship between power—that is, the governments—and artists, has sometimes been in conflict. In the former Soviet Union, Josef Stalin persecuted composer Dimitri Shostakovich (1906–1975), who had a love-hate relationship with the dictator. Incidentally, the genius composer once dedicated his Tenth Symphony as a musical tribute to the life of Stalin. Also in the former Soviet Union, abstract artists like Kazimir Malevich were rejected by the regime during the 1930s because their art was too far from the official social realist trend. During the same period, expressionist painters like Max Beckmann also faced banning from the 1930s and were forced into exile from Nazi Germany.

The Hollywood Film Industry

The Hollywood film industry should is more than just a sector of the cultural industries; it ranks among the three most important exporters of the United States. Scholars like Thomas Guback, Manjunath Pendakur, Ian Jarvie, Toby Miller, John Trumpbour, and Janet Wasko have demonstrated that the Hollywood movie industry operates as an oligarchy, which explains why U.S. movies dominate the most lucrative markets (movie theatres, DVD rentals) in North America and in many countries, even though the United States is not the biggest film producer in terms of quantity (India produces a far greater number of feature films each year). The U.S. movie industry is political and linked with the highest power: Through the decades, the U.S. government has sometimes imposed boycotts of countries, such as England in 1949, which did not want to fully cooperate in terms of opening their markets to Hollywood movies.

Movies themselves can have a highly political content, especially documentaries. Some directors, like Leni Riefenstahl, used film to glorify Nazism and Hitler in her famous documentary Triumph of the Will (Triumph des Willens, 1935). But on the other hand, contemporary filmmakers like Australian Dennis O’Rourke (Half Life, 1985) and Peter Watkins (The Journey, 1987) masterfully demonstrated how politics, culture, and the media can hide the maneuvers of the most powerful leaders even when the media do provide news stories, which are often revealed to be uninformative. However, these important political documentaries about international issues are often available only through alternative networks and are hard to find in stores. For example, in the documentary Half Life, O’Rourke provides an impressive amount of archival footage about the side effects of the secret U.S. nuclear testing made in the Pacific Ocean during the 1950s, where hundreds of islanders were exposed to radioactivity without being protected or treated.

Museums And Memorials

Museums are not just houses for exhibitions about old objects and the past; in their narratives on history, these institutions acknowledge and interpret how past events, including conflicts and wars, should be understood now and tomorrow. Since any museum’s mission is to educate citizens and visitors (in addition to preserving its collections), a country’s history museum can be a challenging place to highlight and explain both sides of sensitive issues such as colonialism, slavery, ethnic tensions, and warfare. Hence, visitors can visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, in Hiroshima; the Maison desesclaves (House of the Slaves) on the Gorée Island in Senegal; and the recent Museum of Genocide Victims in Vilnius, Lithuania. All of these sites serve as tangible proof of the human rights violations that occurred there. The transition from one political regime to another can be told by museums as well, as Steven Dubin explained in his analysis of the South African museums that dealt with colonialism and apartheid.

As French historian Pierre Nora has demonstrated, even places can have a history, even if a place’s specific story is not always obvious; for instance, the location where President John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas, or the site of a battle. The history of these places and events can be remembered and commemorated by memorials. Similar to a paraphrase, a memorial seems to say in symbolic terms: “something important happened here, even though you cannot tell or see any trace anymore.” Sites of former concentration camps in Germany, Poland, and central Europe are notable examples; regardless of whether or not the original buildings remain intact, people ought to know that a significant part of world history has occurred there. For newcomers and younger observers, testimonies are just words; buildings and historical places are tangible. In his book Memorial Museums: The Global Rush to Commemorate Atrocities, Paul Williams analyzes the processes and uses of memorializing through the years. Today, a fundamental question remains for museums who own objects that are not tolerated anymore. How should the artifacts that were used to legitimate an oppressive system be displayed? Giant portraits of former dictators or symbols of a previous colonial presence can become disturbing exhibits for a new generation of visitors. Should these works be retired and hidden? Depending on their policies, institutions answer in various ways.

Peace Parks

Borders are sometimes seen as zones appropriate for cultural relations, as international frontiers can create special forums of exchange between countries. There are times, however, that frontiers are so imbued with conflict that the only possible use is a demilitarized zone, and sometimes a peace park. Such peace a park exists, for example, between the North and South Korea, which used to be considered a no-man’s-land. Peace parks can exist either between “good neighbors” or between states in conflict; they are built by two countries (or sometimes more) that agree to dedicate a region to a common cause, in many cases in order to protect first the environment and wildlife, but sometimes to avoid unwanted uses.

Cultures Confirm Differences

In an era of new technologies, globalization, and the Internet, individuals can be in touch with others in just a few seconds, despite the distance between them. But as French sociologist Dominique Wolton demonstrated, this illusion of proximity should not hide the barriers created by the sometimes deep differences between people, that vary significantly from one culture to another, one country to another, or one continent to another. These sorts of differences can be seen, for example, when American businesspersons go abroad and experience different corporate cultures, rules of hospitality, and etiquette.

In the twenty-first century, cultural relations are not exclusively handled by political leaders and policy makers, as proven by the emergence of celebrity diplomacy, whenever rock stars and actors use their image to promote what they consider to be worthwhile causes, as did John Lennon (1940–1980) for peace during the late 1960s and 1970s. Some artists were even recognized as diplomats. In Europe, popular singers like Nana Mouskouri and Salvatore Adamo were nominated as ambassadors of good will for the United Nation’s Children’s Fund. In 2009, Armenia named popular French singer Charles Aznavour as its ambassador to Switzerland.

Diplomacy schools are no longer the only road to becoming a world-class diplomat because some celebrities have gained levels of respect and credibility, not only in their country, but also from an international audience. Moreover, celebrities can sometimes attract awareness from the media for overlooked issues, thereby providing the issue with increased public exposure. This can often take the form of popular artists meeting with notable advocates or important political figures like Nelson Mandela, for example. For many observers unaware of current politics and international relations, these types of meetings are perhaps their only encounter with political and human rights issues.

Bibliography:

• Dubin, Steven C. Transforming Museums: Mounting Queen Victoria in a Democratic South Africa. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.
• Kim, Ke Chung. “Preserving Korea’s Demilitarized Corridor for Conservation: A Green Approach to Conflict Resolution.” In Peace Parks: Conservation and Conflict Resolution, edited by Saleem H. Ali, 239–260. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2007.
• Marshall, P. David, ed. The Celebrity Culture Reader. London: Routledge, 2006.
• Miller,Toby, Nitin Govil, John McMurria, Richard Maxwell, and Ting Wang. Global Hollywood 2. London: British Film Institute, 2005.
• Nora, Pierre, ed. Realms of Memory: The Construction of the French Past. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998.
• Trumpbour, John. Selling Hollywood to the World: U.S. and European Struggles for Mastery of the Global Film Industry, 1920–1950. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
• Williams, Paul. Memorial Museums: The Global Rush to Commemorate Atrocities. Oxford: Berg, 2007.
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