culture communication dissertation

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Towards a theory and practice of cultural communication.

• The Groningen Research Institute for the Study of Culture (ICOG), Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands

This paper tentatively introduces the concept of cultural communication, exploring new theoretical and practical perspectives on culture and cultural policy. Notably, it presents a theoretical model for cultural communication as a dedicated, common, widespread communication “mode,” thematising ambiguity. This concept of cultural communication may provide new footholds for the legitimisation of public cultural policy—positioning the arts firmly within the context of cultural communication—and for the practical, heuristic application in a structured practice of arranging cultural encounters, carried out in Netherlands.

Introduction

In the past decades, the legitimisation of cultural policy in Western Europe has been shaken by, for example, sociological deconstruction, post-colonialism, diversification, neoliberal strands in government and populist rhetoric—in combination with societal changes such as digitalisation, globalisation, segregation and austerity. Urgent calls are sounding for new, more encompassing views on the meaning and value of culture as well as for practical policy goals and outcome evaluation tools (e.g., Holden, 2006 ; Stevenson, 2016 ; Wilson, 2017 ; Hadley and Belfiore, 2018 ). Clearly, a wider dissatisfaction with—or contention of—the “deficit model” of cultural policy is growing in strength and a new “democratic” case for the meaning and value of culture, inclusiveness, new audiences, multiculturality, cultural capabilities and local ecosystems is emerging (e.g., Ahmed, 2012 ; Gielen et al., 2014 ; Holden 2015 ; UCLG, 2020 ; EU, 2021 ).

This may be seen against the backdrop of the emergence of culture as a designated theme for global democracy and sustainability (e.g., Kagan, 2011 ; UNESCO, 2022 ), while the rise of social media and networked societies adds further urgency and depth to the discourse on what it entails to live together—and the role “culture as a public good” ( UNESCO, 2022 ) may play in both the local and the global, in (post-)pandemic times.

In this transitional policy-landscape the key concepts (culture, the arts, democracy, policy) have started drifting. Loosely scanning policy documents, 1 the term “culture” may, for example, mean: way of life, civilisation, identity-set, value-set, heritage, expressions, the arts or a combination of those. “The arts” may indicate: artifacts, disciplines, artistic practice, expressions, creativity, creative industry. Democracy (in a cultural context) 2 may refer to: representation, deliberation, participation, pluriformity, diversity, inclusiveness, or cultural struggle. “Policy” may indicate the dimensions of politics, policy or governance. To complicate things further, arguments tend to switch back and forth between individual, group and societal perspectives, between local, regional, national, international and supra-national perspectives; between intrinsic and instrumental (economic, social, wellbeing, education, creativity, sustainability) perspectives, and between legitimisation, strategy and effectiveness dimensions. 3

There are practical reasons for these entanglements to persist: within day-to-day realpolitik , culture is typically a “weak” portfolio, charged with contested images; the pragmatics of “making the case” usually prevail over the muddy waters of conceptual discourse. These pragmatics occur in local politics, but also in national and European policy arenas—each with their specific vocabulary. 4 Moreover, the concept of culture itself has been (and indeed, increasingly is) a tool for purposeful and powerful ideological rhetorics (ranging from populist nationalists, to neo-conservatives, to neo-Marxists) that seem to feed on political, market and sector interests and ideologies. Conceptions of culture have thus become entangled in ideological and political discourse and positioning.

But there is also a deeper issue at work. This has to do with circularities that have irreversibly become part of any cultural policy debate, since sociology and multi-cultural society have established the awareness that any judgement on cultural expressions, values or identities is inextricably bound to cultural bias. 5 “Who is talking?” is now the first question that is put forward in any debate on cultural policy. With this rhetorical “axe” the debate on cultural policy is irreversibly split along cultural fault lines, instrumentalising the discourse on cultural policy. 6

In the face of these challenges, this paper develops the idea that culture may be conceptualized as a communicative process, i.e., as imaginative or performative communication. The guiding hypothesis of this paper is that by building this new process-framework for the conception of culture, the debate on culture, cultural policy and the arts may find a new point of orientation, and some of the circularities and tensions in the debate ( Drion, 2023 ) may be resolved or reframed.

Exploring this hypothesis, the paper takes off with a short introduction to the work of Niklas Luhmann on communication—as one of two possible avenues for grounding a new theory of cultural communication (to be distinguished from communication about culture or communication of culture). 7 It finds that at the heart of Luhmann’s grand theoretical construction, an opening for the concept of a specific communication mode may be found, facilitating ambiguous communications. From this, the concept of cultural communication is drawn up. Annotating on Luhmann, the paper will then illustrate that this concept of cultural communication sits well with real-life observations on play ( Schechner and Schuman, 1976 ), performative and subjunctive interactions ( Fisher-Lichte, 2009 ; McConachie, 2015 ) and a societal “third space” where societal binaries may be left open or tried ( Bhabha, 1994 ; Soja, 1996 ; Baecker, 2012 ). This specific domain of practice of suspended meaning 8 is also the locus—albeit not the exclusive prerogative—of the arts.

Switching to a more practical perspective, the concept of cultural communication is then brought to bear to explore new perspectives for real-life policy development, circumventing the circularities embedded in de rhetorics of cultural policy, A short Practical frame is dedicated to the reflective framework of cultural encounter, putting cultural communication into practice for (arts-, culture- and social-) professionals, cultural organisations and policymakers – as recently carried out in Netherlands ( Drion, 2018 ; Drion, 2022 ).

Over all, this paper may best be considered a tentative exploration. It covers a lot of ground, conceptually positioning a new concept. As such, it has its limitations, which will be discussed at the end of the paper, by confronting some alternative theories and concepts.

Theoretical frame

Systems and semiotics.

Looking for descriptive (value-free) frameworks 9 to scaffold a theory of cultural communication as process between people, two options immediately come to mind: semiotics (Charles Sanders Peirce) 10 and systems theory (Niklas Luhmann). There are connections between the two frameworks (as indicated by (e.g.,): Maturana and Varela (1984) , Bateson (2002) , Hoffmeyer (2008) , Deacon (1998) and Bausch (2001) . 11 Another study ( Drion, 2023 ) will research these similarities in the context of cultural communication. This current paper is directed at the systems theory of Niklas Luhmann, whose work is of profound and still growing influence on sociology—and offers interesting applications in the theorising of cultural policy as well. Moreover, Luhmann’s work comprises a foundational meta-theory of societal communication, as such, any trial at conceptualizing culture as communication must, in one way or other, relate to it.

Society as communication

Luhmann’s work is focused on one thing: the construction of an all-encompassing theory of society as communication. Or, to put it more precisely: society as an amalgam of self-regulating systems with one single operator: communication. Loosely paraphrasing from his dense prose, two fundamental notions (as a sort of “truisms”) stand out at the heart of his theory. The first truism is that humans are “thrown” into the world equipped with mental faculties (psychic systems) that can never connect directly: we can never know for certain what other psychic systems think or feel: all we can ever do is: try to communicate—and try again. The second truism is that every imperfect trial of communication consists of selections as temporal events : we say this, not that. Luhmann then shows how these two simple facts spawn the most intricate and complex set of functionally stratified communication systems creating their own boundaries and rules: society.

Luhmann builds his encompassing systems theory by oscillating between the microlevel (of communication between psychic systems) and the macro level of social systems (society). He argues that both psychic systems and social systems must make temporal selections when they communicate, or more precisely: that communication is temporal selection. 12

This notion of communication-as-selection entails that both psychic and social systems organise themselves in functional (selection-driven) ways: patterns of selections grow into functional social (or cognitive) units. Social systems (sociologist Luhmann does not say much on psychic systems, but emphasizes that they are indeed systems) are formed by the use of functional binaries. These binaries drive the formation of subsystems, like the binary “true-untrue” for the science system or the binary “legal-illegal” for the justice system. Society for Luhmann is the grand total of all of these self-regulating binary communication subsystems which he describes meticulously in several major works. 13

Selection as distinction

Luhmann underpins his key-concept of binary selection with George Spencer-Brown’s Logic of Form ( Spencer-Brown, 1969 ). Here his work does become very abstract, it requires exaination, as it is a central part of Luhmann’s reasoning to which this paper wants to annotate.

Spencer-Brown postulates that at the heart of any (temporal) act of selection lies a unity of distinction and indication, that spawns a form. For Luhmann this means that any communicative selection is at the same time both a distinction and an indication: by saying “this” and not “that,” both a distinction (between this and that) and an indication (this, not that) spring to life, are made simultaneously manifest—as a “unity of selection.” Spencer-Brown names this unity of selection: form .

For Luhmann this is a crucial notion, as it depicts that every selection forms a “cut out” shape that not only indicates what is selected, but also indicates what is not selected (out of the range of alternatives at hand). In other words, the form spawned by selection exists as a shape that marks the difference between the selected and the not-selected ( Figures 1 , 2 ).

FIGURE 1 . Selection (Spencer-Brown): “Marker” (unity of distinction and indication) Selects “Marked State,” creating form. (Source: author’s elaboration).

FIGURE 2 . Form as Boundary. (Open source).

What is of importance here, is the notion that in Luhmann’s world communication is the basic operator of any social system, and selection (in the Spencer-Brownian sense of form) is the basic element of every communication. This means that any communication (and indeed any communication system) is a reduction to form, which allows for the unselected (out)side to be observed and remembered.

Structures and media

Observation, expectation and remembering are a key part in Luhmann’s social theory. Because communications are events that only exist in time, communications must be tried again and again. That is why, Luhmann says, grand structures and “media” continuously arise to facilitate effective communication and remembering: to make pre-selections, so to speak, that streamline communication. Luhmann positions these structures and media in society.

Luhmann does not claim that observation, expectation and remembering would not, also, be situated in psychic systems. As a sociologist, his focus is on society, that is: on communications, that weave patterns, forming societal processes of a specific kind (social systems) that in turn find ways that help to observe, expect and remember. 14

How do culture and the arts fit into this grand concept of society? As for culture, Luhmann is quite clear that the societal organisation of observation, expectation and remembering cannot be a social system in and of itself (as it is not communication in Luhmann’s definition). 15 Instead Luhmann introduces the term medium, which may here be taken to refer to a set of communication pre-sets or configurations (including language, values, structures) that provide the preconditions for enduring and effective communications within society. A medium is built up over time by the communications within a system, without being “seen” by the systems that use it. Although with much (uncharacteristic) hesitancy, Luhmann says this invisible medium is what may be called “culture” ( Burkart and Runkel, 2004 ).

There is much to say about this, but it is clear that Luhmann does not thoroughly theorise culture as such and this leaves room for interpretation and amendments. Baecker (2012) , Baecker (2013) , Laermans (2002) , Laermans (2007) and others have done just that, and commented that culture in Luhmann may be seen as a sort of reservoir on which all communications draw to facilitate the ongoing process of meaning construction. Indeed, this is more or less in line with what the common, anthropological definition of culture entails (see: Geertz 1973 ; Keesing 1990 ).

Art as a social system

In his conception of art as a social system Luhmann (2000) works “outward,” starting from the practice of creation. In accordance with his theory, Luhmann argues that every step in the formation of an artwork designates a temporal selection by the artist: “Here and now, I do this, not that”. 16 Luhmann then states that every selection by the artist refers to the work itself. The binary that drives this selection in relation to the work is the distinction “fitting/not fitting.” The “selection process” (the conception of the work) goes on until the work is “done” – the point when there are no further selections left to improve the work. 17

Luhmann then projects the same binary “fitting–not fitting” operating at the functional level of the social system of the arts: art as a social system “autopoieticly” reproduces itself by selecting fitting/non-fitting works. This must be taken in a paradoxical sense: what “fits” in the social system of art, fits because it does not quite fit, or in other words, in the social system of the arts, innovation “fits” (leads to continuation of the system) and imitation does not fit (is rejected, ignored or forgotten by the system). 18

It is significant to note that Luhmann does not see the artwork itself as a dedicated communication. The work however does communicate by referring to itself as a product of selections by the artist. Each of these selections yield form in the sense that they also indicate the non-selected options in relation to the work.

Luhmann mentions (in passing) that a particular prerequisite must be fulfilled for the artwork to communicate (in the Lumannian sense): it must, first of all, be introduced as artwork so that it may be interpreted as such (and not, e.g., as an “ordinary” soapbox or a pissoir). 19, 20 This is important for where this paper is going, because it leaves some space within systems theory to think of communication modes . I will come back to this in relation to play.

The second note is that Luhmann separates the “communication of the artwork” from the communication about art, which he designates as the “social system of art.” This is important because it leaves some space within systems theory to think of communication modes on the level of societal phenomena.

Luhmann’s social systems theory may be seen as an ultimate description of the systemic necessities of the process of communication. As such it may provide a strong and credible framework for a theory of cultural communication. There are however, as noted, some major issues to be addressed. The first is that Luhmann’s theory does not provide any clear definition of culture-as-process: Luhmann seems strikingly hesitant on the subject of culture ( Burkart and Runkel, 2004 ). The second is that his description of the process of creation of the art work (as communicative artefact) does mention “a special kind of communication” 21 in relation to the arts, but this “special kind of communication” is not theoretically developed in relation to culture. Thirdly, Luhmann seems to describe the social system of the arts in terms of communication about art and not primarily in terms of communication through (or with) art. Finally, although not mentioned above—but mentioned by others—the work of Luhmann leaves some gaps when it comes to embodiment and emotions as locus or driver of (inter)personal and societal processes, actions and experiences ( Ciompi, 2004 ; Ciompi and Endert, 2011 ; Damasio, 2018 ). These issues may be addressed if the description of culture is more precisely taken apart, in particular in relation to ambiguous communication.

Exploration

New territory: the process of culture, culture as process.

A deep and significant (but often hidden) aspect of the use and definition of the term “culture” is the distinction between the process of culture (i.e., the way “culture” influences or determines the interactions in society) and culture as process (i.e., as properties of communication). Put in other words: the difference between the process definition of a noun or a verb.

The use of culture as a noun in a process-definition of culture focusses on what culture is through what it does, i.e., the way culture as a set of (e.g.,) values, behaviours or artefacts (or as “reservoir of symbolic meaning” ( Laermans, 2002 )) mutually interacts with the processes that happen within and between people (or within and between structures or organisations). This use of the term culture is very well developed albeit contested and stratified in different schools of thought. 22

With the use of culture as a verb, a process-definition of culture shifts focus to what it entails to culturally communicate. This use of the term culture (as process-distinction of communication) has not yet been theorised. It does however resonate with Luhmann’s description of the creation-process of artworks, as well as with the concepts of bio-systems and cybernetics ( Deacon, 1998 ; Bateson 2000 ) and with some stands in sociology ( Laermans, 1997 ; Baecker, 2012 ), art-theory ( Van Maanen, 2005 ) and play-theory (e.g., McConachie, 2015 ). It is my aim to bring these strands—in a provisional way at least—together within the basic framework of communication theory, extending on Luhmann’s suggestions on a special “kind of communication” that comes with the creation and interpretation of art. I will develop this by connecting the everyday practice of ambiguous communication with subjunction (such as in play, storytelling, irony and the arts).

Communication mode

The suggestion I am making then, is that cultural communication may be conceptualised and theorised as a designated mode of communication. Let me illustrate this with an example, elaborating on Luhmann’s suggestion that for any artwork to function communicatively (as an artwork), it must be introduced and recognized as such. The communicative “mode” that designates such a switch from “reality” to the space of purposeful “non-reality” is playfully thematised by Magritte in his famous painting Ceçi n’est pas une pipe, which points to the self-evident difference between literal and imaginative interpretation. Ever since the arrival of abstract and conceptual art (like the ready-mades of Duchamp or Warhol’s Brillo Box) this distinction between the real and the imaginary has been irreversibly established—and consequently been thematised (“re-entered”) in art ( Figure 3 ).

FIGURE 3 . La trahison des images (René Magritte, 1928–1929). (Open source).

The point I would like to make is that this obvious communicative switch from reality to an imaginative non-reality mode is not confined to the arts and is indeed much more widely practiced in everyday communication than we perhaps might realise. To illustrate this, I will turn to the work of Bateson and McConachie on play and storytelling—and tie these back to culture and the arts.

There are two interesting parallels between the “artistic” mode of interpretation (this is not a pipe, this is not a Brillo box) with other, quite common communicative settings: social play and storytelling.

Gregory Bateson famously stated that for any social play (human or animal alike) to take off, a meta-communicative signal “this is play” is required ( Schechner and Schuman, 1976 ; Mitchell, 1991 ). Only if the signal is picked up, a playful communication mode (my term) may be established and playing may progress unimpeded by any misunderstandings that what takes place is actually “for real.”

It is obvious that there are many sorts of play and many definitions of play, 23 but for me it is significant these all have in common that some form of open-endedness is essential to playing: playing is, in a deep evolutionary sense, always a designated, staged form of trying. 24

Bruce McConachie (2015) , Erika Fischer-Lichte (2008) , Fischer-Lichte (2009) and others have suggested that play and storytelling (or more general: performance) are closely related 25 as both presume (and establish) a specific mode of communication: subjunction. Subjunction is the communicative transfer of “is” to “were” (or in other words, from a reference to reality to an imagined “as if” or “once upon a time”). This transfer opens a specific mode of communication: a playful performance and interpretation of a “reality” that is not-real, which of course is the hallmark of all art—but, as I just now put forward, not limited to art.

These switches from the real to the not-real are similar between play and performative acts, but the question remains whether they may indeed be the same in terms of communication?

Back to Spencer-Brown: The re-entry of form into communication

What happens “communication-wise” when we switch into this subjunctive mode of communication? How could this be reconciled with the concept of selection (i.e., reduction to form) as the basic unit of communication? I would like to suggest that the imaginative communication modes of subjunction and play have in common that they both thematise ambiguity. Put in the language of Spencer-Brown: an ambiguous communication mode is the re-entry of the form (i.e., the shape between the indicated and the not-indicated) into the marked state, as a thematised ambiguity . 26 ( Figure 4 ).

FIGURE 4 . Re-entry of form into the marked side of selection (The operation of re-entry is indicated by the outer hook; see also Figure 1 .). (Source: author. See also: Baecker, 1993 ).

This may seem very abstract or theoretical, but it may also be seen in an everyday perspective. When communication switches to an ambiguous mode, the difference of what is indicated and what is not indicated (the Form) becomes part of the communication as ambiguous meaning. As such, it “lives” on for as long as the ambiguous communication mode is continued. A “flippety image” or “Kippbild” ( Vilc, 2017 ) is an example of this oscillating meaning ( Figure 5 ).

FIGURE 5 . Form as ambiguous meaning. (Open source).

Proposition

This brings me to the centre of my argument. It is my proposition that an actual, distinct (and widespread) open ended communication mode exists in society, between people, distinguished by the selection of thematised ambiguousness. Annotating to McConachie I would suggest that from the “root” of this common ambiguous communication several different practices “branch off”: play, playful ambiguous communications (such as humour and irony), storytelling, all expressive performances—and art.

Looping back to Baecker’s and Laermans’ (noun-)definition of culture as a reservoir of shared meaning, I propose to call this imaginative, ambiguous communication mode: cultural communication , because it is, per saldo, thematising the playful “what-if” in the domain of shared meaning. Or put differently: seeing culture (as a noun!) as a reservoir of shared meaning (Sinn) ( Laermans, 1999 ; Laermans, 2002 ; Baecker, 2012 ), ambiguous communication may be the way this reservoir is continuously, playfully opened for association, reflection, subversion and growth.

Positioning

Culture, communication, otherness, play and space.

Among his many other interpretations of and reflections on Luhmann’s work, Baecker (2012) , Baecker (2013) puts forward that culture may be placed in systems theory as a Tertium Datur: a societal “third space” where the “opposition” to the functional binary way Luhmannian communication systems operate, resides. For Baecker then, culture produces the “third values” that facilitate a vocabulary that the differentiated social systems may share. Although Baecker’s elaborations of Luhmann’s theory suggest a similar direction as the one that I am proposing, his reasoning seems “tied” to the process of culture (as a noun). Although this obviously deserves much more attention (see also: Discussion ), I will now simply suggest that the concept of cultural communication may provide an explanation of how this societal “third space” is linked to the process of communicating.

It is interesting to note that, although formulated in a completely different context, the concept of playful undecidedness has parallels with Homi Bhabha’s Third Space ( Bhabha, 1994 ) as a space where (in a colonial context of cultural domination), dominant cultural expressions, identities and clichés are paraphrased, ridiculed and transformed. This in turn has strong relations with Victor Turner’s concept of liminality as a phase of becoming, between an old and a new equilibrium, state or identity ( Turner, 1982 ). And last—but not least—it may be associated with Edward Soja’s (urban) theory of Thirdspace, as a space of limitless options, radically open to otherness ( Soja, 1996 ).

These conceptions of space have in common that they envision a communicative mode of imagining, undecidedness, openness and creativity: when binaries lose their urgency and conflicts and identities are liquified through imaginative interactions. They also have in common that the term “space” is not used in any physical sense (although place as physical space may be an important context), but as a locus created by an associative and communicative interaction, as communications (including embodied behaviours) set themselves in a mode of ambiguity and performativity, opening new horizons for shared meaning and sense-making.

In Netherlands, Hans van Maanen (Theatre Studies) has suggested that artistic experience can only come about when the interpretation “schemata” of the subject are sufficiently challenged, i.e., when the confrontation with an artwork sparks interpretive surprise, wonder or (as Pascal Gielen later put it) dis-measure ( Gielen et al., 2014 ). This notion too, comes close to my propositions on cultural communication, although Van Maanen (2005) seems to speak mainly in relation to the arts. 27 In addition, I would suggest that the experience of dis-measure that Van Maanen–I think justifiably so–puts central to artistic experience, may find its pendant in a specific communication mode that is of a much wider practice than the arts as such.

This short positioning would not be complete without Johan Huizinga. In his seminal work Homo Ludens, Huizinga (1938) famously places play at the root of all culture. “Behind any expression of the abstract lies a metaphor and within any metaphor there is a wordplay,” Huizinga writes. In this way, humanity “continuously creates a second, imagined world alongside that of nature” (…) “Great activities of cultural life” (including religion, law, economy and science) are rooted in a “soil of playful activity” (sic). Huizinga does not theorise his thesis, but richly illustrates it with an abundance of examples from history and anthropology. Annotating, I would suggest a theory of cultural communication may help to fill in Huizinga’s thesis.

In the field of cognition and evolution strong clues can be found that cultural communication (in the sense of the playful thematisation of the what-if in the domain of shared meaning) may be an important factor in the evolutionary development of humans and society. We need ambiguous ways to try meaning , on both the interpersonal and the societal level. Vygotsky (1996) , Damasio (2018) , Donald (1991) , Tomasello (2000) , Dissanayake (1974 , 2012) , Van Heusden (2009) , Van Heusden (2010) and many others have theorised, researched and documented this convincingly in the context of human development, cognition, interaction, cooperation and evolution.

To round this short positioning off, it is worthwhile to reiterate that inspiring connections may be found between systems theory and semiosis (the production and comprehension of signs). The concepts of Eco (1978) , Eco (1988) and Lotman (2011) on sign systems, media and the “semiosphere” are strongly related to the process of sense-making, imagining, culture and the arts ( Machado, 2011 ; Tarasti, 2015 ; Thibault, 2016 ; Zerubavel, 2018 ).

(A short discussion of culture, power-reproduction and ‘blind spots’ can be found in paragraph Discussion and limitations.)

Policy perspectives

The guiding hypothesis of this paper is that a process-conception of culture may offer a new point of orientation for cultural policy and may resolve some of the circularities and tensions in the current (identity driven) debate. Annotating on Luhmann’s theory of society as communication, this paper presented a process-conception of culture as a playful ambiguous communication mode (designated as cultural communication or “culture as verb”). It then associated this concept with performative interaction, undecidedness and societal “third space,” and pointed to related strands of thought on art, culture, cognition and semiosis. So, what changes does this bring to the table for cultural policy?

The first (and most obvious) change would be that a policy directed towards cultural communication will no longer to be grounded in, or (primarily) aimed at the conservation, dissemination or production of specific values, identities or artefacts—as traditional cultural policy is. Instead, it will be grounded in, and aiming at the interactional processes by which values, identities or artefacts come to life. In that sense, such a policy is democratic in the deep layer that it is not (primarily) directed at representation of solidified identities, values or artefacts in the public sphere, but at the (imaginative) processes by which identities, values and artefacts mediate, liquify and change ; essential for an open society ( Ignatieff and Roch 2018 ; Zerubavel, 2018 ). By grounding in this deeper democratic layer, cultural policy may find a way out of the circular “legitimacy stalemate” pointed out above (see: Introduction ), because it can no longer be instrumentalized or “hijacked” by identity rhetorics. (See also: Discussion and Limitations .)

Elaborating on this, it is interesting to note that it was Gregory Bateson (who published extensively on systems, cognition, cybernetics and play) that coined the term “schismogenesis” for the mechanism of cultural opposition: although culture may remain “invisible” for anyone “inside” it, cultural awareness will urgently come to the surface when confronted with other cultures: every culture will define itself in terms of otherness. Bateson (in Schechner and Schuman, 1976 ) sees the dynamics of this cultural “schism” as a natural function of human society. However, feelings of fear and resentment lie close to the surface and can easily be manipulated by populists and activists ( Ciompi and Endert, 2011 ). Needless to say, these mechanisms have since Bateson’s time (he wrote on schismogenesis in 1935) become exponentially more virulent with the rise of social media and online tribalism. 28

In these polarized times then, it seems of importance that other ways of cultural awareness and growth (other than through cultural opposition) are at the disposal of society. It is at this point that a new cultural policy, directed at cultural communication, may play a role. 29

A second change that a process-directed cultural policy may bring about, concerns the role of artists and the arts. It has often been said that artists or the arts should not claim exclusivity for the societal enhancement of creativity and imagination (or, for that matter, for cultural participation, or for social “bonding” and “bridging”), 30 as there are many other processes in society that may bring about these qualities in people’s lives. The concept of cultural communication may help to put the issues concerning the role and surplus of artists and the arts in a wider and deeper perspective.

If we see cultural communication as a mode of deliberate ambiguous communication (thematising the playful subjunctive “what-if” in the domain of shared meaning), the role of arts and artists may come to light as a specific depth in this communication mode. Artists and artworks renew and update the expressive vocabulary (“form-languages”) 31 in and of society, creating inspiring, provocative or wonderous signposts in the “third space” of cultural communication. To be able to do so, artists must also be the keepers and disseminators of the specialist vocabulary of their discipline and the sets (passed down and continuously developing) of integrated skills that may bring that vocabulary to life.

From this vantage point artists can confidently unfold their role and position in society (in the Luhmannian sense of a communication system), and transparently balance the necessity of their artistic skills and autonomy with the necessity of their communicative embeddedness; proudly conscious of the fact that their work will find full significance in the playful context 32 of cultural communication and cultural encounter (see also: Practical frame ).

Combining these two observations, cultural policy design may gain new perspective. Two dimensions can then be functionally distinguished: the dimension of the width and the dimension of depth of cultural communication.

• For the maintenance and facilitation of the width of cultural communication, policy can be directed towards the capability 33 in and of society to arrange cultural encounters past the cultural “walls” of schismogenesis and power reproduction.

• For the maintenance and facilitation of the depth of cultural communication, policy can be directed towards the capability in and of society to arrange cultural encounters beyond the vested vocabularies (form-languages).

This “third way” of policy formation may have far-reaching implications, to be discussed and explored.

In the Practical frame (below) a trial set-up in Netherlands is presented, serving as a prelude to such explorations and discussions. In anticipation, a key finding of this trial may be of interest here: a policy directed at the arrangement of cultural encounters would have to be adaptive in a deep democratic sense, as cultural communication only springs to life in a free setting. Traditional policy elements (input, output, outcome) will have to be re-designed in a process-vocabulary for the facilitation, collaboration, and evaluation of cultural encounter. In a midsized “new-town” in Netherlands this policy re-design was democratically rolled out with the participation of the broad cultural field, triggered by the collectively shared challenge to facilitate cultural encounters for everyone . 34 This yielded a new collective vision for cultural policy for a period of 8 years, and major revisions of funding and collaboration. In the Practical frame (below) some further remarks are made on the development of specific tools for policy design and collaboration.

Discussion and limitations

As pointed out in the Introduction , this study is a tentative exploration of new territory, and as such is limited in its scope and reference. Below, these limitations will be discussed in the context of the tensions between Luhmann’s theory and the conceptualisation of cultural communication as a basis for new cultural policy.

Luhmann’s grand theory of society as communication is as huge as it is dense, and it develops a radical ( Moeller, 2006 , Moeller, 2011 ), highly specialized and completely original vocabulary. Moreover, Luhmann’s theory is highly consistent: it does not tolerate “cherry picking“ or ad-hoc changes ( Blom, 1997 ; Laermans, 1999 ). How does this relate to the propositions developed in this paper?

By connecting and annotating to this central point of Luhmann’s theory (i.e., Spencer-Browns unity of indication and selection) this article suggests an opening for conceptualizing an ongoing selection of ambiguity as a dedicated communication mode. As such, it does not dispute Luhmann’s grand theory or any of its implications; it sits beside, and in dialogue with, Luhmann’s great framework. The paper explores this position and is, needless to say, very much open for further discourse.

That said, as stated at the end of Theoretical Frame , there are tensions that need to be addressed when referring to Luhmann’s system theory in the context of cultural policy. The first tension addressed in this paper is that Luhmann is hesitant about the definition of “culture” within his grand theory. Several authors ( Burkart and Runkel, (2004) , Baecker, 2012 ; Burkart and Runkel, (2004) ; Laermans 2007 ) have pointed to Luhmann’s hesitancy, and have made suggestions for elaboration. This paper hooks on to these elaborations from the angle of cultural communication, drawing the preliminary conclusion that the concept of cultural space may perhaps form an interesting and viable bridge. However, the positioning of cultural communication in relation to cultural space on the one hand and system theory on the other, definitely deserves further exploration.

The second tension addressed in this paper is that Luhmann has a very specific view on the way art functions as a social system in society. In Luhmann’s view, artworks communicate in a functional system, driven by the paradoxical binary “fitting—not-fitting”. The theory of cultural communication presented in this paper places at the heart of cultural communication (which includes artworks but is not limited to art) a non-binary (!) ambiguous communication mode. In Luhmann’s world this mode would have to be theorised back into a binary fashion (ambiguous—not-ambiguous?). This also, deserves further reflection.

The third tension is that Luhmann’s world is, at first glance, not very “physical” or “immediate.” Psychic systems and the body are in Luhmann’s view “structurally coupled” and “irritate” each other, but there seems to be little room for direct physical interaction or immediacy, which seems intuitively essential for play (e.g., Winnicott, 1971 ; Sutton-Smith, 1997 ), performativity (e.g., Fischer-Lichte 2008 ) and cultural communication as presented here. This tension has not been addressed directly in this paper; I plan to study this further in relation to semiosis and living systems.

A fourth tension, mentioned here for the first time, may be that Luhmann actually does speak of a “doubling” of meaning, but does so specifically in relation to mass-media. Mass-media construct reality, or explore possible realities, e.g., in a story or a sit-com ( Luhmann 1997 ). Through mass-media, “realities can be constructed and constructions can become realities” ( Luhmann 1997 ). However, Luhmann makes these remarks in the light of a Luhmannian system (of mass-media), driven by the binary “new information—old information.” In contrast, the theory of cultural communication presented in this paper draws on the selection of ambiguity in a dedicated communication mode. The relation between these two concepts of “doubling” needs further reflection.

Blind spots

Any choice of frame creates its own blind spots, as Luhmann famously theorises. From the point of view of this article it is important to note that the framework of ambiguous communication (as indeed in Luhmann’s system theory) does not see power-relations as communication. It states that cultural communication is tied to a communication mode that may bring values, identities and artefacts into play between people. Cultural policy should then be directed at the width (i.e., past the walls of power relations) and the depth (i.e., renewal of form-languages) of cultural communication. In other words: the theory of cultural communication presented here does not deny the existence or importance of power-reproduction or exclusion in relation to cultural policy; it sees this as circumstance to be addressed by flanking policies. (See also below.)

Power and power reproduction

In that regard, the work of (e.g.,) Bourdieu (1984) , Bourdieu and Passeron (1990) , Ranciere (2000 ), Ranciere (2010) , Braidotti (2005) and Gielen et al. (2014) must be mentioned. Although mutually different in many aspects, these and other authors have in common that they place the reproduction of power-relations through the cultural reproduction of meaning and value central in their work. This leads them to a specific analysis of society and culture, and consequently to specific (although quite divers) analysis and (perhaps idealistic) design of cultural policy. These analyses are, no doubt, of significance in the debate on cultural policy (where indeed they find growing influence and support). I would not want to oppose their inclusive objectives in any way, although elsewhere ( Drion, 2023 ) I do propose that cultural policy on the basis of identity may well be fundamentally flawed. At the current point in time I would however suggest (1) that a theory of cultural communication may explain the dynamics and evolution of culture on a deeper communicative level, and (2) that a theory of cultural communication may crucially show the fluidity of cultural communication as an intrinsic dimension of society (in the Luhmannian sense), which interacts with the structural and power-reproductive mechanisms of society, and must therefore be included in, and be the deeper goal of, any cultural policy.

Ecosystems, cultural democracy, capability and commoning

Cultural ecosystems are currently at the forefront of the discourse on cultural policy, governance, participation and democracy. 35 It is important to note that the term appears in two conceptually different strands: a representational and a participatory strand.

In the representational variant, cultural ecosystems are conceptualised at the institutional level, as a set of more or less formal facilities that need to be opened for democratic representation of all cultural groups, both formally (as diversity) as in their programming and modus operandi (as inclusiveness) ( Hadley and Belfiore, 2018 ; EU, 2021 ; Hadley, 2021 ), In the participatory strand, cultural ecosystems are seen as a democratic process-approach to inequality and exclusion. It is interesting to note that two variants of this particular strand are emerging: cultural commons ( Volont et al., 2022 ) and cultural capability ( Wilson, 2017 ). Although there may be comments on the theoretical underpinning ( Drion 2023 ), both of these participatory strands relate well to a frame of cultural communication: commoning as a strategy for facilitating cultural communication and encounter (see Practical frame ); cultural capability as a participatory strategy for talent-development and supported cultural autonomy ( Wilson and Gross, 2018 ).

Further study

As may be clear from the above, further study is beckoning on a whole range of subjects. For the further development of a full-blown theory of cultural communication, critical analysis from system theory is very welcome, as well as corroboration by a further study of semiotics in relation to meaning, systems and ambiguity. Some promising leads may be found at the crossroads between the work of Lotman (2011) , Eco (1978 ), Eco (1988) and Fischer-Lichte (2008) , Fischer-Lichte (2009) on culture, the arts and semiotics, and in the work of Vygotsky (1996) , Donald (1991) , Damasio (2018) , Van Heusden (2009) , Wheeler (2015) and others on the relation between biosemiotics, semiosis, cognition, culture and evolution.

On the practical side, fruitful crosslinks may be found in the actual discourse on cultural capability, cultural ecosystems, cultural democracy, Thirdspace, arts education, social resilience and inclusiveness. The reflective framework presented in the Practical frame (below) may serve as a perspective for arranging cultural encounters —as basic unit of cultural practice, organisation and policy. Extensive research is needed to follow the actual impact of the method, and the way a shared vocabulary may work to arrange and align practices, organisations and policies. Nonetheless, the framework seems (as such) a step forward, as a heuristic operationalisation of what actually happens in cultural encounters has, so far, been missing.

Practical frame

How can we arrange cultural encounters past the ‘walls’ of power reproduction and schismogenesis? Or put differently: how can we open the concept of cultural communication to the real-world practice of actual activities, organisations and policy?

In the Netherlands a two-year trial was set up, aiming to find a practical approach for cultural communication, by heuristically modelling cultural encounters. The trial was made possible by FCP (the Dutch national fund for cultural participation) and was supervised and hosted by LKCA (the Dutch national centre for expertise on cultural education and participation); six professional organisations were involved in nine separate set-ups.

Key notions

The trial was built around the tentative hypothesis that in a cultural communication mode four heuristic elements (cultural nouns) may be in play: cultural self, cultural other, cultural form and cultural context. The reasoning behind this is straightforward: if cultural communication is indeed a specific communication mode happening between people, a cultural self and a cultural other must be brought into play, spawning form that can only makes sense (Luhmannian “Sinn”) in context .

It is crucial to emphasize that this model is not referring to “actors” or “agency” in any way. It heuristically models a mode of communication (as such, between people) as a self-generating process. The heuristic modelling has the specific purpose of opening cultural encounters for professional observation and evaluation.

The term “cultural” in this model may need some clarification. In this paper, a distinction was made between ‘culture as noun’ and ‘culture as verb’. In the model presented above, the process of cultural communication (i.e. the point where culture becomes a verb) is represented by the “infinity sign” (or lemniscate) in the middle. The heuristic elements surrounding the process may be seen as “bearers” of symbolic meaning, identity or values, that are brought into play when a cultural communication mode is present ( Figure 6 ).

FIGURE 6 . The heuristic model of cultural encounter. (Source: author)

In the context of this trial the term cultural capability was adapted in the Netherlands from the seminal work in the UK ( Wilson, 2017 ; Wilson and Gross, 2018 ; Gross and Wilson, 2020 ) and consequently developed in the specific direction of Cultureel Vermogen 36 ( Drion, 2018 , 2022 ): the capability in and of society to culturally communicate . Cultureel Vermogen (CV) proposes a dedicated model for opening cultural encounter to professional, organisational and policy design and evaluation. The model is a tentative proposition, developed over a series of dialogues with specialists in the field of cultural education, participation and policy. 37

The working hypothesis of CV is: cultural encounters may be arranged by connecting the four heuristic elements into “strong” practical arrangements - that touch on both the depth and the width of cultural communication.

Levels of arrangements

Three levels of operation can work together to bring these arrangements about: professionals (arranging encounters), organisation (arranging programmes), policy (arranging coherence).

For each of these levels, dedicated proto-tools were developed helping practitioners, organisations and policymakers to collaborate – using a shared vocabulary. The tools will become available in the summer of 2023 ( Figure 7 ).

FIGURE 7 . Three levels of operation. (Source: author)

Remarks on future developments

The findings of trial setup of Cultureel Vermogen were presented in a conference in May 2022 in the Netherlands. A platform for further development is under construction. (More information: https://www.lkca.nl/categorie/thema/cultureelvermogen/ ).

Data availability statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Author contributions

The author confirms being the sole contributor of this work and has approved it for publication.

Conflict of interest

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank everyone who in the past years have contributed to the ideas expressed in this paper, especially the many friendly co-readers and my PhD supervisors at the University of Groningen. This paper could not have been written without their support.

1 Listed here as ad hoc findings by the author.

2 The current discourse on cultural democracy (or views on the democratisation of culture) will not be explicitly discussed in this article. See also: Drion 2023 (forthcoming).

3 See, e.g., Belfiore and Bennet (2008) , Belfiore (2014) .

4 See, e.g., Drion 2023 (forthcoming).

5 See, e.g., Eagleton (2000) or Bauman (1999) , Bauman (2011) .

6 See Drion 2023 (forthcoming).

7 See Carbaugh (2012) for a short overview of four ways in which culture may be theorised as communication.

8 In this paper the term “meaning” indicates the Dutch “betekenen” or the German “bezeignen” which translates roughly to “signs that make sense.”

9 Value free as in neutral process-theory.

10 See: Peirce and Fisch (1986) .

11 Notably in the perception that difference is a basic condition for information to “appear” and to be handled between (or within) systems. As Bateson famously put it: “information is a difference that makes a difference.” Systems can only perceive differences; systems operate on differences.

12 Luhmann famously defines communication as a three-fold selection: selection of utterance, selection of information, selection of understanding.

13 In particular, ten systems can be enumerated: political systems, economy, science, art, religion, legal systems, sport, health systems, education and mass media ( Roth and Schütz, 2015 ). These are autopoietic systems, operationally closed, and each has a specific binary code that includes or excludes an operation ( Appignanesi 2018 ).

14 This part of Luhmann’s theory has deep philosophical and methodical implications, such as his systemic “blind spots” which we must leave aside here (see paragraph: Discussion and Limitations).

15 Luhmann opposes Parsons’ action theory. See Luhmann (2013) .

16 Of course, these selections are not per se “conscious” or “rational”; they will, at least in part, be embodied and intuitive. See, e.g., McConachie (2015) and Johnson (2007) .

17 There will obviously be different manifestations of this in material and performative art-forms.

18 See Luhmann (2000) 118. Cf Gielen et al. (2014) ; Van Maanen (2005) .

19 See Luhmann (1987 : 105) on “registering form as medium.”

20 Here Luhmann seems to introduce some form of meta-communication into the communication of art. I will elaborate on that when I introduce the term communication mode .

21 Luhmann (2000) 26.

22 See: e.g., Eagleton (2000) .

23 See: e.g., Huizinga (1938) , Caillois (2001) , Sutton-Smith (1997) , Henricks (2015) , Gadamer (1993) .

24 A significant difference between play and game should be highlighted here: a game will usually have an ending related to rules, play may not; a game needs to be played, but playing does not need a set of a priori rules per se . See also: Upton (2021) . See also: Baricco (2020) on games, digitization and culture.

25 Indeed, for all of these forms the word “play” is used.

26 For an comprehensive introduction to Spencer-Brown in relation to Luhmann, see: Baecker (1993) , (in German). For a lighter form, see: Baraldy (2021) .

27 Although in this context challenges may also reside in new information, revelation of identity, emotional content or new context/place. See: Van Maanen & Van den Hoogen in: DeBruyne and Gielen (2011) .

28 See also: Burkart and Runkel (2004) and Baecker (2012) on culture, opposition and middle ground (Tertium Datur).

29 There are, of course, many other valuable approaches to this problem: the claim that art and artists act as “mirror” or “consciousness” of society is obviously one; another may be the growing interest in the education in culture (see, e.g., Van Heusden 2010 ); a third may be the growing attention to inclusion, cultural rights and participatory practices.

30 See, e.g., Otte (2015) .

31 Drion, forthcoming.

32 See also: Gadamer (1993) .

33 See: Nussbaum (2013) . Nussbaum’s capability approach relates to the freedom people have to do and be what one has reason to value. In relation to culture and democracy this has been adapted by Wilson & Gross towards cultural capability: the freedom people have to recognize and explore what they have reason to value. For Drion et al. cultural capability relates to the capability in and of society to culturally communicate. See also: Practical frame .

34 Gemeente Zoetermeer (2019–2020).

35 See, e.g., Drion (2022) .

36 “Cultureel Vermogen” (CV) is not easily translatable into English (just as “Cultural capability” is not adequately translatable into Dutch). “Vermogen” points to a combination of ability and opportunity, but it also has the connotation “potential power” as in the physics equation W = V x A (capability = difference x connectivity). The phrase “in and of society” indicates that the societal and individual aspects of CV are at the same time distinguishable ánd intertwined.)

37 As such, it may provide a way to explore the specific ‘operational gap’ in the capabilities approach. ( Gross & Wilson, 2020 ).

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Keywords: cultural communication, cultural policy, cultural democracy, cultural capability, systems theory

Citation: Drion GJ (2022) Towards a theory and practice of cultural communication. Eur. J. Cult. Manag. Polic. 12:11085. doi: 10.3389/ejcmp.2022.11085

Received: 15 May 2022; Accepted: 01 December 2022; Published: 30 December 2022.

Copyright © 2022 Drion. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Geert J. Drion, [email protected]

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Dear Colleagues and Readers I am so glad to present Volume 3, Issue 4 of the International Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies (IJHCS). The IJHCS has moved to its more advanced and technically rich website through the use of the popular Open Journal System. This, of course, reflects the depth of the work being done in our journal. The journal keeps faith in multidisciplinary perspective. Articles published in this issue, reflect different theoretical and applied concerns in humanities, cultural studies, management, linguistic studies among other disciplines. As a matter of fact, this new issue includes works of the research scholars from different countries which reflected the international nature and scope of the journal. As usual, I sincerely thank our respected authors for selecting the IJHCS, our reviewers for reviewing the selected articles for this issue and the Administrative Board for its contribution to helping the IJHCS achieve this success. Next issue will be published in June 2017 and your valuable contributions are welcome till 20 May 2017. With Best Regards,

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Editorial Dear Colleagues, I am so glad to present the fifth issue of the International Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies (IJHCS). With this issue, the IJHCS enters its second year with more diligence and confidence. This fifth issue includes different research articles on various topics in humanities, linguistics and cultural studies both in English and French languages. This reflects the multidisciplinary, multilingual and interdisciplinary scope of the IJHCS. This new issue includes works of the research scholars from different countries such Azerbaijan, Cameroon, Fiji, Finland, France, Ghana, Kenya, Kuwait, Iraq, Lesotho, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Tunisia, UK, USA and Zambia. As usual, I sincerely thank our respected contributors for selecting the IJHCS, our reviewers for reviewing the selected articles for this issue and the Administrative Board for its contribution to helping the IJHCS achieve this success. With Best Regards, Dr. Hassen Zriba Editor-in-Chief The International Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies (IJHCS)

Hassen ZRIBA , IJHCS IJHCS

Editorial Dear Colleagues and Readers I am so glad to present the sixth issue of the International Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies (IJHCS). With this issue, the IJHCS enters its second year with more diligence and confidence. This sixth issue includes different research articles on various topics in humanities, linguistics and cultural studies both in English and French languages. This reflects the multidisciplinary, multilingual and interdisciplinary scope of the IJHCS. This new issue includes works of the research scholars from different countries such Barbados, Brunei, China, Fiji, France, Indonesia, Iraq, Italy, Kenya, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, and United Arab Emirates. As usual, I sincerely thank our respected authors for selecting the IJHCS, our reviewers for reviewing the selected articles for this issue and the Administrative Board for its contribution to helping the IJHCS achieve this success. With Best Regards, Dr. Hassen Zriba Editor-in-Chief The International Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies (IJHCS)

Paul Bowman

Ally McCrow-Young

In June 2016, the first community of students graduated from the MSc in Media and Communication Studies at Lund University, Sweden. This book showcases a selection of outstanding postgraduate dissertations with contributions from Alfonso Forssell, Lisa Jalakas, Ally McCrow-Young and Javie Ssozi. Their work provides excellent examples of original and creative theses on fascinating topics in the area of media and communication studies. The empirical areas covered range from media literacy in Mexico and the role of Twitter in political communication across different East African countries, to consumer activism and animal rights, and audience perspectives on feminist advertising. All four texts were originally presented and evaluated as part of the final thesis exams in May 2016, in which they were awarded top grades. During the autumn of 2016 they have been revised and edited for publication in the publication series Förtjänstfulla examensarbeten i medie-och kommunikationsvetenskap (FEA), which was launched in 2008 by the department of Communication and Media to bring attention to and reward student work of a particularly high quality. The four theses have been chosen for publication as they, through the skilful combination of empirical evidence and theoretical analysis, demonstrate why and how the study of media and culture matters in understanding knowledge, power and subjectivity in our experience of public life and the world today. Tina askanius (ed.) With contributions from alfonso méndez forssell, Lisa Jalakas, Ally McCrow-Young and Javie Ssozi

Deborah Borisoff

Welcome Our department is committed to fostering a theoretically and methodologically multidisciplinary academic environment. We understand that your study of media, culture, and communication spans the contemporary and the historical, the national and the global matters that make these diverse areas of study intrinsically related phenomena. The diversity, interdisciplinarity, and complexity of your academic work make clear and helpful guidance all the more important. Please use this handbook as your first resource for all departmental principles, policies and procedures. You can refer to it online at: http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/mcc/doctoral/forms. We also encourage you to contribute on an ongoing basis to our new MCC Wiki at https://wikis.nyu.edu/display/mccPhD, accessible through the departmental website under the Resources tab. The Wiki incorporates the information contained in this handbook, and much more, and is a project of the whole doctoral student community. We welcome you t...

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Home > Humanities and Sciences > Communication Studies > Communication Studies ETDs

Communication Studies Theses, Dissertations, and Professional Papers

This collection includes theses, dissertations, and professional papers from the University of Montana Department of Communication Studies. Theses, dissertations, and professional papers from all University of Montana departments and programs may be searched here.

Theses/Dissertations from 2023 2023

COMEDY, CAMARADERIE, AND CONFLICT: USING HUMOR TO DEFUSE DISPUTES AMONG FRIENDS , Sheena A. Bringa

Navigating Toxic Identities Within League of Legends , Jeremy Thomas Miner

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

UNDERSTANDING MEDIA RICHNESS AND SOCIAL PRESENCE: EXPLORING THE IMPACTS OF MEDIA CHANNELS ON INDIVIDUALS’ LEVELS OF LONELINESS, WELL-BEING, AND BELONGING , Ashley M. Arsenault

CANCELING VS. #CANCEL CULTURE: AN ANALYSIS ON THE SURVEILLANCE AND DISCIPLINE OF SOCIAL MEDIA BEHAVIOR THROUGH COMPETING DISCOURSES OF POWER , Julia G. Bezio

DISTAL SIBLING GRIEF: EXPLORING EMOTIONAL AFFECT AND SALIENCE OF LISTENER BEHAVIORS IN STORIES OF SIBLING DEATH , Margaret C. Brock

Is Loss a Laughing Matter?: A Study of Humor Reactions and Benign Violation Theory in the Context of Grief. , Miranda B. Henrich

The Request Is Not Compatible: Competing Frames of Public Lands Discourse in the Lolo Peak Ski Resort Controversy , Philip A. Sharp

Patient Expectations, Satisfaction, and Provider Communication Within the Oncology Experience , Elizabeth Margaret Sholey

Psychological Safety at Amazon: A CCO Approach , Kathryn K. Zyskowski

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

Discourse of Renewal: A Qualitative Analysis of the University of Montana’s COVID-19 Crisis Communication , Haley Renae Gabel

Activating Hope: How Functional Support Can Improve Hope in Unemployed Individuals , Rylee P. Walter

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

THE HOME AS A SITE OF FAMILY COMMUNICATED NARRATIVE SENSE-MAKING: GRIEF, MEANING, AND IDENTITY THROUGH “CLEANING OUT THE CLOSET” , Kendyl A. Barney

CRISIS AS A CONSTANT: UNDERSTANDING THE COMMUNICATIVE ENACTMENT OF COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE WITHIN THE EXTENSION DISASTER EDUCATION NETWORK (EDEN) , Danielle Maria Farley

FOSTERING COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE IN COMPREHENSIVE SEX EDUCATION: EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE FOUNDATIONS TRAINING , Shanay L. Healy

Belonging for Dementia Caregivers , Sabrina Singh

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

Making the Most of People We Do Not Like: Capitalizing on Negative Feedback , Christopher Edward Anderson

Understanding the Relationship Between Discursive Resources and Risk-Taking Behaviors in Outdoor Adventure Athletes , Mira Ione Cleveland

Service Failure Management in High-End Hospitality Resorts , Hunter A. Dietrich

Fear, Power, & Teeth (2007) , Olivia Hockenbroch

The climate change sublime: Leveraging the immense awe of the planetary threat of climate change , Sean D. Quartz

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

The Relationship Between Memorable Messages and Identity Construction , Raphaela P. Barros Campbell

Wonder Woman: A Case Study for Critical Media Literacy , Adriana N. Fehrs

Curated Chaos: A Rhetorical Study of Axmen , Rebekah A. McDonald

THE ROLE OF BIPOLAR DISORDER, STIGMA, AND HURTFUL MESSAGES IN ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS , Callie Parrish

Cruising to be a Board Gamer: Understanding Socialization Relating to Board Gaming and The Dice Tower , Benjamin Wassink

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

STEAMED: EXAMINATIONS OF POWER STRUGGLES ON THE VALUE FORUM , richard E. babb

Beyond the Bike; Identity and Belonging of Free Cycles Members , Caitlyn Lewis

Adherence and Uncertainty Management: A Test Of The Theory Of Motivated Information Management , Ryan Thiel

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

Redskins Revisited: Competing Constructions of the Washington Redskins Mascot , Eean Grimshaw

A Qualitative Analysis of Belonging in Communities of Practice: Exploring Transformative Organizational Elements within the Choral Arts , Aubrielle J. Holly

Training the Professoraite of Tomorrow: Implementing the Needs Centered Training Model to Instruct Graduate Teaching Assistants in the use of Teacher Immediacy , Leah R. Johnson

Beyond Blood: Examining the Communicative Challenges of Adoptive Families , Mackensie C. Minniear

Attitudes Toward Execution: The Tragic and Grotesque Framing of Capital Punishment in the News , Katherine Shuy

Knowledge and Resistance: Feminine Style and Signifyin[g] in Michelle Obama’s Public Address , Tracy Valgento

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

BLENDED FRAMEWORK: BILL MCKIBBEN'S USE OF MELODRAMA AND COMEDY IN ENVIRONMENTAL RHETORIC , Megan E. Cullinan

THE INFLUENCE OF MEDICAL DRAMAS ON PATIENT EXPECTATIONS OF PHYSICIAN COMMUNICATION , Kayla M. Fadenrecht

Diabesties: How Diabetic Support on Campus can Alleviate Diabetic Burnout , Kassandra E. Martin

Resisting NSA Surveillance: Glenn Greenwald and the public sphere debate about privacy , Rebecca Rice

Rhetoric, participation, and democracy: The positioning of public hearings under the National Environmental Policy Act , Kevin C. Stone

Socialization and Volunteers: A Training Program for Volunteer Managers , Allison M. Sullivan

Theses/Dissertations from 2014 2014

THIRD PARTY EFFECTS OF AFFECTIONATE COMMUNICATION IN FAMILY SUBSYSTEMS: EXAMINING INFLUENCE ON AFFECTIONATE COMMUNICATION, MENTAL WELL-BEING, AND FAMILY SATISFACTION , Timothy M. Curran

Commodity or Dignity? Nurturing Managers' Courtesy Nurtures Workers' Productivity , Montana Rafferty Moss

"It Was My Job to Keep My Children Safe": Sandra Steingraber and the Parental Rhetoric of Precaution , Mollie Katherine Murphy

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Free Markets: ALEC's Populist Constructions of "the People" in State Politics , Anne Sherwood

Theses/Dissertations from 2013 2013

COMMUNICATIVE CONSTRUCTION OF EXPECTATIONS: AN EXAMINATION OF EXPECTATIONS REGARDING MOTHERS IN NARRATIVE CONSTRUCTION , Jordan A. Allen

Let’s talk about sex: A training program for parents of 4th and 5th grade children , Elizabeth Kay Eickhoff

"You Is The Church": Identity and Identification in Church Leadership , Megan E. Gesler

This land is your land, this land is my land: A qualitative study of tensions in an environmental decision making group , Gabriel Patrick Grelle

The Constitution of Queer Identity in the 1972 APA Panel, "Psychiatry: Friend or Foe to Homosexuals? A Dialogue" , Dustin Vern Edward Schneider

The Effect of Religious Similarity on the Use of Relational Maintenance Strategies in Marriages , Jamie Karen Taylor

Justice, Equality, and SlutWalk: The Rhetoric of Protesting Rape Culture , Dana Whitney Underwood

Theses/Dissertations from 2012 2012

Collective Privacy Boundary Turbulence and Facework Strategies: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of South Korea and the United States , Min Kyong Cho

COMMUNICATING ARTIFACTS: AN ANALYSIS OF HOW MUSEUMS COMMUNICATE ORGANIZATIONAL IDENTITY DURING TIMES OF CONTROVERSY AND FINANCIAL STRAIN , Amanda Renee Cornuke

Communication Apprehension and Perceived Responsiveness , Elise Alexandra Fanney

Improving Patient-Provider Communication in the Health Care context , Charlotte M. Glidden

What They Consider, How They Decide: Best Practices of Technical Experts in Environmental Decision-Making , Cassandra J. Hemphill

Rebuilding Place: Exploring Strategies to Align Place Identity During Relocation , Brigette Renee McKamey

Sarah Palin, Conservative Feminism, and the Politics of Family , Jasmine Rose Zink

Theses/Dissertations from 2011 2011

Salud, Dignidad, Justicia: Articulating "Choice" and "Reproductive Justice" for Latinas in the United States , Kathleen Maire de Onis

Environmental Documentary Film: A Contemporary Tool For Social Movement , Rachel Gregg

In The Pink: The (Un)Healthy Complexion of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month , Kira Stacey Jones

Jihad as an Ideograph: Osama bin Laden's rhetorical weapon of choice , Faye Lingarajan

The Heart of the Matter: The Function and Relational Effects of Humor for Cardiovascular Patients , Nicholas Lee Lockwood

Feeling the Burn: A Discursive Analysis of Organizational Burnout in Seasonal Wildland Firefighters , Whitney Eleanor Marie Maphis

Making A Comeback: An Exploration of Nontraditional Students & Identity Support , Jessica Kate McFadden

In the Game of Love, Play by the Rules: Implications of Relationship Rule Consensus over Honesty and Deception in Romantic Relationships , Katlyn Elise Roggensack

Assessing the balance: Burkean frames and Lil' Bush , Elizabeth Anne Sills

Theses/Dissertations from 2010 2010

The Discipline of Identity: Examining the Challenges of Developing Interdisciplinary Identities Within the Science Disciplines , Nicholas Richard Burk

Occupational Therapists: A Study of Managing Multiple Identities , Katherine Elise Lloyd

Discourse, Identity, and Culture in Diverse Organizations: A Study of The Muslim Students Association (University of Montana) , Burhanuddin Bin Omar

The Skinny on Weight Watchers: A Critical Analysis of Weight Watcher's Use of Metaphors , Ashlynn Laura Reynolds-Dyk

You Got the Job, Now What?: An Evaluation of the New Employee Orientation Program at the University of Montana , Shiloh M. A. Sullivan

Theses/Dissertations from 2009 2009

Because We Have the Power to Choose: A Critical Analysis of the Rhetorical Strategies Used in Merck's Gardasil Campaign , Brittney Lee Buttweiler

Communicative Strategies Used in the Introduction of Spirituality in the Workplace , Matthew Alan Condon

Cultures in Residence: Intercultural Communication Competence for Residence Life Staff , Bridget Eileen Flaherty

The Influence of Sibling Support on Children's Post-Divorce Adjustment: A Turning Point Analysis , Kimberly Ann Jacobs

TALK ABOUT “HOOKING UP”: HOW COLLEGE STUDENTS‟ ACCOUNTS OF “HOOKING UP” IN SOCIAL NETWORKS INFLUENCES ENGAGING IN RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIOR , Amanda J. Olson

The Effect of Imagined Interactions on Secret Revelation and Health , Adam Stephens Richards

Teaching Intercultural Communication Competence in the Healthcare Context , Jelena Stojakovic

Quitting versus Not Quitting: The Process and Development of an Assimilation Program Within Opportunity Resources, Inc. , Amanda N. Stovall

Theses/Dissertations from 2008 2008

IMAGES AS A LAYER OF POSITIVE RHETORIC: A VALUES-BASED CASE STUDY EXPLORING THE INTERACTION BETWEEN VISUAL AND VERBAL ELEMENTS FOUND ON A RURAL NATURAL RESOURCES NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION WEBSITE , Vailferree Stilwell Brechtel

Relational Transgressions in Romantic Relationships: How Individuals Negotiate the Revelation and Concealment of Transgression Information within the Social Network , Melissa A. Maier

Theses/Dissertations from 2007 2007

THE SOCIALIZATION OF SEASONAL EMPLOYEES , Maria Dawn Blevins

Friends the family you choose (no matter what: An investigation of fictive kin relationships amoung young adults. , Kimberly Anne Clinger

Public relations in nonprofit organizations: A guide to establishing public relations programs in nonprofit settings , Megan Kate Gale

Negotiated Forgiveness in Parent-Child Relationships: Investigating Links to Politeness, Wellness and Sickness , Jennifer Lynn Geist

Developing and Communicating Better Sexual Harassment Policies Through Ethics and Human Rights , Thain Yates Hagan

Managing Multiple Identities: A Qualitative Study of Nurses and Implications for Work-Family Balance , Claire Marie Spanier

BEYOND ORGANIC: DEFINING ALTERNATIVES TO USDA CERTIFIED ORGANIC , Jennifer Ann von Sehlen

Theses/Dissertations from 2006 2006

Graduate Teaching Assistant Interpretations and Responses to Student Immediacy Cues , Clair Owen Canfield

Verbal negotiation of affection in romantic relationships , Andrea Ann Richards

Theses/Dissertations from 2005 2005

Art of forgiveness , Carrie Benedict

"We shall fight for the things we have always held nearest our hearts": Rhetorical strategies in the U.S. woman suffrage movement , Stephanie L. Durnford

War on Terror Middle-East peace and a drive around the ranch: The rhetoric of US-Saudi diplomacy in the post-911 period , J. Robert Harper

What do you mean by competence?: A comparison of perceived communication competence among North Americans and Chinese , Chao He

Rhetoric of public interest in an inter-organizational environmental debate: The Fernie mining controversy. , Shelby Jo. Long

Investigation of the initiation of short-term relationships in a vacation setting. , Aneta Milojevic

"It 's the other way around"| Sustainability, promotion, and the shaping of identity in nonprofit arts organizations , Georgi A. Rausch

Child left behind: An examination of comforting strategies goals and outcomes following the death of a child , Kelly R. Rossetto

Profile of the modern smokejumper| A tension-centered lens on identity and identification , Cade Wesley Spaulding

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Global communication of Chinese culture in the digital era: internal motivation and external challenges

• Open access
• Published: 06 December 2022
• Volume 9 , pages 127–137, ( 2022 )

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• Yuanchu Dai 1 &
• Xinyu Cheng 1  

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The development of digital technology encourages culture to spread more inclusively and diversely around the world. On this basis, this article aims to reveal the changing trend and the dynamic mechanism behind Chinese cultural communication by studying the status quo of overseas communication in the media, education, and arts and the influence of Chinese culture in different regions. The research shows that the existence of cultural hegemony and unilateralism in Western countries and the incomplete of China's communication system have restricted the global communication of Chinese culture. Despite this, globalization and multi-polarization provide new external opportunities for Chinese cultural global communication. Also, the development of China's comprehensive strength and technology have laid the material foundation and broadened the channels for cultural communication. In the future, more revolutions in terms of cultural communication concepts, subjects, and matrices should be conducted to help Chinese culture be more widely recognized and accepted worldwide.

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Introduction

The recent development of uncertain factors in international society has brought the relationship between China and the world to a critical point in history. A key question in China's relationship with the world is from which scale and perspective to observe this change. Cultural communication seems to provide a new perspective for solving this problem. With the development of media technology, the "cultural factor" plays an increasingly important role in international relations. With the end of the Cold War, scholars have pointed out that the "cultural factor" has become one of the most uncertain but unavoidable critical elements in international relations (Ørmen et al. 2021 ). Lane and Ersson ( 2016 ) highlighted that culture is one of the essential factors for national decision-making due to its direct effects on the beliefs and values of national leaders. However, when culture spreads globally, culture is a double-edged sword, which not only shapes harmony but also leads to conflicts. In this significant data era, cultural studies have moved beyond traditional media systems and toward convergence (Ørmen et al. 2021 ). Culture connects differences around the world in its unique way, and "communication" is the process of constantly repairing and transforming these differences and ultimately forming them into a shared reality.

From the research of the above scholars, it is not difficult to see that with the development of globalization, culture is increasingly inseparable from politics and comprehensive national strength. This view is supported by Qin ( 2019 ), who writes that the use and communication of Chinese cartoon culture have helped the Chinese Communist Party transform its perception of the public: from "target audience" to "encourage the audience," which improves the efficiency of China's political participation and practice. However, in contrast, Ding and Saunders ( 2006 ) argue that with the development of global culture and communication infrastructure, national cultural autonomy is facing a crisis of weakening, which may lead to a country's political operation being influenced or even controlled by other factors abroad. No matter their views, the evidence presented in this section suggests that scholars agree that the spread of a country's culture can profoundly impact the institutions and structures of international relations.

With the increase in China's cultural and comprehensive strength, more and more scholars have begun to focus on the influence of Chinese culture, especially Internet culture, in the international community. One of the most striking of these is the modern techno-optimists. A recent study by Zhao ( 2022 ) examines the role of short videos in enhancing the international influence of Chinese culture and points out that short video, as a kind of folk expression, is of great importance to the self-shaping of Chinese cultural image. However, some scholars hold the opposite view. Collie and Wilson-Barnao ( 2020 ) blame the algorithmic culture of short videos, such as TikTok, for allowing the value created by culture to be driven and limited by data and economics. So far, this paper realizes that there has been little discussion about the international influence of Chinese culture from a comprehensive and macro perspective. Most of them only mentioned one single aspect.  Culture  is a complex whole, which includes class, customs, knowledge, art, belief, and other aspects (Skeggs 2013 ). It is a set of unique emotional characteristics of a social group (Ding and Saunders 2006 ). This research is also inspired by this, considering that previous studies usually focus on one kind of media or cultural performance.

Therefore, this paper seeks to address the following questions: What is the trend of the global influence of Chinese culture? What are the internal motivations and external opportunities behind it? What are the challenges? This study systematically reviews the data for the overall strength of Chinese culture and its different influences worldwide, aiming to reveal the constraints and promoting factors behind the global communication of Chinese culture and to find a new way for the global communication of Chinese culture. In general, this paper has been divided into six-part, including this introductory part. The second part calculates the influence of Chinese culture in different regions through factor analysis and reviews the overseas communication status of different cultural industries. Then the third and fourth part is concerned with the opportunities and challenges faced by the global communication of Chinese culture, including domestic and international aspects, respectively. Then, the fifth section focuses on the future development of Chinese cultural communication. Finally, the last part draws upon the entire paper and points out the limitation of this paper.

The changing trend of the international influence on Chinese culture

From the perspective of spatial distribution, the degree of the international influence of Chinese culture closely relates to the factors such as spatial distance, economic and trade exchanges, and the cultural identity between the target country and China. This study calculates the influential changing trend of Chinese culture around the world based on the factor analysis of 2016–2019 data in terms of China's contribution to global governance, the development of the Belt and Road, the degree of positive recognition of Chinese culture in the world, the export number of artworks, TV programs, traditional/electronic cultural products, copyright, etc.

Specifically, Chinese culture has always had a decisive influence in neighboring East and Southeast Asia. The score rose 2.82% from 7 in 2017 to 7.2 out of 10 in 2019. Besides, the influence of Chinese culture in the Middle East and Latin America has witnessed remarkable growth, continuously rising from 6.8 and 7 in 2016 to 7.5 and 7.2 in 2019, respectively, for the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative. In comparison, China's cultural influence is only 6.4 points in the Americas in 2019, and Europe and Oceania reached the lowest score, with only 6.1 points and 5.7 points (out of 10) in 2019, respectively.

Take film as an example. According to the research results of Beijing Normal University on the international communication of Chinese films, audiences in Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia have a better understanding of Chinese culture contained in Chinese films than in Europe in terms of values level. This is primarily due to Chinese immigration from Guangdong and Fujian provinces and the profound influence of Confucian culture. The development of cultural identity is a complex process consisting of religion, values and beliefs, history, language, rites of passage, and so on (Bhugra 2004 ). In this process, history and migration are the most common factors that promote the transformation of cultural bereavement into cultural identity (Bhugra and Becker 2005 ). Culture is passed on from generation to generation through learning and transmission. China shares a Confucian cultural foundation with South Korea, Japan, and other countries, which cultivates the sense of belonging and identity, and the acceptance of cultural communication is also higher.

From the industry development perspective, the spread of culture cannot be separated from the support of cultural industry and carriers (Ke 2004 ). This paper focuses on the overseas development of art, education, think tanks, and the news media field.

In recent years, the number of overseas performances by Chinese Art Troup has been stable increasing. Some traditional events, such as "Happy Spring Festival" or "Dancing China," have been launched in world-class art halls such as Lincoln Center for the Arts in New York and Kennedy Center for the Arts in Washington, covering more than 20 million people. Taking the Spring Festival Gala of the China Media Group as an example, from 2018 to 2022, the on-demand viewing volume of the Gala on Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms increased from 17.28 to 71.03 million, indicating that the attention and influence of the gala on overseas social media are on the rise. Meanwhile, the value of exports for artwork, collections, and antiquities increased nearly threefold from 2016 to 2019, reaching $743 million. Chinese exhibition institutions have established close cooperative relations with international well-known cultural organizations such as the Documental Kassel Organizing Committee in Germany, the Europalia Organizing Committee in Belgium, the Guggenheim Museum of Art, Boston Museum of Art, etc., to promote the overseas exhibition of Chinese artworks and cultural relics collections to a new level.

In the field of education, according to the data by the CLEC (Center for Language Education and Cooperation), the number of people learning and using Chinese around the world outside China (including Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) has exceeded 100 million, including more than 60 million overseas Chinese. At the same time, the number of people going abroad to study and those who have returned to China after their studies increased from 409,100 and 523,700 in 2015 to 580,300 and 703,500 in 2019, respectively, which indicates that interpersonal communication, represented by overseas Chinese students and community, plays an increasingly important role in spreading Chinese culture.

As for think tanks construction, according to the 2020 Global Go to Think Tank Index Report (McGann 2021 ), China had 1413 think tanks in 2021, ranking second in the world and gradually playing its unique role in the international community. Think tanks can be powerful 'mediators' in the process of cultural communication with the participation of social actors, such as communication professionals, scholars, etc.

Regarding the media industry, the new media industry has developed rapidly. As of January 2022, China's social media platforms accounted for six of the world of top 20 monthly active users of social media platforms in the world, with Wechat and Tik Tok ranking fifth and sixth, respectively. This indicates, to a certain extent, that China’s head Technology Co., Ltd., such as Tencent and ByteDance, has the strength to compete with international technology giants such as Google, Facebook, and Microsoft.

Specifically, Tencent regards gaming and social networking as the main fronts for their overseas markets strategy. According to the Statista website, Tencent's gaming revenue (32.3 million dollars) surpassed Sony's (18.2 million dollars) and Apple's (15.3 million dollars) in 2021. Its social media platform WeChat, with 1263 million monthly active users, has also become the second most popular instant messenger App in the world after WhatsApp, which has 2000 million monthly active users. Unlike Tencent, Bytedance has gained traction in overseas markets with its short-form video app. Globally, the average monthly usage time of TikTok in 2021 increased significantly from 13.3 to 19.6 h compared to 2020. Meanwhile, the penetration rate of TikTok in the Middle East and Southeast Asia region has also shown a steady rise trend. For instance, the penetration rate in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates has exceeded 80%, making it one of the most popular social platforms for local users.

However, unlike new media platforms, the process of traditional media going abroad is hitting a period of stagnation. The number of Chinese media in the top 100 of The World's 500 Largest Media Companies jointly published by World Media Lab and World Executive Group has declined in the past five years, from 9 in 2016 to 6 in 2020. Although the official accounts of China's mainstream media, such as China Daily, Xinhua News, Global Times, and CGTN, have achieved more than one million followers on Twitter, they still lag behind world-class media, such as BBC and CNN. In addition, these media accounts, such as CGTN and China Daily, often endure malicious repression on Twitter or Facebook from western countries and platform systems for their different ideology. For example, when Hu Xijin, the former editor-in-chief of the Global Times, commented on the event of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan on Twitter, Twitter issued a warning of "violation of community rules" and "delete requirement" to him.

Internal motivation and external opportunities for Chinese cultural communication

From the perspective of global communication and international political and economic development, despite global uncertainty factors continuing to increase, the international political and economic situation has generally been characterized as open, equal, and beneficial to all after the Cold War. Peace and development remain the common goal of today's world. At the same time, the growing economic dependence between countries makes it possible to build political trust and provides the basis for the free flow of information. The British sociologist Anthony Giddens ( 2018 ), in the preface to his book China's Role in a Shared Human Future: Towards Theory for Global Leadership, points out that the rise of the digital revolution leads globalization to a different level, which requires attaching importance not only to the economic dimension of globalization but also to its political and cultural dimensions, in order to reveal the deep roots of common civilization values and provide an ideological basis for global cooperation. Against this background, the traditional values of "harmony," "respect," and "openness" in Chinese culture have laid the foundation of ideology and cooperation for Chinese culture to go global. In addition, digital technology provides new development opportunities for Chinese cultural communication. The rise of social media has dramatically narrowed the digital and information gap between China and the world by technological means, and further broken the traditional barriers and discourse hegemony established and advocated by West countries.

Internally, international discourse power cannot be separated from the support of comprehensive national strength. More specifically, sovereign states' international discourse power is derived from their international influence and comprehensive national power. The continuous enhancement of China's hard power provides the material foundation for the promotion of the international influence of Chinese culture. Along with the enhancement of comprehensive national strength in politics, economy, and military aspects, China has gradually changed from being the recipient and adaptor in the international community to the advocator and leader. For instance, China actively creates new international organizations and institutions to strengthen discourse power at the source of the system. According to a global opinion survey conducted by the Global Times Research Center, in the current global communication pattern, 35.7% and 34.4% of respondents said they were deeply impressed by the country's economic and technological development, respectively. Besides, developing countries are looking forward to more economic, scientific, and medical cooperation with China, while the United States, Japan, and South Korea are focusing on strengthening political and diplomatic ties with China.

Similarly, the rise of intelligent communication and digital technology has also enabled the field of cultural production and communication domestically. China has a tremendous advantage and prospect in this round of international competition in 5G, blockchain technology, and artificial intelligence. According to the data provided in the China Internet Development Report 2021 compiled by the Internet Society of China, in 2020, the number of 5G network users in China will exceed 160 million, accounting for about 89% of the total number of 5G users worldwide. The scale of the big data industry reached 7.187 billion yuan, up 16% year-on-year, leading the global big data market in terms of growth rate. The scale of the artificial intelligence industry was 303.1 billion yuan, up15% year-on-year, with a growth rate slightly higher than the global growth rate. The VR/AR market reached 30 billion yuan, maintaining a sound development momentum. The development of new media technology can make Chinese culture better presented to the global audience in terms of content presentation form, communication channel, and transmission speed.

Domestic and external challenges of Chinese cultural communication

Concerning external situations and challenges, cultural hegemony and unilateralism are serious factors restricting the spread of Chinese culture. The concept of hegemony has been central to cultural studies in the 1980s, focusing on the impact of Thatcherite culture and ideology on public expression and international communication (Thoburn 2007 ). This shows that the concept of hegemony places cultural activities in their socio-economic and political context, acknowledging power's creative and constraining nature. Throughout history, the global communication order has experienced three significant periods: imperialism, the Cold War, and the wave of Internet-based globalization. To be specific, imperialism developed a global communication pattern represented by the "Ring Combination," which divided the world's information dissemination into four areas: Reuters, Havas, Wolff, and the New York Press Association; During the Cold War period, the United States and the Soviet Union shifted their offensive and defensive postures in global communication in line with their global strategies and divided the world into two major organizations: NATO and Warsaw Pact. In the twenty-first century, under the pattern of Internet-based globalization, the United States has long been the hegemonic and central position of global information dissemination under its preemptive technological and economic advantages. The changing global communication pattern illustrates that culture and politics cannot be understood without connecting how capital is injected into society (Dyer-Witheford 1999 ). The global communication pattern has always been the product of global hegemony. This is because the birth and adjustment of the global communication pattern are based on the global political and economic pattern. Changing the world's political and economic strength will inevitably change the information communication relationship and structure.

According to a survey by Global Times Research Center in 2018, although some media upstarts like Al-Jazeera and Russia Today, the top three are still American and British media: The Associated Press, United Press International, and Reuters. China's rapid development in politics, economy, culture and other aspects has aroused Western countries' vigilance and further restrictions. For example, in recent years, biased reports by some Western media on specific issues, such as the China-United States trade war and China’s internal affairs in terms of Taiwan and Xinjiang, have further aggravated political and cultural inequality around the world, which is one of the significant challenges for the global communication of Chinese culture.

Unilateralism is also an essential constraint to Chinese cultural communication for some time to come. In recent years, Western countries have introduced various trade restrictive policies and military harassment against China or even neighboring countries, ignoring the will of the majority and the interests of other countries. For instance, in recent years, from the trade war between China and the United States to internal affairs, such as Taiwan and Xinjiang, China has been subject to malicious sanctions from Western countries and biased reports from western media. Besides, western countries often restrict Chinese media organizations' overseas visits and voice dissemination by shortening journalist visas and restricting examination and approval. The "unilateral" and "multilateral" conflicts on the economic level evolved into the "unipolar" and "multipolar" confronts on the political level, and finally reflected in the "homogeneity" and "pluralism" differences on the cultural level. The rise of unilateralism has exacerbated the monopoly of discourse by a few countries, making it difficult to forge a truly global consensus. A good, healthy, and sustainable global communication pattern should embrace the voices of all kinds of communication subjects. The principle of unilateralism not only contradicts China’s goal and vision in global communication but also will restrict the next stage to participate in the pace of global cultural communication.

The main domestic challenge is that the existing immature communication system and strategy result in the discount influence of the global communication of Chinese culture. The global system is unified by economy, politics, and culture, of which economic and cultural globalization are essential components of the globalization process. The rise of the emerging powers will inevitably challenge the existing powers' authority, eventually resulting in conflicts and rivalries among them. According to Canrong ( 2015 ), China and the United States have fallen into the "Thucydides' trap" of the great power game. One of the most critical tasks for Chinese cultural communication is dealing with the vicious cycle caused by the "Thucydides trap" and winning the discourse in the international public opinion field.

From the point of view of the communication subjects, the work of mainstream media overseas is still dispersed like 'individuals,' lacking systematic linkage and support. Concerning non-governmental communication, although overseas students and overseas Chinese play a significant role in offline communication, this also leads to the lack of an authoritative voice in social media, Google, and other virtual Internet spaces. Regarding the content, the representations of cultural content failed to consider the context differences of different target countries, resulting in difficulty in identifying with Chinese culture. Finally, from the perspective of the communication channels, there are still no media agencies or new media platforms with huge international influence. In the new media field, although TikTok and other short video apps have a significant influence overseas, they are not conducive to disseminating traditional connotations and values of Chinese culture for their low content quality and messy content ecology. Besides, authoritative media accounts and the public endure malicious repression on Twitter or Facebook from western countries and platform systems for their different ideology, which, to a large extent, result in a discount on cultural communication.

Take the spread of Chinese culture as a window to promote the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind

In the digital era, the global communication of Chinese culture cannot leave the establishment and upgrading of cultural communication matrix. As the young generation of "Gen Z" users gradually grow into the main force of the Internet, their consumer psychology and social habits increasingly depend on online virtual space. Meanwhile, compared with media, political, economic, trade, and other official communication activities, the global audience more easily accepts individual communication based on cultural inheritance and value consensus. Therefore, the upgrading and changing of communication subjects and concepts play a significant role in the modernization communication of Chinese culture.

First, it is necessary to change the communication concept to 'global communication' with the value of openness, honesty, and equality. The words such as "external" and "propaganda" have led to a kind of "community boundary" to identify who belongs to us and who is the 'other' between Chinese and overseas audiences. In recent years, several scholars have realized and advocated that China's original international communication concept, which focused on "national image," should turn to global communication focusing on "building a strong cultural country" to realize the all-round and multi-field cultural communication system based on de-ideology (Ying and LiJuan 2021 ). Compared with "external" or "propaganda," "global" pays more attention to kindness, honesty, and equality based on respecting regions, cultures, and regional differences, which conforms to the shared values of all humanity and is conducive to carrying forward China's excellent traditional cultural spirit. Regarding the communicators, Chinese netizens, journalists, overseas, and students are all viable forces in the global spread of Chinese culture. One thing worth noting is that We-Media operators, especially video bloggers, are one of the most promising subjects of civil communication. We-Media operators pay more attention to feedback from overseas users in the process of topic selection and content production due to the revenue and profit consideration. Therefore, their videos and pictures are more diverse in content and more exquisite in form, often winning praise from overseas audiences. In addition, strategic communication logic should be introduced into the cultural communication process with the deepening mediatization of society. Explicitly speaking, from the macro level, particular institutions should be set up to provide scientific research and data support in annual strategic plans, communication events, and effect evaluation aspects based on the combination with the theoretical and practical realities. In the process of implementation, an operation mechanism led by the government and regarding the market subject as the core force need to be established to fully encourage all kinds of resources for promoting Chinese culture and global communication.

Considering the present situation of Chinese global cultural communication, the regional imbalance is a significant feature of the global communication of Chinese culture. Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea, and other regions and countries have a high degree of acceptance and understanding of Chinese culture due to the common Confucian culture. Moreover, in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and other regions, more and more deep cooperation in infrastructure connectivity, unblocked trade, and natural resource extraction and sharing under the Belt and Road has laid a positive foundation for people-to-people exchanges. However, Western countries still maintain low acceptance and understanding of Chinese culture of their long-term prejudice and ideological differences. Therefore, in Chinese cultural commutation, more targeted communication towards different regions should be conducted. In Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia, classical books and historical allusions widely known by the public in these countries, such as Romance of The Three Kingdoms and Journey to the West , can be modernized in line with the current media ecology. In the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, more attention should be paid to the role of enterprises and strengthening their coordination with communication through interpersonal interaction.

To sum up, a comprehensive upgrade and precision-guided communication in the aspects of communication concepts, subjects, and regional differences should be taken seriously, assisting with a short video, news, live broadcast, and local life application to construct the cultural communication matrix and promote the development of global communication of Chinese culture.

In his book, Communication as Culture, James Carrey (1992) divides cultural communication into two levels. The first level refers to the ‘transmission view,’ while the second and more profound level is a kind of “ritual view,” which refers to a representation of shared belief. Currently, most of Chinese cultural communication stops at the first layer; however, cultural communication should be aimed at improving cultural and psychological resonance to promote cultural identity. The most important limitation lies in the fact that the scope of this paper may be too broad. Further studies with more focus on the profound reason for industry development and regional differences, such as an ethnographic study to observe the actual situation of cultural communication, are therefore suggested. Although this study has its limits, it nevertheless highlights the importance of participation in the tide promoting cultural globalization and diversified development as an initial exploration from the macro perspective of Chinese cultural global communication. As a vital force in world culture, China should take openness, inclusiveness, and diversity as the thinking foundation, reshape the sense of national community, focus on shared human values, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.

Data Availability

The dataset involved are based on public open data released by China's National Bureau of Statistics and Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies.

Code Availability

The code invoved has been processed by the authors.

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Dai, Y., Cheng, X. Global communication of Chinese culture in the digital era: internal motivation and external challenges. Int. Commun. Chin. Cult 9 , 127–137 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40636-022-00254-4

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The public relations campaign for Bangkok fashion week, Thailand , Chanoknart Paitoonmongkon

A web design shop for local business owners , Mary Colleen Rice

International students' reliance on home-country related internet use , Songkwun Sukontapatipak

Theses/Dissertations from 2004 2004

Zapatistas: The shifting rhetoric of a modern revolution , Ofelia Morales Bejar

Globalization, values, and consumer trends: A French and USA comparison , Alexandre Hatlestad-Shey

Values and symbols: An intercultural analysis of web pages on the Internet , Aura Constanza Mosquera

Creating community through communication: The case of East Desert Unified School District , Michelle Elizabeth Shader

A comparison of women's roles as portrayed in Taiwanese and Chinese magazine print advertising , Yi-Chen Yang

Theses/Dissertations from 2003 2003

The concept of interest in the Western and Middle Eastern society , Mustapha Ben Amira

A comprehensive examination of the precode horror comic books of the 1950's , Gene Marshall Broxson

Narrative versus traditional journalism: Appeal, believability, understanding, retention , John David Emig

Relationships of cultural orientations to online public relations message preferences among United States and South Korean college students , Seongjung Jeong

Self-esteem, television viewing behavior, and parasocial interaction with a favorite television personality , Sarah Beth Neighbor

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Culture Communication'

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Johansson, Malin. "Culture is communication." Thesis, Södertörn University College, School of Communication, Media and it, 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-2546.

I den här uppsatsen har jag undersökt internkommunikationen på ett multikulturellt företag för att se hur olika kulturer visar sig i olika förhandlingsstilar. Mitt material har bestått av sexton mejl mellan en tysk och en svensk affärsman från det multikulturella företaget Volkswagen. Mina frågeställningar var:

1. Skiljer sig Sch och Joh:s sätt att formulera sig och vilken betydelse får det i så fall för förhandlingen? 2. Vilka förhandlingsstilar används? Vad får de för konsekvenser? 3. Hade genomtänkta retoriska strategier kunnat effektivisera förhandlingens gång och i så fall vilka?

För att svara på frågorna har jag gjort en stilanalys kompletterad av en strukturell analys. Jag har även gjort en förhandlingsanalys och till sist undersökt de två kulturerna genom en jämförelse. Min uppsats lutar sig mot Hofstedes teori om kulturella dimensioner samt Ghauris teori om förhandlingens tre faser, för att nämna några.

Viktiga slutsatser är att det finns större och mer betydelsefulla skillnader mellan tyskar och svenskar än väntat. Jag har också kommit fram till att kurser i förhandlingsteknik kan visa sig vara lönsamma för multikulturella företag och det är det jag vill förmedla med den här uppsatsen. 

In this essay I want to investigate the internal communication of an transcultural company to see how different cultures are shown in different styles of negotiation. I have been looking at sixteen emails between a German businessman and a Swedish businessman, both working at the transcultural company Volkswagen.

The essay’s research questions are: 1. Do the German and the Swede differ when it comes to manner of speaking, and if so, how does that effect the negotiation?  2. Which styles do they use in negotiation? What kind of consequences do the styles cause? 3. Would carefully prepared rhetorical strategies make the negotiation more effective, and in that case, which strategies would that be?

To answer these questions I have made a stylistic and a structural analysis, followed by an analysis of the negotiation style and strategies. At last I studied the two cultures and made a comparison between them. I have built my essay on the theory of cultural dimensions by Hofstede and Ghauri’s idea about the phases of negotiation, to mention a few.

Hansson, Noreke Helena, and Jonathan Wirödal. "Managers' communication : how cultural intelligence affects communication." Thesis, Högskolan Kristianstad, Sektionen för hälsa och samhälle, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hkr:diva-9802.

Herrmann, Andrew F., and Art Herbig. "Communication Perspectives on Popular Culture." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2016. https://www.amzn.com/1498523927.

Guilherme, Maria Manuela Duarte. "Critical cultural awareness : the critical dimension in foreign culture education." Thesis, Durham University, 2000. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1533/.

Treanor, Ellen Stein Kevin. "No pirates, no princesses raising children with values and responsibility in a consumer culture /." [Cedar City, Utah : Southern Utah University], 2009. http://unicorn.li.suu.edu/ScholarArchive/Communication/TreanorEllen.pdf.

Kim, Sae-Eun. "Communication, culture and the Korean public sphere." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.324185.

Hegarty, Kelly, and Cydney Marrs. "Perspectives on Interprofessional Education: Communication and Culture." The University of Arizona, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/623881.

Tam, Oi Yin. "Communications rivalry : a case study on communication issues between HK Chinese and American co-workers." HKBU Institutional Repository, 2005. http://repository.hkbu.edu.hk/etd_ra/685.

Bartanusz, Stefan. "Culture et communication parents-enfants : incidence de la culture française et de la culture tchèque sur la communication dans des duos mère-enfant et père-enfant." Toulouse 2, 2003. http://www.theses.fr/2003TOU20070.

Sousa, Sandra Maria Vieira de. "Intercultural communication: representations of culture and teacher's role." Master's thesis, Universidade de Aveiro, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10773/4983.

Gerspacher, Katherine. "Communication Culture in Law Enforcement: Perceptions from Officers and Supervisors." Wright State University / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1401901205.

Ciszek, Erica L. "Identity, culture, and articulation| A critical-cultural analysis of strategic LGBT advocacy outreach." Thesis, University of Oregon, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3640180.

This study examines how LGBT activists and LGBT youth make meaning of a strategic advocacy campaign. By examining activist and advocacy efforts aimed at youth, this research brings to light how LGBT organizations use campaigns to articulate identity and, conversely, how LGBT youth articulate notions of identity. Through the lens of the It Gets Better Project, a nonprofit activist organization, this dissertation uses in-depth interviews with organizational members and chat-based interviews with LGBT youth to study the meanings participants brought to the campaign.

Strategic communication has been instrumental in construction of LGBT as a cohesive collective identity and has played a vital role in the early stages of the gay rights movement. This research demonstrates how contemporary LGBT advocacy, through strategic communication, works to shape understandings of LGBT youth.

Instead of focusing on the Internet as a democratic space that equalizes power differentials between an organization and its publics, this study shows that the construction of identity is the result of a dynamic process between producers and consumers in which power is localized and does not simply belong to an organization or its public.

This research challenges the Internet as a democratic space and demonstrates that identity is a discursive struggle over meaning that is bound up in the intimate dance between producers and consumers of a campaign. In contrast to functionalist understandings of public relations that privileges the organization, this dissertation contends that a cultural-economic approach focuses on the processes of communication. A cultural-economic approach gives voice to the diverse audiences of a communication campaign and addresses the role communication plays as a discursive force that influences the construction of identities.

Shen, Juan. "Patrimoine et audiovisuel : Enjeu de la médiation scientifique dans la communication des connaissances." Paris 2, 2010. http://www.theses.fr/2010PA020126.

Vevea, Nadene N. "Intercultural Communication Competence Theory: Integrating Academic and Practical Perspectives." Diss., North Dakota State University, 2011. https://hdl.handle.net/10365/28885.

Barros, Rayane, and Arbesa Idrizi. "Managing Communication Across Cultures : A qualitative study of leaders' way of communicating with their culturally diverse teams." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för organisation och entreprenörskap (OE), 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-95635.

Gilmour, Sophia Mawani, and n/a. "Organisational culture and the communication of loyalty : an ethnography." University of Canberra. Professional Communication, 2006. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20070119.152841.

Brown, Andrew D. "Information, communication and organizational culture : a grounded theory approach." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 1990. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/1833/.

O'Hagan, Ciaran C. C. "London dance culture scenes : formation, drug use and communication." Thesis, London South Bank University, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.410585.

Horbury, Caroline R. J. "Organisational change and safety culture : the impact of communication." Thesis, Aston University, 1996. http://publications.aston.ac.uk/15325/.

Young, Bryan-Mitchell. "Frag| An ethnographic examination of computer gaming culture and identity at LAN parties." Thesis, Indiana University, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3612176.

Utilizing ethnographic methods, this work examines how attendees of computer gaming events held by the Gaming@IU club form a community which uses technology to bring people together rather than isolate them and analyzes the ways attendees perform a unique forms of Whiteness and "nerd masculinity." Known as LAN parties, these computer gaming events are social functions where approximately 200 participants collocate their computers and play videogames with and against each other for up to twenty-four hours straight. Drawing years of fieldwork, this work uses participant observation and in depth interviews to examine how this group uses the computer gaming events to create a third place away from work and school where friendships can be created and maintained.

Based on this data, I examine the ways in which the statements of the LAN party attendees draw on a discourse of racial colorblindness to avoid dealing with the overwhelming Whiteness of these events which is not reflective of the racial and ethnic diversity of the area. I show how an avoidance of discussion of Whiteness and a general inability to articulate their thoughts about race prevents the attendees from interrogating the role the LAN party's organization may play in the racial makeup of attendees.

Focusing on issues of sexual harassment within gaming, I also look at the ways in which the games played and the social norms of the LAN party encourage the performance of hegemonic masculinity while playing the videogames but allow the attendees to inhabit a more complicit form of masculinity which is not overtly sexist. I argue that by embracing non-normative masculinity outside the games but discouraging it within the games, the LAN party participants are professing openness and acceptance but are failing to live up to that ideal.

Wouters, Paul. "The citation culture." Amsterdam : Universiteit van Amsterdam, 1999. http://garfield.library.upenn.edu/wouters/wouters.pdf.

Zirignon, Jean-Philippe, and Sanna Lindberg. "Culture, Communication, and Collaboration in Established MNEs : A Qualitative Analysis of the Influence of Culture." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Företagsekonomi, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-173127.

Martin, Damion R. "Culture and crisis communication : the use of intercultural communication in public relations crisis management planning." Scholarly Commons, 2011. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/787.

Herbig, Art, A. Watson, Andrew F. Herrmann, and A. Tyma. "The Creation of Profs Do Pop!: A Critical Examination of Popular Culture Communities." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2017. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/790.

Weyant, Jacob B. "Communicating organizational culture in the workplace through writing." Fairfax, VA : George Mason University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1920/3149.

Scherer, Brooke Nichole. "Globalization, culture, and communication proposal for cultural studies integration within higher education graphic design curriculum /." [Ames, Iowa : Iowa State University], 2010. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:1476367.

Bregeon, Marie. "Analyse des rapports à la culture scripturale scolaire chez les élèves de SEGPA de culture pratico-orale et leur évolution." Paris 12, 2006. http://www.theses.fr/2006PA120061.

Leshem, Shoshona. "Patterns and perceptions of oral feedback in the EFL classroom in Israel : a study of three culturally different environments." Thesis, Anglia Ruskin University, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.341657.

Ramakgoakgoa, Mmametsi Zebedius. "Gross-gender and gross-generational communication in Siyabuswa." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/23112.

Ciszek, Erica. "Identity, Culture, and Articulation: A Critical-Cultural Analysis of Strategic LGBT Advocacy Outreach." Thesis, University of Oregon, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/1794/18364.

Herrera, Benjamin A. "The edge of reality: A contemporary analysis of the video game culture." Scholarly Commons, 2015. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/200.

Alfano, Alliete Rodriguez. "Communication and Culture: Implications for Hispanic Mothers with Deaf Children." Scholarly Repository, 2007. http://scholarlyrepository.miami.edu/oa_dissertations/61.

Soyseckin, Idil Safiye. "Identity And Communication In Cyberspace Muds: Gender And Virtual Culture." Master's thesis, METU, 2006. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/3/12607564/index.pdf.

Scott, Peter Terence, and res cand@acu edu au. "The Communication of School Culture in an Anglican Grammar School." Australian Catholic University. School of Education, 1998. http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/digitaltheses/public/adt-acuvp215.03092009.

Richter, Karen E. "Policing in Germany, culture and communication in police/public encounters." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2001. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/NQ58258.pdf.

Collins, Richard. "Culture, communication and national identity : the case of Canadian television." Thesis, University of Strathclyde, 1988. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.314576.

Richter, Karen E. (Karen Emilie) Carleton University Dissertation Sociology and Anthropology. "Policing in Germany: culture and communication in police/public encounters." Ottawa, 2000.

Ge, Zhifei Ph D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Microfluidic cell culture chambers with nanoporous walls for chemical communication." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/85502.

Dailey, Phokeng M. "Communication, Somali Culture and Decision-making about the HPV Vaccine." The Ohio State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1366284195.

Georgiadis, Elliot Erin. "ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE THEORY AND FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS: APPLYING MEASURES OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE THEORY TO THE SORORITY CONTEXT." University of Akron / OhioLINK, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1566227238796242.

Ongwatana, Pongpranod, and Gaurav Chordia. "How does culture influence communication in multicultural teams in China and India." Thesis, Umeå University, Umeå School of Business, 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-18447.

With the increasing trend of globalization, the impact of globalization has lead to a fast changing environment the boundaries for business is diminishing day by day so is the movement of people between different countries and cultures. The requirements of multinational organizations like expansion plans in international market has continuingly increased the need to understand the cultural dimensions of different countries to achieve better results. Therefore the companies are required to understand a national culture’s impact on areas like communication in multicultural teams in different countries which has a high degree of effect on team performance. So our research question revolves around this topic as “How does culture influence communication in multi cultural teams ” . This thesis makes an attempt to investigate the influence of national cultures on communication in project teams in China and India by focusing on construction industry based on a number of factors including Hofstede’s (1980) cultural dimensional framework. The researchers intend to explore the cultural factors having major impact on communication in multicultural project teams of both countries. Throughout our research and study, useful lessons on national cultures impact on communication can be drawn for multicultural project team in China and India. It can provide a better insight for the project teams to have concern for and understand why people from different countries and cultures react or respond to various situations in a different manner, giving high emphasis to communication process.

To support our thesis a total of 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers in different companies from construction sector. An empirical qualitative research using semi-structured interviews was conducted from a total of 12 project team members from multinational companies in China and India based on their experiences on cultural influence on team communication when working in project teams. The research revealed that there are significant differences and similarities in communication styles of Chinese and Indian teams, and the differences are mostly attributed to have strong links with cultural aspects. Specially with increasing economical changes the traditional patterns of behavior in communication are changing with time. The results also addressed number of similarities; especially in both the countries, culture continues to dominate most aspects of communication. The major implication is that the knowledge of the cultural differences and similarities would facilitate better team performance. Therefore, by keeping in mind the importance as well as the impact of various national cultures and presenting each member with a better understanding and knowledge about social background of the team mates within the multicultural teams, arguments and conflicts arise due to misconception and pre-judgment can be reduced. Hence it will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the teams working in multicultural environment.

Maas, Elise. ""Culture managériale" et "culture en action" : analyse des dynamiques communicationnelles et régulatrices associées à ces cultures dans le passage d'un agir individuel à un agir collectif dans l'organisation." Versailles-St Quentin en Yvelines, 2012. http://www.theses.fr/2012VERS007S.

Yiboe, Kofi Tsivanyo. "Enseignement/apprentissage du français au Ghana : écarts entre la culture d'enseignement et la culture d'apprentissage." Strasbourg, 2010. https://publication-theses.unistra.fr/public/theses_doctorat/2010/YIBOE_Kofi_Tsivanyo_2010.pdf.

Saied, Kaj. "News Media in War Culture." Thesis, Karlstad University, Karlstad University, 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-1476.

Fear has found its latest instrument in the news media. The discourse of fear in news presentations produces gasping meanings, which we can compellingly indulge in. Fear not just being entertaining, but one of the ways in which we relate to reality, is used as a protection mechanism of our status quo. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the extent to which Fox News tends to use, and further reproduce, the fear discourse to form identities and meaning. The method utilized in this thesis is frame analysis, which is a form of discourse analysis. The primary results indicate that Fox News undeniably uses the fear discourse, for entertainment and the proliferation of the status quo - meaning system. In addition, Fox News applies fear blatantly in the news presentations, as acts of courage and virtuous loyalty to reporting.

Key words: Fear, Frame analysis, Meaning, News media, Infotainment.

Bouillaguet, Emilie. "Organisation, information et communication de "l'espace culturel" : approche d'un cas d'entreprise et modélisation : Fondation La Borie-en-Limousin (CIFRE)." Thesis, Limoges, 2015. http://www.theses.fr/2015LIMO0106.

Grech, Lisa Marie. "The effect of culture on cross-cultural conflict resolution behaviors." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2002. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/2331.

Darcie, Marina Paula [UNESP]. "As fãs mais legais do mundo: panorama do perfil comunicativo da comunidade da celebridade virtual Karol Pinheiro." Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/152196.

Manohar, Uttara. "The Role of Culture in Parental Mediation." The Ohio State University, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1313379998.

Lee, Sara Isabel. "Power Distance in Mormon Culture." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2015. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4413.

Gustafsson, Johanna. "Swedes in Australia - and their thoughts about business communication and culture." Thesis, Halmstad University, School of Social and Health Sciences (HOS), 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-2383.

The purpose of the thesis is to study Swedes who live in Australia about their thoughts concerning differences between the cultures and their communication styles in the following four areas; Power Distance, Masculinity verses Femininity, Affective verses Neutral, and Time.

I have chosen a qualitative approach for this study. My research is based on 10 telephone interviews; conducted with Swedes who work for various companies in Australia.

My theoretical chapter includes theories in the field of communication science and culture. Four scientists’ theories are explained; William B. Gudykunst's Anxiety /Uncertainty Management theory, Edward Hall’s High-and Low-context theory, Geert Hofstede’s national culture theory, and Fons Trompenaars’ culture business theory.

My research concludes that there are some main differences between the Swedish and Australian culture and between Swedes’ and Australians’ communication style. My research shows that Sweden is a low-power distance, feminine and neutral culture. While Australia is a higher power-distance, masculine and more affective culture, compared to Sweden. My study also confirmed that the time aspect is not as flexible communicated in Sweden as it is in Australia. All these culture differences are reflected in the cultures’ communication style. For example, Swedes are characterized by a team-oriented, open and equal communication style, whereas Australians use a more hierarchical, assertive and unilateral communication style. While group discussions, personal responsibility, and a high flow of information are common in Sweden, Australia is more characterized by delegation and protectiveness of territories, authority, and information flow.

Investigating Identity Awareness in university level multilinguals: An emphasis on defining investment-based approaches, measurements, and applications

 This ethnographic research study investigates the ideological construction and identity awareness of university-level multilinguals engaging in a linguistic and cultural investment-based (Darvin and Norton, 2015) series over an 8-week intervention. The study takes place over one Spring semester at a local Pittsburgh university and was conducted using semi-structured interviews, in-session observations, learner’s authentic written and recorded reflections, detailed field notes and quantitative data from a behavioral aptitude scale designed by the researcher. The author primarily examined the contextualized language learning experiences of the participants through their reflections and interactions with the Murdock Scale of Investment (2021). 

This dissertation aims to uncover specific learner attitudes toward immersion into university culture in a Western, English speaking environment while establishing the physical and mental characteristics that aid in language learning investment. The comprehensive goal of this dissertation is to assess the effectiveness of the Model of Investment (Davin & Norton, 2015) when instructional practices that promote its principles are implemented as an investment-based pedagogical approach over an 8-week linguistic and culturally immersive intervention. 

Findings from this study revealed that students who dynamically engage in their language learning with an investment-based approach, on average, show a significant increase in their sense of second language identity awareness, and their ability to access their target community in authentic ways. The study further highlighted eight attributes that contribute to effective language learning investment; ability to ask clarifying questions, knowledge of cultural and linguistic nuance, awareness of offensiveness in target language/cultural community, quality of daily conversations, willing and autonomous engagement in the target language/cultural community, meaningful contribution to target community, use of advocating language in and outside the classroom, and the ability to talk about one’s self in an emotional, personal and dynamic manner. When taken holistically, these dispositions allude to a learner who is engaged, invested, ideologically aware of sociolinguistic nuances in the target language and likely meaningfully involved in their imagined community. Lastly, this research study showed that the MSI (2021) is an effective measurement for student’s engagement with linguistic and cultural ideologies in authentic and nuanced ways. It is the intention of this dissertation to offer implications to foster a more vested language learner, add to the growing body of SLA definitions, and to introduce a sociolinguistic measurement for learner investment 

Degree Type

• Dissertation
• Modern Languages

Degree Name

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Usage metrics

• English as a Second Language

Playing With(out) Golden Hands: The Intersections of Video Game Controllers and Gamer Identity

Since the Electronic Software Association (ESA) began reporting data for the video game industry in 2002, women have represented nearly half of the game playing population. However, despite this stable statistic, the industry’s ideal “Gamer” is consistently depicted as a young, white, cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied male, and the games industry frequently targets this idealized identity through advertising and game design. This has resulted in a culture that is notably toxic towards women and marginalized players, built on an assumption of meritocracy within games—or the expectation that every player begins each game with the same advantages, disadvantages, and skills as every other player. While the construction of gamer identity has received extensive scholarly attention, gaming peripherals—such as video game controllers—are either minimized or left entirely out of the conversation. This dissertation, informed by feminist methodologies in technical communication and game studies, uses a mixed-methods approach involving archival research, visual analysis, surveys, and interviews to understand the intersections of video game controllers and gamer identity. Using Microsoft’s Xbox as a case study, the findings demonstrate how a dominant narrative has controlled controller design decisions through iterative processes. This has resulted in controllers that are more uncomfortable, more unusable, and more frustrating for and viewed more negatively by women and marginalized players. For each controller iteration, women and marginalized participants rated controllers significantly lower. Though the total improvement score (TIS) from first iteration to current iteration were similar between women and marginalized participants and cismale participants, the lower starting point for women and marginalized participants resulted in a lower ending point. Design decisions across controller iterations privilege cismale experiences, reifying gamer identity through controller design and resulting in not just an ideal gamer identity, but an ideal gamer body.

Degree Type

• Doctor of Philosophy

Campus location

• West Lafayette

Advisor/Supervisor/Committee Chair

Additional committee member 2, additional committee member 3, additional committee member 4, usage metrics.

• Technical writing
• Digital writing
• Media industry studies
• Communication technology and digital media studies
• Media studies
• Computer gaming and animation