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| Surf's Up! Intercultural communication is so important economically that companies like America at Work train people to work in intercultural issues. On its website, it says that "The market and the workforce are changing, and today's successful businesses are recognizing the value of employees who can reach emerging communities and provide a new, dynamic edge to the company in competition" (www.americaatwork.com/). Visit the website to see what specific skills are needed in today's multicultural workplace. Surf's Up! Erving Goffman argues that we present ourselves in terms of social roles, much like the roles an actor plays. We have different roles for different situations, and Goffman says that trying to keep them straight involves "impression management." Go to this website to learn more about Goffman's ideas (soc-pc1.cudenver.edu/sociology/introsoc/topics/UnitNotes/week04.html). Do you ever have trouble keeping your different roles straight? Surf's Up! Look at the history of the multicultural people called "coloureds" in South Africa (www.mixedfolks.com/africa.htm). Their existence is the result of a great many intercultural connections, not all of which were made with the best of intentions. How intercultural is your family background? Surf's Up! The Intercultural E-Mail Classroom Connections website (www.iecc.org) is a central gathering point for intercultural student pen pals. When this book was written, there were over 1,400 college-age subscribers from 58 countries and over 3,200 from 57 countries at the K-12 level. Why do you think so many young people participate in programs like these? |