Interracial Communication: Theory Into Practice - Essay Example

The United States has undergone substantial change within the past century and changing demographics reflect these important changes.  Immigration and the growth of the globalization movement have altered the social landscape of the United States. Today, there is a markedly larger percentage of people of color and visible minorities within key social institutions such as government office – President-elect Barack Obama is perhaps the most obvious example today but there is also increased representation of visible minorities across the country in all aspects of public office – the police services and the education sector, just to name a few.  Changing worldwide immigration patterns have led to an increased flow of people from around the world to the United States, facilitating interracial and intercultural communication.  American society has quickly become far less homogenous and cultural institutions are beginning to reflect this.  As interracial communication becomes more and more prevalent, all cultures and races are able to benefit from increased understanding and communication (Orbe and Harris 2000). 

Accordingly, intercultural – as well as interracial – communication facilitates self-understanding since it allows individuals to explore not only other cultures but their own culture as well.  By learning about others we can also learn about ourselves.  Barriers to effective intercultural communication include ethnocentrism, stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination.  These barriers manifest themselves as a result of ignorance and consciously as well as subconsciously promote the exclusion of others.  These impediments effectively decrease the likelihood of effective communication between different cultures and races.  Interracial communication refers to the dialogue of individuals across racial lines and is effective in promoting awareness and understanding of people of different races.  Accordingly, social diversity promotes dialogue between people of different races, cultures, and societies.  Identity formation and development are important when discussing race and racism in America today.  Minority people in the United States develop their identities in a different manner than individuals who belong to the majority population.  In fact, these identities often develop in juxtaposition to one another as The binary logic of race is inherently hierarchical and in modern American society, white people are perceived as being superior compared to people of color, according to this subjective racial hierarchy.  This hierarchy has important ramifications in the social, cultural, economic, and political realms as access to social services, jobs, and political office are presumably easier for white Americans rather than black Americans.  Communication strategies can be used to reduce discrimination or stereotyping among people with differences by promoting diversity and open dialogue for people to discuss and explore their differences.  These strategies include an open forum for discussing difference and an acknowledgment that difference and diversity are values that should be promoted.  Non-verbal communication refers to communication through gestures, eye contact, posture, facial expressions, and other non-verbal cues.  This form of communication is often subconsciously reproduced with respect to intercultural and interracial communication.  The power of language, labels, and naming in communication relates to diversity in that language, labels and names often represent the social outlook of the dominant group and ethnocentric ideas about the world in which we inhabit. 

Cultural space refers to a unique environmental space that seeks to provide a forum for as well as promote a specific culture.  An example of a cultural space at a university would be a Muslim prayer room which is set aside to promote Islamic culture and practice (Orbe and Harris 2000).