Section: The Iceberg of Culture: A Metaphor | Playground - Jason Baxter | University of Edinburgh Moodle

Main course page

  • Welcome to Intercultural Communications

    Intercultural Communication focuses on the importance of culture in our everyday lives, and the ways in which culture interrelates with and effects communication processes. We live in an era of rapid globalization in which being able to communicate across cultures is imperative to our ability to function in a diverse workplace, city, and world. Using our stories and our online discussions, this course is designed to increase our sensitivity to other cultures by understanding the frameworks of culture. This course will increase our awareness of our own cultural backgrounds, and the contexts in which we live and communicate. 

    The course objectives are as follows:

    • To explore cultural self-awareness, and the dynamics that arise in interactions between differing cultures.
    • To identify challenges that arises from these differences in intercultural interactions and learns ways to creatively address them.
    • To acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes that increase intercultural competence 
Cultural Stereotypes and Generalizations in Communications
The Dimensions of Culture

The Iceberg of Culture: A Metaphor

  • The Iceberg of Culture: A Metaphor

    Tutor: Jason Baxter

    Culture has been compared to an iceberg. Just as an iceberg has a visible section above the waterline and a larger, invisible section below the water line, so culture has some aspects that are observable and others that can only be suspected, imagined, or intuited. Also like an iceberg, the part of culture that is visible (observable behavior) is only a small part of a much bigger whole.

    Activity:

    This week's module will allow students to explore within the structure of the cultural metaphor in order to determine the undergraduate's cultural iceberg.  The conversations will begin through scheduled Skype online chat session, and continued within the forums exchanging each group's idea of undergraduate culture.

    Learning Objectivesiceberg

    • Define and classify of the features of culture through the metaphor “Culture is an Iceberg”
    • Evaluate the university’s culture by determining what values, beliefs and world views are influential to university undergraduate students.

    Weekly Blog Entry:

    Though continued to be perceived by interculturalists as a valued metaphor to describe culture, other critical theorists have said its time to retire the metaphor.  What other possible metaphors  do you believe represent culture?  Please define your reasons with a 500 word response.

Cultural Stereotypes and Generalizations in Communications
The Dimensions of Culture