Compare and contrast the two articles, making clear your criteria for comparison. To what extent do these articles show that national and cultural stereotypes are no longer a useful way of examining the human condition and economic activity? Choose an element in the articles which you find interesting and explain your reaction to it by giving examples from your own experience.
Your full name: Binjie He
Word count: 1152
As the development of globalization, world becomes smaller and smaller. People who lived with each other become closer. Meanwhile, international trade is booming, and products could be bought in supermarkets from almost every area in the world. As a result, national and cultural stereotypes attract more attentions than ever before. This essay will compare and contrast two articles, “East meets west” (Yong, 2009) and “International Communication” (Piller, 2011), discuss the two authors’ opinions towards national and cultural stereotypes and present my own opinion from personal experience. However, before the discussion I will summarize the similarities and differences based on their type, audience, tone, structure, focus and the attitude to stereotypes. The final section will give an example of Haier, China. My aim is to eliminate people’s misunderstanding of stereotypes. There are two similarities according to the two articles. Firstly, both the two articles describe different reactions of people belonging to the same situation from different countries through examples. Secondly, both of them admit that the mindsets of people are different from various areas, and offer evidences for national and cultural stereotypes. As well as the above-mentioned similarities, there are several differences. At first, the types of these articles are various. Yong’s is an article, while Piller’s is a textbook. Next, the audiences of Yong’s are
References: Piller, I. (2011) ‘Intercultural Communication for sale’ in Intercultural Communication: A Critical Introduction. Edinburgh University Press Yong, E. (2009) ‘East meets west’ New Scientist March 2009 issue