Identity and Intercultural Communication

Identity and Intercultural Communication
To begin the concept of identity and intercultural communication, one should first understand the concept of identity. In this chapter, Identity is developed or created by the development of “self” In other words, our self-concept, in spurts, through communication over a long period of time. Also, there are six aspects of identities listed, aspect one stated that identities are created through communication. This occurs when messages are exchanged between people; they are created, reinforced and exchanged through communication. One can say that different identities can be more prominent depending on whom we are communicating with and what the conversation is about. The second aspects of identities are created in spurts. This means that certain events provide insight on who we are. In other words, we sometimes may feel that we know exactly who we are and our place in the world and at other times may be confused.
Identities are multiple, influenced by society, dynamic and finally developed in different ways in different cultures. Identities are also classified as social and cultural. Under this theories are gender, sexual, age, racial and ethnic, physical ability, religions, class, national, regional and personal identity. When you examine these theories on separate issues, you will see that an individual does have many identities depending on the situation and the purpose of the communication.
When looking at identity development, the concept of minority identity development has four stages that involve unexamined identity, conformity, resistance and separation and integration. In the United States, white generally take their culture for granted, while minority group members in the United States tend to develop a stronger sense of racial and ethnic identity. The chapter states that unexamined identity may be characterized by the lack of exploration of ethnicity. This means that some minority members may initially accept