Academic
Stability of Culture
On completion of the academic program in France, I decided to join Fitchburg State College (FSC) to advance my knowledge of what I genuinely enjoyed without any grandiose plans of the material rewards that were, or were not possible. The academic culture did not change much, and I even enjoyed my time at FSC. The social setting on Fitchburg MA, and the USA presented new challenges that would change my perception of the new culture. Some of these new ideas met my expectations and were parallel to my individual culture, but others did not. The aspects that reinforced my pre-existing beliefs gave me a sense of comfort, while those that were not consistent challenged my beliefs and attitudes caused me to wonder if I would truly find my place in the general American cultural setting. Until this period in time, I thought that I had based my culture and beliefs on universally regarded values. Nevertheless, the American definition of family, marriage, role of government, justice seemed to contrast will all that I knew and had comfort in.
Moment of Truth
One autumn morning, I came to the realization that I was getting myself deeper and deeper into something that I did not like just because I had come to believe that if others believe in my abilities then I had no reason to doubt my decisions. Until that point, I did not ask myself if others encouraged me to continue because I seemed confident in what I did. I did not know how to be honest with myself or to fail and start over in a new direction. I decided to change my career focus from what I perceived as socially more acceptable, prestigious, challenging, well paying (Mathematics/Info); to what I genuinely enjoyed and would do as a hobby (media, communication, and philosophy). I prepared to defend my decision once I shared my decision with my family. When I explained the decision to them, I expected them to insist that I should always try to work harder and never give up. They did not oppose my decision. This expectation violation triggered me to change my perception. I found out that I had for so long created the pressure to excel within my head. I did this by creating a self-concept that made me consider my ‘individual self’ as secondary to the needs and reputation of the group (family). I had wanted to be ‘someone’ by taking a role and status1. I was well aware that this would affect the other ‘selves’ that are linked to me (significant others).
After making the change to my career path, I had post-decisional dissonance2.
The following factors helped me deal with the dissonance:
The decision that I had made was comfortable and it made me happy (attractiveness of the decision).
I tried to think that happiness/sanity was more important that the financial security of higher paying jobs (comparative attractiveness of the decision and the alternative).
It is clear that the beliefs and attitudes that I had, as well as the norms that I had until then developed were limiting my personal growth and independence. The experiences in my new environment contradicted the core beliefs and attitudes that determined my terminal values3 and self-concept. I had to reorganize my beliefs in order to eliminate the contradiction.
“… Many people will deliberately change their life’s situation in order to alter their own self-concept. Here, the IMe would not permit. Such a change might have occurred, for example, when you went to college. Many high school students decide that they will use college to establish a new me by associating with a new group of significant others and by establishing a new generalized other. This is what people mean when they say that they got a new start.”
LittleJohn, Theories of Human Communication, pg. 148
The change of social environment distanced me from the significant others that had so far influenced my norms and value systems. Although I did not pay attention to it at the time, the interaction with new people in a new cultural environment provided grounds for a new beginning. This was made possible by the ‘new’ significant others that did not champion the same values and goals that were encouraged (at least in my opinion at the time) in my family.
1 Norbert Wiley, The Semiotic Self (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994)
2 Post-decisional dissonance: This is a feeling of dissonance that comes after making an important decision. Its magnitude depends on the importance of the decision.
3 Terminal values: The ultimate goals of life towards which we work, and that make us feel fulfilled when we achieve them.
Formal Corporate Culture in an Informal Social World
Individuals exist in social settings in proximity1 with each other, and they form groupings that are defined by shared practices, rituals, traditions, beliefs and values. While all the members of a given group do not always adhere to these values, the values act as a reference by which desirable behavior and interaction are measured. The values serve as a resource that is used to make sense of the individuals’ environment, therefore constituting a culture2.
The Voice of Another Master
The ultimate proof of an individual’s existence is in his/her ability to communicate.
Therefore a person’s inner existence comes out in the way that they communicate. It is
often easy to distinguish between native speakers of a language and people who have
learned that language as their second or third language. Even among native speakers
of a language with different cultural backgrounds, a difference is noticeable. Also,
people who speak more than one language tend to speak all these languages differently
from people who only speak one of those languages. In a sense the native cultures of
these languages spill over or blot through during all communication regardless of the
coding language (Gumperz, Hymes, 1972).
Using myself as an example, I have come to notice that I use similes and metaphors in
discourse more than the average English speaker. Both Swahili and Ekegusii of which I
am a native speaker originate in a culture that has an emphasis on symbolism. The use
of similes and metaphors is very common in this culture. What is commonly called a
‘language’ is a set of codes that represent an object or idea in a certain community. The
denotation of a word in a language is relatively stable compared to the connotations
that it may have. Connotations are often as a result of experiences and the events that
occur with the day-to-day use of the word(s) in question. Two individuals of the same
culture but with very different life experiences have different meanings attached to a
certain word in the language. This effect is amplified when the two individuals are from
different cultural backgrounds. Along with the personal experiences that may influence
one’s interpretation of a word, there are the crystallized connotations that are shared by
people within a culture. We often have to negotiate these inconsistencies in the
meaning of signifiers when we communicate. My dominant and personal culture often
blots through when I speak regardless of the language. It is worth noting that my
culture is not identical to my dominant culture. My personal experiences as well as
interactions with other cultures have resulted in a ‘custom culture’ that is unique and
personal to me. In Charles Osgood’s definition of meaning, the ’other cultures’
represents my experiences with those cultures as well as the stories from those cultures
that explain or redefine phenomena that I have not yet experienced. Growing up, I
was taught not to make any sounds, especially the mmm, eeee between sentences if I
was not sure of what I wanted to say because these sounds are a sign of the lack of
eloquence. The French on the contrary interpret these sounds as a sign of confidence.
Having been in contact with both cultures, I have to be careful to switch from one
mode to the other so as to be well perceived by each other these cultures.
