An Introduction to Intercultural Communication: Identities in a Global Community

It is often said that you cannot choose your family, but you can choose your friends. The same notion can be applied to culture in that we do not choose which culture to belong to but are simply born into one – one that shapes our attitudes, our behaviors, and our perceptions. The Fourth Edition of Fred Jandt′s text An Introduction to Intercultural Communication: Identities in a Global Community challenges students to develop cultural competency by developing an understanding of how we perceive and react to cultural rules – not only those of others, but also our own.

Going beyond an "American" assessment of the field, this textbook assumes that no culture is privileged over another, be that culture from across the globe or a subculture or subgroup around the corner. Issues of identity, nationality, assimilation, and inter-group relations promote appreciation of diversity among people. An Introduction to Intercultural Communication walks students through the key concepts of communication and culture, addressing such topics as: barriers in intercultural communication; dimensions of culture; multiculturalism; women, family, and children; and culture′s influence on perception.

Illustrative material, such as vignettes, quotes, cases, and stories underscore key concepts and promote students′ critical thought and enhanced cultural competency.

• Provides students with an historical framework to aid comprehension of the development of current topics
• Approaches intercultural communication from a global perspective
• Broad coverage and inclusion of controversial issues, such as racial profiling and cultural hegemony by way of global marketing
• Extensive and provocative discussion of identities in subgroups, such as Hell′s Angels, British punk, corporations, and gay men and lesbians
• Internationally focused topics, Web resources, increased coverage of technology, and material on gender issues

An Introduction to Intercultural Communication is intended for introductory courses in Intercultural Communication and related topics. A new accompanying reader, Intercultural Communication: A Global Reader, is also available and can be used alone or in conjunction with An Introduction to Intercultural Communication.

Fred E. Jandt was born of second-generation German immigrants in the multicultural south-central region of Texas. After graduating from Texas Lutheran University and Stephen F. Austin State University, he received his doctorate in communication from Bowling Green State University. He has taught and been a student of intercultural communication for more than 4 decades, developing his experience through travel and international training and research projects. While professor of communication at The College at Brockport, State University of New York, his reputation as a teacher led to his appointment as SUNY′s first director of faculty development. He has retired as professor and branch campus dean after having been named outstanding professor. He has also been a visiting professor at Victoria University of Wellington, in New Zealand. He has extensive experience in the areas of intercultural and international communication, negotiation, mediation, and conflict management. He was one of the first scholars to introduce the study of conflict to the communication discipline with his text Conflict Resolution Through Communication (Harper & Row, 1973). He has subsequently published many other titles in this area, including the successful trade book Win-Win Negotiating: Turning Conflict Into Agreement (Wiley, 1985), which has been translated into eight languages; a casebook on international conflict management, Constructive Conflict Management: Asia-Pacific Cases (SAGE, 1996), with Paul B. Pedersen; Conflict and Communication, Third Edition (Cognella, 2025); and Negotiation and Mediation (Cognella, 2025). For several years, he conducted the training workshop “Managing Conflict Productively” for major corporations and government agencies throughout the United States. Jandt continues to train volunteers who are learning to become mediators in the California justice system and served as an elected trustee of the Desert Community College District.