Culture Talk: Sensitizing Cultural Intelligence through Intercultural Radio Interviews

Abstract

This paper was presented on the panel, “Perspectives on Teaching about Radio, Culture, and Society,” sponsored by the Radio/Audio Media and International Divisions of the Broadcast Education Association (BEA) at the BEA National Convention. The purpose of the panel was to examine various perspectives - domestic and international - on teaching about radio, culture, and society, whether in a traditional lecture course or where students learn to produce their own radio programs, with an objective of impacting culture and society. This paper was based on a sabbatical project, “Culture Talk,” both a faculty/student collaborative research study and a radio program, which explored the influence of culture on communication. The purpose of the radio program and research was to stimulate cultural intelligence and encourage understanding of how culture affects both the messages one delivers as well as how one communicates. Undergraduate students produced 20 episodes of “Culture Talk” for WUEC 89.7 FM, the campus radio station. Episodes of the radio program featured 30 and 60-minute intercultural interviews with 24 interviewees, including international students and scholars studying at the UW-Eau Claire, community members who emigrated from other cultures, and American Indians. Interviewees were asked a series of open and closed-ended questions that explored areas such as identity (ethnic, racial, and religious), verbal communication (linguistic styles and behaviors), nonverbal communication, values, and culture shock. The research was approved by the UW-Eau Claire Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects. All interviewees were provided informed consent; confidentiality was not guaranteed. This paper documents the different stages of the “Culture Talk” project, including–for example–the process of locating the interviewees, preparation for the interviews, production, editing, publicity, and promotion. Benefits of the project for the students, the interviewees, the university, and the listening audience are addressed. The “Culture Talk” project provided an opportunity to teach about radio, culture and society, wherein students learned to conduct intercultural interviews and produce radio episodes with the objective of impacting culture and society, episodes that provided current, real-life examples exemplifying the influence of culture on communication. (Contains Bibliography: 75 sources, Appendix A: “Listen to Culture Talk” print advertisement, Appendix B: “Radio Series to Feature Interviews Highlighting Cultural Communication,” Appendix C: "UW-Eau Claire Students Honored for Radio Show on Cultural Communication,” and Appendix D: “Communication and Journalism Students Win State Broadcasting Awards”).