Système

White, Bob W.; Genest, Sylvie

doi:10.47854/diel6672

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Gregory Bateson first asked the question about difference in human social organization, in many ways laying the groundwork for what would later become known as systems theory [40]. Bateson's analysis called attention to at least two facets of communication.…”

Section: The Difficulty Of Talking About Differencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Through his discussion of "logical types" and "patterns" [40], Bateson might have argued that the idea of talking about variation within groups (for example how some individuals do not feel at home with the habits or norms of their group) is a moot point if the purpose of cross-cultural comparison is to understand what leads to breakdowns in communication. When we compare characteristics at the group level (for example between Protestants and Catholics, or between Europeans and North Americans) we necessarily lose sight of diversity and complexity among members of the same group [41]; as anthropologists, especially given our conviction that the documentation of cultural complexity is an antidote to ethnocentrism [42], this proposition can be difficult to understand and to accept.…”

Section: The Difficulty Of Talking About Differencementioning

confidence: 99%

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Talking about Difference: Cross-Cultural Comparison and Prejudice in Anthropology and Beyond

White,

Gouin-Bonenfant,

Grégoire

2023

Humans

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In recent years, the question of “difference” has become a central feature of public debate and social concern, especially in the context of transnational migration. The underlying question that we attempt to answer in this article is: how can we talk about difference without reinforcing prejudice? Starting from the observation that perceptions and representations of difference have an impact on the way that individuals and groups interact with each other in increasingly diverse urban environments, we argue that a systemic approach to the analysis of intercultural situations gives us a unique window into emerging discourses and evolving norms about difference. After a brief historical overview of debates surrounding cross-cultural comparison in anthropology, we consider how various fields outside of anthropology have drawn inspiration from anthropology in order to gain a deeper understanding of intercultural dynamics in various professional settings. This article also examines several anthropological concepts that have been used as tools to theorize cross-cultural comparison, and how participants in a new research methodology use the systemic notion of “cultural variables” to resolve the basic paradox underlying pluralist philosophy and practice.

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Section: The Difficulty Of Talking About Differencementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Difficulty Of Talking About Differencementioning

confidence: 99%

Talking about Difference: Cross-Cultural Comparison and Prejudice in Anthropology and Beyond

White,

Gouin-Bonenfant,

Grégoire

2023

Humans

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“…In terms of organizing ideas, heuristic models are cognitive tools conceived to bridge the intellectual gap between what we perceive as a complex reality to be studied, on the one hand, and the abstract architectonics of general systems theory, on the other. Several authors have made general systems theory explicit [10], notably Jean-Louis Le Moigne [11][12][13]. For this reason, I will not go into it here.…”

Section: Introduction 1the Inadequacy Of Language For Understanding H...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Systems Theory and Intercultural Communication: Methods for Heuristic Model Design

Genest

2023

Humans

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This article focuses on methods for designing heuristic models within the paradigm of systems theory and in the disciplinary context of intercultural communication. The main question arises from the striking observation that common language is insufficient to develop knowledge about human communication, especially when many factors of complexity (such as ambiguity, paradoxes, or uncertainty) are involved in the composition of an abstract research object. This epistemological, theoretical, and methodological problem is one of the main challenges to the scientificity of anthropological theories and concepts on culture. Moreover, these questions lie at the heart of research on intercultural communication. Authors and theorists in the complexity sciences have already stressed the need, in such cases, to think in terms of models or semiotic representations, since these tools of thought can mediate much more effectively than unformalized language between the heterogeneous set of perceptions arising from the field of experience, on the one hand, and the philosophical principles that organize speculative thought, on the other. This sets the scene for a reflection on the need to master the theory of heuristic models when it comes to developing scientific knowledge in the field of intercultural communication. In this essay, my first aim is to make explicit the conditions likely to ensure the heuristic value of a model, while my second aim is to clarify the operational function and required level of abstraction of certain terms, such as heading, concept, category, model, and system that are among the most commonly used by academics in their descriptive accounts or explanatory hypotheses. To achieve this second objective, I propose to create cognitive meta-categories to identify the three (nominal, cardinal, or ordinal) roles of words in the reference grids that we use to classify our ideas and to specify how to use these meta-categories in the construction of our heuristic models. Alongside the theoretical presentation, examples of application are provided, almost all of which are drawn from my own research into the increased cultural vigilance of the majority population in Québec since the reasonable accommodation crisis in this French-speaking province of Canada. The typology I propose will perhaps help to avoid the confusion regularly committed by authors who attribute only cosmetic functions to words that nevertheless have a highly heuristic value and who forget to consider the logical leaps of their theoretical thinking in the construction of heuristic models.

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The Intercultural Situations Workshop: Indirect Ethnography and the Paradox of Difference

White

Grégoire

Gouin-Bonenfant

2022

Journal of Intercultural Studies

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Système

Cited by 3 publications

References 3 publications

Talking about Difference: Cross-Cultural Comparison and Prejudice in Anthropology and Beyond

Talking about Difference: Cross-Cultural Comparison and Prejudice in Anthropology and Beyond

Systems Theory and Intercultural Communication: Methods for Heuristic Model Design

The Intercultural Situations Workshop: Indirect Ethnography and the Paradox of Difference

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