American Ways: A Cultural Guide to the United States, Third Edition
- 4h 54m
- Gary Althen, Janet Bennett
- Nicholas Brealey Publishing
- 2011
Whether you're a foreign student visiting for a semester or a business person visiting for a week, American Ways, Third Edition covers all your basic needs from the trends and customs of day-to-day activities to the more esoteric customs regarding cultural values, politics, education, religion and relationships. In this revised edition, Gary Althen and Janet Bennett have added material that provides the clearest insights yet into the American psyche and culture, reflecting many of the monumental changes that have occurred since the previous edition's publication. Examples include a rewritten chapter on politics that discusses Bush-administration policies and controversies and the election of the nation's first black president, as well as an updated chapter on social relationships and the effect that networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook have had on meeting people and creating friendships.
About the Authors
Gary Althen retired after nearly thirty-five years in the field of international education. Interpreting American culture and society to people from other countries was an essential part of his work. As director of the Instituto Cultural Peruano-Norteamericano in Huancayo, Peru; as an academic adviser at the College of Preparatory Studies in Shah Alam, Malaysia; and as a foreign student adviser and director of the Office of International Students and Scholars at the University of Iowa, he interacted with thousands of people from countries all over the world. All this experience resulted in two previous editions of American Ways as well as dozens of articles, workshops, and presentations about intercultural communication and the characteristics of American culture. Althen served as president of NAFSA: Association of International Educators and received its Marita Houlihan Award for his contributions to the field of international educational exchange.
Janet Bennett, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Intercultural Communication Institute and Chair of the ICI/University of the Pacific Master of Arts in Intercultural Relations program. Her Ph.D. is from the University of Minnesota, where she specialized in intercultural communication and anthropology. For twelve years, she was Chair of the Liberal Arts Division at Marylhurst College, where she developed innovative academic programs for adult degree students. As a trainer and consultant, she designs and conducts intercultural and diversity training for colleges and universities, corporations, NGOs, government, and social service agencies. She teaches courses in the training and development program at Portland State University and has published many articles and chapters on the subjects of developmental "layered" intercultural training and adjustment processes. She coedited The Handbook of Intercultural Training, 3rd edition (Sage Publications, 2004), and recently authored the chapter Cultivating Intercultural Competence: A Process Perspective for The SAGE Handbook of Intercultural Competence (Sage Publications, 2009).
In this Book
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Introduction
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American Values and Assumptions
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The Communicative Style of Americans
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Ways of Reasoning
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Differences in Customs
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Politics
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Family Life
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Education
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Religion
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Media
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Social Relationships
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Racial and Ethnic Diversity
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Male-Female Relationships
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Sports and Recreation
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Driving
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Shopping
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Personal Hygiene
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Getting Things Done in Organizations
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Behavior in Public Places
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Studying
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Business
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Healthcare
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Some Helpful Ideas
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Activities for Learning about American Culture
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Conclusion
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References and Suggested Readings
