I’ve always felt deep down that my African American culture ironically aligned with one particular Center European country, Italy. Reading about the Western Central Europe has been a particularly enjoyable subject topic for two main reasons; I love the culture they have and the scenery of their land.The Moran, Moran & Abramson (2014) text in combination with previous in-person encounters or observations via movies or television proves that Italy has cultural guidelines that are some form of symmetric to that of the African American (and American) background I was raised in. However, similar to my previous post, I’d like to note that my described African American encounters do not represent the entire race, it is just the ones I’ve witnessed.
The information provided in the Europe and Russia chapter of Moran, Moran & Abramson (2014) have a plethora of cultural guidelines in the text, however, I am going to discussion the ones that display like-mindedness. The first set of likeness cultural guidelines is communication patterns. Moran, Moran & Abramson (2014 pg. 488) describe Italians communication styles as “colorful and musical.” I think those are the two best words that can descries both Italian and African American culture because of the amount of liveliness they bring to conversing and storytelling. In fact, people that I’m around always prides the person with the most animation to tell a story to a group because of the fun and funny satire that comes along with it. The text states that Italian communication can be high in volume (loud), involve people speaking over one another (interruptions) and can even combine gestures and emotion that creates a “theatrical presentation” Moran, Moran & Abramson (2014 pg. 488). This is also extremely true for Africa Americans, they are known for “rotf” or roiling on the floor or clapping and laughing, these are nonverbal forms of communication that display how an amusing they found an activity. An article written by Passage to Trade (2014) discussed communication in relation to the business world. It cites that when an Italian shows interest in something or wants to show they’re being open, honest or frank providing eye contact is key. In my culture if you can’t look a person in the eye you’re seen as not being genuine or truthful.
The second similarity that can be found between Italians and African American’s is their level of physical contact. As I discussed in a previous posting, African Americans are very keen to giving hugs and occasionally kisses to the people they come in contact with. According to Moran, Moran & Abramson (2014 pg. 489) in Italy it is normal to see hugging and kissing. More specifically, it can range from men hugging one another to women kissing one another when greeting each other. The text also states that Italians are very relationship-oriented, I think this can be said for my culture as well. We very much value one another’s existence and strive to see each other succeed.
This brings to the next Italian meets African American cultural comparison set that Hub Pages (2010) refers to as “The Three F’s”. According to the site both ethnic groups are known for valuing three things: family, food and faith. When I came across this I could not agree more. Starting with valuing families, although in both cultures they tend to be big, families are known to always be there for each other no matter the circumstance. The article also states that opening their homes up to a member in need is also common and acceptable in both Italian and African American culture. In Moran, Moran & Abramson (2014) it even is said that Italians relationship with family and friend’s always prominent. As far as the second “F” goes, each cultures food is cherished and adored by most people from other cultures. For example, in America we enjoy eating Italian food and also love eating Soul food (made by African Americans) almost as much as each culture enjoys making it authentically. Even though the final “F” isn’t discussed in our assigned reading, Hub Pages (2010) highlight faith as one of the most important aspects of the two cultures commonalities. On holidays specifically I know Italians and African Americans make going to church a family affair.
Conclusively, it is amazing how I yet again can relate some of the happenings, behaviors and beliefs of my cultural to one that originated hundreds of thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean. This class really gives me a perspective that allows me to see that we all aren’t as different as we might think.
References:
Business communication. (n.d.). Retrieved November 16, 2015, from http://businessculture.org/southern-europe/business-culture-in-italy/business-communication-in-italy/
Italian and African Americans: Two Peas in a Pod. (2010, June 7). Retrieved November 16, 2015, from http://hubpages.com/politics/2peas1pod
Moran, R.T., Abramson, N.R. and Moran, S.V. (2014) Managing Cultural Differences. Routledge, New York.
Penn State University. (2015). Lesson 12 : Western Europe. Retrieved Nov 15, 2015, from Leadership in a Global Context: https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/fa15/olead410/001/content/12_lesson/03_page.htm
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