Between Cultures : Developing Self-Identity in a World of Diversity [Hardcover]

H. Ned Seelye (Author), Jacqueline Howell Wasilewski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 11, 1996

Do you sometimes wonder if you really belong any place? Do you feel that you belong everywhere but nowhere, that people don't understand you anywhere? Are you one of the many millions who have roots in different cultures? Do the common labels of nationality, race, language, or ethnicity fit too tightly on your complex and diverse self? For anyone searching for a more satisfying understanding of the dynamics of living on the cultural borderlands, Between Cultures: Developing Self-Identity in a World of Diversity makes you more effective as you move across cultural divides; helps you sort out the confusion inherent in being multicultural and realize your creative potential; shows you why traditional labels of identity are deficient, and how everyone has multicultural ancestors; suggests new ways to look at yourself and new metaphors of identity that transcend cultural boundaries; and gives you an easy method to craft your own special identity.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Do you sometimes wonder if you really belong any place? Do you feel that you belong everywhere but nowhere, that people don't understand you anywhere? Are you one of the many millions who have roots in different cultures? Do the common labels of nationality, race, language, or ethnicity fit too tightly on your complex and diverse self? For anyone searching for a more satisfying understanding of the dynamics of living on the cultural borderlands, Between Cultures: Developing Self-Identity in a World of Diversity

• Makes you more effective as you move across cultural divides.
• Helps you sort out the confusion inherent in being multicultural and realize your creative potential.
• Shows you why traditional labels of identity are deficient, and how everyone has multicultural ancestors.
• Suggests new ways to look at yourself and new metaphors of identity that transcend cultural boundaries.
• Gives you an easy method to craft your own special identity.

Real-life examples illustrate the experiences of those who routinely cross cultural borders. The authors tackle controversial issues--and argue persuasively and entertainingly. The "Notes to Myself' section at the end of each chapter guides you through the labyrinth of your own personal multi-prismed past. A must-read for all multicultural people--and their friends and family. If you work with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds, put this book in their hands!

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies; First Edition edition (January 11, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0844233056
• ISBN-13: 978-0844233055
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,093,154 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How we construct ourselves..., January 17, 2005

By 

George F. Simons "at diversophy.com" (Mandelieu Napoule, Cote d'Azur, France) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Between Cultures : Developing Self-Identity in a World of Diversity (Hardcover)

Between Cultures took me by surprise. I had been familiar with how the authors' employed metaphor as a tool to help people define themselves as multicultural human beings. I was already convinced that this teaching technology was an essential building block for successful multicultural understanding collaboration.

I was not ready for a tour de force of well-organized prose that so clearly identifies the constructed nature of race, nationality, ethnicity, and gender and so swiftly and thoroughly demolishes our internal biases about them. The authors make short work of common but culturally short-sighted approaches within psychology, politics, social work and education. The precise analysis of these disciplines makes it clear that the study and management of culture can not only hold it's own but can both effectively critique and contribute mightily to these other fields.

The book draws masterfully and playfully from the authors' experience and study of culture itself and of specific cultures and cultural boundaries. Abundant illustrations and examples come from the US, Japan, Native and Latin America as well as a variety of other sources both contemporary and historical. Particularly effective and engaging is the authors' use of the dynamics and lore of the theater to help the reader design and carry out life and work roles. Individual mastery of improv is a survival skill on the stage of the foreseeable future.

Unlike so many books in this field, Between Cultures is an excellent though not always easy read. It's information and message is tightly packed by well chosen, sometimes technical words. While its allusions, references and word fun will appeal primarily to those well-versed in the US version of Western learning and familiar with US pop culture, its overall clarity of expression opens the doors to readers of various stripes. Polymaths and wanna-be's will delight in the depth and breadth of the authors' perception and wit. When they send me to the dictionary, I don't resent it.

This book redefines the ground on which teaching and managing of diversity should take place, a building block for our cultural future. While aimed at the individual who seeks to improve her or his self-understanding, self-esteem and effectiveness as a cultural actor, it will be useful as a tool for teachers at every level and for students in university settings. People in the 21st century should be growing into adulthood with these perspectives in their toolkit.

OD consultants and trainers, personnel and HR managers as well as anyone bearing responsibility for the functioning of effective groups, teams and organizations will find in Between Cultures a compass with which to navigate the swell and chop of diversity as they pursue their goals.

Despite the fact that I have been a professional interculturalist for many years, Seelye and Wasilewski leave me feeling like a diver whose tethered and weighted hard-hat suit has been replaced by new light-weight scuba gear. They enable me to move freely about the depths of my profession with wider vision, greater flexibility, and increased safety. I breathe with confidence as a result of being reoutfitted by Between Cultures.