American Ways
by Althern, Gary; Bennett, JanetBuy New
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Summary
Author Biography
Table of Contents
| Preface to the Third Edition | p. xi |
| Acknowledgments | p. xvii |
| Introduction | p. xix |
| On Understanding | p. xix |
| How Much Generalizing Is Acceptable? | p. xxi |
| On Asking ôWhy?ö | p. xxiv |
| How Americans See Themselves | p. xxvi |
| How Americans See Foreigners | p. xxvii |
| On Describing Americans | p. xxix |
| General Ideas About American Culture | p. 1 |
| American Values and Assumptions | p. 3 |
| Individualism, Freedom, Competitiveness, and Privacy | p. 5 |
| Equality | p. 12 |
| Informality | p. 14 |
| The Future, Change, and Progress | p. 15 |
| Goodness of Humanity | p. 17 |
| Time | p. 19 |
| Achievement, Action, Work, and Materialism | p. 21 |
| Directness and Assertiveness | p. 23 |
| The Communicative Style of Americans | p. 27 |
| Preferred Discussion Topics | p. 28 |
| Favorite Forms of Interaction | p. 30 |
| Depth of Involvement Sought | p. 33 |
| Channels Preferred | p. 35 |
| Level of Meaning Emphasized | p. 43 |
| Ways of Reasoning | p. 45 |
| The Context | p. 46 |
| The Point | p. 48 |
| The Organization | p. 49 |
| The Evidence | p. 50 |
| The Cause | p. 53 |
| Differences in Customs | p. 55 |
| Variations in Customs | p. 57 |
| U.S. Americans and Their Customs | p. 57 |
| Customary Behaviors | p. 59 |
| Specific Aspects of American Life | p. 63 |
| Politics | p. 65 |
| The Rule of Law | p. 67 |
| The Ideal of Compromise | p. 68 |
| Politics Apart | p. 69 |
| Fundamental Fault Lines in American Politics | p. 70 |
| Suggestions for International Visitors | p. 73 |
| Family Life | p. 75 |
| What Foreigners Notice | p. 75 |
| The Changing Family | p. 77 |
| Parenting | p. 80 |
| Suggestions for International Visitors | p. 86 |
| Education | p. 89 |
| Guiding Ideals | p. 90 |
| Social Forces Affecting American Education | p. 97 |
| Issues Facing American Schools | p. 100 |
| Advantages and Disadvantages | p. 102 |
| Suggestions for International Visitors | p. 103 |
| Religion | p. 105 |
| The General Context | p. 106 |
| Religion and Individual Americans | p. 109 |
| Exceptions | p. 111 |
| Suggestions for International Visitors | p. 112 |
| The Media | p. 115 |
| What Is American About the American Media? | p. 116 |
| Americans' Views of Their Media | p. 119 |
| Misconceptions the Media Promote | p. 121 |
| Suggestions for International Visitors | p. 123 |
| Social Relationships | p. 125 |
| Meeting New People | p. 126 |
| The American Concept of Friendship | p. 128 |
| Relationships Prescribed by Roles | p. 131 |
| Courtesy, Schedules, Gifts | p. 134 |
| Suggestions for International Visitors | p. 136 |
| Racial and Ethnic Diversity | p. 139 |
| What International Visitors See | p. 140 |
| How Americans View Race and Ethnic Relations | p. 145 |
| Suggestions for International Visitors | p. 150 |
| Male-Female Relationships | p. 153 |
| Influences on Male-Female Relationships | p. 154 |
| Male-Female Relationships in Various Settings | p. 158 |
| Suggestions for International Visitors | p. 164 |
| Sports and Recreation | p. 165 |
| Sports | p. 165 |
| Recreation | p. 168 |
| Suggestions for International Visitors | p. 170 |
| Driving | p. 171 |
| General Information | p. 172 |
| Traffic Laws | p. 173 |
| Attitudes About Driving | p. 174 |
| Suggestions for International Visitors | p. 177 |
| Shopping | p. 179 |
| Advertising | p. 180 |
| Pricing | p. 181 |
| Customer-Clerk Relationships | p. 182 |
| Sales Tactics | p. 183 |
| Procedures for Returning and Exchanging | p. 184 |
| Private Sales | p. 185 |
| Precautions for Shoppers from Abroad | p. 186 |
| Personal Hygiene | p. 189 |
| The Basics | p. 190 |
| Variations | p. 192 |
| Other Issues Concerning Hygiene | p. 192 |
| Suggestions for International Visitors | p. 193 |
| Getting Things Done in Organizations | p. 195 |
| Misconceptions | p. 196 |
| Characteristics of U.S. Organizations | p. 198 |
| Suggestions for Dealing with U.S. Organizations | p. 199 |
| Behavior in Public Places | p. 203 |
| Rules for Behavior in Public Places | p. 203 |
| Communication Behaviors | p. 206 |
| Suggestions for International Visitors | p. 207 |
| Studying | p. 209 |
| Assumptions Underlying the Higher Education System | p. 209 |
| Student-Student Relationships | p. 211 |
| Student-Professor Relationships | p. 213 |
| Roommate Relationships | p. 214 |
| Plagiarism | p. 216 |
| Suggestions for International Students | p. 218 |
| Business | p. 219 |
| Doing Business in the United States | p. 222 |
| The Global Economy | p. 229 |
| Suggestions for International Businesspeople | p. 229 |
| Healthcare | p. 231 |
| Cultural Underpinnings | p. 232 |
| Political Ramifications | p. 233 |
| Suggestions for International Visitors | p. 235 |
| Coping with Cultural Differences | p. 237 |
| Some Helpful Ideas | p. 239 |
| Intercultural Competence | p. 239 |
| Expectations | p. 241 |
| Personality Characteristics | p. 241 |
| Traits and Situations | p. 242 |
| Culture Shock and Stages of Adjustment | p. 244 |
| D-I-E | p. 246 |
| Activities for Learning About American Culture | p. 249 |
| Ask Questions | p. 249 |
| Learn and Practice Local English | p. 250 |
| Take Field Trips | p. 252 |
| Talk with Experienced Expatriates | p. 256 |
| Keep a Journal | p. 257 |
| Learn the Names of Local and Institutional VIPs | p. 258 |
| Read, Reflect | p. 259 |
| View Yourself as a Teacher | p. 260 |
| Conclusion | p. 261 |
| References and Suggested Readings | p. 263 |
| American Culture | p. 263 |
| Intercultural Relations | p. 265 |
| Readings for Students | p. 267 |
| Readings for Business and Professional People | p. 267 |
| English-as-a-Foreign-Language Texts | p. 268 |
| About the Authors | p. 269 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
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