Individualism Versus Collectivism
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Ma, Vaunne, and Thomas J. Schoeneman. “Individualism Versus Collectivism: A Comparison Of Kenyan And American Self-Concepts.” Basic & Applied Social Psychology 19.2 (1997): 261-273. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Oct. 2012.
This article gives detailed information about a research which was made to see if Kenyan people are collectivists or individualists and also what roles gender plays in Kenyan families. The research included American students, Kenyan college student, Kenyan hotel workers and Kenyan nomads from different tribes. The researching was done by asking the participants to express themselves in many ways and by monitoring their day to day activities in relation to others. A brief numerical data was also presented to show that Kenyans have a collectivist culture. The main point appears to be to provide a data which shows that Kenyans have a collective culture in comparison with the other participants in the research. The content of this article is very thorough, it was also written clearly enough that anyone can read and understand it, so the audience would be general public. The article will not help me very much on my speech to answer question number 7, but I will be able to pull a lot of information to answer questions 3 and 6. This article is similar to another article that I found which discusses about the educated Kenyans view of individualism in Kenya, but this article about the research which was done purposely to see if Kenyans have a collective or individualist culture is straight to the point.
“Luhya.” Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Ed. Timothy L. Gall and Susan Bevan Gall. Vol. 5. Detroit: UXL, 1999. 74-81. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 3 Oct. 2012.
This article gives a very good overview of how the Luhya tribe specifically and Kenyans in general have a high contact culture. It explains how body contacts are used in Kenya. Shaking hands in this culture is very common form of greeting, and for people who are meeting after a long time will involve not only handshakes but jerking of the arm as this article mentions. It also talks about the personal space across genders. Women hug each other but cross gender hugging is rare. Moreover it talks about how cross genders communicate nonverbally. The main point appears to be to provide an overview of how Kenyans in general have a high contact culture while greeting and talking to each other about their affairs. The content of this article is very clear and simple to understand, so the audience would be the general public. This article will not help me very much to give details about if Kenyan culture is a collective or individualist culture or about Kenyan time orientation, but I will be able to pull a lot of information about how they use personal space, how they communicate nonverbally and about their high contact culture (question number 6). This article will help me to briefly discuss communication styles in the Kenyan culture in comparison with another article I found which focuses about intercultural communication among Kenyan tribes.
Koopman, Arjen. “Kenya Travel and Safari From One Traveler to Another.” The Independent Kenya Travel Guide. Kenya-Advisory.com.2011.web.4oct,2012
This article gives a very good overview of Kenyan culture. It explains about Kenyan lifestyle, behaviors, body language and their view on how to use time. Many daily activities of Kenyans are also discussed like the phrase “Hakuna Matata” (which you may know from the movie, The Lion King) meaning “dont worry and enjoy life” is actually a Swahili which is the official language of Kenya. Making appointments in advance as in the western world is useless in Kenyans culture as this article mentions, it classify Kenyans time orientation as polychronic. The main point appears to be to provide an overview of Kenyan people behavior in general and their use of time. The content of this article is so detailed and simple to comprehend, so I would say it was written for the general public. The article will not help me to answer questions number 3, but I can pull a lot of information to answer questions number 6 and 7. This article will help me with addressing the nonverbal culture among Kenyans and how Kenyans value time in comparison to another source I found which discusses about nonverbal body languages in east Africa in general.