Abstract

This ethnographic case study explores intercultural and ethnographic engagement by undergraduate Hong Kong students enrolled in an Intercultural Communication course at a public research university. Ethnographic projects originated from virtual exchanges with undergraduates in a professional writing course at a private research institution on the East Coast in the U.S. Using a discourse approach as taught in the course, Hong Kong teams explored, analyzed, and reflected on intercultural communication topics as experienced in social networking sites. Hong Kong teams elicited from their U.S. partners information on their personal, institutional, and professional contexts. Online interactions took place on Facebook over 10 weeks, and Hong Kong teams were encouraged to analyze their online interactions for an ethnographic project, a course requirement. The author investigates Hong Kong students’ prior experiences and expectations, and if and how Hong Kong students engaged with counterparts in the U.S. on Facebook to collect information on their topic, and if Hong Kong teams analyzed their Hong Kong-U.S. exchanges. Data triangulation includes a pre- and post-project survey, Facebook interactions, and ethnographic projects. Findings indicate that the majority of Hong Kong teams used their online exchanges for analysis in relation to course themes (e.g., politeness, face systems, corporate ideologies) as well as commented on the cultural exchange as a learning outcome.

Suggested citation