Journal Article 1: Jameson, D. A. (2007). Reconceptualizing cultural identity and its role in intercultural business communication. Journal of Business Communication, 44, 199–235.

Abstract: To complement past emphasis on understanding other cultures, the field of intercultural business communication needs a stronger focus on understanding oneself. Cultural identity is an individual's sense of self derived from formal or informal membership in groups that transmit and inculcate knowledge, beliefs, values, attitudes, traditions, and ways of life. A broad conception of cultural identity should not privilege nationality but instead should balance components related to vocation, class, geography, philosophy, language, and the social aspects of biology. Cultural identity changes over time and evokes emotions. It is intertwined with power and privilege, affected by close relationships, and negotiated through communication. The proposed model of cultural identity highlights components directly related to business, such as economic class and professional affiliation, and demonstrates how culture not only connects people but also defines them as unique individuals. This model can expand research and enrich teaching in intercultural business communication.

Journal Article 2: Dorsey, E. R., Steeves, H. L., & Porras, L. E. (2004). Advertising ecotourism on the internet: Commodifying environment and culture. New Media & Society, 6, 753–779.

Abstract: The increased attention to environmentalism in western societies has been accompanied by a rise in ecotourism, i.e. ecologically sensitive travel to remote areas to learn about ecosystems, as well as in cultural tourism, focusing on the people who are a part of ecosystems. Increasingly, the internet has partnered with ecotourism companies to provide information about destinations and facilitate travel arrangements. This study reviews the literature linking ecotourism and sustainable development, as well as prior research showing that cultures have been historically commodified in tourism advertising for developing countries destinations. We examine seven websites advertising ecotourism and cultural tourism and conclude that: (1) advertisements for natural and cultural spaces are not always consistent with the discourse of sustainability; and (2) earlier critiques of the commodification of culture in print advertising extend to internet advertising also.

Journal Article 3: Burns, P. M. (2004). Six postcards from Arabia: A visual discourse of colonial travels in the Orient. Tourist Studies, 4, 255–275.

Abstract: As mechanical reproductions, postcards fall into the category of what Walter Benjamin thought of as life’s ephemera or detritus that play an important part in constructing and reconstructing our understanding of the past. Postcards from the colonial era can be analysed to provide a visual discourse on power and the interrelationship between history and politics. The way in which we acquire historical knowledge and make something of it has undergone changes that are well illustrated by the six postcards featured herein. The seemingly unambiguous, surface-level presentations of the images reveal ambiguous, multiple meanings: exemplars of Said’s notion of ‘exteriority’. These seemingly naïve objects framed by the Zeitgeist of the colonial era tell us about the voyeuristic economy of the colonial gaze and how such images, when set within the milieux of the travel writing, Orientalist art, and the colonial tendency for transforming other cultures into objects for analysis, shaped and cast our purview of colonial subjects.

Journal Article 4: White, K. R., (2009). Scourge of racism: Genocide in Rwanda. Journal of Black Studies, 39, 471–481.

Abstract: One of the major social problems of the 21st century is the problem of the color line. Racism is any activity by individuals, groups, institutions, or cultures that treats human beings unjustly because of color, physical features, and ethnicity and rationalizes that treatment by attributing to them undesirable biological, psychological, social, or cultural characteristics. Rwanda is no exception to the effects of racism. More than 800,000 Rwandans were killed in the government-directed ethnic cleansing of Tutsis and Hutus during 1994. It is considered this century's best organized genocide. New plans and visions for peace and justice must include a psychocultural segment for social therapy if the cycle of violence is to be broken in Rwanda and the Great Lakes Region.

Journal Article 5: Prieler, M. (2010). Othering, racial hierarchies and identity construction in Japanese television advertising. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 13, 511–529.

Abstract: Although non-Japanese actors have appeared in Japanese television commercials for years, little systematic research has been conducted on them. Using a sample of 20,000 commercials, this article shows that the inclusion of ‘Others’ in TV commercials conforms to an artificial ‘racial hierarchy’ that mirrors Japanese society’s perception of racial groups. White people appear more often than all other groups combined, are represented through discernible stereotypes and advertise nearly all product categories. By contrast, blacks and non-Japanese Asians are associated with a narrower range. The former appear as musicians and athletes; the latter are either famous celebrities or associated with products from their countries of origin. These ‘Others’ are often stereotyped in ways that differentiate them from Japanese. Overall, this article provides insight into the attitudes of the Japanese toward ‘Others’, contributing both to the long-standing discourse of Japanese exceptionalism (nihonjinron) and the understanding of Japanese society in a globalizing world.