CULTURE BUMP
February 24, 2021 at 8:34:26 PM
Dr. Archer: Mr. Mach, you participated in the Culture Bump Workshop here at the Lilly Conference. Thank you for your presence and your contribution, and I am interested in your insights from the workshop.
Mr. Mach: I thought the real take-away was that there was an introduction to a terminology so that a group of people can make sense of something that we don’t have a great way of describing.
Dr. Archer: Can you give me example of what you mean by that?
Mr Mach: Sure – I’ve been in a lot of different countries and had the experiences that we talked about in the workshop but this gave me a way to talk about something that was inexplicable pror to the workshop.
Dr. Archer: Oh I understand.
Mr. Mach: And this is not really a critique, but another take-away for me was wondering how and if this Culture Bump Approach transfers to other countries besides the United States.
Dr. Archer: That’s a good point – and one of the things that distinguishes the Culture Bump Approach is its universal application. All humans have culture bumps; all cultures develop specific parameters for how people “should” respond to differences. All cultures have ways of explaining their own perspectives. So the idea of culture bumps is for everybody – in short, every culture has its own particular brand of ethnocentrism.
Mr. Mach: Got it. When I saw the title of Culture Bump, I wanted to attend, because as a professor, I want to encourage people to go abroad – Culture Bump is an interesting way to put it into context.
Dr. Archer: I think you are absolutely right. Thank you again. (May 31, 2013)