Job Discussion Forums

[freesoul]

http://arabnews.com/lifestyle/offbeat/article396033.ece

There is a regular poster here with similar avatar, right!

[spiral78]

I think cats and dogs are seen very differently in Saudi culture. 007's avatar's a cat. Possibly considered more acceptable.

[Dedicated]

Having only read the newspaper article, it does sound like a total lack of awareness and cultural sensitivity on the part of the Ohio professor.Attempts at humour across cultures often go sadly wrong. He has merely added grist to the extremists' mill.

[veiledsentiments]

Definitely a newbie mistake... dogs are a cultural no-no... many of the common insults contain the word "dog." Cats are OK, but I still don't think that I, as a Westerner, would have used even 007's avatar in a class situation. Since he is Arab and Muslim, he can better get away with it.

VS

[freesoul]

Let's look at it from a different angle. Here's a gathering for Saudi academicians that are most probably US uni graduates who are expected to be fully aware that in the west a dog is man's best friend.
Cross-cultural communicative competence is a two ways road, meaning they should ve known better that the American professor did not mean to cause offense of any sort especially in Saudi Arabia. I think the US-educated Saudi scholars didn�t have to over-react to the extent that could lead that poor professor to develop a life-long psychological complexity out of this unfortunate incident.

[johnslat]

Dear freesoul,

You might be making some unwarranted assumptions here:

"Here's a gathering for Saudi academicians that are most probably US uni graduates who are expected to be fully aware that in the west a dog is man's best friend."

I didn't see anything in the news story that would necessarily support this:

" . . . Saudi academicians that are most probably US uni graduates . . ."

But even if that was the case (please notice I'm not using the Present unreal conditional here,) do you suppose that if a Saudi male were to lecture in the US on "The Role of Women in Saudi Society," all the Western women in the audience would find his views perfectly acceptable?

Regards,
John

[spiral78]

PLACE is all-important here. If the seminar had taken place in the US, well, it would have been rude, but probably not an international incident.

If I understand correctly, it took place in KSA. VERY idifferent kettle of fish!

'When in Rome'..... holds quite a lot of water.

It's really incumbent on the US speaker going to Saudi to be sure that his materials are culturally appropriate, so much as possible. A few minor faux pas are usually forgiven, but the perceived 'uncleanliness' of dogs is pretty commonly known and just a bit of research should have tipped the guy off.

When the goal is communication and negotiation and agreements, these 'details' are very important.