School Successfully Holds the Second Lecture On Intercultural Health Communication Series

On the morning of December 4, 2022, Dr. Zhenyi Li, Chair of the Department of Communication and Culture at Royal Roads University (Canada), tenured professor, doctoral supervisor, and founder of Canada’s Intercultural Master’s program, delivered the second lecture on the Intercultural Health Communication series. The session was hosted by Associate Professor Chen Jingqian from the Department of Communication Studies, School of Languages and Communication Studies at Beijing Jiaotong University.

In this lecture, Professor Li focused on explaining the connotations of culture and how to overcome challenges in intercultural communication. At the beginning of the lecture, he shared two vivid personal stories from his experience in intercultural health research to illustrate the essence of culture in intercultural communication: culture is a “comfort zone” that makes us feel secure and at ease. He also used the example of learning to skydive to share insights gained from intercultural research training for the Canadian Health Department. He emphasized that in health communication practices, particularly when promoting intercultural training and practical skills, it is essential to provide adequate support to intercultural healthcare practitioners. Only with a comprehensive support system in place can front-line workers engaged in intercultural endeavors step out of their original cultural comfort zones and, with sufficient resources, dare to explore and understand another culture. Otherwise, intercultural training for health practitioners may yield negative results, fostering fear of other cultural contexts.

Professor Li compared the essence of intercultural research to “navigating black ice on a snowy road”, underscoring the importance of systemic intercultural competence. He then connected this to the four universal experiences of “birth, aging, illness, and death” in health communication, illustrating how different cultures approach these themes. This provided a framework for studying cultural influences, focusing on the questions of when, where, who, why, and how certain practices are carried out. Citing Edward Hall’s perspective, Professor Li noted that culture can sometimes become a “cage” that is difficult to escape. Specifically, culture is a system that shields individuals from fear and provides them with support and answers, further elaborating on the profound implications of culture. He also referenced the ancient Chinese idiom “learning to walk in Handan”, cautioning that intercultural engagement carries risks and is inherently challenging. Using health communication as an example, he explained that in today’s globalized information era, people are exposed to practices from other cultures regarding birth, aging, illness, and death, which can amplify their doubts about their own answers and even negatively impact intercultural communication.

In conclusion, Professor Li summarized the lecture by emphasizing the need to understand the fears and uncertainties people experience in intercultural contexts and to provide them with sufficient support and a sense of responsibility.

The online lecture attracted over 200 participants, including students and researchers from various universities and institutions worldwide. During the Q&A session, attendees actively posed questions, which Professor Li addressed in detail.

At the end of the lecture, the moderator, Associate Professor Chen Jingqian, provided a brief commentary. She noted that Professor Li’s explanations offered a crucial foundation and starting point for cultural studies, while also providing valuable insights for conducting empirical health communication research in the Chinese context. She encouraged the audience to stay tuned for future lectures in the series organized by the School of Languages and Communication Studies, Beijing Jiaotong University.

编译：梁昱卓