Self, Identity, Cultural Identity, and African American Cultural Identity

The approach to culture articulated in chapter 1 emphasizes the role of cultural identity. Understanding culture is an interpretive process that manifests itself in code, conversation, and community; it frames our understanding of the world (code), of interacting with others (conversation), and of aligning with groups of people (community). These central elements of code, conversation, and community are inherently entwined with a sense of identity and are primary components of the communication theory of identity elaborated in chapter 6.