Collectivism, Communication, and Cultural Conflict

Many Egyptians—hyphenated and not—have begun to publicly articulate their struggles with identity confusion, collectivist clash, and communication incapability; these (and similar) issues have, in fact, taken center-stage in both Arabic-language and bilingual (English/Arabic, Arabic/French, etc.) media outlets. The dissertation's two general purposes were, therefore, to: 1) Expand the dialogical model of acculturation (DM), and 2) Discover current cultural climates common among Christians in Egypt and in the diaspora—regardless of where they were born and raised. The general purposes were divided into three narrower goals, including: 1) An exploration of the acculturation strategies of Christian Egyptians, 2) An understanding of current attitudes, anxieties, and/or "dreams" held by Christian Egyptians (living in Egypt or the diaspora), as well as 3) A discovery of participants' manifestations of the dialogical model of acculturation through an examination of three communication dimensions (Identification, Cultural Orientation, and Communication Style). These goals were, in part, accomplished by asking three main research questions (one of them divided into two segments): RQ1—What are the acculturation strategies that Egyptian Christians in Egypt and the diaspora use to negotiate their identities? RQ2a—What are some of the positive (goals, wishes, desires, "dreams"), negative ("cultural anxieties," conflicts, tensions) and/or neutral issues in the lives of Christian Egyptians in Egypt and the diaspora? RQ2b—How do Christian Egyptians in Egypt and the diaspora negotiate any tensions or conflicts associated with their own desires and/or cultural anxieties? RQ3—How is the dialogical model of acculturation manifested in Christian Egyptians in Egypt and the diaspora with respect to the "three communication dimensions" (Identification, Cultural Orientation, and Communication Style)? The questions were investigated through descriptive questionnaires administered online, and qualitative interviews that were either administered online (synchronously and asynchronously) or conducted face-to-face and video-taped, while the review of online blogs from eight bloggers (one Coptic Orthodox, seven Egyptian Muslim) provided additional insights, achieving validity through corroboration and triangulation.