2.3 Chapter summary

In this chapter，I first reviewed the categorization of definitions of culture in related disciplines of inquiry and explored the evolution of the conceptualization of culture in the field of intercultural communication.I then examined the philosophical foundations of diverse views of culture and how the related paradigms compete with each other and how scholars have sought to bring competing paradigms together.I also surveyed the field of intercultural communication in terms of how culture is treated conceptually and how the relationship between culture and communication is addressed methodologically.In the next chapter，I will focus on the functionalist approach to intercultural communication and its umbrella cultural conception that I label as the“fixed-traits view”.I will address the prevalence，nature，contributions，and limitations of this view in the study of intercultural communication.