Hybrid Cultures and Mindsets

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By Curtis wilson, University of Saint Thomas

Hybrid Cultures and Mindsets Creating Leaders for the Future: The Case of Alliant Mexico

Kim Buksa, John Pugno, & Curtis Wilson Mechanisms & Principle of Intercultural Communication Masters in International Relations Program Dr. Ilya Adler Alliant International University October 2006

Hybrid Culture and Mindsets: Alliant Mexico Hybrid Culture and the Alliant Mexico Mindset When I came to this country, I was willing to embrace everything that was good, fight against everything I thought was awful, and not lose what I brought with me, which is my language, my traditions, my way of living, hospitality, and many things. - Isabel Allende Why do like minded students want to come to Alliant Mexico? Is the Alliant model for intercultural interchange effective? Could this model be drawn upon in other multi-cultural situations? The hybrid culture being formed by the Alliant Mexico students provides an example of an educational institution that promotes intercultural integration and the exchange of ideas. The conduciveness for interchange facilitates learning new practices while not losing former habits. Authentic sharing creates exchanges that enrich and enhance both parties in the moment and for the future without devaluing or hiding ones origins. This paper focuses on the emergence of a hybrid culture in the specific case of Alliant Mexico, an optimal hybrid culture with a direction and intended purpose. The responses to the opening questions will serve as an outline to our argument summarizing the origins of the Alliant Mexico culture, describing the current culture, and posing the Alliant Mexico model as a leader among intercultural communities. Alliant International University is a U.S. university founded in 1952 as an internationally based institution which at one time had campuses in London and Nairobi and currently located in five Californian cities, Tokyo, Japan, and in the heart of la Roma in Mexico City. The definition of hybrid culture that most fits the idea of Alliant Mexico comes essentially, [from] the hard won freedom to trespass and freely exit, in a world criss-crossed by fences and sliced into territorially fixed sovereignties (Bauman). It is not completely leaving behind past cultural norms, nor does it imply to fully take on a new form of being, rather being able to take the best of either, going back and forth, creating an original culture on an almost momentary basis. Coming together through a process of fusion of cultural values, bringing together human beings of distinct ethnic origins and diverse historic backgrounds creates an Alliant Mexico identity, the past, present, and future of an historic, cultural process (Casmir. 228, 229). As a consequence there is a freer, more flexible culture that utilizes the most appropriate practice in a given moment. The fusion is propelled by a common mindset that instils a desire to leave home and has brought students to Mexico. Hybrid origins So, where does this mindset come from? Regardless of the particular points of origin, at Alliant Mexico there is a common thread that has manifested in the mentality of each student. Similar meanings, motives, and intentions cannot be explained by similar backgrounds or as genetic; it is neither nature nor nurture, rather a balance of both (Fisher. 3). The movement toward a more open culture cannot be seen as a complete surprise; among the important changes of the past half-century has been the emergence of a vigorous global civil society (Commission on Global Governance, COGG). This global civil society is seeking to create its own hybrid culture by looking for new ways to improve upon the current culture. Seeing misgivings in

their current culture, there may be more willingness to un-fix themselves from the rigidity they feel within their culture and choose to not belong to it (Bauman). The new un- fixedness of the self tends to be referred to by those who practise and enjoy it by the name of freedom (Bauman). The new vigour of civil society reflects a large increase in the capacity and will of people to take control of their own lives and to improve or transform them (COGG 35). The vigour of this community is driving them to create new spaces in which to converse. Discussing of the evolution of civilizations, Herbert Muller describes the movement towards these progressive mindsets as having usually grown out of the failures of civilization, which bring promises of a different way of doing and seeing things. It is by no accident that the Alliant Mexico type of atmosphere exists today. Maybe it is a reaction to the corruptness in the world, or the lack of voice that is felt by modern youth, or maybe just the desire for a different, better world to be made possible. Regardless, now, more than ever, it is necessary to have students learn about and contribute to such open environments that promote intercultural integration and progressive change. Greatest Common Denominator Learning about problem solving on an international level is almost impossible if one cannot experience it firsthand. For the same reasons that international problems are harder to solve because the underlying assumptions, notions of reality, and habits of perceiving and reasoning differ from place to place, one would have to immerse themselves in a new culture in order to change the assumptions of reality and reasoning habits. Indeed, the option of studying outside of - 2 the native country is quite foreign. The students that come to Alliant Mexico are of the belief that education is what you make of it; regardless of the letterhead or seal on the diploma, a student can achieve a high level of education by self motivation. The Alliant student wants something different, wants change and, more importantly, wants to obtain the tools to achieve it. The fact is, not everyone is open enough to be able to handle a foreign cultural experience; therefore, the majority of students choose not to study abroad (assuming that the resources could be made possible through loans or financial aid). Those that are able to explore outside the comforts of home look for new experiences, new perspectives on problem solving, and a change in the way things are done. The desire for change, starting on a personal level and extending to a global level, unites Alliant Mexico students providing the greatest common denominator among them. The search for the tools brought us here A human process is occurring that needs a group of people to lead the way to change into a more sustainable future. The students who come to Alliant want to learn about new and different ways to be leaders acquiring the tools necessary to be an agent of change. And since culture is practical, or what we practice, the students decide on how to create it. The typical Alliant Mexico student arrives on campus equipped with the most valuable instrument available when traveling or learning about other cultures: an open, inquisitive mind. Armed with many questions, the average Alliant Mexico student believes change is possible in this world. The Alliant student feels change is both unavoidable and necessary. This revolutionary spirit, or perhaps more adequately called an evolutionary spirit, is the embodiment of the desires that bring this group together and make the students more likely to have an impact on the rest of society. In order to be successful nowadays an open atmosphere of interchange is necessary. If this is a trend or even a sign of what is to come, then the practice of learning other cultures through education will create more institutions with an atmosphere similar to Alliants. The Existing Hybrid Culture at Alliant Mexico International students, like the ones attending Alliant Mexico, recognize and even prefer the blended culture that exists. Much more than an escape for progressive and alternative-minded students, Alliant Mexico represents an opportunity for open discussion and interchange of ideas that produce well-grounded, centered individuals who move on to become forward thinking - 3 professionals. Many individuals may or may not recognize it, but hybrid communities exist around all of us. It would be difficult for any one of us to argue that our lives have not in some form been touched by another culture. There is a continuous blending of culture, ideas, values and beliefs produces new social norms and hybrid cultures. The definition of hybrid is simplistic as it refers to something of mixed origin or composition. Hybrid, for describing culture and community, is a new term, although mixing and blending are appropriate for application. Hybrid culture can be defined as [seeking] its identity in not belonging: in the freedom of defying and neglecting the borders that bind the movements and choices ofthe locals (Bauman). Alliant Mexico students are seeking new identities while eliminating binding borders between Canada, US, Mexico, the EU, Nigeria, the Caribbean and many more. We are blending and mixing, no longer attached to a historical culture but moving along an ever changing path of culture. The Greek Philosopher, Heraclites, may have described this idea best when he said, you cannot step twice into the same river, for other waters are continually flowing in (Samovar & Porter 43). Cultures blend together creating new cultures; in a need to define and name the new, we call them hybrid cultures. Hybrid cultures, and clearly the students of Alliant Mexico, defy many existing theories and beliefs about culture. Culture has often

been defined as part of who you are (Samovar & Porter 28). The belief was that culture serves the basic need of laying out a predictable world (Samovar & Porter 30). This is no longer the case. As globalization occurs cultures are influenced by other cultures. International student and other worldly citizens are equally interested in cultural parts of self as well as cultural parts of others. They are no longer predictable, but rather fresh, creating and following new paths. Historically, cultures have been defined by five characteristics or core elements; history, religion, values, social organization and language (Samovar & Porter 31). Alliant Mexico students are based in these elements, but they are willing to consider and even be influence by ideas within these elements. Therefore, it is possible hybrid cultures maintain these elements; however, they are not as clearly defined. Cultures are struggling to maintain identities; it, therefore, becomes difficult for them to understand that they are not losing identity but rather adding to it. Almost every culture has been touched by another culture. Individuals landing in a new culture, voluntarily or involuntarily, will want to hold on to their own culture but they must [learn] to be part of the society and the culture [they] have landed in (Petrowski). Like the Alliant Mexico students, they must understand that - 4 while existing and absorbing their new hybrid culture, they are also influencing it. Is the culture of the community influencing the individual or is the individual influencing the culture? While history [was] a kind of chart that guides its members into the future and was passed on from generation to generation, individuals in a hybrid culture may only look to their history for knowledge, rather than guidance (Samovar & Porter 31). The history and all our past grand references are still available for use, but none of them has enough authority to impose itself (Dufour 69). History is an important educational tool, but no longer defines importance and accomplishments. Religion in a hybrid culture plays a similar role. While it will be used as a reference and a guide, it is unlikely that it continues to [impact] everything from business practicesto politicsto individual behaviour (Samovar & Porter 31). Many religions exist in a hybrid culture. Therefore, an individual, such as an international student, in a hybrid culture may practice a single, dominant religion; meanwhile, they will be aware and knowledgeable of other religions. These other religions may even influence some of their decisions, perceptions, attitudes and beliefs/values. Decisions are based on collective thoughts and ideas. Alliant Mexico is an example that as cultures are blended, the individuals (students) and communities (school, family, friends) become a re-processing and re-cycling plant [living] on credit and feeds on borrowed stuff (Bauman). As communities move to a hybrid culture, there are also changes or adjustments in values, social organizations and even languages; it is almost natural that when you touch a culture in one place, everything else is affected (Samovar & Porter 44). People become influenced by other cultures and ideas; their behaviours change. These international individuals, like students, tend to be more open minded to new ideas and experiences. They are willing to consider all options and possibilities. Students learn and accept. They will likely respect other individual perspectives; rather than challenge someones differing perspective, an individual will likely question their own. The new mode of thinking and considering is noncommittal, un-choosy, unprejudiced, ready and eager to try everything on offer and to digest food from all cuisines (Bauman). As communities evolve and accept new cultures, they influence change in social organizations and structures, the norms of personal, familial and social conduct continue to exist, but not as they once did(Samovar & Porter 32). Even language will be adjusted in a hybrid culture. Similar to religion, there will likely be a dominate language, but it will be infused and linked to other cultures. Spanglish is a perfect example. There will be different and new words; meanings, grammar, and syntax that - 5 were once the mark of a specific culture will now be blended with new grammar and syntax and potentially new meanings (Samovar & Porter 32). Cultural characteristics continue to exist at Alliant Mexico or in a hybrid culture; they are no longer the single rule to be followed. A hybrid culture and the students of Alliant Mexico [seek] its identity in freedom from ascribed and inert identities, in a license to defy and neglect the kind of cultural markers, tags or stigmas that circumvent and limit the movements and choices ofthe locals (Bauman). Cultures are changing through innovation, diffusion and acculturation (Samovar & Porter 43). In many ways the hybrid culture is extracultural (Bauman), absorbing all that is around them. Individuals and communities no longer learn a single culture, but learn many cultures through proverbs, mass media, generations, and symbols (Samovar & Porter) creating a blended culture, society and future. The Future of the Alliant Mexico Hybrid Culture/Community The hybrid culture at Alliant will play a leadership and paradigmshifting role in the future of the global society. Alliant Mexico is strategically placed to have such an impact starting at the level of the immediate community. If transformation can take place at a microexperimental level, it can be replicated on the macro. Alliant Mexico can become a holistic model with the goal of developing, unifying and disseminating key discoveries, initiatives and movements in the areas of social and environmental positive transformation. The multi-cultural makeup of the

Alliant Mexico student body is indicative of a fast approaching paradigm shift. This shift will be manifested as the result of the focused attention of small unified groups of individuals. It is a change from the current global paradigm centered on division and consumerism moving into a unified mindset based on efficiency, communication and conviviality. According to Ivan Illich, The crisis can be solved only if we learn to invert the present deep structure of tools; if we give people tools that guarantee their right to work with high, independent efficiency, thus simultaneously eliminating the need for either slaves or masters and enhancing each persons range of freedom (Illich 10). He goes on, In limited and well-integrated tribes, knowledge is shared quite equally among most members. All people know most of what everybody knows. (Illich 62) - 6 This new mindset, apparent here at Alliant Mexico, is one based on the open sharing and active integration of knowledge into workable and replicable models with the end of positive individual and communal transformation. The hybrid culture at Alliant Mexico produces individuals with strong leadership potential based on a synthesis of a variety of mindsets and perspectives. The ground breaking book of the late 1970s, Aquarian Conspiracy, discusses the concept of true leadership: Leadership is a process of continuous change and growth. The true leader is not a mere power wielder eager to accomplish personal objectives. The true leader senses and transforms the needs of followers. The effective leader mobilized new, higher needs in his followers. The truly great or creative leaders and something more they induce new, more activist tendencies in their followers. They arouse in them hopes and aspirations and expectations Ultimately they arouse demands which are easily politicized and even turned back onto the leaders who arouse them. In this engagement with their followers, the leaders are also transformed; they may even reverse roles with followers, as teachers learn from students. (Ferguson 201) Alliant Mexico fosters an atmosphere of symbiotic and synergetic learning; an environment in which students and teachers alike are continually learning and thus changing, resulting in cultivation of leadership qualities This leadership focused mindset can be learned and transmitted in order to initiative and drive transformation. As mentioned in the Aquarian Conspiracy, The true leader fosters a paradigm shift in those who are ready. (Ferguson 202) Alliant students are prepared to be leaders capable of inspiring those with whom they form relationships. At first glance, social transformation seems a foolhardy, even perilous ambition for any group to undertake. There is a necessary and critical chain of events beginning with profound change in individuals who care deeply about social change, who find each other, and who acquaint themselves with the psychology of change, with insights into our universal fear of the unknown. They must then devise ways to foster paradigm shifts in others; they must perturb, awaken, and recruit. This aligned minority, knowing that changes of heart and not rational argument alone sway people, must find ways of relating to others at the most human and immediate level. (Ferguson 205) As globalization picks up momentum, the change is taking place at an exponential pace. By the close of the first decade of the 21 st century, the global culture will be the dominating culture. - 7 Hybrid Culture and Mindsets: Alliant Mexico This does not mean that the thousands of unique cultures will be swallowed up by the global culture, rather that the global culture will be made up of a synthesis of all these unique cultures. Alliant Mexico students come together from a variety of backgrounds, mindsets and cultures to form a new culture, a united community based on openmindedness, mutual respect and flexibility. This culture is hard to explain or understand, as are any new phenomena, but once experienced fully, the individual student gains tools that will become increasingly valuable as we approach the end of this decade and the beginning of the New Global Community. Before we can think about the possible impact of the Alliant Mexico hybrid community on the larger community, we must focus on having a positive impact on our immediate environment; the Alliant family. If we can not be seen as leaders within our University, how can we achieve leadership in society? Alliant Mexico can quickly become a leader within the greater Alliant family by being increasingly proactive, creative and innovative in our drive to improve our own environment. According to a recent study, Creativity, innovation, and initiative are psychological processes that facilitate the transformation of individual work roles, teams, and organizations into desired future states. (Frese 518) The authors go on to say, cross-cultural differences in values, motivational orientations, and leadership preferences may determine how creativity and innovation are enacted and cultivated across the globe (Frese 519). The New Global Community will be one based on continually changing paradigms resulting from cross cultural synergies of creativity, innovation and initiative. This formula exists at the Alliant Mexico campus, making it a logical place for the production of leaders capable of handling the challenges of the New Global Community. Creativity typically refers to the production of new and useful ideas by an individual or a small group of individuals working together (Frese 519). Innovation is defined as the intentional introduction and application within a role, group or organization of ideas, processes or procedures, new to the

relevant unit of adoption, designed to significantly benefit the individual, the group, organization or wider society. Hence, creativity refers to idea generation, whereas innovation refers to idea implementation (Frese 520). Due to the cross-cultural open-minded atmosphere, Alliant Mexico is an incubator for good ideas in a variety of fields including; Psychology, Philosophy, Latin American Studies, International Relations, Environmental studies and Business. The cross - 8 Hybrid Culture and Mindsets: Alliant Mexico cultural content and viability of these ideas should be developed further, tested and made available to the main stream society through innovative and synergetic projects and initiatives. Alliant Mexico should find a creative niche in the field of environmental and cultural/societal problem solving. This would require a solution orientated as opposed to a blame orientated mindset. The hybrid-culture of Alliant Mexico is a global, multicultural, solutions orientated community producing leaders capable of implementing small and large scale change initiatives to prepare for the New Global Community, a true holistic global supraculture. Those who practice a particular culture have the free-will to modify it. Therefore, as openminded individuals from different backgrounds continue to search for better options, Alliant Mexico provides a working model of a successful intercultural hybrid community. The Alliant Mexico mindset brings together like-minded individuals to learn from each other the tools to transform their cross-cultural settings. - 9 Hybrid Culture and Mindsets: Alliant Mexico Works Cited Bauman, Zygmun, "Identity for Identity's sake is a bit dodgy..." Lawrence & Wishart, Spring 2005 Casmir, Fred L., Communication in Development, Ablex Publishing Corporation: New Jersey 1991. Commission of Global Governance, Our Global Village, Oxford University Press, Inc.: New York 1995. Diener, Marc, "Culture shock: If you don't learn to bridge the gap, you may risk alienating potential business partners - Real Deal" Entrepreneur, July 2003 Dufour, Dany-Robert, LArt de rduire les ttes: Sur la nouvelle servitude de lhomme libr lre du capitalisme total, Denol 2003, p.69 Ferguson, Marilyn. The Aquarian Conspiracy: Personal and Social Transformation in the 1980s; J.P. Tarcher, Inc. 1980 Fisher, Glen, Mindsets: the Role of Culture and Perception in International Relations, 2 nd ed., Intercultural Press, Inc.: Yarmouth, Maine 1988. Frese, Michael and Pace, Victoria and Rank Johannes, Three Avenues for Future Research on Creativity, Innovation, and Initiative,APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL REVIEW, 2004, 53 (4), 518 528 Illich, Ivan, Tools for Conviviality, Harper and Row: New York 1973. Muller, Herbert J., The Uses of the Past: Profiles of Former Societies, Oxford University Press, 1952. Samovar, L.A. and Porter, R.E., Communication Between Cultures, Wadsworth Belmont, California 1995 - 10 -