It is often said that you cannot choose your family, but you can choose your friends. The same notion can be applied to culture in that we do not choose which culture to belong to but are simply born into one - one that shapes our attitudes, our behaviors, and our perceptions. The Fourth Edition of Fred Jandt's text An Introduction to Intercultural Communication: Identities in a Global Community challenges students to develop cultural competency by developing an understanding of how we perceive and react to cultural rules - not only those of others, but also our own.

Going beyond an `American' assessment of the field, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication assumes that no culture is privileged over another, be that culture from across the globe or a subculture or subgroup around the corner. Issues of identity, nationality, assimilation, and inter-group relations promote appreciation of diversity among people. Fred E. Jandt walks students through the key concepts of communication and culture, addressing such topics as: barriers in intercultural communication; dimensions of culture; multiculturalism; women, family, and children; and culture's influence on perception.