Aaron Bucknor
February 6, 2025
GLST290_B03
Ethnographic Interview
1. Background Questions:
● Could you tell me a little about your childhood and family life in Egypt, please? What was
your family structure like, and how did that impact your views on relationships?
●Source Citation: El Shamy, Hassan. "The Supernatural Belief-Practice System in the
Contemporary Arab Folk Culture of Egypt." Folklore 92, no. 1 (1981): 15–41.
●Conceptual Research: The question is concerned with the notion of family being an
important unit within Egyptian society. Aisha's case will point out how and where family
influences identity and interpersonal relations in a collectivist society.
2. Cultural Values and Practices:
● What place does religion, in this case Islam, play in the daily life in Egypt? And how is it
guiding your relation with the people within the family and society?
●Source Citation: Said, Ali Ahmed. "The Impact of Cultural Diversity and Intercultural
Competence on Conflict Management Styles in Egypt." Journal of Conflict Management
4, no. 1 (2024): 50–62.
●Research Concept: Given Islam's huge impact on Egyptian culture in personal and
communal practices, the question will fit perfectly with Aisha's daily life to see religion's
mediation in her activities and decisions.
3. Cultural Values and Practices:
● Respect for elders is shown in Egyptian culture through the following practices: How
does that differ with interactions with either their younger generation or outsiders?
●Source Citation: Cultural Atlas. "Egyptian Culture - Communication." Cultural Atlas.
SBS, 2017. Accessed January 29, 2025. https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au.
●Research Concept: Egyptian culture emphasizes respect for elders, which influences
communication dynamics. This question will explore Aisha’s experience with age-based
respect in familial and social settings.
4. Cultural Values and Practices:
● How do these role stereotypes play out in your family and in the community? Are these
roles instigated by Islamic teachings or by other cultural viewpoints?
●Source Citation: Elbanna, Said. "Egyptian Managers' Perception of Conflict in Strategic
Decision Making." Journal of Management Development 28, no. 9 (2009): 788–804.
●Research Concept: Most of the gender roles in Egypt are culturally and religiously
ordered, so understanding Aisha's views will shed light on how gender shapes
interaction and relations in society.
5. Conflict:
● How would you handle conflict especially when the people concerned are your family or
your close friends? Where does 'saving face' come into these situations?
●Source Citation: Elbanna, Said. "Strategic Decision-Making: Process Perspectives."
International Journal of Management Reviews 8, no. 1 (2006): 1–20.
●Concept Research: The question addresses the indirect way of dealing with conflict; the
Egyptian avoidance of face as a cultural preference, and thereby the question
determines how Aisha's personal way of resolving disputes is influenced in terms of
harmonizing cultural standards.
6. Conflict:
● To what extent do you feel that indirect communication influences or affects your
interaction with other people, either at work or in school?
●Source Citation: Howell, Brian M., and Jenell Paris. Introducing Cultural Anthropology:
A Christian Perspective, Baker Academic, 2019.
●Research Concept: The question identifies how high-context communication shapes
Aisha's approach in both the professional and academic arena. Her responses will be of
great significance in understanding how indirectness sets in regarding conflict and
communication.
7. Communication:
● Think of a time when you had to communicate indirectly because you felt you would
offend or confront that person. How has this affected your relationship with him/her?
●Source Citation: Cultural Atlas. "Egyptian Culture - Communication." Cultural Atlas.
SBS, 2017.
●Research Concept: The question is built on indirect communication in Egyptian culture
and further presses for its real-life application, showing how Aisha maintains social
harmony in her relations.
8. Religion:
● How did your family's religion affect your daily activity and interaction with other people
when growing up in Egypt?
●Source Citation: El Shamy, Hassan. "The Supernatural Belief-Practice System in the
Contemporary Arab Folk Culture of Egypt." Folklore 92, no. 1 (1981): 15–41.
●Research Concept: Egyptian cultural practices find a very firm base in religion. Aisha's
response will highlight how faith plays a role in daily living-from social rituals down to
personal relations.
9. Communication:
● How would you balance that with the communication of persons from other cultural
backgrounds and your integrity of culture?
●Source Citation: Said, Ali Ahmed. "Impact of Cultural Diversity and Intercultural
Competence on Conflict Management Styles in Egypt." Journal of Conflict Management
4, no. 1 (2024): 50–62.
●Research Concept: This question develops the understanding of intercultural
competence--questioning very much the need for one to retain their identity amongst
other cultures. This will help in understanding how Aisha adapts to w-being true to her
roots.
10. Religion:
● What place and role does community play, in your opinion, with observances like
Ramadan, with prayers, with any others, that help to shape a sense of belonging or
identity?
●Source Citation: Elbanna, Said. "Egyptian Managers' Perception of Conflict in Strategic
Decision Making." Journal of Management Development 28, no. 9 (2009): 788–804.
●Concept of Research: This is researching how religious observances in Egyptian culture
are generally an affair dealt with en masse, thereby making them contributing forces to
the persons and their self-identities within their societies
