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This paper re-visits Hall's foundational writing concerning Arabs and olfaction made in the book The Hidden Dimension. In light of an historical climate demanding a better understanding of the Arab world and the social biases uniquely associated with the sense of smell, this article seeks to rectify misconceptions promulgated in intercultural communication pedagogy. Hall's claims are contrasted with recent interview data. The implications of this research for (a) intercultural communication instructors, (b) olfaction and culture, (c) relationships between Americans and Arabs/Arab Americans, and (d) future research are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A postmodernist perspective is suggested as more appropriate than a modernist perspective for purposes of examining cross-cultural communication between African societies and the United States. By assuming a single universal truth and an instrumentalist view of communication, a modernist perspective portrays this process ineffectively as a one-way process of positive influence with the United States as benefactor while African societies are beneficiaries. However, a postmodernist perspective assumes multiple truths or realities and a constitutive view of communication, permitting two major conclusions: (1) cross-cultural communication between African cultures and the United States may have mutual positive influence, and (2) U.S. society can benefit from the appropriation of even more aspects of African cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]