With a steady, and ever quickening rise of globalization throughout most of the world, the

concept of multicultural societies has spread as well. While a heavily diverse society isn't a new
phenomenon, the individual cultures that determine multiculturalism are becoming more interwoven
with one another than ever before. As a result, we have been able to view our world in a new light
thanks to the spread of once foreign concepts and practices. Inversely, it has also lead to the demise of
some traditions that are deemed out of date by the mainstream. It has also resulted in a more
pronounced social stratification of cultures, based on race, gender, class and so on. These changes in
our society today, and similar changes of the past, drastically alter how intercultural communication
works. In order to understand these changes, and what they mean for the future, multiculturalism can
be viewed through the lens of three different major social theories: structural-functional, social-conflict,
and symbolic-interaction. By doing so, we can come to better understand how multiculturalism
functions and affects a culture and the people within it.
According to Herbert Spencer, society is like the human body. Just as the structural parts of the
human body, the skeleton, muscles, and internal organs, function together to help the entire organism
survive, social structures work together to preserve society (Macionis, 2011). These words describe
how the structural-functional theory of sociology works; every facet of a society is a cog in the
machine that gives it relative stability and structure. Multiculturalism is no different in this regard, and
in fact its societal functions are often powerful and far reaching in nations who generally support their
diversities, and even tend to seep their way into more resistant cultures. Robert K. Merton expanded the
idea of social function by introducing the concept of obvious and subtle functions of a social structure,
named manifest and latent functions (1938). The manifest functions of multiculturalism in a modern
society, such as the United States, are to broaden each other's understanding and tolerance of cultures
other than our own and to encourage acceptance of those who differ from one's own cultural identity.
However the latent functions are to maintain a stable working class in the form of migrant workers, and

to introduce new products into a macro-level culture, such as food, fashion, etc. But Merton also
recognized that not all effects of a social structure contribute to the greater function of a society and
introduced the concept of a social dysfunction, which is a social pattern that disrupts the operation of
society (1938). Using an example listed above, the latent function regarding a stable working class
means the rise of inequality for migrant workers, which disrupts existing social patterns in the eyes of
the people.
The idea of a social dysfunction brings us to a very different view that builds society as a
grounds of inequality that breeds conflict and change. This approach is known as the social-conflict
theory, and unlike structural-functional, this approach highlights social stratification based on money,
power and prestige, in relation to race, gender, class and so on. A major proponent of this theory was
Karl Marx, who believed that the internal conflicts between the controlling rich and the serving poor
would result in capitalism's eventual self destruction. A good example of a multicultural society that
suffered from race and class inequality was India, under the rule of the British Empire, which resulted
in the reinforcement of a subject and nobility social construct, by means of enumerating India's caste
system. The British rule of India was met with frequent backlash from the citizens of India, including
the famous non-violent disobedience of Mohandas Gandhi and his followers.
Now to take a step back from structural-functional and social-conflict, which are macro-level
orientation theories, multiculturalism can be viewed by a micro-level orientation, using the social
theory called symbolic-interaction. This approach is based on the reality constructed by the social
interactions of individuals. The prominent sociologist, Max Weber, utilized this social theory by
emphasizing the understanding of a particular situation through the points of view of the people
involved in it (1958). By the very definition of this theory, communication is essentially the brick and
mortar of any society. Viewing multiculturalism through the lens of symbolic-interaction reveals how
it shapes the social reality for many individuals by way of intercultural communication.
The social implications created by the two macro-level orientations are born from the symbolic-

interaction of individuals and spread through various channels in order to alter or establish cultural
norms, mores, ethics, etc, which later affect future cross-cultural communication between individuals.
The social construct that is created by the social reality of first hand experiences, and the perpetuated
trust of those experiences by second and third hand, which are often spread and reinforced by the
media. This can create social gaps between different cultures that challenge intercultural
communication. On the other hand, some social constructs, often by means of social change, can be
beneficial and bring groups closer together in some regards, such as emphasizing overall gender
equality. However these reinforcements can also lead to bitterness from those who refuse to shake their
previously established social order, which can widen the social gap for those individuals. Stephan and
Gudykunst describe this social gap as being caused by anxiety based on an individual's preoccupation
of another culture, This preoccupation can be due to the possibility of not being sufficiently able to
remain detached, fear of being negatively affected by the encounter, apprehension about being the
victim of misunderstanding, confrontation, etc. (1999).
True social change starts with the building blocks of society, described in the social theory of
symbolic-interaction, which depends on the individual's common view of different facet's of their lives,
including the various cultures that we are all faced with on a daily basis. These cultural building blocks
put together the pieces for how a society views reality, through norms, mores, morals and ethics in a
generally shared consensus from peer to peer, demonstrating the concept of structural-functionalism,
which in turn sets the social stage for how we view each different culture as a whole. The social
constructs that result from this can then generate social dysfunction and inequality, which demonstrates
social-conflict. These conflicts are then challenged by new views created from the symbolic-interaction
of individuals who find that existing views are disruptive to more recent social patterns. Society is a
fluid, yet structured system that cycles and builds upon itself through communication. A society of
multiculturalism, in turn, is greatly affected by cross-cultural and intercultural communication, due to it
shaping how individuals from different cultures communicate, which then cycles back into itself and

eventually changes the preoccupations that one group might hold for another. In an undisturbed setting,
genuine social change is gradual and slow, for the better or worse.

Macionis, J. J. (2011). Society: The basics. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Merton, R. K. (1938). Social Structure and Anomie. American Sociological Review, 3(6), 672-682.

Weber, M. (1958). The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. New York: Scribner.

Stephan, W., Stephan, C., Gudykunst, W. (1999). Anxiety in intergroup relations: A comparison of
anxiety/uncertainty management theory and integrated thread theory. International Journal of Inter
cultural Relations, 23(4), 613-628.