Dialogic borders: Interculturality from Vološinov and Bakhtin

Abstract

We elaborate on the relationships between the notions of border, discourse, and culture. Vološinov and Bakhtin offer a theory of discursive practices that entails a conception of culture as dialogic transformation of both objective and subjective life through the folding and crossing of borders. Based on the theoretical elaborations of Vološinov and Bakhtin, we begin discussing classical and contemporary theories of culture, and end by discussing theoretical issues in applied research fields to show some implications of our reconstruction of these authors’ dialogical theory of discourse. We propose that this theory gives to borders and borderworks a crucial role in the process of becoming of discourse and gives a special relevance to discursive processes in the more general social processes involving the establishment and trespassing of power-related boundaries.

Psychology of borders: An integral proposal to understand border phenomena in human life

“…Finally, Haye and González (2021) discuss Vološinov and Bakhtin's dialogical theory of discourse and its important implications for the interconnection of border and culture. The authors attempt to reverse the conception of unitary cultures and intergroup contact in psychology.…”

“…The second theoretical effort of this special issue is to understand how the border operates in regulating psychological functioning. In this vein, the works of Haye and González (2021), De Luca Picione (2021), and Tateo and Marsico (2021) highlight the semiotic, dialogic, and discursive aspects that contribute to the constitution of the border in the psychological and social sphere. These semiotic and discursive conceptions offer conceptual models of border-making and border-regulating processes in different everyday practices, helping us to understand the interaction between parts that constitute the whole system.…”

Mother alone: Caregiving and identity in Senegalese migrant women living in southern Spain

“…Having a perspective that appreciates the nuances and flow between different cultural identities is especially relevant in a study such as this one. This means that identities are not analyzed as immersed in a single homogeneous cultural context (if there is such a thing; Haye & González, 2021), but as those of people who have experienced a migratory process between different cultures.…”

Thick description and systems thinking: Reiterating the importance of a biopsychosocial approach to mental health

“…Borders are, in fact, fundamental in defining the criteria by which parties approach confrontation and mediation, and eventually for integrating every new systemic interaction in their experience. 75 In Local Knowledge, Clifford Geertz argues that in the analysis of composite groups it is necessary to isolate specific characteristics of single participants, and their relationships, paying proper attention to both differences and affinities. 76 In this way, to build effective groups interacting subjects must shed light on each other.…”