Interculturalism, multiculturalism, and intercultural studies: Questioning definitions and repositioning strategies

Sarmento, Clara

doi:10.1515/ip-2014-0026

Cited by 26 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…They acknowledge that "any definition of culture is necessarily reductionist" (Sarangi 2009, 87) and that the notion of culture should be seen as dynamic rather than static, internally heterogeneous rather than unified. The concept of Otherness, then, as used in the present volume, implies both blurred boundaries of what constitutes 'us' and 'them', as well as the awareness that "'we' are the others' other" (Cerqueira 2013in Sarmento 2014. Braudel's (1980) classic criteria for the study of social groups, the volume is divided into two parts.…”

Section: Cultural Encounters With the English-speaking Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural Encounters with the English-Speaking World

Kavalir

Stopar

2015

ELOPE

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The idea for the present volume grew out of a very successful series of summer schools bringing together students and staff from five different countries under the auspices of the Erasmus Intensive Programme "Cultural Landscapes: Negotiating Cultural Encounters with the English-Speaking World."1 Focussing on the cultural aspects of the English-speaking world and on intercultural communication, this volume of ELOPE reflects both the main aims of the summer school and the fundamental mission of the journal to promote the research and discussion of linguistic and literary issues.The papers in the present volume thus span not only different countries and ethnicities but also combine the traditional fields of English Studies -linguistics, literature, teaching and translation. What brings them together is the fact that they all take a close and critical look at the cultural differences and barriers encountered in interaction with English-speaking countries and the specificities of English-mediated intercultural communication. They acknowledge that "any definition of culture is necessarily reductionist" (Sarangi 2009, 87) and that the notion of culture should be seen as dynamic rather than static, internally heterogeneous rather than unified. The concept of Otherness, then, as used in the present volume, implies both blurred boundaries of what constitutes 'us' and 'them', as well as the awareness that "'we' are the others' other" (Cerqueira 2013 in Sarmento 2014, 605). Braudel's (1980) classic criteria for the study of social groups, the volume is divided into two parts. The four papers in the first part -"Cross-Cultural Landscapes" -work on identifying individual cultural areas (which may be national, e.g., American, Croatian, British, Irish, Polish, Slovenian, or international, exploring English as a lingua franca) or various loci within their boundaries, including the creation of new pockets of shared culture. When several cultures are involved, this research is cross-cultural, looking at different domains across cultural borders. Weronika Gasior's paper "Cultural Scripts and the Speech Act of Opinions in Irish English: A Study amongst Irish and Polish University Students" brings a detailed investigation into how opinions are expressed in Irish English by Irish and Polish native speakers. She discerns differences in the cultural scripts for opinions in each culture that reflect linguistic formulas as well as divergent sociopragmatic attitudes and shows the contrast between the Anglo focus on tolerance and the Polish rational approach. Somewhat in line withIn "House and Home across Cultures," Monika Kavalir chooses the notions of 'house' and 'home' as the starting point of her exploration of various American, British and Slovenian cultural practices and concepts. Her contribution discusses the size of people's dwellings, the use of light, colour and style, hygiene, class distinctions, and their attitudes to house and home. Relying on corpus and 1 The summer schools were supported by Erasmus IP grants (ERA-IPR 04/11,...

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Section: Cultural Encounters With the English-speaking Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural Encounters with the English-Speaking World

Kavalir

Stopar

2015

ELOPE

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“…In the European context, interculturalism manifests itself through the global integration process by involving not only migrants or representatives of minority cultures but also individual members of society, developing sensitivity to cultural diversity and reducing discrimination against Others. Interculturalism emphasizes the importance of the interaction between different cultures, which is revealed through the desire to bring cultural communities together and the desire to change their understanding of the fact that we have separate identities and intertwined identities [22]. In other words, interculturalism points to a close microsocial environment, relations and daily life of communities [23].…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Otherness: Student’s Learning Experiences in Intercultural Groups

Jurgilė¹

2019

LICEJ

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The ability of members of intercultural learning to successfully adapt, communicate and collaborate in an intercultural environment demonstrates an individual's interculturalism. This ability can help to successfully adapt in the learning environment. [1] Byram, Nicols and Stevens (2001) argue that the acquisition of intercultural competence depends on the cultural environment, where cultural experience happens. There is an inevitable continuing dialogue in the process of intercultural learning, which encourages people to refuse stereotypes or assumptions about other cultures. It is important to note that the cultural environment can promote intercultural learning and interfere with it. Therefore, the main problem of this research is related to higher education studies and the aim of the research is to find out how the learning process takes place in an intercultural learning environment. All of this presupposes the main research questions: What types of learning emerge? What are the factors that promote or hinder learning in a non-traditional learning environment where only a national language is used? Such a problem as the lack of language skills forms a new learning process. The purpose of this study is to identify factors of intercultural learning in the empirical context.

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“…Consequently, definitions and descriptions of interculturalism and its roots are manifold. For example, according to Sarmento (2014), the concept of interculturalism emerged in France during the 1970s "due to the need for inclusion of immigrant children and consequent adaptation of educational methods in the face of an increasingly multicultural society" (608). Within anthropological research, interculturalism developed in the 1960s as an alternative to the much criticised concept of acculturation (Little 2005).…”

Section: Interculturalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The prefixes of the two concepts illustrate why: "the prefix inter assumes that two or more cultures interact, while the prefix multi does not assume hybridisation, but instead the coexistence of various cultures, stratified and hierarchical" (Sarmento 2014, 608). In her discussion of interculturalism and its pragmatic consequences in academia and society, Sarmento (2014) states that "as something greater than coexistence, interculturalism is allegedly more geared toward interaction and dialogue than multiculturalism" (607). For Sarmento, "what the present formulation of interculturalism emphasises is, beyond question, communication [and] conviviality" (609-610).…”

Section: Interculturalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Kunas' particular environmental context-their seclusion in their isolated Comarca-seems to have had an impact on their particular indigenous world view with regard to Mother Earth and the use of her natural resources. Understanding the historical and environmental context that shapes the culture of the Kuna or "the other" provides the basis for an enabling discourse that differs from multiculturalism in that the former is more of an opening, and less of a categorising and divisive nature (see Litvin 1997 andSarmento 2014).…”

Section: Intercultural Management As a Means Toward A Sustainable Toumentioning

confidence: 99%

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Interculturalism and socio-economic development of Indigenous islander populations: The case of the Kuna Yala

Gröschl

2018

IJCIS

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Many Indigenous islander populations in Latin America and the Caribbean have been facing high levels of poverty and widespread economic and social exclusion. Based on a case study approach, this paper proposes the concept of interculturalism as a means toward collaboration between Indigenous islander communities and non-Indigenous stakeholders, to influence the Indigenous islander communities’ socio-economic development. The study focuses on the Indigenous people of the autonomous Kuna Yala region of San Blas in Panama and explores how intercultural principles and characteristics could contribute to a cross-cultural dialogue between the Kuna people and external stakeholders, and to the socio-economic growth through tourism development in the Kuna region. Considering that certain aspects related to the Kuna culture are of a compound and complex nature, mutual trust and awareness, intercultural understanding and dialogue are critical in this process.

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Interculturalism, multiculturalism, and intercultural studies: Questioning definitions and repositioning strategies

Cited by 26 publications

References 9 publications

Cultural Encounters with the English-Speaking World

Cultural Encounters with the English-Speaking World

Understanding Otherness: Student’s Learning Experiences in Intercultural Groups

Interculturalism and socio-economic development of Indigenous islander populations: The case of the Kuna Yala

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