Why Interculturalisation?
摘要
The key concept developed throughout this book is the notion of interculturalisation. Using the idea of ‘culture shock’ as a jumping off point, this chapter addresses the need for students to bridge the ‘gap’ encountered in-country, when previous ways of knowing and being in the world prove inadequate. To understand why interculturalisation is a useful conceptual tool in this context, we turn to the existing literature to outline the intellectual context for the research. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s framework, particularly the idea of the habitus, this chapter stresses the need for an approach to interculturality which characterises it as a set of embodied dispositions accumulated through various practices and over time. The key themes addressed in the book (pedagogy, time, home, and culture) are foregrounded here, highlighting key elements of interculturalisation that demonstrate the need for more reflexive understandings of ‘culture’ and ‘cultural difference’.