Interculturality between East and West

In the context of global economic integration, the inevitability of cross-cultural exchanges across national borders has become increasingly apparent. The term “interculturality” is interpreted as the relations that exist among culturally diverse human groups within a given society (Dietz, 2018). Widely used across various research fields, such as education, sociology, nursing, health and business, the definition and understanding of interculturality have remained disputable in academia. Hence, there is a crucial need to explore the phenomenon of interculturality, especially in language, garnering attention from educators to broader global academic communities engaged in intercultural studies. At this juncture, the book Interculturality between East and West: Unthink, Dialogue and Rethink offers a unique perspective, providing scientific insights into interculturality. The book delves into a multi-perspective discussion, aiming to prompt readers to reflect on and transcend their ideological boundaries. This work stands out as one of the few literature works that tackles intercultural issues from diverse angles, with 11 chapters covering culture, identity, language, translation and intercultural competence. Each chapter includes a “Time to Reflect” section, fostering deeper understanding and reflection on interculturality. A notable feature is the active engagement of authors and students in questioning and debating interculturality, contributing to the vitality of the research findings. This book stimulates further reflection, debate and broader thinking to enhance the understanding of interculturality.Chapter 1 serves as an introduction to interculturality and outlines the research methods used in the book. The authors emphasize the need for diverse voices, including China’s perspective, to break away from the dominance of Western ideology in the study of East–West relations. The volume draws on multiple dialogues between authors and students, grounding its research findings in real intercultural interactions.Chapter 2 introduces new perspectives on understanding culture, focusing on the often controversial term “culture,” which lies at the core of interculturality. The authors summarize ongoing discussions on the concept of culture and propose fresh insights from the Chinese context. They argue that the term “culture” is fluid and indefinable, resisting categorization by any individual or powerful nation.Chapter 3 explores approaches to interculturality, examining whether to “kill” or “cure” culture. Through diverse examples, the authors reveal the intrinsic nature and diversity of interculturality, emphasizing the significance of rethinking cultural connotations and shifting mindsets. The dynamic nature of culture is highlighted, advocating for an inclusive approach to cultural diversity. The examples provided, though diverse, may not sufficiently illustrate the practical strategies individuals or communities can use in intercultural encounters. Consequently, more concrete and actionable insights could be taken into consideration in future studies.Chapter 4 delves into the role of language in interculturality, focusing primarily on verbal aspects. The authors underscore the varied meanings of the term “language” in Chinese, English, Finnish and French, emphasizing the importance of understanding the similarities and differences between these languages. Misconceptions about language and the creation of hierarchies based on language discussions are explored.The chapters emphasize the necessity of addressing not only language but also the stereotypes and ethnocentrism associated with it in discussions of interculturality. However, the emphasis on verbal aspects leaves room for a more comprehensive exploration of non-verbal communication, a crucial component often overlooked in discussions of interculturality.Chapter 5 shifts the focus to the role of translation in interculturality, exploring issues such as mistranslation, and un-mistranslation of Chinese. The authors highlight the perception of translation as a bridge between the East and West, emphasizing its role in expressing language and ideas across cultures. They argue that interculturality involves various forms of translation, necessitating attention from researchers to balance power relations between Eastern and Western nations.Chapter 6 expounds on identity, a phenomenon that takes place between individuals, which refers to the ways in which people make, remake and articulate their relationships with the world around them (Kiely et al., 2006). Through students’ responses to intercultural scenarios, the authors explore the multifaceted nature of identity, emphasizing that individuals belong to different collectives, each contributing to specific identities. The collision of diverse identities makes interculturality politically and ideologically charged. Therefore, meaningful dialogue is expected to elicit more voices and discussions about interculturality.Chapter 7 records the views of students and authors on the conception and execution of interculturality. Recognizing the complexity of the term, the chapter categorizes it as global and local, considering it both an interaction between cultures and a potent political tool. The authors argue that each individual possesses intercultural competence, dependent on their perceptions of interculturality. To some extent, interculturality is an ever-lasting notion, that calls for researchers to reflect on how to deal with interculturality by listening to others’ intercultural experiences.Chapter 8 explores ways of engaging with interculturality in global contexts, discussing prevalent intercultural ideologies in today’s world. Firstly, interculturality is a doctrine composed of various ideologies, beliefs and worldviews around the world. The authors argue that people often misunderstand culture and interculturality due to a lack of awareness of their intercultural environment. As a result, the chapter criticizes the Western-centric shaping of the concept of interculturality, calling for a focus on interactive behaviors during real interactions to truly examine interculturality.Chapter 9 reviews silent transformations that occurred in China, as recounted by one of the authors, Fred Dervin. Silent transformations refer to meaningful changes that occur invisibly through long-term engagement with others (Jullien, 2011). Fred shares the impact of his engagement with China on his learning experience of interculturality, asserting that individuals undergo silent transformations without realizing the changes. The chapter concludes that intercultural transformation can occur in any situation, fostering reflection on relations between different countries.Chapter 10 critically examines various aspects of “doing” interculturality, highlighting the dominance of Western discourses, power and potential influence in global intercultural studies. Intercultural paradigms are not fixed modes of thinking, but open ones that can be enriched and supplemented by people through interaction. The authors advocate for a critical view of problematic models of intercultural competence, urging a departure from conventional patterns through unthinking and rethinking to construct diverse interculturality.The concluding chapter sheds light on future research directions in interculturality. Keywords “unthink,” “Listen,” “dialogue” and “rethink” represent four vital steps for interculturalists to navigate intercultural communication. Nevertheless, acknowledging the complexity of interculturality, the book does not present an intercultural orthodoxy, since there are still many factors to be considered during real intercultural communication.The book initiates a multi-perspective discussion of interculturality, challenging the entrenched dichotomy of interculturality between the East and West. It encourages readers to think, dialogue and rethink interculturality, distinguishing itself through conceptual innovation and calls for diverse voices to clarify the terminological confusion and misconceptions of interculturality, instead of adopting hegemonic global discourses. Besides, the authors propose a shift from placing interculturality in the context of cultural phenomenon and national identity to reciprocal interaction and learning through dialogues, bridging the gap in various research fields related to interculturality, such as etymology, translation and ethnology. Furthermore, the book takes a qualitative research paradigm, supported by rich interview and dialogue data, providing a shred of robust evidence on interpreting interculturality. Ultimately, because the book centers on intercultural studies of different languages and nations, different types of rhetorical devices are used to elaborate on specific language examples. The inclusion of images collected from real contexts helps enhance the readability and comprehensibility of the content, making it more reader-friendly for those engaging with the book.However, some limitations persist. The book does not define specific constructs for intercultural competence, nor provides any measurement scale or criteria for testing the competence. In this regard, the book could be strengthened to portray an all-inclusive picture of interculturality rather than giving a referable methodology or theoretical framework for the study of interculturality.Undoubtedly, the book contributes to initiating thought-provoking discussions on the detailed revelation of interculturality through human communication on a global scale. Readers are encouraged to enhance their intercultural awareness through long-term engagement and interaction with others and recognize the multiplicity and complexity of interculturality. The work serves as a valuable resource for initiating dialogue and prompting a reconsideration of how individuals with diverse backgrounds can achieve better mutual understanding

Geography · Interculturality · Sociology · Anthropology · Global Education and Multiculturalism