Intercultural Dialogue Research Articles

Criteria for the selection of precedent cultural phenomena for teaching foreign languages

Proficiency in a foreign language does not mean that the individuals possess a certain lexicon and grammatical minimum as this is not enough for them to become full participants of the intercultural communication. Foreign language learners can become active and full participants of the intercultural dialogue if they retain a developed secondary linguistic personality. The latter’s development is provided for through the acquisition of the precedent cultural phenomena, which comprise national, socio-cultural and historical information and indicate its availability. The article proposes a system of criteria for the selection of precedent cultural phenomena as a teaching material for the foreign language classes. The paper characterizes the precedent cultural phenomena as a means of secondary linguistic personality formation. It has been established that an individual possessing the secondary linguistic personality is a communicatively active subject that is readily engaged in the intercultural communication and is able to produce appropriate verbal behavior in a given situation of the intercultural communication. Precedent cultural phenomena, which are cognitive structures formed in the native speakers’ mental base relying on their socio-cultural and national-historical experience, contribute to the development of the foreign-language speakers’ worldview and the skills of intercultural communication. It was found that the criteria for selecting a precedent cultural phenomenon are the properties that allow it to be included in the content of teaching as a teaching material. The author suggests the system of the said criteria comprising the basic (informative, nominative, pragmatic and applicable) and optional (programme-related, intercultural-related) criteria. It was assumed that the inclusion of precedent cultural phenomena as a teaching material in the content of the foreign language teaching may make it more effective, ensure the actualization of interdisciplinary relations, and contribute to the development of the secondary linguistic personality and students` intercultural competence.

The Digital Future of Intangible Cultural Heritage – Challenges and Initiatives

Access to digital resources and overcoming the digital divide are key factors in the development of today's society and affect education and culture as much as economic development. The intercultural dialogue and the preservation and development of the cultural diversity of each country and region are fundamental principles of the cultural policy of the European Union (EU). A special focus is put on the strategic framework for the EU’s cultural policy and the main priorities regarding empowering digital change in the cultural sector. The paper also presents some initiatives supported by the European Commission aiming to strengthen and foster European identity creation as well as to support active citizenship, increase cultural participation and promoting common values, inclusion, and intercultural dialogue within Europe and in a global perspective.

Cross-cultural interactions in the context of teaching Brazilian Sign Language (LIBRAS) as a second language in preschool

ABSTRACT In 2002, the Brazilian deaf communities’ struggles against academic failure and deaf student dropout won a linguistic policy: the LIBRAS Federal Law. This official law, regulated by Decree N.5626 in 2005, recognises LIBRAS as a national language and requires inclusive educational practices in a bilingual model in order to promote meaningful learning, interaction and participation of deaf students in all educational domains. Nearly two decades later, the Law N. 14.191/2021 has been published, establishing bilingual education for deaf people as a teaching modality on Guidelines and Bases of National Education. Despite these political movements towards an effective inclusive education, the daily reality in Brazilian schools shows there are still challenges to adopting an additive bilingual and cultural approach using LIBRAS. There are also challenges in developing fluid communication between deaf and hearing class members that would enable inclusion, collaboration and understanding of cultural differences in the educational domain. Combining ethnographic perspectives and theoretical discussion of inclusive-bilingual education in Brazil, this article describes interactions in an intercultural dialogue between deaf trainee teachers, hearing children and their hearing teacher in a second-language learning context (LIBRAS). Focussing on the ways in which relationships and communication processes are re-constructed by the participants, this study reveals different ways of representing deaf people and the learning of LIBRAS, highlighting a deterritorialised perspective from the children which moves freely between the ideological boundaries and linguistic and cultural limitations of the deaf and hearing adults.

Matei Călinescu-Ion Vianu, Scrisori Din Exil. Corespondenţă Inedită, Editura Humanitas, 2019

Abstract The Book Letters from Exile. Unpublished correspondence is the proof of a long friendship, the letters gathered here revealing scenes, portraits and events that reconfigure the biographies of the two exiled Romanian intellectuals, Matei Călinescu and Ion Vianu. The affective imprint, the vague colour of nostalgic emotion compresses the impediments of spatial distance, the long friendship between the two being the result of reuniting several circumstances, affinities, closeness, because a friendship is strengthened, as we know, by analogies and empathy, tolerance, patience and sincerity, but also from the valences of the modelling and recovering confession. A theme that appears with a significant frequency is the theme of exile, of the rupture of identity, with old and new existential meanings, with difficulties, illusions and disappointments. A recurring topos is that of travel, as many epistolary notations summarize projects of meetings, reunions, trips, planned in detail, trips in real geography and trips on the map of a postmodern imaginary, bearing the imprint of intercultural dialogue, ideas, references bibliographies, reading sheets, possible conferences and other opportunities for intellectual debates that, for us today, do not mean so much anymore.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the “digital” prospects of ISESCO

The COVID-19 pandemic beginning in 2020 has forced national governments to take extreme measures to contain the spread of the infection. At the same time, closed borders, measures of isolation and social distancing have become an incentive for the modernization and development of new technologies in human life. Digitalization and distance services, including online education, remote working, as well as information and communication technologies, are accelerating the process of integrating technological and social systems and changing the socio-political landscape, where global interaction is transforming, including the increasing role of international organizations. Already beginning to improve its activities ISESCO has great technological opportunities for transformations in the post-covid period to develop human capital and support intercultural dialogue. Today this issue is very important for this organization. Using a variety of analytical and predictive tools, experts talk about the political, economic and social impact of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, it is clear that humanity is already undergoing epoch-making changes: the impact of significant changes in the economy and society will lead the world to the next stage of its development. Key words: COVID-19 pandemic, “digital” development, technologies, international organizations, ISESCO.

The Spread of Persian Literature in Russia: Methods, Technology and Importance

The article explains the main points of the importance of studying Persian literature in Russia at the present stage, namely: the state of Russian – Iranian relations, the strengthening of intercultural dialogue between countries. The main methods of studying Persian literature that is used in leading Russian educational institutions (for example, Moscow State University, Ural State University) are presented. These are standards for teaching foreign literature, special reading of a work, and analysis of an art work, game methods and creative tasks. Advantages and disadvantages are noted for each presented method. Modern methods of mastering Persian literature by Russian readers that have become popular due to the development of Internet technologies are listed: online courses, online writing, communication in social networks with native speakers, video lessons, use of special applications, etc. And the most effective methods of learning Persian literature are offered to Russian language learners. Extended abstract: The article explains the main points of the importance of studying Persian literature in Russia at the present stage, namely: the state of Russian – Iranian relations, the strengthening of intercultural dialogue between countries. The main methods of studying Persian literature that is used in leading Russian educational institutions (for example, Moscow State University, Ural State University) are presented. These are standards for teaching foreign literature, special reading of a work, and analysis of an art work, game methods and creative tasks. The modern age of globalization allows anyone with access to the internet to read a literary work in any language. This can be done both by reading the original work or its translation, and by translating it independently using special online tools. Classical literary works, written mainly in English, German and other European languages, are particularly considered by readers around the world. Russian classic works are also very popular. At the same time, there is a growing interest in Eastern culture. This can be seen in the interest of young people around the world in Eastern films, music, comics, etc. The older audience, however, are significantly interested in Eastern culture (cooking, medicine, yoga, etc.). Therefore, it can be assumed that in the near future, the people will be increasingly interested in studying Eastern (Oriental) literature as well as Persian literature, where writers express their thoughts in Persian as an Indo-European Persian language. The aim of this study is to present the methods and techniques of mastering Persian literature in Russia. Research Objectives: 1) Determining the importance of the process of mastering Persian literature for the Russians; 2) Studying basic and common techniques of mastering Persian literature in Russia; 3) Presenting modern techniques to master Persian literature in Russia. The sum of the results of studying the methods and techniques of mastering Persian literature in Russia show that there is no single version and certain standard for learning the works of Persian literature. Each educational institution or any person interested in learning Persian can select independently which method to use. The best option for learning Persian is to teach it in traditional classrooms in the form of reading works in the original language. To better understand the material, such a technique should be accompanied by changes in the curriculum and working on the subject matter. At the same time, studying Persian is essential and the most effective method to do it is to receive online lessons in the original language, discuss what is being read with native language experts, and learn about reading through Ilia Frank Method.

Sacred memory, creole orientalism and India in the plantationscape of Mauritius

This article disentangles the relationship between memory and the sacred through the life and selected writings of Léoville L’Homme (1857–1928), who rose to prominence as poet and journalist in the 19th century as sugar production expanded in the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. A man of colour and a Christian, L’Homme instrumentalised genealogy, cultural memory and the sacred in the vindication of exclusive forms of social justice in what I call the Mauritian plantationscape. His carefully-crafted sacred memory project, heavily modulated by French and British Orientalism, and characterised by tension between memory and the sacred, resulted in the perpetuation of discursive and colonial injustice against India, the homeland of his grandmother, and Indian indentured labourers. After identifying signs of trauma underlying his strained cultural memory landscape and implication, I argue that the organic creolisation present in the colony intervenes to turn the Hindu Goddess Sita, with whom L’Homme sought poetic intimacy, into a symbol of desire for India. This symbol impels an intercultural dialogue where Christianity and Hinduism meet to repair and bestow a reparative vector upon sacred memory. Intercultural dialogue creolises Orientalism, L’Homme’s primary portal into Indian cultural memory, and Creole Orientalism impedes cultural erasure. This sacred and inherently gendered creole cultural memory matrix redresses L’Homme’s relationship with India, his Otherness and Indian cultural memory. It injects an ethical economy in his activism that promises new definitions of a Mauritian collective ahead of decolonisation which remain germane to considerations of identity in the multicultural island’s post-colonial era.

Understanding an Importance of Interculturalism in the Learning Process

Authors of this article aimed to research an understanding importance of interculturalism within learning process and beliefs related to intercultural education together with the level of intercultural education implementation in the learning process. Research has been conducted on the pattern of 163 teachers and librarians who participated in the interactive workshop “Enhancing capacities of teachers/trainers for promotion of cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and tolerance through media and information literacy”. This article represents concrete organized effort and an attempt for promoting importance related to development of an adequate intercultural competencies of teachers and librarians that are directly involved in the learning and educational process.

Media and Information Literacy

Paul G. Zurkowski was the first to introduce the term information literacy in 1974 to describe the techniques and skills necessary for utilizing “a wide range of information tools and primary sources”. It also included the ability to measure information value to “mold information to [meet] needs” and to create solutions to problems.1-2 Since then, media literacy and information literacy has gained a base in advanced countries. But UNESCO is now promoting the composite concept of media and information literacy (MIL). To promote MIL and MIL research, it has founded the MIL Alliance and the Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue (MILID UniTwin) to enable people to use information critically, ethically and legally in quality decision-making. Other useful initiatives of UNESCO include “MIL MOOC; Media and Information Literacy: Critical-thinking, Creativity, Literacy, Intercultural, Citizenship, Knowledge and Sustainability (MIL CLICKS); MIL Policy and Strategy Guidelines; MIL Curriculum for Teachers; MIL Indicators; MIL Framework; and MIL Week Feature Conference and Youth Agenda Forum. The International Federation of Library Association and Institutions (IFLA) has its programme entitled 'Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE)' and developed the MIL Guidelines. IFLA/FAIFE' programme is committed to ensure freedom of access to information and freedom of expression to empower people to realize their “right to be.”3 There are many models and standards to promote information literacy and MIL but MIL is not yet effectively imbedded in the developing countries. Hence, to sensitize the stakeholders about the concept and practice of MIL in India, this theme issue of the DESIDOC Journal of Information Technology (DJLIT) has been planned.

Three Strategies for Describing Social Interactions of Adolescents in a Multicultural Environment—Indicators for the Quality of Life Research

Background: The analysis has involved social interactions in a multicultural environment. The social context has been defined by the Vilnius region (Lithuania), where national, religious, and cultural differences exist across generations (multicultural community). The space of “social relationships”, as one of the modules of the WHO quality of life assessment, has been studied. An innovation of the research has been related to the analysis of the phenomenon of community of nationalities and cultures as a predictor of quality of life (QoL). The social motive of the research has been the historical continuity (for centuries) of the construction of the Vilnius cultural borderland. Here, the local community evolves from a group of many cultures to an intercultural community. Interpreting the data, therefore, requires a long perspective (a few generations) to understand the quality of relationships. We see social interactions and strategies for building them as a potential for social QoL in multicultural environments. Methods: The research has been conducted on a sample of 374 respondents, including Poles (172), Lithuanians (133), and Russians (69). A diagnostic poll has been used. The respondents were adolescents (15–16 years). The research answers the question: What variables form the interaction strategies of adolescents in a multicultural environment? The findings relate to interpreting the social interactions of adolescents within the boundaries of their living environment. The description of the social relations of adolescents provides an opportunity to implement the findings for further research on QoL. Results: An innovative outcome of the research is the analysis of 3 interaction strategies (attachment to national identification, intercultural dialogue, and multicultural community building) as a background for interpreting QoL in a multicultural environment. Their understanding is a useful knowledge for QoL researchers. The data analysis has taken into account cultural and generational (historical) sensitivities. Therefore, the team studying the data has consisted of researchers and residents of the Vilnius region. We used the interaction strategies of adolescents to describe the category of “social relationships” in nationally and culturally diverse settings.

Poly-Multiculturality in Higher Education: Methodological Level of the Research Concept

The article looks into the contemporary challenges for higher education in the era of unexpected global turbulences following the processes of globalisation not only in the social, political, economic and financial contexts but also in the educational domain. Multidimensional reality has brought its changes to communication and risen the standards of effective communication much higher than forecast in the previous years. The global developments drive for efficiency in intercultural dialogue, which causes reconsideration of the lingual status of education in multinational classrooms. The burning issues arise more sharply for cross border communication for business and diplomacy purposes. It means that a high demand in the educational market for LSP instructors (LSP – languages for specific purposes) at philology departments in Ukraine and abroad has started moving higher education to become more business oriented and stakeholder and university partnered. That said, it is necessary to analyse the existing foundations for poly- / multiculturality in higher education as supported by governments and the government of Ukraine, in particular, as well as go deeper into the levels of the research concept, the methodological level, to be more precise. As part of the research, the paper describes the key methodological approaches to foster and cultivate poly- / multiculturality in multi-dimensional classrooms – polylingual and multicultural. Such approaches are viewed fundamental to educate high-class LSP instructors in the field of foreign language instruction and acquisition in higher education. Among them are the systemic approach including the structural one, the synergic approach to cultivate poly- / multiculturality with future LSP educators in foreign language classrooms, cross-cultural approach, axiological and communicative approaches, environmental and reflexive approaches, etc.

История взаимоотношений Российского Алтая и Монголии ХХ века в сфере изобразительного искусства: хронология событий

The purpose of the research is to create a chronology of events in the history of relations between Russia Altai and Mongolia in the XX century in the field of visual arts. The article is the first to pay attention to creation of a chronology of this historical phenomenon; to identify previously unknown events and facts; to shed light on the activities undertaken by representatives of Russia and Mongolia who left a significant mark in the intercultural dialogue. Scientific novelty of the research lies in using the historical and chronological approach to studying the history of relations between Russia Altai and Mongolia in the XX century in the field of visual arts. As a result of the work, the researcher has identified the main events in the history of the relations, determined the time frame of the historical phenomenon and created a chronology of the events.

Intercultural communication as the basis for effective teaching of foreign languages

The article examines the role and importance of intercultural communication in the process of learning a foreign language at university. Intercultural interaction is viewed as a source of formation and development of professional and personal qualities of students, intercultural competency and interethnic tolerance, as a means of overcoming communication difficulties in situations of foreign language communication. In modern society, in the context of digitalisation, the development of informational and social networks, with the introduction of distance education, intercultural foreign language communication is considered an indispensable part of life and learning. It is characterised by an intensive exchange of information, values and experience, by networking and maintaining contacts, and developing cooperation. Intercultural dialogue allows students to expand their knowledge of cultural characteristics, traditions, etiquette and customs of people living in different countries; to understand and accept the linguistic and cultural diversity of communication partners; to improve their skills and abilities; to use language and speech means, choose strategies and tactics of behaviour and communication in order to achieve mutual understanding and goals following the communicative task and communicative situation. Reliance on intercultural communication in the process of learning foreign languages contributes to the interiorisation of new knowledge, the development of social activity, creativity and mobility of students, increases the motivation to learn a foreign language, inspires the use of new interesting psychological and pedagogic forms in studies and work, allowing effective interaction in a multicultural environment.

The development of program of experimental research on the formation of intercultural competence of higher military educational institutions cadets during foreign language training

In accordance with the European and world tendencies of professional training of military personnel, it is mandatory to emphasize the problem of forming the intercultural competence among cadets of higher military educational institutions. The process of formation of such a competence should be experimentally approved.
 The general approaches to the structure of the experimental research program are analyzed and the necessity of a systematic approach to the formulation of the principles of scientific research, which are a means of proving the research hypothesis, is substantiated.
 The program of the pedagogical experiment, aimed at testing the hypothesis, is described, which assumes that the level of intercultural competence of cadets of higher military educational institutions increases under the condition of involvement in the process of active communication by means of intercultural dialogue in the process of learning foreign languages, which reproduces the substantive and social content of professional competences in the process of mastering cultural knowledge and communication skills during reproductive, cognitive-exploratory, research and creative activities.
 Tasks, stages, methods of experimental research are characterized. The stages and directions of introduction of the author's model of formation of intercultural competence of higher military educational institutions cadets in the process of foreign language training in accordance with structural components (motivational-value, cognitive-linguistic, communicative-strategic and evaluative-reflexive) are revealed.

Emancipatory Urban Greening in the Global South: Interdisciplinary and Intercultural Dialogues and the Role of Traditional and Peasant Peoples and Communities in Brazil

This article discusses theoretical, methodological and political issues related to urban greening in the Global South, as well as emancipatory alternatives to envisioning more inclusive, democratic, sustainable and healthy cities. We sustain that the role of traditional and peasant peoples and communities – including indigenous, quilombolas and others - is strategic for thinking about alternatives and actions aimed at the paradigmatic transition that surpasses the vision of Eurocentric modernity. It generates artificial barriers that divide countryside and cities, society and nature, life and economy, as well as subjects and objects in producing and sharing knowledge. These peoples and communities designates a diversity of social situations that have as a common denominator conditions of existence considered to contrast with “modernity,” situated on the margins of the representations of “development” and “progress” of the hegemonic economic and political powers. Our arguments are empirically based on experiences developed in Brazil with interdisciplinary and intercultural dialogues carried out in recent years. The events called “Meetings of Knowledges” brought together academic groups and different social movements and community organizations involving social struggles and topics such as health, environmental conflicts and justice, food security and sovereignty, agroecology, among others. These meetings intend to enhance intercultural and interdisciplinary interactions between agents working together in different territories with concrete knowledges and experiences. The contents generated by the debates held at these events and their developments depict social experiences that reinforce the underlying hypothesis behind this article: the social struggles involving the interaction between traditional and agricultural populations with urban spaces in the Global South provide important evidence for research agendas about emerging emancipatory processes related to urban greening. In the first part of the text, we analyze the historical, social and epistemological meaning of indigenous,quilombolaand peasant peoples in the Brazilian context, analyzing both recent contradictions and threats, as well as their role in the emergence of ongoing emancipatory agendas, including interaction with cities. Finally, we show examples related to social struggles, first of an indigenous ethnic group in the Amazon region, and then in two big Brazilian cities, involving social movements and community organizations that integrate actions for decent housing, sanitation, health care, and food along with the rescue of ancestral knowledge.

Bulgarian Modernist Publications in the Database “Books in Russian Published Abroad, 1927—1991”

The article is devoted to the reflection of Bulgarian literary modernism of the 20th century in Bulgarian publications in Russian. The relevance of the article is supported by the fragmentary assimilation of Bulgarian modernism by Russian literary studies, which is insufficient to carry out the necessary completeness of the intercultural dialogue, given that the Bulgarian modernists largely focused in their work on the achievements of Russian symbolism and the Silver Age as a whole. The author traces the local features of the development of modernism in Bulgaria, which determine the validity of including in it the trends of symbolism and expressionism, often appearing in Bulgarian literature in syncretism. The article concretizes the stylistic and thematic uniformity of a number of Bulgarian literary phenomena of the 20th century, which proves the self-sufficiency of Bulgarian modernism as a full-fledged trend. Based on the material of Russian-language publications issued in Bulgaria and reflected in the database of the Bibliography Department of the Russian State Library “Books in Russian Published Abroad, 1927—1991”, the article identifies the main representatives of Bulgarian literary modernism: P. Todorov, P. Yavorov, A. Dalchev, A. Strashimirov, N. Furnadzhiev, A. Karalichev, D. Debelyanov, G. Milev, N. Rainov, T. Trayanov. The author attempts to determine a specific place for each of them within the framework of the considered trend. On the basis of individual and collective publications identified when accessing the specified database, the article outlines the main features of the creative method and style of each of the authors under consideration, which are supported by examples from the texts. The author draws conclusions about the degree of completeness of Bulgarian modernism adaptation for Russian-speaking readers, which remains insufficient due to the limited number of translations, the tendentious selection of works for translation in the light of the ideological restrictions of the Soviet era, the disregard of a number of leading authors, and the lack of modern reprints and popularization of the accumulated body of translations.

Intergroup Dialogues in the Landscape of Digital Societies: How Does the Dialogical Self Affect Intercultural Relations in Online Contexts?

The effects of intergroup dialogues on intercultural relations in digital societies and the growing conflict, inflammatory and hate speech phenomena characterizing these environments are receiving increasing attention in socio-psychological studies. Based on Allport’s contact theory, scholars have shown that online intercultural contact reduces ethnic prejudice and discrimination, although it is not yet clear when and how this occurs. By analyzing the role of the Dialogical Self in online intercultural dialogues, we aim to understand how individuals position themselves and others at three levels of inclusiveness—personal, social, and human—and how this process is associated with attitudes towards the interlocutor, intergroup bias and prejudice, whilst also considering the inclusion of the Other in the Self and ethnic/racial identity. An experimental procedure was administered via the Qualtrics platform, and data were collected among 118 undergraduate Italian students through an anonymous questionnaire. From ANOVA and moderation analysis, it emerged that the social level of inclusiveness was positively associated with ethnic/racial identity and intergroup bias. Furthermore, the human level of inclusiveness was associated with the inclusion of the Other in the Self and ethnic/racial identity, and unexpectedly, also with intergroup bias. We conclude that when people interact online as “human beings”, the positive effect of online dialogue fails, hindering the differentiation processes necessary to define one’s own and the interlocutor’s identities. We discuss the effects of intercultural dialogue in the landscape of digital societies and the relevance of our findings for theory, research and practice.

Intercultural Dialogue: Creativity as an Antipode of Dogmatism

Intercultural Dialogue: Creativity as an Antipode of Dogmatism

Non-Europeans and their Presence to History. Universality, Modernity and Decolonization in Ricœur’s Political Philosophy

This article reconsiders Paul Ricœur’s political philosophical writings on the task of decolonization and European responsibility in light of a horizon of intercultural dialogue. Departing from the exchange between Ricœur and his former student Enrique Dussel, it discusses the Ricœurian critique of modernity. After giving some background on Ricœur’s reflections on decolonization, it will clarify what Ricœur calls the “crisis of the concrete universal in the thinking and in the historical experience of Western Europe,” and what role cultural difference has in this crisis. Considering Ricœur’s explicitly European perspective, this will lead us to a critical discussion on the envisioned possibility of a world-historical subject. Finally, I will discuss the role of European self-reflection in relation to a horizon of intercultural dialogue and narration from a post-/decolonial perspective.

Narrating Intercultural Capital: Constructing Political Correctness, Negotiating Identity Capital, and Expanding Terrains of Possibility for Student Engagement

ABSTRACT How does identity capital influence student engagement in the classroom? This article examines the narratives of sixty-three first year undergraduate students enrolled in a cross-cultural communication course to provide a portrait of the ways students envision identity capital influences their ability and willingness to engage in meaningful dialogues. Through semi-structured interviews, students demonstrate the importance of real and perceived intercultural capital as a condition for engaging in intercultural dialogues. Through a lens grounded in political correctness and identity capital, student voices illuminate ways faculty can expand the terrains of possibilities for authentic intercultural communication, increase opportunities for the development of realistic cultural empathy, and enable the negotiation of intercultural capital that transcends cultural boundaries and allows for the continued exchange and accumulation of identity capital.