Discourses and narratives on intercultural learning: still plastic and contingent
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This document discusses the evolution of intercultural learning theory and pedagogy within the youth sector of the Council of Europe. It addresses three key topics: 1) How the discourse around intercultural learning has evolved over time, from initial concepts in the late 1980s to more recent updates. 2) The relevance and usage of intercultural learning concepts in non-formal education activities. 3) The ongoing challenge of adapting intercultural learning approaches in light of changing social and political contexts, including the current rise of populism. The presentation analyzes the continuity and changes in how intercultural learning has been conceptualized and implemented, and discusses implications for addressing racism in today's world.
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Discourses and narratives on intercultural learning: still plastic and contingent
- 1. Discourses and narratives on intercultural learning of the youth sector of the Council of Europe – still plastic and contingent? Gavan Titley EYCB 4 December 2018
- 3. The evolution of the discourse about intercultural learning theory and pedagogy; The relevance and usage of the concepts of intercultural learning in international non-formal education activities; The challenge of adopting, adapting or updating intercultural learning
- 5. This presentation: • There are no simple narratives – recurring questions, issues and tensions in the evolution of the discourse • What was plastic and contingent then, and what does it look like now, when we reconsider the relevance and usage of concepts • What does the current (radical right, nationalist) ‘populist’ moment mean for intercultural learning and the challenge of adapting and updating it?
- 6. 1. Dimensions of evolution
- 7. The consecration of intercultural learning pedagogy “Particularly in multicultural activities, it is impossible to take short cuts, either intellectually or in group dynamics.... In practice, a multicultural group needs to negotiate and arrange the best possible – temporary – equilibrium in the face of varying interests, approaches and styles” The Dublin Report, (1989) political education “Since the beginning, intercultural learning has played an essential role in countering stereotypical and prejudicial racist views and in trying to undo the significant damage done by racial ideologies”. The Compendium (2012) conceptual framework “Intercultural learning, on a more literal level, refers to an individual process of acquiring knowledge, attitudes or behaviour that is connected with interaction of different cultures”. Intercultural Learning T- Kit (2002)
- 8. Continuity in competences... Role distance Empathy Tolerance of ambiguity “Role in simulation games training situations”, Peter Lauritzen, 1986 “The activities must be designed so as to offer participants a valuable intercultural learning experience ( including participants learning to take a distance from their social roles, developing empathy and tolerance of ambiguity, acting in the spirit of human rights values, questioning ethnocentric views and developing multiperspectivity.” Quality standards in education and training activities (2005/2016)
- 9. “Intercultural learning enables the understanding of the impact of stereotyping, prejudice, ethnocentrism on the relations with and between people from diverse cultural backgrounds. In educational practice, intercultural learning should be part of the formal programme (in an explicit or implicit manner) and inform the overall methodology of the activities. Intercultural learning should enable everybody to contribute to and benefit from the activity regardless of, and in respect of, their cultural backgrounds and identity affiliations” (Quality Standards, p. 6)
- 10. Scales of analysis and action in intercultural learning: The Education Pack (1995) We live in unequal societies in an unequal world system - “Young people cannot make sense of their own position and gain knowledge and mastery of it without an understanding of both the international and national circumstances that shape their world” (p.9) Difference is a social fact in our societies but it is subject to prejudice and discrimination through relations of power – “..we have to establish a way to change our Multicultural societies slowly into Intercultural ones” (p. 11) We are all socialised and enculturated in relation to these stereotypes and prejudices, and they “govern the pattern of relationships our culture maintains with other cultures...(and) justify the treatment and discrimination of people from other cultures” (p. 32)
- 11. Creating ‘intercultural realities’ means we have to challenge “our personal attitudes and the systems of power and control which result in inequality” (p. 36) Intercultural learning is a journey that we can take by learning to • “Imagine yourself from the outside • Understand the world we live in • Be acquainted with other realities • See difference positively • Favour positive attitudes, values and behaviour”
- 12. Intercultural learning as the ‘maximum common denominator’ between • Political Education (education for emancipation) • Human Rights Education • Anti-Racism Education
- 13. Political education, political orientation? 1995 All Different All Equal, a campaign against Racism, Xenophobia, Anti- Semitism and Intolerance 2006 The positive approach (of) the campaign...Rather than campaigning against something (it) demonstrates a genuine desire to promote something positive – diversity, human rights and participation. (Coyote 12 editorial)
- 14. If Intercultural Learning is Political Education, what it the politics in political?
- 15. 2. The relevance and usage of concepts
- 16. The 2000s: • Articulation with Human Rights Education (Against relativism; renewed agency; ‘bottom-up’ understanding and analysis; diversified topics, e.g. gender and gendered violence) • Expansion in policy and political investment (The new campaign and emphasis on diversity; The White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue; Agenda 2020 and youth policy) • Critique and re-evaluation (Reduced to a game or ritual element? Quality in training? Capacity to capture complexity of participants experience? Conceptual adequacy?
- 17. Reflecting on the Long Term Training Course ICL (2003-4) Were the participants speaking about ‘ICL’, or was ‘ICL’ speaking them?
- 18. Senses and tensions in the concept of culture: Making, and being made Living culturally, and living in cultures
- 19. Culture, experience, identification and ascription
- 20. “The concept of culture does not represent a fixed entity in an independent object world but is best thought of as a mobile signifier that denotes different ways of talking about human activity with divergent uses and purposes…the concept of culture is plastic, political and contingent” (Barker 2002: 84, emphasis added)
- 21. Training (should be) more subject, object and situation-adequate – a kind of paradigm shift, in order to get an intellectual hold on a changed youth sociology setting and the complex requirements of training and education as elements of life-long learning....(Trainers) are also knowledge managers – they have to know many things; mainly however in view of the complexity of European societies...they have to be knowledge brokers (2002: 12-13). Hendrik Otten, 2002 Advanced Training for Trainers in Europe (ATTE) evaluation report
- 22. Focus: Intercultural learning and racism
- 24. Racism does not stay still; it changes shape, size, contours, purpose, function – with changes in the economy, the social structure, the system and, above all, the challenges, the resistance to that system (A. Sivanandan 1990: 64)
- 25. ‘Cultural racism’ in the 1990s: There is a growing propensity in the popular mood in Europe to blame all the socioeconomic ills resulting from capitalist readjustments…on immigrants who lack ‘our’ moral and cultural values, simply because they are there…immigrants and refugees…who seek shelter in the wealthy North, have all over Western Europe come to be regarded as undesirable, threatening strangers, aliens. Verena Stolcke (1995) ‘Talking Culture: New Boundaries, New Rhetorics of Exclusion in Europe’.
- 26. Martin Barker (1981) The New Racism 1. The argument from ‘genuine fears’, the real fear of ordinary people. 2. These fears may lead to prejudice, but in defence of a ‘way of life’ 3. This reaction is natural, as people have natural homes 4. Given that immigrants threaten national unity and a way of life, racism is actually this refusal to integrate 5. Defending a way of life is not racist; some cultures are just too different (differentialism, not hierarchy) 6. Controlling immigration is also of benefit to immigrants, who ‘too have natural homes’
- 27. Culturalisation: ...investing determining or significant explanatory power in culture ....to the exclusion of other material, political, social factors ...and lacking consciousness of the political work of culture in normalizing and justifying shifting forms of racism ....
- 28. Plastic, political and contingent, 10 years on “Culture is a very complex concept and it can be misused or misinterpreted (consciously or unconsciously). Culture is not an abstract concept, it is very much embedded in the realities of everyday life. In fact, culture cannot be separated from the social realities in which it is developing or from the people who are both influenced by it and are influencing it. Taking into account social realities, and political, geographical and economic aspects, leads to a more nuanced understanding of culture, genuine interactions and avoidance of simplistic interpretations” The revised T-Kit Intercultural Learning, (2016: 15)
- 29. Interculturalism, not Multiculturalism “Whilst driven by benign intentions, multiculturalism is now seen by many as having fostered communal segregation and mutual incomprehension, as well as having contributed to the undermining of the rights of individuals – and, in particular, women – within minority communities, perceived as if these were single collective actors. The cultural diversity of contemporary societies has to be acknowledged as an empirical fact. However, a recurrent theme of the consultation was that multiculturalism was a policy with which respondents no longer felt at ease”. (T-Kit, and White Paper)
- 30. The persistence of culturalism? • Policy fetishism (Ghassan Hage) – multiculturalism did not exist or have impacts in the way in which it is frequently imagined • Political discourse – ‘crisis of multiculturalism’ narratives blame the figure of the migrant/Muslim for not integrating, and blame previous governments for being too tolerant/generous • Political rationale – justify more securitized, neoliberal integration regimes (prove to us that you are compatible and autonomous) • Racialising rationale – gender equality/freedom of speech/sexual freedom are our values, they threaten them and must prove they can live with them
- 31. Do we need visions of the ‘intercultural society’ to ground the importance of intercultural learning?
- 32. 3. Intercultural learning and racism today
- 33. Racism is a “…scavenger ideology, which gains its power from its ability to pick out and utilize ideas and values from other sets of ideas and beliefs in specific socio-historical contexts” (John Solomos & Les Back 1996: 18-19)
- 35. Radical right/neo-nationalist/ ‘populist’ politics: • The people as a racially-defined demos; • Threatened by internal and external threats in a context of globalization, political fragmentation and democratic ‘crisis’; • Offered a politics of cultural compensation for structural and political problems; • Which is highly gendered and rooted in fixed narratives and symbols • And which has taken shape in an informational and media environment where speed and fragmentation encourage ’acting on feeling’
- 36. Intercultural learning as/and/or anti- racism?
Notas del editor
- Discourses and narratives on intercultural learning of the youth sector of the Council of Europe – still plastic and contingent? Introduction V happy - to be asked to contribute to this consultative meeting on ICL Subject and a practice – been involved in for a long time. Since 1991 in fact
- Discourses and narratives on intercultural learning of the youth sector of the Council of Europe – still plastic and contingent? Introduction V happy - to be asked to contribute to this consultative meeting on ICL Subject and a practice – been involved in for a long time. Since 1991 in fact
- Thinking about this – as Rui asked me to research and write – a review – DIMENSIONS on SLIDE Review – wide variety of documents – tc reports, consultative meeting reports, policy documents, educational resources, research papers, Trip down memory lane!
- Thing about memory lane – comes to an end, or at least you need a small rest on a bench, like this.. so..... WARY of nostalgia But it also struck me....I’m pretty sure I’m not the tape, but I’m probably the ipod. Meaning – I haven’t been actively involved in training for a while. One thing this review made clear – recurring issues/questions – but also constant change And of course – always a gap between ICL as conceptualised / captured in resources – and practices, experiences, the life of concepts, exercises, in educational situations This morning – how do we define what we are doing when we do ICL in a common way? I say this – not just to situate myself – but to situate my ideas – or to welcome a discussion of their limits – where this review does not capture, map onto, what’s going on. THUS SLIDE ON THIS PRESENTATION
- TALK THROUGH Approach – text heavy!! Orienting questions...
- There is not a review/summary doc – not note the centrality of icl – ‘house style’ of the EYC / consecration in directorate’s work practice From very early in documents on developing practice – organized in relation to three recurring themes Pedagogy – meeting ‘each other’ is important and powerful – therefore group processes must be planned, facilitated, managed – intercultural groups – language, identity, ‘bringing society with you’ – youth exchange, residential seminars (nonformal settings - study sessions, training courses) Focus on Youth Exchange – experience of being abroad - negotiating cultural difference... influence of ideas and approached developed – context Franco-German youth exchange, but also US-German, Peace Corp – important point – resources METHODOLOGIES from different educational settings, theories, adapted and integrated Political education Pedagogy – oriented not just towards individual learning/group process – taking the international group as a microcosm, young people can learn about the challenges of multicultural society – can make a transfer – learning about themselves in an educational setting, to behavior in society, but also with other young people, as a multiplier Conceptual framework Knowledge, attitude, behaviour Cultural awareness
- This focus on knowledge, attitude, behavior – remained constant – take the idea of developing competences – to act in an intercultural situation, and then, as a trainer, to facilitate them Ideas – role distance, empathy, tolerance of ambiguity... Left side: cultuivated through specific exercises, simulation game! Right side – as a dimension of learning in activities From this morning’s feedback – Working on stereotypes... ‘building a bridge called tolerance’...
- Intercultural learning as pedagogy – structuring process, activities, approaches to learning (implicit manner) But also – explicit manner – explaining the importance of working on intercultural competence, and relating this process of development to the wider picture – of youth work, social and political action. ICL – as a theme, as a subject of input, as an explicit focus of reflection within educational activities.
- Take an example of what this looks like: Highly developed statement – this publication, this campaign, this context Focus on here is scale – icl asks us to position ourselves in the world that acts on us, in the societies we live and act in. What do we understand of how they work? Specifically, how are relations between different backgrounds, ethnicities, statuses, organized in our societies? How is power distributed? What impact does this have on how differences are regarded, coded, talked about? If we take this analysis seriously – have to realise we are not immune from being influenced by these prevailing relations, ideas, frameworks of social, public knowledge – how do we understand ourselves culturally?
- 4. Question is where do we start? With ourselves, ourselves in our groups, ourself in society – where do we go, and end up? That depends. 5 – ICL as a journey, not a linear one, but one where we can track changes in attitude, work for changes in behavior, and work to work with others. Of course – in seminars, exercises, and so forth – different aspects of this ‘journey’ are emphasized over others. And as we will see, the importance of ‘culture’ in how we imagine ourselves, and difference, differs hugely within approaches (saw that in this morning’s discussion also)
- Focus on the learner – but ICL at scale – differing relations with different areas of education
- And while focus has historically been on acting against discrimination, prejudice, racism, exclusionary nationalism – how that is underatood politically has varied significantly also.
- This last point – turn to my previous involvement – and focus on discussions – how adequate is icl in terms of the concepts it uses to mediate our engagements with our realities, How adequate politically, in terms of proposing an evaluation, and a response?
- My reflections started....(Bastian!)
- Now – idea of culture – always been complex and contested, and messy – and translated differently, and so forth But could maybe distinguish between two ways: Culture as an active process of meaning making Culture as identity, collective identity - this morning’s session - Culture as nationality Sense that the defining, determining sense being used- in resources, dominant approaches to icl
- Not exclusively This is from the t-kit Someone asked this morning ‘What is intercultural learning in relation to multiple identities?’ Not just the multiplicity of identity – but how identity is socially politically institutionally produced – ascribed (in unequal societies)
- To my mind – conflict – confident theories And culture as a floating idea – hence phrase plastic, political, contingent
- Coincided with changes in thinking about trainer’s role – ‘information society’, professionalization/quality
- Also specific political dimension ICL has always been related to opposition to racism BUT ICL has co-existed with historical changes in how racism is expressed What does this mean?
- So how adequate is icl – focus on culture and the making/made self – understanding changing politics of racism in societies – migration, conflict, globalization?
- This process – integral to nationalism Specific historical. Political expression culture
- Good example here
- Problem for icl – how to provide a way of positioning ourselves in relation to this kind of ‘cultural racism’? In fact problem – shared a tendency to what I call culturalisation Period of reflection
- New reflexivieness in t-kit – not just a theory of culture, but competing theories, how much are they weighted, emphasized?
- At same time – so recurring traces of culturalisation ‘The negative definition of multiculturalism’
- Encouraging feelings of cultural loss, threat, and an explanation for who and why and what needs to be done...
- Future orientation, and discussion Anti-racism is not the same as being against racism – it requires an analysis of how forms of racism function and are justified, and what is required to understand and organize against it One way to develop this: As – Intercultural learning works as anti-racism when it is clear about scales of analysis and action, and works to facilitate participants understanding their experiences - non-reductively – in relation to the macro-processes shaping contemporary socio-political realities. Yet it remains clear; intercultural learning contributes to anti-racism when processes of self-reflection contribute to fostering a non-racist culture (challenging stereotypes, educating people about the ‘consequences of their views’, working to demonstrate how racism works with and intersects with other processes and structures); Intercultural learning benefits antiracism when it provides young people with fulfilling experiences of self-reflection and cooperation that replenish their resources and energy for social education and political struggle. And Intercultural learning works with anti-racism when its emphasis on examining patterns of prejudice and Othering is enjoined with an attention to the institutional and political dimensions of discrimination in historical purview and socio-political context. can support anti-racism by building up a picture of the social content in which racist ideas and formations provide explanatory power, affective satisfaction, and possibilities for involvement. Or , intercultural learning restricts anti-racism when it over-inflates culture’s explanatory significance and cultural change’s transformative potential. Intercultural learning obstructs anti-racism when it refuses to recognise the discursive nature of ‘culture talk’ and the problem posed by reactionary politics that lay claim to interculturalism’s language and values. Intercultural learning impedes anti-racism when a focus on cultural perception and prejudice fails to pay sufficient attention to the structural and political character of racism.