COMPETENZE INTERCULTURALI E COSTRUZIONE DELLA CITTADINANZA
"In the modern post-Enlightenment Western world, citizenship was the privilege of membership in a nation state. In these post-modern times, things are not so clear. The traditional boundaries of nation states are convoluted by larger economic unions and smaller autonomous regions. National membership is not such a clear privilege as immigrants, permanent residents, and citizens maintain an uneasy co-existence. Cultural identity has many layers.
Correspondingly, intercultural communication has become more complex. Comparison of national cultures is no longer an adequate base for identifying relevant cultural differences or for predicting misunderstanding. Instead, we need to apprehend how others are constructing cultural identities differently than we are, and how those differences may affect our mutual construction of meaning.
In this presentation, Dr. Bennett will explore two keys to post-modern intercultural relations: empathy and ethicality. Empathy is understanding the world "as if" it were constructed differently. Ethicality is maintaining commitment in the face of viable cultural differences. Both activities demand a respectful consciousness of self and other -- the basic ingredient of a more dynamic concept of multicultural citizenship."
Milton J. Bennett |
