Examining Other Ways of Engaging with Interculturality

Abstract

Interculturality in research and education is much more complicated than it might appear to be. In fact, as a doctrine, it is composed of an uncountable number of ideologies, beliefs and worldviews around the world. However, many scholars have noted that very few perspectives dominate the worlds of research and education globally. This chapter engages with this problematique and offers ways of conceptualizing both the characteristics and limitations of what is referred to as the ‘pond of interculturality’. One minor voice of interculturality, introduced in the previous chapter, Minzu, is discussed by means of students’ descriptions of three central ideas, commonly used in China: Sense of Community for the Chinese Nation, Minzu unity and A community with a shared future for mankind. By engaging with these ideas, and trying to understand them, the authors argue that we can start looking into our own ways of thinking about interculturality in a different light.