Transcript The Construction of Intercultural Identity in the Context

The Construction of Intercultural
Identity in the Context of
Globalization
Dai Xiaodong
Shanghai Normal University
Introduction

Cultural identity in globalization
 Cultural identity: membership of a group of people who
share common values, symbols and customs
 Blurring of cultural boundaries and the development of
intercultural identities
 Intercultural identity as transformative identity that
bridges the gap between the Thin Global Identity and
the Thick Local Identity
 Outline of the presentation
 Dynamics of globalization
 Intercultural identity as a response to globalization
 Possible way of constructing intercultural identity
Globalization and Its Impact
 Globalization
as complex interconnectivity
The unprecedented historical process that turns
the world into an interrelated whole
Uneven and asymmetrical development of
globalization
Impact of globalization
Global consciousness
Interaction and interdependence of cultures
Redefinition of cultural identity
The Dynamics of Globalization

The basic driving force of globalization－the dialectical
interaction between universality and particularity
 Accumulation and expansion of universality
 Sedimentation and spread of particularity

The gap between universalization of the particular and
particularization of the universal
 Universalization reduces concrete cultural experiences into abstract
ideas and breaks up cultural boundaries
 Particularization is locally oriented process, which produces cultural
meanings from local perspectives and concrete life experiences
 Tension between universality and particularity
Intercultural Identity as a Response to Globalization
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Global identity ― Thin Identity
 Global identity loosely unites the world but does not lead to
intercultural understanding
 It is deprived of cultural content and mainly concerns human nature

Local Identity ― Thick Identity
 Local identity best expresses local reality
 It facilitates interpersonal understanding among local members, but
may produces obstacles to intercultural communication.

Intercultural Identity ― Intermediate and Transformative
Identity
 Intercultural identity as a link that aligns universality with
particularity.
 Intercultural identity has the potential to transform the local into
intercultural and universal,
 and enhance intercultural communication and mutual growth.
Intercultural Identity: Its Definition

Intercultural Identity as the Extension of Cultural
Identity
 Intercultural identity embodies openness to cultural
others, the ability to negotiate differences and the
potential to reach intercultural agreements and achieve
mutual growth
 Two-directional extension: extension toward particularity
(co-culture attributes and individuality) and extension
toward universality (universal principles or norms)
The Transformative Potential of
Intercultural Identity
Openness to Cultural Others and New Possibilities
 Extended Framework of Meaning
 Intercultural Value Orientation
 Mindfulness and Patience
 Being Capable of Establishing Intercultural Ties
 Being Capable of Integrating Diverse Cultural
Elements and Achieving Identity Extension

Ways to Construct Intercultural Identity

Adler’s Multicultural Man
 Adler identifies multicultural man as a universal person who is
grounded in both the universality of human condition and the
diversity of man’s cultural forms. He adapts himself to different
communication context, recreates his identity constantly and
maintains indefinite boundaries of self.
 Multicultural man is vulnerable, having difficult in defining his
belongingness, the meaning of social life and may become
marginalized or even turn into a stranger.
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Yoshikawa’s Double Swing ― Man of In-betweenness
 Yoshikawa double-swing model produces an identity-in-unity, man
of in-betweenness, who is fully able to accept and draw
nourishment from both cultural differences and similarities.
 This model fails to recognize the uneven and asymmetrical
development of world cultures, and that people need to cultivate a
specific sense of belongingness in order to survive and enhance
their positive identity and self-esteem.
Y.Y. Kim’s Individualization and
Universalization
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Individualization of cultural identity involves a clear selfdefinition and definition of the other that reflects a capacity
to see one’s connectedness to humanity without being
restricted by categories of social grouping.
Universalization of identity serves as a mind-set that
integrates rather than separates, all the perspectives
represented in intercultural communication. It accentuates
a cognitive orientation based on both human universality
and cultural diversity.
In logic, both individualization and universalization demand
for thorough removal of cultural boundaries, reducing
cultural identity into individual traits or abstract universal
principle.
Two-Directional Extension Model

The Logic of Identity Extension Model
 Extension as a way to increase sharing with others
 Identity extension does not aim at removing cultural
boundaries but rather increasing cultural overlaps and
cultivating intercultural commonalities.
 More sharing facilitates intercultural understanding and
helps develop intercultural reciprocity.
Assumptions of Two-directional
Extension Model (I)

Cultural identity is historically embedded and
socially constructed, both rational and emotional.
 Cultural identity is constructed through historical times
and shaped by specific social conditions; a product of
both rational choices and historical contingencies. It
expresses collective value identification and group
emotional affiliation.
 Cultural identity can not be reduced to individual traits
and can by no means be wholly generalized into
universal principles. Thus in constructing intercultural
identity, we have to take cultural tradition into account
and pay due sympathy to cultural members’ emotional
affiliation.
Assumptions of Two-directional
Extension Model (2)

Group commonality and intercultural differences
constitutes the basis of cultural identity;
intercultural differences can be reduced but never
removed.
 Common fate, common framework of meaning, shared
memory as well as pattern of behavior make collective
action possible and pave the way for the formation of
cultural identity. With the development of intercultural
communication, differences between cultures can be
relatively transcended but can never be absolutely
surmounted.
Assumptions of Two-directional
Extension Model (3)

Accumulated intercultural experiences and reciprocal
intercultural relationships help communicators to
emancipate from ethnocentrism and cultivate intercultural
awareness
 intercultural communicators usually experience two stages of
development: from ethnocentric to ethnorelative－from culturally
oriented to interculturally oriented. Accumulated intercultural
experiences are critical in removing cultural prejudices and
misunderstandings. When people from different cultures become
familiar to each other, they will have more objective understandings
on foreign values and behaviors, and no longer take their own
culture for granted. Better understanding, reflective thinking and
further interaction will make it possible for people to draw upon
each other and promote intercultural reciprocity.
Assumptions of Two-directional
Extension Model (4)
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Cultural framework of meaning makes up historical and
social fact－independent of individual preference and
interpretation, which cannot thoroughly dismantled, but can
be extended and transformed. Extended meaning
framework－meaning framework with cultural overlaps
enhances mutual understanding.
Extended meaning framework leads to more cultural
overlaps; more cultural overlaps will facilitate the process
of intercultural negotiation and help to produce intercultural
agreements.
Assumptions of Two-directional
Extension Model (5a)

Intercultural openness and identity transformation are
finally achieved by the establishment of new
communication ethics ― constructivism－a shift of
paradigm that transcends universalism and relativism.
 The construction of intercultural identity calls for new intercultural
communication ethics. Universalism deems that communication
ethics is acultural and ahistorical, and universal principles and
norms are absolute truths, regardless of real differences that exist
among individuals, cultures, communities, societies or across
historical times. Relativism asserts that different cultures
conceptualize the world in different ways; different cultures should
be equally regarded as true; only placing them in their own contexts
can meanings be understood; there is no universal standard by
which we can apply to assessing the value of cultures, and there is
no basis of joint action.
Assumptions of Two-directional
Extension Model (5b)
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Constructivism holds that human beings are basically
rational, who can engage themselves in diverse cultural
perspectives; although individuals from different cultures
will not automatically arrive at a shared perspective on the
basis of shared values and understandings, they can
construct common ground through a dialogical process.
This process involves reflective, critical thinking, creative
integration of positive values from different cultures, and
the development of a wider conceptual framework. In terms
of identity construction, constructivism takes it as an openended project, in which intercultural communicators
negotiate mutually accepted meanings and their desired
images.
Assumptions of Two-directional
Extension Model (6)

Manageable intercultural tension is necessary in
developing cultural reflexivity and promoting mutual growth.
 The construction of intercultural identity does not imply the
disappearance of intercultural differences or conflicts, but rather the
manageability of these troublesome situations.
 Intercultural differences can not be removed, but they can be
transformed into the dynamics of creation.
 Cultural system has the tendency to reach equilibrium, hence may
become stagnated without outside impact. Manageable intercultural
tesion or conflict encourages people criticise each other, challenge
each other and provides them with new dymanics.
 Manageable intercultural tension or conflict urges people to reflect
on their own weaknesses, participate in reciprocal competition, and
enhance positive identity, which is conducive to mutual growth.
Actually, new ideas are often produced at the interface of
differences.
Conclusion
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Globalization is the largest historical and social movement through which the
world becomes complexly interconnected and structured.
Its basic driving force comes from the dialectical interaction of universality and
particularity.
Intercultural identity plays an indispensable part in bridging the gap between
the global and the local.
It embodies openness to differences, the willingness to engage in strangers’
life experiences, the ability to integrate diverse cultural elements into a
coherent whole, and the potential to achieve intercultural agreements and
identity extension.
The construction of intercultural identity does not lead to the removal of
differences, but ontological openness to cultural others, the extension of
meaning framework and transformation of communication ethics, making it
possible for people to make maximum use of their own cultural tradition and
effectively draw upon foreign resources.
More theoretical and empirical researches are yet to be done.
Thank you!
Dai Xiaodong
[email protected]