Encounters between East and West – serie

This volume revisits the notions of Orientalism, Occidentalism and, to a certain extent, Reverse Orientalism/Occidentalism in the 21st century, adopting post-modern, constructionist and potentially non-essentialising approaches. The representations of the ‘cultural Other’ in education, literature and the arts are examined by scholars working in Australia, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and the USA.Vinyl compilations, TV series, novels, institutional discourses and surveys, amongst others, are examined so as to better understand how people construct their identity in relation to an imagined and idealised Other.This book will appeal to all researchers and students interested in cultural identity and stereotypes of the ‘East’ and the ‘West’, in particular in the fields of academic mobility, cultural studies, intercultural education, postcolonial literature and media studies.

This volume revisits the notions of Orientalism, Occidentalism and, to a certain extent, Reverse Orientalism/Occidentalism in the 21st century, adopting post-modern, constructionist and potentially non-essentialising approaches. The representations of the ‘cultural Other’ in education, literature and the arts are examined by scholars working in Australia, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and the USA.Vinyl compilations, TV series, novels, institutional discourses and surveys, amongst others, are examined so as to better understand how people construct their identity in relation to an imagined and idealised Other.This book will appeal to all researchers and students interested in cultural identity and stereotypes of the ‘East’ and the ‘West’, in particular in the fields of academic mobility, cultural studies, intercultural education, postcolonial literature and media studies.

A major objective of this book is to identify the key determinants of the “East” and the “West” in the field of intercultural communication. It examines but also counter-attacks essentialist and culturalist analyses of intercultural communication between China and the rest of the world. Offering a cross-country examination and comparison of drought awareness and experience, this book shows two fields of research, which are complementary but rarely found side by side, i.e. the Arts and Intercultural Encounters, serve as illustrations for theoretical and methodological discussions about intercultural communication between China and the West. Scholarly and media discourses will find this work thought-provoking, instructive and informative.

This book is a distinctive collection on transcultural encounters in knowledge production and consumption, which are situated at the heart of pursuit for cognitive justice. It uniquely represents transcultural dialogues between academics of Australia, China and Malaysia, located on the borders of different knowledge systems. The uniqueness of this volume lies in the convergence of transcultural perspectives, which bring together diverse disciplines as cultural studies, education, media, translation theory and practice, arts, musicology, political science and literature. Each chapter explores the possibility of decolonising the knowledge production space as well as research methodologies. The chapters engage with ‘Chinese’ and ‘western’ thought on transcultural subjects and collectively articulate a new politics of difference, de-centring the dominant epistemologies and research paradigms in the global academia. Refracted through transcultural theories and practices, adapted to diversetraditions, histories and regional affiliations, and directed toward an international transcultural audience, the volume demonstrates expansive possibilities in knowledge production and contributes to the understanding of and between research scholarship which deals with collective societal and cultural challenges within the globalised world we live in. It would be of interest to researchers engaged with current critical debates in general and global scholars in transcultural and intercultural studies in specific.

A major objective of this book is to identify the key determinants of the “East” and the “West” in the field of intercultural communication. It examines but also counter-attacks essentialist and culturalist analyses of intercultural communication between China and the rest of the world. Offering a cross-country examination and comparison of drought awareness and experience, this book shows two fields of research, which are complementary but rarely found side by side, i.e. the Arts and Intercultural Encounters, serve as illustrations for theoretical and methodological discussions about intercultural communication between China and the West. Scholarly and media discourses will find this work thought-provoking, instructive and informative.

This book is a distinctive collection on transcultural encounters in knowledge production and consumption, which are situated at the heart of pursuit for cognitive justice. It uniquely represents transcultural dialogues between academics of Australia, China and Malaysia, located on the borders of different knowledge systems. The uniqueness of this volume lies in the convergence of transcultural perspectives, which bring together diverse disciplines as cultural studies, education, media, translation theory and practice, arts, musicology, political science and literature. Each chapter explores the possibility of decolonising the knowledge production space as well as research methodologies. The chapters engage with ‘Chinese’ and ‘western’ thought on transcultural subjects and collectively articulate a new politics of difference, de-centring the dominant epistemologies and research paradigms in the global academia. Refracted through transcultural theories and practices, adapted to diversetraditions, histories and regional affiliations, and directed toward an international transcultural audience, the volume demonstrates expansive possibilities in knowledge production and contributes to the understanding of and between research scholarship which deals with collective societal and cultural challenges within the globalised world we live in. It would be of interest to researchers engaged with current critical debates in general and global scholars in transcultural and intercultural studies in specific.

This book provides original ideas and practical recommendations for educators in a post-pandemic world. We live in a world that has been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. Students around the globe have been besieged by disruptions that threaten not only their academic learning but also their mental, emotional, and interpersonal well-being. In the midst of pressing and mounting challenges, how can schools ensure the total wellness of all their students? Beyond reactive, piecemeal, and short-term measures, how can schools enact mindful education that pays attention to wholeness in every student? Extending the current research on well-being and mindfulness, this book draws insights from Confucian and Christian traditions. These two traditions have been selected as they are widely seen to represent, and have impacted, Eastern and Western civilisations respectively for millennia. Informed and inspired by Confucian and Christian perspectives, this book proposes that mindfulness is an orientation towards wholeness, where one experiences he (harmony) and shalom (peace). Mindful education is realised through:    A school community of ren (humanity) and agape (love);  A transforming curriculum that centres on dao (way) and imago dei (god’s image);  Empathic teachers who are motivated by shu (putting oneself in the other’s place) and the Golden Rule (do to others as you would have them do to you); and Self-directed learners who develop themselves through xiuji (self-cultivation) and spiritual disciplines.  Applying ancient wisdom to contemporary settings, this book on promoting student well-being through mindful education is a useful resource for policymakers, educators, researchers, and general readers.

This book provides original ideas and practical recommendations for educators in a post-pandemic world. We live in a world that has been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. Students around the globe have been besieged by disruptions that threaten not only their academic learning but also their mental, emotional, and interpersonal well-being. In the midst of pressing and mounting challenges, how can schools ensure the total wellness of all their students? Beyond reactive, piecemeal, and short-term measures, how can schools enact mindful education that pays attention to wholeness in every student? Extending the current research on well-being and mindfulness, this book draws insights from Confucian and Christian traditions. These two traditions have been selected as they are widely seen to represent, and have impacted, Eastern and Western civilisations respectively for millennia. Informed and inspired by Confucian and Christian perspectives, this book proposes that mindfulness is an orientation towards wholeness, where one experiences he (harmony) and shalom (peace). Mindful education is realised through:    A school community of ren (humanity) and agape (love);  A transforming curriculum that centres on dao (way) and imago dei (god’s image);  Empathic teachers who are motivated by shu (putting oneself in the other’s place) and the Golden Rule (do to others as you would have them do to you); and Self-directed learners who develop themselves through xiuji (self-cultivation) and spiritual disciplines.  Applying ancient wisdom to contemporary settings, this book on promoting student well-being through mindful education is a useful resource for policymakers, educators, researchers, and general readers.

This book is a unique and original contribution to the knowledge of transcultural engagement between the ‘East’ and the ‘West’; notably between China and Australia.The collection explores how the global system universally interrelates East and West, showing how this interrelatedness offers the promise of progress but can evoke the counteracting trend of tribal nationalism. The book addresses the connectedness of human progress by exploring how globalization creates new dynamic interfaces between East and West and how rather than clashes of culture there are growing forms of reciprocity between civilizations and a shared awareness of how humanity is connected through knowledge and international mobility.

This book is a unique and original contribution to the knowledge of transcultural engagement between the ‘East’ and the ‘West’; notably between China and Australia.The collection explores how the global system universally interrelates East and West, showing how this interrelatedness offers the promise of progress but can evoke the counteracting trend of tribal nationalism. The book addresses the connectedness of human progress by exploring how globalization creates new dynamic interfaces between East and West and how rather than clashes of culture there are growing forms of reciprocity between civilizations and a shared awareness of how humanity is connected through knowledge and international mobility.

This book urges readers to develop a radical capacity to unthink and rethink interculturality, through multiple, pluri-perspectival and honest dialogues between the authors, and their students. This book does not give interculturality a normative scaffolding but envisages it differently by identifying some of its polyphonic textures. China’s rich engagement with interculturality serves to support the importance of being curious about other ways of thinking about the notion beyond the ‘West’ only. As such, the issues of culture, identity, language, translation, intercultural competence and silent transformations (amongst others) are re-evaluated in a different light. This is a highly informative and carefully presented book, providing scientific insights for readers with an interest in interculturality.

This book urges readers to develop a radical capacity to unthink and rethink interculturality, through multiple, pluri-perspectival and honest dialogues between the authors, and their students. This book does not give interculturality a normative scaffolding but envisages it differently by identifying some of its polyphonic textures. China’s rich engagement with interculturality serves to support the importance of being curious about other ways of thinking about the notion beyond the ‘West’ only. As such, the issues of culture, identity, language, translation, intercultural competence and silent transformations (amongst others) are re-evaluated in a different light. This is a highly informative and carefully presented book, providing scientific insights for readers with an interest in interculturality.

This book continues the author’s long-term reflections (over 20 years of scholarship and experience in intercultural communication education) around the fascinating and yet contestable notion of interculturality in education. As an unstable and polysemic notion, interculturality deserves to be opened up again and again and there is a need to engage with it continuously, observing, critiquing and problematizing its complexities. This book urges researchers, students and interculturalists to take the time to think carefully and deeply about interculturality and to find inspiration beyond the dominating ‘Western’ ideological world of intercultural research and education.This book starts from short fragments written by the author for himself over a period of one year. In these short statements and notes about interculturality, the author reflects creatively on the questions he had in mind at the time of writing and offers some (temporary) answers, which, in turn, are questionedand revised. Over the 1000 fragments that the author wrote, he selected about 100, for which he wrote commentaries, referring to and reviewing current research and debates on interculturality in the process. One of the specificities of the book is to be highly multidisciplinary to help us get used to looking for inspiration in other fields of research and creativity.The fragments can be read randomly – the reader may open the book at any page and pick any fragment. The author suggests reading each individual fragment first and then the accompanying explanatory texts. While reading them, the reader is also invited to reflect on any potential addition to what the author wrote – anything they might dis-/agree with, anything they would have wanted to discuss with the author. Questions have been added at the end of each chapter for readers to reflect on and to enrich their own criticality and reflexivity. The book serves as continuous guidance for engaging with interculturality.

This book continues the author’s long-term reflections (over 20 years of scholarship and experience in intercultural communication education) around the fascinating and yet contestable notion of interculturality in education. As an unstable and polysemic notion, interculturality deserves to be opened up again and again and there is a need to engage with it continuously, observing, critiquing and problematizing its complexities. This book urges researchers, students and interculturalists to take the time to think carefully and deeply about interculturality and to find inspiration beyond the dominating ‘Western’ ideological world of intercultural research and education.This book starts from short fragments written by the author for himself over a period of one year. In these short statements and notes about interculturality, the author reflects creatively on the questions he had in mind at the time of writing and offers some (temporary) answers, which, in turn, are questionedand revised. Over the 1000 fragments that the author wrote, he selected about 100, for which he wrote commentaries, referring to and reviewing current research and debates on interculturality in the process. One of the specificities of the book is to be highly multidisciplinary to help us get used to looking for inspiration in other fields of research and creativity.The fragments can be read randomly – the reader may open the book at any page and pick any fragment. The author suggests reading each individual fragment first and then the accompanying explanatory texts. While reading them, the reader is also invited to reflect on any potential addition to what the author wrote – anything they might dis-/agree with, anything they would have wanted to discuss with the author. Questions have been added at the end of each chapter for readers to reflect on and to enrich their own criticality and reflexivity. The book serves as continuous guidance for engaging with interculturality.

This book starts from the premise that honest and constructive dialogue between scholars and educators of interculturality, especially from different geopolitical spheres, is needed more than ever. The book is about the important and yet contested notion of interculturality—a notion used in different fields of research. It was co-written by two scholars who have never met before and who got to know each other intellectually and personally in the process of writing this book, using interculturality as a looking-glass. (Re-)negotiating meanings, ideologies and their own identities in writing the chapters together, the authors enter into multifaceted dialogues and intercommunicate, sharing while accepting disagreements. The co-authors’ different profiles in terms of geography, generation, status, preferred paradigms and multilingual identity (amongst others) are put forward, confronted, and mirrored in the different chapters, leading to the joint negotiation of aspirations concerning interculturality in communication and education. While describing their current takes on interculturality they also conduct autocritiques of their past and present engagement with the notion. The following questions are also addressed: Who is talking the most about interculturality in the world today? Whose voices are not heard? How to disrupt current hegemonies around the notion for real? And how to promote epistemological plurality in the discourses and narratives shaping our understandings of the notion? Autocritiquing is proposed as a way of unthinking and rethinking interculturality ad infinitum. This book argues that engaging with the notion requires constant self-reflection, examining one’s positionality and intersectionality, listening to the voices that one projects onto the world of, e.g., research and education, and operating transformations in one’s thinking, trying out new paradigms, ideologies and methods.

This book starts from the premise that honest and constructive dialogue between scholars and educators of interculturality, especially from different geopolitical spheres, is needed more than ever. The book is about the important and yet contested notion of interculturality—a notion used in different fields of research. It was co-written by two scholars who have never met before and who got to know each other intellectually and personally in the process of writing this book, using interculturality as a looking-glass. (Re-)negotiating meanings, ideologies and their own identities in writing the chapters together, the authors enter into multifaceted dialogues and intercommunicate, sharing while accepting disagreements. The co-authors’ different profiles in terms of geography, generation, status, preferred paradigms and multilingual identity (amongst others) are put forward, confronted, and mirrored in the different chapters, leading to the joint negotiation of aspirations concerning interculturality in communication and education. While describing their current takes on interculturality they also conduct autocritiques of their past and present engagement with the notion. The following questions are also addressed: Who is talking the most about interculturality in the world today? Whose voices are not heard? How to disrupt current hegemonies around the notion for real? And how to promote epistemological plurality in the discourses and narratives shaping our understandings of the notion? Autocritiquing is proposed as a way of unthinking and rethinking interculturality ad infinitum. This book argues that engaging with the notion requires constant self-reflection, examining one’s positionality and intersectionality, listening to the voices that one projects onto the world of, e.g., research and education, and operating transformations in one’s thinking, trying out new paradigms, ideologies and methods.

This book offers a snapshot of interculturality as a complex, unstable and highly political object of research and education when it locates at the centre of multifaceted dialogues between teachers and students; students and students; teachers, students, scholars and readers. The context of the book is a Chinese course on intercultural communication education where students engage with local and international teachers. By listening to the intriguing and stimulating voices of these students in dialogue with the teachers, the reader also has the opportunity to enter the intercultural world of Chinese youth, beyond stereotypes. The unique approach proposed in the book is of interest to students, teachers of intercultural communication education, teacher educators, researchers and anyone wishing to build up supercriticality in relation to the fascinating notion of interculturality. The book contains 15 chapters and revolves around five main dialogues between the students and their teachers. Following each dialogue, the floor is given to the students to react to the dialogues and to share their views on questions that emerged from the main dialogues. The book conveys the authors’ excitement about approaching interculturality in supercritical ways, engaging in the process with multiple voices.

This book offers a snapshot of interculturality as a complex, unstable and highly political object of research and education when it locates at the centre of multifaceted dialogues between teachers and students; students and students; teachers, students, scholars and readers. The context of the book is a Chinese course on intercultural communication education where students engage with local and international teachers. By listening to the intriguing and stimulating voices of these students in dialogue with the teachers, the reader also has the opportunity to enter the intercultural world of Chinese youth, beyond stereotypes. The unique approach proposed in the book is of interest to students, teachers of intercultural communication education, teacher educators, researchers and anyone wishing to build up supercriticality in relation to the fascinating notion of interculturality. The book contains 15 chapters and revolves around five main dialogues between the students and their teachers. Following each dialogue, the floor is given to the students to react to the dialogues and to share their views on questions that emerged from the main dialogues. The book conveys the authors’ excitement about approaching interculturality in supercritical ways, engaging in the process with multiple voices.