| Subject: |
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Re: Transculturalism and interculturalism |
| Name: |
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Wim van Binsbergen |
| Date Posted: |
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Feb 5, 05 - 2:31 PM |
| Email: |
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binsbergen@fsw.leidenuniv.nl |
| Message: |
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Dear Dr Boswell
Thank you for your kind words. In my view, there is a distinct difference between transculturalism and interculturalism.
In transculturalism, the assumption is that it is possible for us, as researchers, policy makers, or social actors, to occupy a place beyond culture, from where it is possible for us to sort out the effect of culture on our world-view, procedures for the establishment of facts, scientific analysis, and to base our perceptions and actions on fundamental and universal principles that do not reflect our cultural biases.
In interculturalism, we accept that our thoughts, perceptions, actions, evaluations, are culturally determined, and we yet try to make up for such inevitable onesidedness as this condition entails. interculturalism seems to be the more realistic, humble, and practical perspective. we try to find some in-between, intermediate position, even though we realise that is very difficult.
the claim of occupying a privileged position beyond culture is naive and hegemonic (the privileged position tends to coincide with ethnocentric myopic).
on the other hand, once we accept that it is impossible to have any culture-free access to perception, truth, value, etc., and that all we can do is to try and find some intermediate humble openness towards the cultural other, we may be able to take a more relative view of our own and others' cultural orientations. we may then accept that, given the shared history of Anatomically Modern Man in the course of the last 150,000 years (and Anatomically Modern Man is a category to which any living human being belongs), there may be very considerable convergence and kinship between our various cultural orientations however different these may appear on the surface.
culture is a machine for the production of difference for difference's sake, and like language difference much of it springs from the tendency to articulate and protect a localised gene pool -- much enhanced by the discreteness and bounded nature of words in human language.
i tend to use a notion of interculturality, but i rather shun from transculturality.
the only valid transcultural condition i can envisage is that of mysticism, trance, ecstacy, meditation etc., where a communication seems to be made with the Self that is beyond individual human existence and even beyond distinct collective, group-wise human existence; and this may point to a way to overcome the divisive and conflictive tendency inherent in cultural difference: not by generating words to describe and explain away the difference, but by contemplating shared humanity and shared belonging to the world at large, beyond words.
i hope this answers your question somewhat. with kindest regards
wim van binsbergen |
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