interculturality

this is the end..

2007-09-06T01:10:00.000-07:00

since I am leaving this country I will take the interculturality idea with me to Bangkok!!

thank you all for your contributions!!

Another Intercultural Experience

2007-02-12T03:56:00.000-08:00

Thursday 15 February
6.30 - 7.30pm

Road Show
Photos and Stories from an exiting bike tour through 18 Countries.
An Irish-French couple is arriving in Phnom Penh and talking about their experiences in 4 years on their bicycles.

Venue: ISPP Library
Secondary Campus

It would be great if we could all meet there..
even if it would slightly drift away from the 'love' theme!!

(the intercultural) concept of love

2007-02-12T03:51:00.000-08:00

LOVE
forms of appearance or disappearance

Love is a many splendored thing,
Love lifts us up where we belong,
All you need is love!
(Moulin Rouge, Elephant Love Medley)

For our first session on LOVE (a very interesting one again) Silvia collected some great and controversial texts. I am still trying to figure out how I can make them available as downloads. (if somebody knows how that works in blogs please tell me the trick!)

A first glimpse of what is to come:

The Five Kinds of Love

LOVE in English has hundreds of meanings in common usage.

“Love” in the Hebrew is expressed by a variety of words which are somewhat broad in their usage:
Dodim an impulse of heart, sexual attraction
Hamed desire, covet, lust
‘Agav impure love, doting, lust
Re’a Companionship, friendship
Hesed mercy and compassion
Hasheq Strong attachment
Ahav desire, inclination or affection, whether human or divine

“Love” in the Greek, is expressed by five distinct words having much more precise meanings:

Desire – Attraction (epithumia)
Longing – Romance (eros)
Belonging – Affection (storge)
Cherishing – Friendship (phile)
Selfless Giving – Christian Love (agape)

History of Love

Emergence of Twentieth Century
Romantic Love
(1900-1930)

• With the partial emergence of capitalism grew a new age of romantic love. America's increasing divorce rate reflected not the failure of love but the increasing refusal of people to live without love and happiness.
• Love patterns of all modern societies were replaced by America's model because so many people were drawn to the romantic love style that combined sexual outlet, affectionate friendship and family functions, all in a single relationship.
• Romantic attraction not only became desirable, but became the only acceptable basis for choosing a life-long partner.
• Romantic love was made possible by capitalism and the industrial revolution. With romantic love, the sexual desires of both partners could be satisfied within marriage. All the tenderness and excitement of love could coexist with household cares and child rearing. Romantic love was the most difficult and complex human relationship ever attempted... but the most appealing and satisfying.
• Soviets detached individual values from sex (e.g., they promoted the concept that sex was no more than drinking a glass of water).
• The modern Sexual Revolution discarded the 19th Century prudish and patriarchal Victorian-Christian patterns. Sexual liberation made achievement of sexual pleasure increasingly important.
• Children were no longer an economic asset, but a costly luxury valuable only for love. For example, in 1776, Adam Smith estimated an American child was worth [sterling]100 in profit before he left home; by 1910 a city child cost thousands of dollars; by 1944 a child cost about $16 thousand to raise to adulthood; by 1959 a child cost about $25 thousand to raise; by 1975 a child cost about $75 thousand to raise. In 1985, costs for raising a child to adulthood averaged around $150 thousand. Allowing for inflation, future cost will be much higher.
• Isadora Duncan (1878-1927) was a symbol of flaming feminism with her free-love and unwed motherhood stances. She claimed that sexual love should be ecstatic for women. Margaret Sanger staged a heroic fight for birth control claiming that a woman's body belonged to her alone. She published birth control information in 1914 and opened birth control clinics in 1916. Catholic elements had her arrested and jailed. But here work spread. By 1930, over 300 birth control clinics had been established.
• Margaret Sanger separated lovemaking from procreation. This brought the traditional ideal of a monogamous, faithful marriage under attack.
• Complete freedom by each partner was advanced by intellectuals such as H.G. Wells, Bertrand Russell, Havelock Ellis, Judge Ben Lindsay.
• Havelock Ellis offered ideas in 1900 that were remarkably similar to those advanced in 1973 by the O'Neills in their book, Open Marriage.
• The sexual Revolution also stressed the mechanical aspects of the sex act. In Marie Stopes' book, Married Love (1918), the women's right to orgasm was promoted. Orgasm was described as an end-in-itself. Wilhelm Reich proposed that orgasm failure was the cause of major mental and physical diseases. He even advocated masturbation to combat cancer via flow of sexual energy.

Modern Romantic Love
(1930-Present)

• Free love and open marriage developed in the 20th Century along with progressive polygamy via repeated marriage and divorce. Sexual enjoyment was accepted as a human right.
• The need for reassurance of one's personal self-esteem made this new form of romantic love popular and desired. Themes of love, heart- break, and eventual happiness became popular and dominated the soap operas.
• Dating started in the 1920s as a new way of mate selection made necessary by city life. Shy, passive femininity was being discarded. The crucial feature of dating was freedom from commitment while young people learned and experimented.
• Dating was criticized by many sociologists and social "intellectuals" as a loveless, competitive contest. But dating was a healthy breakthrough and generally a cheerful and happy activity. Dating was an educational process, leading from playful heterosexual behavior to companionship and love.
• Premarital relationships became more open and intimate than relationships of the past. Potential partners were able to know each other much more deeply through intimate dating.
• This new romanticism was at once both idealistically romantic and practical.
• Many conditions were similar to Roman times (economic and legal emancipation of women, well-to-do city life, children being a luxury rather than an asset, and sexual enjoyment deemed a right for all). One profound difference existed. Romans moved away from married life while Americans became more marriage-minded than ever before. And when marriage failed, Americans would divorce and head right back into another marriage.
• Most sociologists have strongly criticized romantic love while praising conjugal love. Their attacks are, however, distorted and out of context. They project romantic love as it was idealized in the medieval period when love could not exist within marriage.
• Romantic feelings are not only for new loves and adolescents, but are also for long-married couples.
• Women have gained the right to be equal to men, but many women are afraid of the demands and challenges of being an equal; other women hold the erroneous fear that equality might cost them the chance for love and marriage.
• Inequality for females is no longer a matter of law. Men and women now have essentially the same educational and economic opportunities, but most American wives still do not strive for high achievement in the major areas of value production, i.e., business, science, medicine.
• To the average man, his job is what he is. To the average woman, a job is only to make money. And the average American housewife suffers from a chronic, low-grade dissatisfaction, diminished self-esteem, and increasing boredom.
• Most women are confused about their "role" and do not really know what they want to be in life. Surveys of two college campuses indicated that 40% of the coeds admitted "playing dumb" with interesting men because many men feel threatened by overtly intelligent women (M. Kamarovsky, Women in the Modern World, Little, Brown & Co., 1953).
• Modern love makes sense and is exercising its immense appeal all over the world.
• Modern romantic love is almost everyone's goal. Today, the value and purpose of romantic love is, above all else, directed toward the fulfillment of major emotional needs and happiness.
• An ominous rise of overt born-again Christianity and fundamentalist religions signal a turn back toward malevolent views of life, love, sex, and women.

Future Romantic Love
(1985-2080)

• Instruments of force and coercion are identified and eliminated through a philosophical, intellectual, and business revolution. All forms of mysticism and neocheating are identified and exposed as destructive frauds and are rejected. The life and property rights of the individual are fully recognized and protected. Total physical, emotional, and intellectual freedom is possible. Romantic love, psychuous pleasures and long-range happiness are experienced by most people and available to all people through Neo-Tech and the Psychuous Pleasures Discoveries.

a session on LOVE

2007-02-02T00:45:00.000-08:00

Hey Interculturalities!!!
it is so much fun to work with you.. thank you all for this very nice session yesterday

the experiment is rolling!!

our next session will be on Thursday from 6 to 7.30pm
we will divide all our sessions as followed:
6.00 to 6.30 body work
6.30 to 7.00 techniques
7.00 to 7.30 theme work

next theme:
Valentines Day & the Concept of Love

Saint Valentine's Day or Valentine's Day falls on February 14. It is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other; sending Valentine's cards, candy, or donations to charities, often anonymously. It is very common to present flowers on Valentine's Day. The holiday is named after two men, both Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

The day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines". Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards. The Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. The association estimates that women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

In the United States, the marketing of Valentine's Day has tagged it as a "Hallmark holiday".

The Concept of "Interculturality"

2007-02-02T00:43:00.000-08:00

thanks to Sabrina for this input!!

What is Interculturalism?

Interculturalism is the interaction between cultures, exchange and communication where the individual recognizes and accepts the reciprocity of the other's culture. The prefix 'inter' suggests interaction, sharing, complementarities, recognition of the culture of the other without it being divided between other cultures or the culture of the host country, also called the norm culture. In other words, interculturality can be seen as a way of being, a view of the world and other people, a kind of egalitarian relationship between human beings and peoples - it is the opposite of ethnocentrism. Interculturality is bringing multiculturalism a step further.

Interculturality versus Multiculturalism:
Today, we can say that many societies across the world are multicultural. Migration, movement of people as well as immigration have reshaped the society.
Multiculturalism aims to be a response to the reality of today's society. It takes into account new cultures without however making real bridges between the host /norm culture and the new culture brought in by new citizens.
Multiculturalism principles and policies have, up to now, focussed on:
• State recognition of the cultural plurality which exists at the heart of society.
• The reduction of the obstacles that hinder the social participation of marginalized cultural groups.
• Support for the reproduction of cultures.
To some extent, multiculturalism is an addition of different cultural particularities without a real coherence between the parts of a highly fragmented whole.
The question therefore is: Is the model of multiculturalism, which was born in the 19th century, still an appropriate model in a world where everybody is searching for values and codes which allow them to ensure good relations with others and with society?

Interculturalism's Modus Operandi:
The intercultural approach is commonly marked by three stages:
1. Decentralization: Taking a more distant view of oneself, trying to define one's frames of reference as an individual with a culture and sub-cultures blended together in one's personal development. Through this reflection on oneself, realizing what is relative about one's observations and making sense of one's reading references.
2. Penetration of the other's system: Getting out of oneself to see things from the Other's perspective. It is an attitude of opening up, a personal effort of inquiry.
3. Negotiation: Finding the necessary minimum compromise and understanding to avoid confrontation.
More concretely, interculturality can happen in two major ways in order to ensure the learning of the realities of one's culture and not just conceptions and discourses regarding the culture of the other:
• Intercultural learning: meeting the other in order to improve communication and encourage learning and understanding of the other's culture.
• Exchanges with the country of origin: to establish joint training between actors from the country of origin and from the host country.

Birth & Birthday Rituals

2007-01-29T23:17:00.000-08:00

First Session Preparation:
Birth – Birthdays – intercultural rituals

Birthday
Different people have incorporated their own rituals into the birthday celebration, based on spiritual beliefs and ancient cultural traditions. Two of the most significant factors throughout history, however, have been geographic location and spiritual beliefs.

In pagan cultures, people feared evil spirits - especially on their birthdays. It was a common belief that evil spirits were more dangerous to a person when he or she experienced a change in their daily life, such as turning a year older. As a result, birthdays were merry occasions celebrated with family and friends, who surrounded the person of honor with laughter and joy in order to protect them from evil. Instead of gifts, most guests brought positive thoughts and happy wishes for the upcoming year. However, if well-wishers did bring gifts, it was considered an especially good influence for the birthday person.

A selection of some unusual celebration rituals

Africa
Each year, Asante people in Ghana celebrate "krada" (meaning "Soul Day") on the day of the week that they were born. This observance involves a cleansing ritual intended to purify the inner soul. On a person's krada, he or she wakes up early and washes using a special leaf soaked overnight in water. An afternoon feast with family and friends is held in the person’s honor, and the celebrant usually dresses in clothing with a white background.

Latin America
In several Latino cultures, a girl's 15th birthday, called a "Quinceanera", marks her passage into adulthood. This celebration often includes a religious ceremony at church, in which the young lady recognizes her heritage and her spiritual journey. Many Quinceaneras include a candle-lighting ceremony, where a young woman illuminates her parents' candles using the flame of her own candle. In turn, her parents light the candles of their parents, and so on. In some Latin American countries, a young woman changes her shoes from flats to heels during the ceremony.

Mexican birthday celebrations feature piñatas filled with candy and small toys. At birthday parties, children take turns hitting the piñata, a hollow figure shaped like an animal, flower, automobile, or other object that is suspended from the ceiling. While blindfolded, kids hit the piñata with a stick until it breaks open. When the treasures rain down on the floor, everyone scrambles to collect them. People believe that the child who breaks open the piñata will have good luck.

Children in Argentina receive pulls on the earlobe for their birthday. Traditionally, they get one pull for each year of their life.

Middle East
At an Israeli child's birthday party, he or she sits in a special chair decorated with fresh flowers and greens. To celebrate the child's age, family and friends gather around the chair, lifting and raising it once for each year of life - plus one more for good luck!

Europe
"Birthday bumps" are given to Irish children in honor of their birthday. While held upside down, the birthday celebrant is gently bumped on the floor one time for every year of age - plus one extra "bump" for good luck!

Norwegian children dance in front of their class with a friend while the rest of the students sing a happy birthday song. Norway's national flag is also displayed outside the home of a birthday person. When important people have birthdays, the streets in Norway are decorated with flags.

United States of America
The majority of American children, however, celebrate birthdays with a cake topped with lighted candles. Most families use the candles to represent how old a person is turning, (i.e., one candle for a one-year-old, etc.). When the cake is set before the guest of honor, he or she is supposed to make a wish (without telling anyone what it is) and blow out the candles. If all the candles go out with one breath, it's believed that the wish will come true!

Some children receive birthday "spankings", which were originally based on superstition, but are now more a birthday prank or joke. Hundreds of years ago, spankings were given for each year of the birthday child's life. Beyond that number, a child received another spanking to grow on, one to live on, one to eat on, one to be happy on, and yet another spanking to get married on. At one time, it was considered back luck if the birthday celebrant was not spanked because it was believed to "soften up the body for the tomb."

welcome note

2007-01-25T19:09:00.000-08:00

The Idea is born.. the project has started..
and I have to write an introduction on this point..

coming soon

During this week I will place a book shelf.. with books and good links contributing to our work..
and a catchword collection with ideas for upcoming training session themes..

*to comment or suggest: please click on the little pen @ the end of each post and publish for everybody or write a direct email to me*

AND interculturality DOES exist!!

Hakan Gürses
Although interculturality is not a new word, the context in which it is used as an alternative concept for multiculturality, however, is rather new. Whereas in the past two decades, MultiKulti was demonized as a bugaboo of parallel existance of cultures that were "foreign" to each other, interculturality on the other hand - by the very first syllable of the word - promises a "cooperation" of said cultures.

The term "interculturality" encompasses many different concepts, which may not be as obvious as the superficial understanding of the word might lead one to believe.

The following (and other) questions therefore need to be answered prior to a great celebration of interculturality: What is an "intercultural dialog," and who has it with whom? What does the "acceptance of cultures" mean? Is interculturality merely an acceptance of the "foreign," or is it more than that? Where are the limits to this acceptance, and who defines them? What do we mean by "cultures" - regions, nations, points of the compass, or religions?

Christoph Nickenig
This novel situation, in which two forms of interculturality, namely a predominantly ethnic-historical one and one triggered by migration, intersect and overlap, offers an opportunity to move on past the narcissism and the one-sided fixation on local conditions towards a true and multilayered dialog that transcends language borders and groups.