Multiculturalism, Contact Zones, and the Political Core of Intercultural Education

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From mid-semester onward students frequently tell me that suddenly everything going on in society seems related to what we’ve been discussing in our class, Intercultural Education. To me this is a sign of deep learning—they now engage differently with previously familiar phenomena. Below are some issues brought up in our discussions: the complex relationship between immigration and the historical, economic, and political context of the society; the vestiges of colonial mentality in contemporary Portuguese society; the symbolic power of words in labeling people—for example, using “that black”instead of “that person,” “a Gypsy” instead of “someone,” or headlines denouncing crimes by “an eastern European immigrant,” thus associating immigration with criminality; the symbolic relationship between cultural dynamics and cultural hybridization—the Portuguese generally perceive themselves and their culture as cohesive and homogenous, even though our national heritage contains traces of innumerable cultures; universality of celebrating births, honoring the dead, educating children, and cultivating identities, despite their varying expressions in different cultural settings; the subtle yet persistent stereotypes, myths, and preconceptions of the Other, even in societies like Portugal, that is claimed to be open and hospitable; and lastly, perception of certain cultures or people as “good” or “bad,” depending on circumstances or historical context.