Abstract
This study conceptualizes and explores the development of intercultural competence at higher education level underpinned by social imaginaries. A comparison is done of the culturally and religiously pluralistic imaginaries that shape a group of South African and Italian higher education students engaged in a virtual, international exchange. Both groups of students’ identities have been moulded by intersecting social and cultural histories and multiple social belongings. The South African students have been raised within a pluralistic context influenced strongly by African tribal and religious knowledge, colonial Christian roots and modern, Western thought. Whilst the Italian students grapple with an upbringing that is both secular and entrenched in Catholicism. Interdisciplinary literature is reviewed to present an integrated understanding of the social imaginaries within which these students function. An analysis is provided of how these imaginaries influence and shape their hybrid identities, how technology is used to development of intercultural competence, the aims of decolonisation and perceived power relations within the context of international higher education virtual exchanges. This study indicates that, when viewed through a cultural and religious pluralistic lens, the social imaginaries of these students provides an alternative approach to the rhetoric frequently attached to intercultural competence and decolonisation. It is illustrated that both these aspects should be developed within the framework of the relevant identity, morality and social imaginary discourse. This will contribute to developing critical students that can effectively function within the complexity and ambiguity of a globalised, pluralistic world.
Presenters
Lize Mari MitchellLecturer and Project Manager, School of Law and the International Office, University of Limpopo, South Africa
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Social Imaginaries, Virtual Exchange, Higher Education, Intercultural Competence
