Diversities? Inequalities? Challenges in the Construction of an Inclusive Society
Faro, Portugal | School of Education and Communication, University of the Algarve
Shafilea Ahmed, Adam Goodes, Rachel Jeantel, Torres Strait Islanders, the Miwok people: names and communities lost in the interstices of cultures, in the fissures of the mosaic that forms the complex cultural pattern of contemporary societies. Is intercultural exchange truly possible in societies riddled with social and cultural tensions of every sort?
Identities are now more fluid, less easily definable, demanding new articulations, new dialogues. And yet, some communities seem unable to engage in a dialogue traversing cultural borders and fostering the appreciation of diversity as the cornerstone of a more just and humane society.
Multicultural and intercultural interactions have become part of everyday life and have brought new challenges for society as well as for education practices and educational politics. In this context, words such as «multicultural» and «intercultural» are often voiced and the number of publications on this topic has increased over the last decades. Despite this fact, there is still a great need for research in this area to help us deal with and overcome the challenges placed by the diversity and inequality in a society that we wish to be inclusive.
The aim of the conference is to explore these themes. We, therefore, welcome contributions on the following topics:
- Anglo-Portuguese and Portuguese-American relations
- The day-to-day experience of multiculturalism in language and literature teaching contexts
- Intercultural misunderstandings and mishaps in the context of English-speaking countries
- Intercultural competence: definitions and theoretical concepts
- Ongoing research and approaches on teaching related to multicultural issues
- Cultural and language issues related to migration
Paper submission deadline is March 7, 2014. You can send your proposal with a clear title, an abstract (up to 300 words) and a short bionote to apeaa2014@ualg.pt.