En la lengua del Otro: La Unión Europea y el diálogo intercultural como instrumento de exclusión = In the language of the other: the European Union and intercultural dialogue as a tool of exclusion

Aman, R. (2012) En la lengua del Otro: La Unión Europea y el diálogo intercultural como instrumento de exclusión = In the language of the other: the European Union and intercultural dialogue as a tool of exclusion. Universitas: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas, 10(17), pp. 51-68.

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Abstract

The present article focuses on problematizing the European Union’s claim that intercultural dialogue constitutes an advocated method of talking through cultural boundaries based on mutual empathy and non-domination. More precisely, the aim is to analyze who is being constructed as counterparts of the intercultural dialogue through the discourse produced by the EU. To answer the question, European policy documents on intercultural dialogue are analyzed drawing on a postcolonial perspective. As an interpretation, the EU appropriates historical symbols and colonial figures of thought to authorize its current objectives. Within the realm of the EU, Europeans are portrayed as having an a priori historical existence, while the ones excluded from this notion are evoked to demonstrate its difference in comparison to the European one. The results show that subjects not considered as Europeans serve as markers of the multicultural present of the space. Thus, intercultural dialogue seems to consolidate differences between European and Other – the ‘We’ and ‘Them’ in the dialogue – rather than, as in line with its purpose, bringing subjects together

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Aman, Dr Robert
Authors: Aman, R.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Education
Journal Name:Universitas: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas
Publisher:Universidad Politecnica Salesiana del Ecuador
ISSN:1390-3837
ISSN (Online):1390-3837

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