From abstraction to empiricism : a new paradigm an intercultural education in crisis
Event Title
International Interdisciplinary Conference: Advances in Comparative Culturology
Location
MBG06, Lam Woo Lecture Theatre, Patrick Lee Wan Keung Academic Building, Lingnan University
Start Date
15-5-2025 3:30 PM
End Date
15-5-2025 4:00 PM
Language
English
Description
In recent years, researchers have made enormous strides in understanding culture and cognitive processes, e.g .: cultural differences in information processing, emotion, motivation, and identity; cognitive biases; empathy and value judgments. By and large, however, these insights have not been incorporated into intercultural education. Instead, intercultural education finds itself in crisis as long-standing approaches have lost credibility. This talk will argue that the empirical insights of cognitive and cultural psychology can help reorient intercultural education away from abstraction and ideology, towards the psychological realities of intercultural experiences. I will discuss research which shows that the beliefs/assumptions of intercultural educators are often at odds with an empirical understanding of cognitive processes. Just as a therapist can help identify cognitive distortions and change how we interact with others, intercultural education can give learners insights into: 1) the influence of culture on our experience of the world, 2) patterns of psychological difference around the world, 3) mental shortcuts (cognitive biases) that lead to intercultural misunderstanding, 4) and, the cognitive processes related to empathy. I will share examples of how this "deep culture" approach is being developed and applied, and invite participants to discuss the future of intercultural education.
Document Type
Presentation
Recommended Citation
Shaules, J. (2025, May 15). From abstraction to empiricism: A new paradigm an intercultural education in crisis. Presented at the International Interdisciplinary Conference: Advances in Comparative Culturology, Lingnan University, Hong Kong.
From abstraction to empiricism : a new paradigm an intercultural education in crisis
MBG06, Lam Woo Lecture Theatre, Patrick Lee Wan Keung Academic Building, Lingnan University
In recent years, researchers have made enormous strides in understanding culture and cognitive processes, e.g .: cultural differences in information processing, emotion, motivation, and identity; cognitive biases; empathy and value judgments. By and large, however, these insights have not been incorporated into intercultural education. Instead, intercultural education finds itself in crisis as long-standing approaches have lost credibility. This talk will argue that the empirical insights of cognitive and cultural psychology can help reorient intercultural education away from abstraction and ideology, towards the psychological realities of intercultural experiences. I will discuss research which shows that the beliefs/assumptions of intercultural educators are often at odds with an empirical understanding of cognitive processes. Just as a therapist can help identify cognitive distortions and change how we interact with others, intercultural education can give learners insights into: 1) the influence of culture on our experience of the world, 2) patterns of psychological difference around the world, 3) mental shortcuts (cognitive biases) that lead to intercultural misunderstanding, 4) and, the cognitive processes related to empathy. I will share examples of how this "deep culture" approach is being developed and applied, and invite participants to discuss the future of intercultural education.
Additional Information
Speaker
Joseph SHAULES (Keio University, Japan)
Joseph Shaules (PhD) has worked in intercultural education in Japan, Mexico and Europe for more than 25 years. He is a Specially Appointed Professor at Keio University's GIC Center, in Tokyo. He is the director of the Japan Intercultural Institute. He teaches in the Tsuda University Graduate Program in TESOL. Books include: Transformation, Embodiment and Wellbeing in Foreign Language Education (Bloomsbury); Language, Culture and The Embodied Mind (Springer); The Intercultural Mind (Intercultural Press); and Deep Culture (Multilingual Matters), the Beginner's Guide to the Deep Culture Experience (Intercultural Press), Impact Issues (Pearson Education), and Identity (Oxford University Press). With funding from the Japanese Ministry of Education, he is currently researching resistance to language and culture learning in Japan. Through the Japan Intercultural Institute he offers Masterclasses which introduce the latest insights of culture, brain and mind sciences to intercultural education. He is also the creator and host of The Deep Culture Podcast, which explores how insights from brain and mind sciences can help us meet the challenges of bridging different cultural worlds.