Building Barriers and Bridges: Interculturalism in the 21st Century

Book excerpt: This volume was first published by Inter-Disciplinary Press in 2014. Building Barriers and Bridges: Interculturalism in the 21st Century is a compilation of perspectives on the theme of Interculturalism and Identity by nineteen authors from thirteen countries on four continents. It represents a broad panorama of views on pivotal issues of identity, trans-and intercultural concepts, and cross-cultural community building. Presented in three parts: Culture and Identity; Constructing and Deconstructing Barriers; and Experienced-based Transformations, Building Barriers and Bridges moves from formal definitions to strategies to success stories in daily life around our globe. The book encompasses a broad array of perspectives in the social, the economic, the political, and the personal realm through more than scholarly evidence: One is invited to join a journey over the topography of identity and models for trans-cultural, intercultural, and cross-cultural community building by way of research, narrative, analyses of laws and structures, anecdotes, and first-person perspective historical accounts. Building Barriers and Bridges lets the reader arrive at common ground: one where Interculturalism is the crossing point for the individual, local groups, societies, and cultures. The forms of interactions and models, detailed by the authors, guide the contextualizing of approaches for identity and community building.