New competencies for intercultural communication

Abstract

This chapter argues that normative understandings of intercultural communication competence (ICC) may not be adequate to facilitate communication in a context of the enduring legacy of colonial and Apartheid privilege and oppression. It discusses three tenets that need to inform a contextually appropriate understanding of ICC: it needs to be situated within the critical tradition of communication theory; it must factor in Eurocentrism; and it must acknowledge South Africa's colonial legacy. Any understanding of ICC in higher education in South Africa will have to be robust enough to deal with this fraught context. Not only is there a need for ICC to do much more in South African context than facilitate intercultural contact, but such contact must be equitable in a decolonised higher education system. UNESCO indicates that possibilities for intercultural competence lie in facilitating process whereby groups and individuals engage with 'cultural "others" with a view to bridging differences, defusing conflicts and setting the foundations of peaceful coexistence'.

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