Intercultural communication: a southern view on the way ahead: culture, terrorism and spirituality

ABSTRACT An historical overview of different intercultural communication (IC) paradigms explains how they have been used and misused in different societal contexts. Dissimilar paradigms account for only part of the picture, in that they largely ignore non-material dimensions of life, religion and the immaterial. A case study explains how early theories and methods had been re-articulated in South Africa to legitmize the opposite of the field’s intentions – racial separation rather than intercultural understanding. A brief and eclectic tour of how IC has been adopted and adapted in other national contexts is offered. IC is briefly also examined in how it has been very differently elaborated and elevated through drawing on Jacques Derrida and British cultural studies to address global issues in China.