Constructivist Foundations of Intercultural Communication

20th-23rd October 2011 - MilanBusiness Lounge - Viale Gran Sasso 11info@idrinstitute.org tel: 02-479 57 978

Intercultural communication is a young field, born well after Einstein's contribution of time/space relativity to physics and the translation of that idea into anthropology as cultural relativity.

It addressed the then-new question, "if you have your own worldview, and I have mine, how can we understand each other?" Early interculturalists gave a powerful answer to that question: we must construct a bridge between them.

The course shows how this constructivist idea generated the intercultural theory and applications that are still in use today.  Interculturalists need to know these roots of their identity, so they can rightfully claim the intercultural perspective and not confuse themselves with other, less powerful approaches to cross-cultural relations. This course is intended for both new and experienced interculturalists who wish to be more effective in their research, teaching, training, coaching, or other applications. 

Intercultural Development Research Academy

IDRAcademy is the educational wing of the Intercultural Development Research Institute (IDRInstitute). The Academy offers a coherent curriculum of courses, seminars, and workshops that all deal with the definition, explication, and extension of a constructivist/developmental approach to intercultural studies.The entire curriculum can be found at www.idrinstitute.org

Dr. Milton Bennett is director of the Intercultural Development Research Institute and co-founder of the Intercultural Communication Institute and. He created the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity, and is the editor of Basic Concepts of Intercultural Communication.His Ph.D. is from the University of Minnesota in intercultural communication and sociology, and his current research interests are in the definition of the field of intercultural communication within the constructivist paradigm.