Intercultural studies

Studies in cultural differences and intercultural relationships may be labelled as “intercultural studies”. These studies are particularly important for the analysis of culture and involve the analysis of cultural differences so that the peculiarities of any single culture can be understood in comparison with other cultures. A single culture is identifiable in its differences from “something else”, its “otherness”. Traditionally this “otherness” has often been identified as nature. However, the distinction culture/nature implies a universal conception of “culture” which is the result of comparisons between cultures, in order to verify the absence of cultural variations; consequently, the distinction culture/nature is not fundamental. It seems that studying culture always means analysing hypothetical cultural differences, and that intercultural studies are at the core of cultural analysis. Although intercultural studies can be considered crucial for cultural analysis, their establishment within social and human sciences is recent and paradoxically has been promoted by the increasing interest in “globalisation” over the last three decades. While globalisation was initially conceived as mainly linked to economics, politics and media communication, its more general cultural features have been increasingly underlined in sociological studies. This interest in “globalisation and culture” leads directly to an interest in intercultural studies. These studies may be divided in three categories, which are explained in the essay: Theories regarding power relationships produced in and through cultural discourses; Theories regarding intercultural relationships based on cultural variability; Theories about hybridisation as an outcome of globalisation.