An evolving collection of relevant terminology and their contextual meanings, summarised, interpreted and developed…
Aesthetics
Broadly, aesthetics refers to the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty, taste and art. It encompasses discussions of how artists imagine, create and present works of art, as well as how people experience and criticise art. Within discussions of art and performance, it can refer specifically to the look and feel – the sensory qualities – of a work, as well as its cultural and conceptual influences.
Axiology
The philosophical study of value – what is considered of value and why; systems of value and how they’re enacted. In relation to art, it can refer to how works relate to, encompass or challenge ethics, norms and values.
Intercultural
UNESCO defines as what occurs when members of different cultural groups interact or influence one another (understanding that nobody belongs to just one culture).
Intercultural competences
UNESCO defines as “adequate relevant knowledge about particular cultures, as well as general knowledge about the sorts of issues arising when members of different cultures interact, holding receptive attitudes that encourage establishing and maintaining contact with diverse others, as well as having the skills required to draw upon both knowledge and attitudes when interacting with others from different cultures.”
Dialogic
In its purest sense, the use of conversation or dialogue to explore the meaning of something. The theory was developed by philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin, who recognised that all language – including all art – exists in dialogue with its context and with other works. In art, a dialogic approach can indicate an openness to conversation, whether internal, between different cultural or ideological perspectives, or between the work and its audience.
Epistemology
The study of knowledge; how we know what we know. (See Ontology.)
Essentialism
The idea that objects have a set of particular attributes that a prerequisite for their being. Non-essentialism denies the need for an ‘essence’ of any given thing, idea or conceptual entity. Essentialism is the basis for biological taxonomy and is controversial because it has been the basis for many discriminatory and extremist ideologies.
High-context and low-context cultures
Anthropological terms that refer to how direct both verbal and non-verbal communication is within a cultural context and how important the context is. High-context cultures often exhibit less-direct verbal and nonverbal communication, utilising small communication gestures and reading more meaning into these less-direct messages. Low-context cultures do the opposite; direct verbal communication is needed to properly understand a message being communicated and relies heavily on explicit verbal skills.
Messiness
Theories of messiness challenge the idea that intercultural encounters can be easily understood and embrace their complex, overlapping, contradictory and often uncomfortable nature. The theory is relevant in the fields of performance, anthropology, education and postcolonial studies and has been written about by Spivak, Conquergood and Bhabha. They generally advocate for an approach that focuses on process over result and that does not try to ‘fix’, clean up or categorise experience.
Normative
Relating to societal rules, expectations, values and ethics, particularly those pertaining to and upheld through behaviours and actions (as opposed to concepts or thoughts). In philosophy and social sciences, it can mean ‘relating to an evaluation or value judgment’, reflecting the fact that ‘norms’ are generally considered to be good, permissable or desireable.
Ontology
The study of being and existence; what is real.
Out-thereness
A philosophical theory of realism that assumes there is a reality that exists independent of human actions, experience and perceptions. As described by John Law, relates to ‘definiteness’ and ‘singularity’ – that this reality is definite, that there is just one reality that is shared by all – but doesn’t assume this.
Positionality
An individual’s world view and the position they adopt in relation to a specific task, informed by fixed aspects of their identity and by their life experiences, including their values and beliefs, politics, religion, gender, sexuality, historical and geographical location, ethnicity, race, social class and status, abilities, etc. In terms of research, this includes their belief about the nature of social reality and what is knowable; their belief about the nature of knowledge; and assumptions about human nature and agency.
Reflexivity
The ability to step outside one’s own experiences and reflect consciously upon them and determine how to respond (Steier 1991). In terms of research, it involves a researcher identifying their views and positions and how these affect their work.
Relia
Objects and concepts closely linked with a particular national culture; often present in the mass media of that place. It may refer to a thing, construct or concept that is particular to that culture and so cannot be directly translated from one culture’s language to another’s, such as a national dish, or a political position or institution that is uniquely structured.
Sonder
The feeling of recognising that every individual has a life as full and real as one’s own, in which they are the central character and others, including oneself, have secondary or insignificant roles.
The third space
A theory developed by postcolonial theorist and cultural critic Homi K. Bhabha: the in-between space where cultures meet, interact and transform each other, challenging fixed identities and power structures and highlighting that culture is never pure or fixed. Key aspects of the space include hybridity, where binaries are destabilised; fluidity and continued evolution; the creation of new meanings through translation and reinterpretation; resistance and agency, where cultural norms are challenged; and negotiation, critique and change.
Transcultural
Something which transcends all human cultures or something which involves, encompasses and combines elements of different cultures.