Visual Autofiction: A Strategy for Cultural Inclusion

Visual autofiction can be seen as a storytelling method used by contemporary visual artists to initiate cultural inclusion within a field that has historically favored Western narratives and excluded many others. This chapter, which builds on theoretical reflections on autofiction, contends that contemporary artists endeavor to be culturally included in broad, decolonized visual narratives, through the use of innovative visual autofictional methods to represent their experiences. In the case of South African visual artist Bontle Tau, autofiction is used as a strategy to construct a multiform and multifaceted photographic narrative that foregrounds the diversity of selves and stories, further supporting the overall aim of cultural inclusion within representations in the field.

Teaching Practice in Acculturation Educational Settings: A Case Study on an Integration Course

Teaching practice has the potential to guide acculturation educational processes to cultural inclusion. Acculturation may lead to social tensions or peaceful connivance. An acculturation process might be inclusive when educational participants symmetrically recognise, validate and use the different cultures as part of the curriculum. The Cultural Bridge (CB) is an approach that teachers might use to design inclusive teaching practices. The method is a qualitative case study on an integration course in Germany. Results evidence a partially inclusive educational process. According to the teacher’s interview analysis, the teaching practice approximates the CB principles, but there are limitations because of the system and social barriers. The most relevant situations that limit the teacher's practice are the rigid curriculum, the test as the primary goal, the short time for addressing the mandatory topics and the students’ social isolation. As a recommendation, integration courses might engage the local community in the educational process.

Self-Expansion in Intercultural Relationships: Cultural Integration as a Mechanism for the Association with Relationship Quality

Intercultural romantic relationships, in which partners have different cultural backgrounds, are increasingly common. Intercultural marriages, however, remain relatively rare, accounting for only 5% of all unions in Canada. Intercultural couples may face additional barriers in maintaining their relationships over time, including reconciling their cultural and couple identities (identity integration) and communicating effectively about cultural differences (cultural inclusion). Despite these challenges, intercultural relationships may also provide opportunities for self-expansion – novelty or growth as a result of the relationship or a partner’s culture. Across three studies we tested the prediction that self-expansion in intercultural relationships would be associated with higher relationship satisfaction and lower conflict through cultural integration processes. In Studies 1 and 2—a cross-sectional study of people in intercultural relationships (N=242) and a dyadic study of intercultural couples (N=312)—we found that self-expansion (both in general, and specific to partners’ cultures) was associated with higher relationship quality through greater integration and cultural inclusion. In Study 3—a pre-registered experimental study (N=342)–we found that although people in a cultural self-expansion group reported higher relationship satisfaction compared to a control group, cultural integration processes did not mediate this relationship. Our findings reveal that sharing cultural differences and novel experiences can be beneficial for intercultural couples, extending self-expansion theory to intercultural relationships and providing insight into the maintenance of satisfaction over time.

The Antecedents and Outcomes of Host National Connectedness: A Study of International Students in New Zealand

<p>While research on international students’ acculturative outcomes typically indicates that they generally thrive, one common source of struggle, noted by practitioners, researchers, educators, and the students themselves, is their inability to form connections with locals. Situated within the stress and coping and cultural learning frameworks of acculturation research, this study (N = 1527) examines the antecedents and outcomes of host national connectedness (HNC) among international students in New Zealand. Results indicate that both individual (age, gender, English language proficiency, and the motivation to belong) and contextual (cultural distance and perceived cultural inclusion) predict international students ability to connect with New Zealanders. Contextual variables explain additional variance in HNC above and beyond that explained by the individual variables. Results also provide support for the important role of connections in overall adjustment outcomes, as host national connectedness mediates the relationship between cultural distance, cultural inclusion in the classroom, and English language proficiency and both socio-cultural and psychological adaptation. Hence, host national connectedness serves as the mechanism through which international students attain positive psycho-social adjustment during the acculturation process. Applications for international students, institutions, and policy makers are discussed.</p>

The Antecedents and Outcomes of Host National Connectedness: A Study of International Students in New Zealand

<p>While research on international students’ acculturative outcomes typically indicates that they generally thrive, one common source of struggle, noted by practitioners, researchers, educators, and the students themselves, is their inability to form connections with locals. Situated within the stress and coping and cultural learning frameworks of acculturation research, this study (N = 1527) examines the antecedents and outcomes of host national connectedness (HNC) among international students in New Zealand. Results indicate that both individual (age, gender, English language proficiency, and the motivation to belong) and contextual (cultural distance and perceived cultural inclusion) predict international students ability to connect with New Zealanders. Contextual variables explain additional variance in HNC above and beyond that explained by the individual variables. Results also provide support for the important role of connections in overall adjustment outcomes, as host national connectedness mediates the relationship between cultural distance, cultural inclusion in the classroom, and English language proficiency and both socio-cultural and psychological adaptation. Hence, host national connectedness serves as the mechanism through which international students attain positive psycho-social adjustment during the acculturation process. Applications for international students, institutions, and policy makers are discussed.</p>

South Asians in “Asia’s World City”: Postcolonial Identity Struggles and Art Participation in Hong Kong

Hong Kong, being the “Asia’s world city”, the government proclaimed itself committed to enhancing an inclusive society. However, critics have been questioning the effectiveness of its policy in bringing social inclusion as many South Asians in Hong Kong have to deal with post-colonial identity struggle in everyday life. By using participant observations and interviews, I will discuss how South Asians engage in community art which enables them to find other realms of (self-)representation beyond those delivered by the state and its failed promise of institutionalised assimilatory multiculturalism. Despite the policy shortcomings, a “dual” Hongkonger identity was found in minority descendants, facilitated by participating in community art activities. This article contributes to the knowledge of cultural inclusion, to understand its empowerment and potential conflicts in community art participation, and to invite more academic discussions on multiculturalism in the context of Hong Kong.

Technology and Education as Elements in Museum Cultural Inclusion

In the international arena, the use of technology as a tool for accessing information but also for creating content and sharing that generated content is beginning to gain importance. The main objective of this article is to provide knowledge of the new tools used in the international context in cultural access and to facilitate understanding, use and appropriate improvements with respect to cultural access for persons with disabilities. The methodology used, we have carried out a systematic review with a selection of 410 examined articles finally selected 34 articles covering from 2000 to 2020. Ten databases have been used in the exhaustive search and selection: 1Findr, Semantic Scholar, Scopus, Google Scholar, Microsoft Academy Search, Wos, IEEE Xplorer, Miar, Mendeley, Science Direct. The results obtained in the selected studies are characterized by their international scope, in the case of digital creation applications, virtual environments, and RA. Among the conclusions obtained, it is evident the need for collaboration between museums and institutions, to achieve significant progress in awareness, education, and access for all. Promote the development of accessibility plans, the exchange of information on actions at the international level, along with the means necessary to achieve better access to cultural spaces.

PUBLIC ROLE OF (PUBLIC) THEATRE

Today, public theatre is directed toward adapting to its contemporary socio-economic context. In doing this, it is trying to preserve its artistic values and at the same time fulfill and diversify its social functions and missions. When we talk about public theatre’s social function, i.e. the public value it produces, some of the main issues concern its contribution to the most pressing social matters. In general, these issues concern public theatre’s role in strengthening social cohesion, cultural emancipation and social inclusion, its role in the process of opening dialogues, revising formal history and re-examining traditional forms of thinking. Fulfilment of these functions is strongly linked with the character of public theatre’s audiences. In more practical terms, the scope of public theatre’s social influence is dependent on how homogenous its audiences are. If one considers artistic organizations’ need for sustainability as a key factor in their need for constantly widening their audience, and particularly the inclusion of “others” (those not belonging to the dominant cultural group), in the context of contemporary society’s need for social and cultural inclusion, then the task of today’s public theatres becomes rather difficult. Simply said, there are too many needs to be met at the same time. The main questions this paper is asking is: to what extent do Belgrade’s public theatres understand the importance of diversifying its audiences, and how do they perceive their social role? Starting from the fact that human capital is the primary resource and success factor of any theatre organization, we explore in what manner management and employees in these theatres address these issues, i.e. how they redefine theatre’s social role and attract audiences that do not fit the dominant theatre audience model.