Facilitating Internally Persuasive Discourse to Enhance Multiculturalism in a Diverse Society

• In Event: Roundtable Session 9
  In Roundtable Session: Research on Cultural and Linguistic Capital

Abstract

Due to trends of globalization, today’s societies are becoming more diverse, facing the challenge of becoming multi-cultural, that is, maintaining social cohesion while respecting cultural diversity. To address this challenge, we developed and tested an innovative pedagogical model, Interlaced Roots, aimed at fostering internally persuasive discourse (IPD; Bakhtin, 1981). Such discourse allows participants to express their individual narratives and to re-examine them in light of others’ narratives. In a pilot study, 3 Israeli mixed-culture pairs jointly investigated familial and personal narratives using Wiki technology. Grounded-theory-based analysis revealed evidence of IPD and learning and highlighted diversity, agency, and dealing with tensions. The model’s potential for fostering IPD and thereby multi-culturalism may be augmented by scaffoldings such as teacher mediation.

Authors

• Sarah Pollack, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

• Yifat Ben-David Kolikant, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem