Cultural Encounters, Conflicts, and Resolutions

Teaching/Learning Interculturality and Diversity through Foreign Film

Note on Special Issue

This volume, Teaching/Learning Interculturality and Diversity through Foreign Film, contains empirical research conducted by a group of scholars based in Cleveland, Ohio. Despite their diverse backgrounds (Colombia, Palestine, France, etc.) and professional training (Literary and Cultural Studies, History, Second Language Acquisition, etc.), all the members of this group are together in teaching world cultures in the U.S. They also share the belief that teaching foreign cultures does not per se guarantee learners’ acquisition of the level of competence needed to reflect critically and accurately upon a given foreign culture or to communicate effectively with its members. Thus, in this volume, they reflect upon their use of foreign film in their respective teaching of culture, and they examine the extent to which this instructional tool is efficient in helping U.S. college students’ develop their ICC (Intercultural Communicative Competence) and notions of diversity at the local and/or global levels. Teaching and research interest in film in general, and foreign film in particular, has encouraged several members of this research group to become regularly engaged in cinema-related events (e.g., Cleveland International Film Festival). One member of this group has engaged in research related to filmmaking. Moreover, the interest among faculty and students in foreign film reached a point that brought about an interdisciplinary collaboration between our department and the School of Communication at the same university to create a joint minor in film studies. All these are factors that informed and guided the empirical research in this volume.

Editors

Editors

Antonio Medina-Rivera and Lee Wilberschied

Guest Editor

Heba A.N. El Attar