Somewhat belatedly, impEct 2016, No. 8 is published. The first article in this issue deals with the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in promoting intercultural understanding. In addition, the current topic of Europe is discussed from various perspectives, with one article focusing specifically on the relationship between Europe and Russia. This is followed by a presentation on the topic of languages and interculturality. Furthermore, a Dortmund bachelor thesis on fair trade practices in Latin America is presented. Finally, some bibliographical information is provided.
Mariella Olivos Rossini, ESAN Lima (PE), presents the results of her dissertation, which she recently defended at Tilburg University (NL): "About the 'link class model'". It is an evaluation of the 'link class' model with experts, with students from 12 different nations and locations, and with alumni of postgraduate study programs. In contrast to costly mobility programs, which are predominantly practiced in industrialized countries, emerging countries are dependent on using information and communication technologies for intercultural learning. In Europe, too, the acquisition of media skills is increasingly becoming part of the canon of higher education policy learning objectives.
(To be published shortly)
Vlad Mureşan, PhD, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Coordinator of the study program "International Relations and German Studies" at the Babeş-Bolyai University of Cluj (Cluj-Napoca, RO), outlines "The Russian Contradiction. A Critique of the Eurasian Idea" - a topic of the utmost topicality and essential for an understanding of Russian politics. The author emphasizes the contradiction between Russian messianism and the political aspirations of the Eurasian Russian empire.
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Mihály Bak, a graduate of the double master's program in political science at the Grande École Sciences Po Lille (F) and the University of Szeged (HU), presents a study on "L'efficacité de la politique de cohésion de l'Union européenne au travers de l'exemple des régions de convergence et des régions de transition", in which he differentiates the relative success of EU cohesion policy by region.
Based on his review of Ulrike Guérot's book: Warum Europa eine Republik werden muss! Eine politische Utopie, in Zeitschrift für Politik 2016, 4, Werner Müller-Pelzer published the essay: "Why do we live together, and how do we want to live together? With an excursus on love of homeland, patriotism and cosmopolitanism". In it, he deepens his criticism of the aforementioned book and places Guérot's recognizable tendency towards self-negation in the intellectual-historical context of European self-doubt. Against this tendency, he presents his interpretation of European coexistence, influenced by the New Phenomenology.
The following PPT presentation documents the lecture Müller-Pelzer gave at the 44th Congress of UPLEGESS (Association of Foreign Language Teachers at French Universities and Grandes Écoles): "'Adopter une langue comme on adopte un enfant' - Contre l'interculturel utilitariste". From a phenomenological perspective, the author argues for the central role of the affective basis in foreign language acquisition and intercultural understanding.
This is followed by the Bachelor's thesis by Roberto Portillo Tijerina (MX), a graduate of the International Business study program at the Faculty of Business Studies: "El comercio justo: ¿Una alternativa justa de desarrollo? Ejemplo de la colaboración entre la GEPA mbH y las cooperativas de café orgánico en Chiapas, México" (Fair Trade: A fair alternative to development? The example of cooperation between GEPA mbH and organic coffee cooperatives in Chiapas, Mexico). The author presents the current situation not only on the basis of the available documents; thanks to a survey of selected responsible persons on site, he succeeds in determining the needs of the producers more precisely.
Finally, the editor refers to some of his recent publications:
"Interkulturelle Kompetenz - Welche praktische Konsequenzen hat die anthropologische Wende?", in: Hiller, Gundula Gwenn / Lüsebrink, Hans-Jürgen / Oster-Stierle, Patricia / Vatter, Christoph (eds.): Interkulturelle Kompetenz in deutsch-französischen Studiengängen: didaktische Konzepte, Methoden, Materialien. Wiesbaden: Springer, 2017, 87-102. ISBN 978-3-658-1479-1
"Le Manifeste convivialiste dans une perspective phénoménologique ", in : Paun, Nicolae / Schirmann, Sylvain (eds.): Identities, Communities: The Road to Reconciliation and Partnership in Central and Eastern Europe. Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2016 (Publications of the Historians Liaison Group to the European Commission, vol. 18), 389-409. ISBN 978-3-8487-3323-1
"Die leiblichen Grundlagen von interkultureller Lebenserfahrung und Fremdsprachenerwerb", in: Mäder, Marie-Therese/Metzger, Chantal/Neubert, Stefanie/Oulukpona-Yinnon, Adjaï Paulin/ Schellenberg, Louise (eds.): Bücken bauen, Festschrift zum 65. Geburtstag von Dorothee Röseberg, Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Bielefeld, Transcript, 2016, 123-144. ISBN 978-3-8376-3360-3
In impEct No. 9, Pilar Sánchez, lecturer in Behavioral Economics, Consumer Economics and Business Administration at ESIC Marketing & Business School Madrid (E), will present her edited book "Etica, Marketing y Finanzas Islámicas. El Consumidor Musulmán". The author is working on a dissertation in this field.