The Experience of the Other and the Premise of the Care for Self. Intercultural Education as Umwendung

Abstract

Due to many refugees seeking asylum in Germany, we are currently experiencing various ways of how people deal with foreigners. Some welcome asylum seekers openly trying to help as much as they can, others protest against migrants fearing a threat to their own culture. Right-wing parties gained momentum and terror attacks seemed to affirm their arguments. Intercultural education often promises to deliver the knowledge and technical know-how to deal effectively with otherness. However, in most cases the main objective is to control differences in order to handle one’s own feelings of anxiety, helplessness and insecurity. In this chapter I argue that we have to turn around and look at what we actually experience in us when we encounter otherness. We have to shift our attention from handling the other towards caring for the self. This shift I call Umwendung (German: turning around). In order to explain what I mean by Umwendung I draw from ancient Greek philosophy, especially from the concept of self-care (epimeleia heautou) as it was rejuvenated by Foucault. This entails facing our own inner shadow, coming to terms with the unknown other in self. In this context the Dialogical Self Theory proves to be extremely relevant, particularly when it comes to the process of self-cultivation. Here I expand on the notion of a “society of mind” by arguing for a “culture of self” which means to reflect on the “web of significance” (Geertz) each of us lives by. Intercultural education thus means preparing the ground and taking care of oneself in order to be able to welcome the other in dialogue.