Dialogic Ruptures: An Ethical Imperative

• Published in: Educational philosophy and theory Vol. 49; no. 9; pp. 909 - 921
• Main Author: Arndt, Sonja
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 29.07.2017; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Bakhtin and Kristeva; Cultural Differences; cultural Otherness; Dialects; dialogic engagements; Dialogs (Language); Educational Philosophy; Ethics; ethics of care; Foreign Nationals; Foreigner teachers; Intercultural Communication; Intercultural communication in education; intercultural encounters; Language Styles; Multiculturalism & pluralism; Noncitizens; Second Language Learning; Second Languages; Teacher Student Relationship; Teachers; Teachers, Foreign; Transformative Learning; Unconsciousness; Utterances
• ISSN: 0013-1857; 1469-5812; 1469-5812
• DOI: 10.1080/00131857.2015.1135776

Dialogue is promoted as a key strategy to 'solve' the 'problem' of diversity in educational settings. Yet, "[w]hen we select words ... We usually take them from other utterances, and mainly from utterances that are kindred to ours in genre, that is in theme, composition or style" (p. 87, emphasis in the original). This article problematises the complexities of dialogic engagements with foreigner teachers in educational encounters. Bakhtin's treatment of polyphonic dialogic encounters provides an analytical frame for explicating the intertextuality of foreigner teacher engagements as not only temporally and culturally, but also individually volatile. The article suggests that dialogic encounters are unpredictably complex, alive and never neutral, and that dialogic engagements can be so fraught with fear that verbal or cross cultural engagements with teacher foreigners must be recognised as risky and dangerous, and not always smooth 'solutions' to a 'problem'. A dual Bakhtinian/Kristevan lens expands the analysis to expose the vulnerability of dialogue, through unconscious revelations of teacher subjects that are forever in process. The article culminates in an argument for the crucial importance of a receptive, attentive ethics of care in dialogic engagements with cultural foreigners in educational relationships, to avoid fearful exposure, lifeless dialogue and silence.