Transculturality: Meeting without cultural prejudice

How can a transcultural perspective help us connect beyond categories, clichés, and prejudices? Junior Expert Vera Andreh frequently works in international contexts, lived in Brazil for several years, and experiences firsthand in her daily life in Germany how cultural biases influence our interactions. She advocates for the transcultural approach, demonstrating how it decouples culture from origin and why this is so important.

In October, I traveled back to my former home in Brazil for a vacation. The discussion about the differences between one's own culture and the people of "another" culture starts as early as the flight. My seat neighbor from Germany had never been to Brazil, yet she insisted that "all Brazilians are so nice, happy, and helpful."

This statement is an example of how cultural identity and personal traits are often equated with origin. Stereotypical assertions like the ones the woman made about "Brazilians" are not uncommon. To process information as quickly and efficiently as possible, the human brain automatically simplifies and categorizes incoming input. However, this can lead us to overemphasize individual (external) characteristics and attach certain prejudices or stereotypes to them. We often use origin as a way to explain the (supposed) identity and behavior of others.

Prejudices and Belonging

In interpersonal encounters, we look for further confirmation of our prejudices, focusing our attention particularly on differences. Even if not all perceptions contain negative images—and may even appear positive, as in the previous example—they all have consequences for those around us.

The reason is that these images and ideas about similarities and differences create a sense of belonging or exclusion based on origin. As in our example, "Germans" are set apart from "Brazilians." In doing so, my seat neighbor reproduces prejudices and a notion of belonging that exist and are constantly negotiated in our society.

Transculturality as an Understanding of Culture Beyond Origin

Transculturality is a concept that critically examines how people are categorized and how belonging is negotiated through the concept of culture. It is rooted in the ideas of authors such as Fernando Ortiz, who introduced the term "transculturation" (1940), and Wolfgang Welsch, who popularized the term "transculturality" in the German-speaking world (2002).

Transculturality criticizes the way discussions about culture often describe groups or individuals as "different," which is frequently accompanied by value judgments. This is particularly evident in debates surrounding migration.

In this context, the assumption is usually that entire ethnic groups and/or religious communities belong to a single cultural collective, and that a person's behavior can be explained by their "cultural affiliation" to their ethnic group. Just like in the example above, where "all Brazilians" are "nice and sweet" simply because they are Brazilian. Or, conversely, when people are assumed to be more aggressive or criminal than Germans based on their origin. When people are devalued or even discriminated against as a result of this "othering," and cultural differences between ethnic groups are overemphasized, this is known as culturalism (or cultural racism).

The concept of transculturality counters this form of racism: it dismantles the idea of homogeneous, self-contained cultures tied solely to origin. (Cultural) identity is therefore not determined by national borders. Instead, it acknowledges that we live in a society—in Germany, for example—that is globally connected and strongly shaped by immigration. As a result, our ways of life are defined primarily by exchange, diversity, and cultural hybridity.

This allows us to participate in different cultures and living environments, regardless of time and space. For example, we can be born in Turkey, be German, a lawyer, and an atheist, practice capoeira and yoga in our free time, and have both Turkish and German as our first languages. Or we might be Jewish and queer, and celebrate Oktoberfest every year as a long-standing tradition with friends and family.

Cultural Belonging as Self-Definition

Categorizing people into rigid cultures and attributing specific traits to them—whether positive or negative—based on their origin has wide-ranging effects. Becoming aware of these effects is the first step toward a transcultural perspective.[1]

A Brazilian man I met on my trip told me he feels immense pressure to live up to prejudiced images. Having lived in Germany for a while, he felt very uncomfortable as an introvert because many expected him to always be talkative, cheerful, and a good dancer. Another Brazilian friend told me about working at a beach bar in Germany, where, despite his extensive experience in the hospitality industry, he was primarily assigned to cleaning duties. The only exceptions were the so-called "Latino Nights," when he was put behind the bar to mix caipirinhas.

People should be able to determine for themselves how they (want to) identify. Only they know what cultural identity they carry within them, what role origin, religion, or ethnicity plays in that, and how they (want to) express it.

On the flight back, I think about what it means for me to be German. Initially, it is simply the environment into which I was born. For me, it is not tied to specific values, but rather to the choices and options that arise from my contextual circumstances. Being German means, for example, that my German passport allows me to travel extensively and even live abroad. However, being able to travel a lot is not possible for all Germans. It is the interplay of my origin, my social class, my privileges, being white, and not being affected by queerphobia. My interest in languages and my love of travel have led me to actually make such good use of my passport.

Background alone says very little about my experiences and decisions, and even less about my personality or behavior. As with everyone, my identity is far more individual, diverse, and complex than outsiders might assume.

Reflection questions for transcultural encounters

To separate cultural identity from a person's (perceived) background in interpersonal encounters, the following reflection questions can be helpful:

• In what context are the encounter and the person's behavior taking place? What factors other than background or religion might be playing a role in this behavior?
• How does the person identify themselves?
• Are the existing societal prejudices regarding the person's background or migration history generally positive or negative? What consequences does this have for how I interact with them?
• Am I unconsciously elevating myself by distancing myself from the "other person's culture"?
• Who do I think of when I describe my own culture or the "other" culture? Who am I excluding in the process?

[1] This article focuses on interpersonal encounters between individuals. The fact that states, media, and political actors are also heavily involved in negotiating affiliations is beyond the scope of this article. For interested readers, we recommend: "...weil ihre Kultur so ist" by Yasemin Shooman.

Source: Dengscherz / Cooke (2020): Transkulturelle Kommunikation. Verstehen, Vertiefen, Weiterdenken. Munich: UVK Verlag.