What is it about?
In my experience as a teacher, trainer, and coach for intercultural communication and dialogue I have found the theoretical support rather weak. In looking for this support I found the ideas of Bateson (Systems) and of John Dewey and William James (Pragmatism) very helpful. This is part of a wider exploration in which I go back to the roots of our disciplines to see if we have overlooked any insights. In other articles I have written in the last four years I have also included reviewing the ideas of Edward Hall, the founder of the discipline Intercultural Communication, and Fred Casmir.
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Why is it important?
This work is important because the theory which supports these communication disciplines has been weak. Typically the body and performance have been neglected.
Perspectives
For the last four years I have been working hard on four articles, all related to the roots of Intercultural Communication and dialogue training, teaching and coaching. Before I retired I had to struggle as a freelancer. In the last three years before I retired I gained a professorship in a Business Administration Department at a small private university in Mannheim, Germany. My theoretical doubts concerning the concept of intercultural competence which I experienced finally came to a head. I had read Mark Johnson's book on the aesthetics of human understanding (2007). This book made it clear to me that the ideas of Dewey and James are worth pursuing. His chapter on early neonatal experience also fit quite well with Hall's ideas of the nonverbal and embodiment in communication.
Dr. Stephen L. Holmes
Pref. (Retired) Hochschule der Wirtschaft für Management, Mannheim, Germany
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This page is a summary of: Bateson and Pragmatism: A Search for Dialogue, Contemporary Pragmatism, November 2017, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/18758185-01404004.
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