Intercultural competence is regarded as a key competence in the 21st century. Intercultural encounters are increasingly becoming both a day-to-day reality and a challenge in virtually every sphere of life. This trend is additionally facilitated and promoted by the so-called digital revolution. The rapid spread of digital communication media makes it possible for individuals and social groups to organise their routine activities separate from the given physical circumstances and existing local structures.
„We are what we repeatedly do,“ claimed Aristotle. Inasmuch as our daily practices represent the pivotal formative aspect of our identity(es), the growing disengagement from the established structures and orders of collective belonging erodes traditional concepts of culture and cultural identity. What does it mean nowadays to be „German“, „Italian“ or „Japanese“? Which culture does someone who works in China, discusses the latest trends in US-American rap music with his friends in Istanbul or Helsinki every week via Skype, watches RTL series on satellite TV and orders a pizza online without stopping a chatroom flirt with a Congolese girl from Dublin really belong to? What social and cultural spaces emerge thereby and what interdependencies between the local environment and the „digital wanderers“‘ way of life exist and develop?
The junior professor’s research and teaching activities focus on transcultural phenomena that transcend local and national borders and are either rooted in digital practices or are otherwise spawned by these. A particular emphasis is laid on the processes of intercultural learning and transfer of culture in the spheres of health care, intimate relationships and family life.
