الفهرس 
Interculturalism: A Theoretical BackgroundOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
This study of Nadine Gordimer‘s fictional works investigates her vision of intercultural socieities where
individuality, freedom and equality are entertained. Gordimer has long been convinced that majority rule in South Africa is inevitable, no matter how long and costly the struggle to achieve that future. The main premise upon which this study is
based is that any prospect of the country‘s ruling white
minority finding a place in that future depends on them building a common culture with their black compatriots, a culture that would bring the two together, as opposed to their enforced separation under apartheid.
The researcher investigates interculturalism firstly as a concept and then as a phenomenon in Nadine Gordimer‘s fictional world represented in July’s People and My Son’s
Story and other essays. To attain this, the researcher adopts the interdisciplinary approach including anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, ethnicities, racism, and so on. The researcher tries to find out how Gordimer, in her attempt to contest apartheid ideologies and to structure a new non-racial identity for her society, offers interculturalism as a solution to her
society‘s racial problem and to liberate the individual and society from its plague. Through her fictional works, Gordimer
attempts to deconstruct the identity that has been imposed by colonialism and apartheid on the South African society. The researcher endeavors to reveal how interculturalism becomes a compromising ideology that stands in the middle between two extremes: Afrikaner Nationalism and African Nationalism, and
to what extent it functions in Gordimer‘s works as a natural
solution for racial conflict in South Africa and as a melting pot for all the ideological and ethnic contradictions in her society.
The word intercultural is used in many ways based on the different ideological agenda or interests. The notion of
―interculture‖ is used most exclusively to designate the
problem between the majority and the minorities. The word itself contains two key roots: ―inter‖ as prefix and ―culture‖ as a root. The prefix inter introduces the notion of the other and
consequently an interaction between self and other. Interaction, therefore, implies liaison and distance between
two entities. The word ―culture‖ refers to the world view,
beliefs, meanings, social practices and structures which are generated and constantly regenerated by a particular human
group. It constitutes a whole universe. Hence, intercultural means an interaction between two or more cultural universes in a very complex process of connectedness and distancing at the personal, community, societal levels and at the deeper level of world view. This interaction presupposes that the exchange will be reciprocal, and will assure to safeguard continuity in the identity of the partners, even if a certain transformation is involved.
For interculturalism to be attained, first: a climate of mutual confidence is required. This climate of confidence is possible only when the partners in interaction are accorded a status of equality, where one is not the norm for the other. Second, interculturalism requires recognition of distinct cultural entities and the promotion of their right to coexist. This means recognizing the existence of cultural entities not as social categories but as encompassing realities.
Intercultural relations require the resolve to deconstruct the model of qualitative stratification of cultures and races. Such a model rests on the phenomenon of ethnocentrism,
where one believes not only in the superiority of one‘s culture,
but also the necessity and even obligation that it be adopted by
all, because it is considered to be superior by them. This belief has given rise to models of relation between human groups (cultures) along the lines of civilized versus primitive, developed versus underdeveloped. In turn, it becomes a major obstacle impeding the interaction and exchange between communities and persons from different cultures. Hence, all interaction based on superiority versus inferiority must be deconstructed and replaced by that of difference. Cultures are
―different‖ but neither superior nor inferior. Cultural
differences must be conceived of as a possible new source of knowledge concerning human reality. That is to see the other as an equal and not as someone that must be controlled or transformed.
Gordimer‘s July’s People and My Son’s Story dwell on the need for South Africa to evolve into a nation on a par with
other democratic nations. The novels bring the historically suppressed voices of Black South Africa into dialogue with the White imperialist ideology. The crisis of communication results from the contrasting mentalities of the two facets of the South African society. It is also caused by the ethnocentricity of the White / the Black and the other forces impeding interculturalism. The crisis of communication, therefore, can
be removed by challenging the impeding indignant forces that retard the ongoing process of interculturalism.
The dissertation is divided into three chapters and a conclusion. Chapter one is entitled ―Inter-culturalism:A
Theoretical Background‖. It defines and debates the concept
of ―interculturalism‖ and investigates why it is a focal concern in Nadine Gordimer‘s thought. Then, upon analyzing her literary techniques, Nadine Gordimer introduces her own
opinions of the role of a political writer and her distinction between her political efforts and literary work. Lastly, the chapter traces the tension between the White‘s opposition to
apartheid and the Black‘s separatism and the conviction that if
white South Africans are to have a place in a post-apartheid South Africa then they have to join black South Africans in a hybrid culture.
Chapter twois entitled ―Identity Crisis in Nadine Gordimer’s July’s People‖. It analyzes the crisis of identity embeded in the White/the Black relationship in apartheid
society of South Africa during a tansitional phase of violent political change. The chapter investigates how different power structures affect the point of view and identity process of the
novel‘s main characters, in particular the issue of material possessions represented in the novel and how this relate to
identity.
Chapter three is entitled ―Interracial relations in Nadine Gordimer’s My Son’s Story‖. It examines the nature of interracial relation in Nadine Gordimer‘s My Son’s Story. In Gordimer‘s novels, interracial relations assume a special significance as a means of defying the laws of apartheid and
achieving a union between the races. In addition to this, the correlation between politics and sex leads her to portray couples sharing the same political convictions, united in the
struggle for the Black‘s cause. However, in My Son’s Story,
interracial relation is a destructive one. This shift on Gordimer‘s part shows that she has moved on beyond her earlier utopian vision, and that she came to believe that the top
priority is the revolution, and that until it succeeds, no success can be expected for such relations.
The Conclusion is a synthesis of the findings the research arrived at and conducted in the previous chapters of the thesis.