Empire and Ethics Towards a Normative Theory of Intercultural Communication
Abstract
In this paper I identify key features of communication and then ask in what ways power is a feature of intercultural communication. I discuss this by making use of key concepts from postcolonial theory: Empire, marginalisation and hybridity. Secondly, I discuss how the understanding of intercultural communication practice and theory should be informed by ethical considerations. I argue the presence of Empire puts a moral obligation on the relatively powerful to be aware of his or her role and function when communicating with the relatively weak and vulnerable.
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