OHRI Richa
Studies of Language and Cultural Education, 14 55-67, 2016 Peer-reviewed
<p>This paper, based on a personal experience, aims to break down the barrier of objectivity and throw light on the politics of representation of the 'other.' Intercultural exchange events, as I have experienced them, commonly involve the harmless activity of introducing a foreign country (representing the 'other') as a part of the whole intercultural experience. This paper is a qualitative analysis of photographs presented in one of the intercultural events with the aim of introducing India to a Japanese audience. Based on Hall's (1997) framework of representation, this paper explains the systematic process of (1) re-enforcing 'difference,' (2) creation of poles of binary opposition and, (3) re-enforcing stereotypes. It further argues that this kind of activity in fact strengthens hegemonic control shielded by the veil of common sense. For a multicultural Japan, it is imperative that both native and non-native speakers of Japanese become citizens (Hosokawa, 2016) who have the ability to (1) think critically, (2) be aware of marked queries and images, (3) re-think culture, and (4) focus on 'I' as an individual.</p>