Season 1, Episode 1: Common Ground, Shared Values: Cultural Openness and its Importance

Transculturation - noun: a process of cultural transformation marked by the influx of new culture elements and the loss or alteration of existing ones. “Transculturalism is rooted in the quest to define shared interests and common values across cultural and national borders” - Richard Slimbach The Transcultural Journey Have you ever thought about the word culture and what it means? How about transculturalism? In this first episode of The Transcultural Lens we introduce the idea of transculturalism (the idea that culture is fluid and ever evolving rather than fixed and unmoving, or tied to national and political borders). We will talk about why a more “rounded” definition of culture is needed in the current climate and why traditional views of culture are flawed and don’t reflect individual experience. I’ll share some of my own cross-cultural experiences as well as the experiences of others to explore how this can develop a more intricate understanding of what it means to be culturally aware. For more on this topic see: 'Transculturality - the Puzzling Form of Cultures Today', Wolfgang Welsch, 1999 Richard Slimbach 'The Transcultural Journey', 2005 Music (intro) Mockingbird (Instrumental) by David Mumford is licensed under an Attribution License. Music (outro) Sidewalk by Jason Shaw is licensed under an Attribution License.