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Culture & Psychology, Vol. 12, No. 4, 461-485 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1354067X06069947

Considering Diversity: Multivoicedness in International Academic Collaboration

Sanne Akkerman

Utrecht University, The Netherlands

Wilfried Admiraal

University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Robert Jan Simons

Utrecht University, The Netherlands

Theo Niessen

Maastricht University, The Netherlands

International collaboration projects in academic work can be considered boundary-crossing projects with learning potential. Contrary to perceiving diversity as a barrier for understanding, we depart from dialogical arguments in perceiving ambiguity and diversity as continuous resources for meaning enrichment. Here, we report a study of an international academic project to gain more insight into how this resource is exploited. Using Bakhtin’s theory, negotiation processes are analysed and explained by distinguishing voices stemming from different socio-cultural backgrounds. Project members did not explore fully the voices being expressed in their negotiation processes and therefore did not come to face their differences. We conclude that diversity should neither be seen as an obstacle for understanding, nor be presupposed as a resource for meaning generation. Rather, diversity should be actively worked on by group members in collaboration, starting by perceiving each other as real ‘others’ and receiving arguments initially as not understood.

Key Words: boundary crossing • collaboration • dialogical processes • discourse analysis • diversity • multivoiced


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