China is often seen as a monolith outside its borders. However,
heterogeneity and interculturality have characterized the Middle Kingdom
for centuries. Today, China's take on diversity is too easily disparaged
or perceived as ambiguous - as if China was not legitimate to take part
in conversations about it.
The authors wish to contribute to global discussions about
interculturality in education, which have often been dominated by
'Western' voices, by problematizing a very specific Chinese perspective
called Minzu ('ethnic') education. Minzu is presented as a potential
companion to other forms of diversity education (multicultural,
intercultural, transcultural, cross-cultural, global education). Without
claiming that they have found a miraculous and one-size-fits all recipe,
they argue that the lessons learnt from researching various aspects of
Minzu in Chinese education can also help students, researchers,
educators, and decision-makers unthink and rethink the central issue of
interculturality. As such the book introduces the complexity,
contradictions and benefits of Minzu while helping the reader consider
how compatible and complementary it could be with discussions of
interculturality in other parts of the world. The book also aims at
making readers observe critically their own contexts.
This book was written with an open mind and it should be read with the
same.
