Multiple histories are important for empowering different cultural identities.
Multiple histories include:
Political histories
Intellectual histories
Social histories
Family histories
National histories
Culture-group histories
Histories are constructed through narrative.
Hidden histories are those typically not conveyed in widespread manner and are based on gender, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity.
People bring four elements of personal history to intercultural interactions:
Childhood experience
Historical myths
Language competence
Memories of recent political events
Contact hypothesis suggests that simply bringing people from diverse groups together will only work if certain conditions are met: Group members must be of equal status and relatively equal numbers. Contact must be voluntary, extend beyond the superficial, have institutional support, and promote similarity and individuation of group members. There should be maximum cooperation among participants.
A dialectical perspective helps negotiate histories in intercultural interaction.
