Intercultural Competence in Conversations About Race: A Filipino American Student's Negotiation of Difference During Study Abroad in Denmark

This paper aims to contribute to current scholarly understandings around the concept of negotiation of difference and its connection to intercultural competences (Block 2007; Kinginger 2010). Specifically, it explores how “Victoria,” a Filipino American student studying abroad with DIS in Denmark, negotiates difference about racial issues in general and within the settings of her host family and the classroom in particular. Findings demonstrate how the negotiation of difference entails both emotional ambivalence and cultural reflections that reach beyond the conversation itself. Moreover, it points to the significance of access to such situations for the development of intercultural competence. This case comes from a larger longitudinal study conducted in 2019, which examined if and how 23 U.S. students developed intercultural competences while studying abroad in Denmark. In interviews, many participants mentioned how people in Denmark seem insensitive to matters of race and ethnicity, revealing discrepancies between the racial histories of Europe and the United States, as well as corresponding differences between how race is talked about and dealt with as a sociopolitical issue. Accordingly, this article develops scholarly understanding of the range of study abroad experiences for non-White students, considering the mediating role of identity, negotiations of difference, and intercultural competences.