SUBSTANTIAL INTERCULTURALITY, INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION AND THE MEDIA CONTEXT IN MEXICO

Abstract

This article discusses interculturality and intercultural education from the point of view of students of the Intercultural University of Chiapas (UNICH) with an emphasis on their interpersonal relationships. In this way, a distinction is proposed between formal interculturality, exercised within the UNICH classrooms, and substantial interculturality which is exercised in everyday contexts outside the university. This exploration is based on a bibliographical investigation that consists of a review of studies on the subject of forms of sociability among UNICH students and their opinions on the daily applicability of what they learned in the university. In the second part of the article, the problem of relations and substantial intercultural communication is linked to the media context in Mexico that is characterized by an explicitly negative and stereotyped representation of ethnic groups. Taking into account that students from intercultural universities are also consumers of media content, it is concluded that a possible exercise of substantial interculturality is greatly hindered both by the problems that intercultural universities face, and by other structural aspects of the Mexican society, among them, the contents of the media.

Keywords

• interculturality
• intercultural education
• social cohesion
• racism
• students
• media