Keynote Speaker:
Manuela Wagner
Author Bio
Manuela Wagner is Professor of Language Education in the Department of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages at the University of Connecticut. Her research and teaching focuses on the integration of Intercultural Competence and Intercultural Citizenship (Byram, 2008) in (language) education and across the curriculum from elementary school through post-secondary education. She is particularly interested in the interplay of theory and practice and has been part of and helped create communities of practice to implement theories of Intercultural Competence and Citizenship as well as related theoretical frameworks (theories of criticality, intercultural communication, social justice, intellectual humility, and conviction) in practice. The resulting book projects include the co-edited volumes Bias, Belief, and Conviction in an Age of Fake Facts (2022), Teaching Intercultural Competence Across the Age Range: From Theory to Practice (2018) and Education for Intercultural Citizenship: Principles in Practice (2017), and her 2020 co-authored book Teaching Intercultural Citizenship Across the Curriculum.
Keynote topic
Teaching for Intercultural Citizenship: Why? How? and Lessons Learned.
Never has it been more important for students to be able to collaboratively solve complex problems. This necessitates the students’ ability to critically analyze the world around them and to engage in intercultural dialogue. Teaching for intercultural citizenship (Byram, 2008) means that students acquire the skills, knowledge, and attitudes of intercultural competence (Byram, 2021, 1997) and then apply this intercultural competence to a societal issue. In this keynote conversation, we will look at the rationale for teaching for intercultural citizenship and analyze outcomes and challenges based on practical implementations and research projects. Together we will identify ways forward.