Glossary

Successful collaboration begins with a shared language, hence the need for a glossary. This joint effort of contributors from several teams ensures, on the one hand, terminological and conceptual coherence across not only our theoretical approaches, but also the qualitative case studies and quantitative research conducted in OPPORTUNITIES. On the other hand, our glossary facilitates communication between the academic side of the project and the fieldwork conducted by NGOs, uniting our teams working from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ghana, Italy, Mauritania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania and Senegal.

For more information about the Structure and Objectives of the Glossary, click here...)

Representative thinking

Cross Talks are based on the idea of “representative thinking,” a concept originally proposed by Hannah Arendt (2006 [1986]): “I form an opinion by considering a given issue from different viewpoints, by making present to my mind the standpoints of those who are absent; that is, I represent them. The more people’s standpoints I have present in my mind while I am pondering a given issue, and the better I can imagine how I would feel and think if I were in their place, the stronger will be my capacity for representative thinking and more valid my final conclusions, my opinion.” (Arendt 2006 [1968], 241) Participants in Cross Talk events who lack any migration or refugee experience (i.e., NGOs, citizens, or other stakeholders) enact or re-tell testimonials of migration and refugeedom to understand, and maybe even adopt, migrants’ and refugees’ perspectives. This process of re-enactment creates common ground between the performer and the migrant or refugee, thus opening a window of opportunity for a fair dialogue between the performer, the migrant, and the public.

⇢ see also Cross Talk, Empathy, Perspective taking, Recognition

References and further reading:

Arendt, Hannah. 2006 [1968]. Between Past and Future: Eight Exercises in Political Thought. London et al.: Penguin Books.

Category: C

Work Package: 2, 3, 5, 6, 7

[MD]

 

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