Book: Reflections on Intercultural Craftmanship
This collection of Reflections on Intercultural Craftsmanship offers an insightful and sometimes entertainingly fresh perspective on intercultural effectiveness. The starting point is our own cultural logic, the set of assumptions that we unwittingly take with us throughout our lives, and the manner in which they influence our interaction with people from a different cultural background. It is about our brain, about our intuitive mind that quickly reacts from our own deeply-rooted norms and values, about the impact of bias and stereotyping, and of course, about the development of intercultural competences in order to become more interculturally effective.
All professionals who work internationally, from entrepreneur to public servant, will recognise the many intercultural dilemmas described in this book and can benefit from the varied perspectives offered. The collection consists of almost forty columns, the majority of which were previously published online by Vice Versa, as well as being extracts from inspirational newsletters sent out by Luz azul. For this publication, all of the columns have been updated and a number of more current topics have been added.
The book was originally published in Dutch (February 2017), see the photos. It was translated into English by Lorna Verling-Morrison. I was very aware of the fact that the translation would not only be a grammatical exercise, but that it would also be a cultural conversion. During this process, I have foregone a total rewrite of the columns in order to achieve a completely double perspective. That would, in my opinion, unnecessarily blur the text and diminish the impact. Instead, what I have done is clarify the dominant perspective where necessary. The person who has supported me enormously with this task is the translator of this book, Lorna Verling-Morrison. As a native Irish woman, who lived and worked in the Netherlands for more than 20 years before relocating to Mallorca, where she still works as a Dutch-to-English translator, she was able to assist me like no other with such dilemmas and adequately comprehend and correctly articulate my words in English.
The book is available at BOL and at Amazon (ISBN: 9789402168419). The Dutch book ‘Bespiegelingen over Intercultureel Vakmanschap’ is available at BOL too.
Praise for Reflections on Intercultural Craftsmanship
Yvonne van der Pol excellently presents compelling insights into the challenges of intercultural communication, unfolding with each article the complexity of intercultural craftsmanship. Her book offers a rich array of vivid empirical examples illustrating and explaining the phenomena under discussion. Prof.dr. Wasif Shadid – Emeritus Professor Intercultural Communication, Tilburg University and Leiden University
A wonderful book that describes into the finest detail how cultural differences affect our interactions. Ursula Brinkmann, PhD – Director Intercultural Business Improvement
Take a deep dive into the hidden layers of culture. Great reading if you work at international interfaces and want to discover your social auto-pilot. Absolutely recommended! Stefan Meister – Managing Director intercultures
This book is part of the proud legacy of Edward Hall, the pioneering interculturalist who believed that discovering the hidden elements of culture inside all of us is a transcendental challenge. In these engaging essays, Yvonne takes readers on a tour of culture and the mind. Her anecdotes and deep culture insights show us that the world is not always what we expect it to be. My advice? Read this book twice! The first time for fun, and the second time to reflect on the profound lessons that are contained within! Joseph Shaules – Director, Japan Intercultural Institute and Professor – Juntendo University, Tokyo.
