Analyzing the Intercultural and Multilingual University Space: Methodological Foundations

Abstract

The authors present a panorama of the conceptual and methodological foundations proposed for the study of interculturalism and multilingualism in the modern universities. The authors take as their starting point M. Kagan's system-cultural approach, Yu. Lotman's semiotic theory, and G. Kress's discursive-semiotic concept of multimodal literacy. To clarify the features, characteristics, and identities formed in the practices of development and functioning of the multilingual and intercultural university community, the authors suggest a combination of P. Bourdieu's theory of practice with the cross-cultural comparative studies.