ABSTRACT
Intercultural practice is underpinned by understanding of theories and experiences of discrimination and prejudice and the ways in which social and academic norms and cultures impact upon diverse students and faculty. This chapter focuses on the aspects of understanding identified particular relevance to faculty and faculty development within an internationalizing higher education: discrimination and its consequences; and norms and rituals of social and academic cultures. It considers how lives experienced differently shape identities, and how identities shape the ways in which lives are differently experienced. The chapter focuses on 'culture' and 'discrimination' and their salience in the lived experience of diverse students in diverse learning contexts. The norms and rituals surrounding student and faculty, within both their educational and their wider social experiences, influence practice and engagement in learning and teaching activities. Intercultural practice is concerned to maximize academic equity across the student body, regardless of the dimensions of diversity that shape the performance and interpretation of each individual's identity.
