ABSTRACT
Current challenges of living together in highly diverse societies not only require enhanced approaches to intercultural communication but also new normative perspectives that go beyond notions of intercultural competence or dialogue. This chapter discusses the theoretical potentials that the concept of resonance holds, inspired by critical theory, affect studies and social-phenomenological approaches. It is argued that in order to describe ‘succeeding’ intercultural communication, there is a need for de-essentialised perspectives that prioritise emotion over knowledge as well as acting with others over acting on others. By integrating micro- and macro-levels of encounters with different others, a resonance approach also aims to sharpen the focus on power issues that arise in socio-culturally diverse contexts.
