The disruptive effect of a mango. Giving a voice to the unexpected in the study of the intercultural

Abstract

This paper investigates the process of constructing the self and the other in a field-work experience. In analysing some storified excerpts from the author's ethno-graphic notes, the concepts of narratives, small culture formation and the intercul-tural are applied. Narratives and small cultures can be used to rethink the role of the researcher, as they permit focusing on the observation as a process of narrative construction. Additionally, it is based on small cultures involving both the re-searcher and the participants that this process takes shape. The concept of the in-tercultural, as applied to this work, aims to challenge the essentialist, established view of culture in its association with national belonging to focus on the negotia-tion of meanings that construct culture. What the author finds is that in these ne-gotiations, each social actor engages with a set of personal narratives that come into play according to contextual needs and their resonances with other participants.