Border identities and plural belongings: diversity and multiculturalism through literary education

Abstract

Rising levels of racism and xenophobia in European societies, and the fact that Moroccans constitute the immigrant community that is least accepted by Spaniards, has motivated the book club to propose two books by transcultural authors for teenagers as part of their literary and intercultural education. We propose an evaluation of the impact of these books using a pre-test and post-test questionnaire that employs a quasi-experimental design. The objective is give secondary school students the opportunity to: (1) increase their knowledge of Arab culture, (2) reflect on the development of a double sense of cultural belonging by immigrants, (3) empathise with the situations experienced by the characters portrayed and (4) develop their own ideas before adopting cultural practices or values. Taking advantage of the potential offered by literature for fostering democratic ideas and intercultural awareness, we aim to encourage a rigorous, critical and empathetic attitude to otherness – and so overcome various forms of discrimination against immigrants.