Raimon Panikkar goes to school: intercultural dialogue and attention to diversity

Abstract

This article addresses the contradiction that exists when we talk about a diversity where everyone is welcome, and yet, at the same time, propose an “attention to diversity” where the diverse ones are the Others, the strangers, the group of people displaced from the “common way of life”. This can be seen in our most recent legislation on education, which comes as little surprise, since our society has a long-standing tradition of backing the Same from what are considered to be contaminating elements brought in by the Others, the strangers, the foreigners, those who do not act as the majority does. Following on Raimon Panikkar’s ideas, this paper attempts to show that another “attention to diversity” is possible, a new one in which nobody can be rejected.