1. Les cosmétiques

Après-shampoing au beurre de karité, déodorant à la pierre d’alun, crème enrichie à l’huile essentielle de lavande… Des produits qui, comme on dirait dans “Capital”, jouent avec tous les clichés “nature”. Tout y passe,du packaging au parfum, en passant par la texture. Mais gare au shampoing au henné contenant parfois du paraben, qui serait selon certaines études cancérigène (on nous aura pourtant prévenus qu’on va tous crever). De la même manière, attention au Bigen, ce colorant sans ammoniaque, qui contient du ppd (Para-phenylenediamine pour les intimes), potentiellement allergène. Un coup d’oeil aux étiquettes des produits, qu’ils proviennent de chez Yves Rocher, ou de chez Body Shop, permet à la FAF* (*Femme Au Foyer) avertie de comprendre que ces produits sont loin d’être “naturels”.

2. L’alimentation

Entre les jus de fruits à emporter et les bars à soupe, il semble que le naturel réinvestisse notre alimentation. Chouette les copines, à nous le fooding trop kawaï. Mais trop riches en sucre ou en sel, tous ces produits ne sont hélas pas forcément l’ami de notre santé. Qu’en est-il des produits bio ? Il ne sont pas forcément écolos… Et le “label” est payant, tout comme celui du commerce équitable. D’ailleurs… le petit apiculteur cro meugnon du marché produit peut-être du miel bio sans que vous ne le sachiez.

La fourrure, c’est naturel non ? Eh bien allez l’expliquer à PETA. On vous répondre gentiment “I’d rather go naked”. Et la prochaine fois que vous discutez avec un végétalien convaincu, évitez de lui dire que vous aussi vous adorez la nature et que d’ailleurs vous ne portez que du cuir et de la laine.

5. La drogue

Vous êtes du genre à ne pas prendre de cocaïne ou de LSD car c’est chimique ? C’est bien, ça fera plaisir à votre maman mais pas la peine de vous tourner vers des choses plus “naturelles” comme les champignons hallucinogènes qui comportent bien évidemment aussi des risques. En version plus light, il y a aussi le cabanis coupé aux délicieux morceaux de verre pilé miam miam.

Alors d’accord, on l’a bien compris : l’amanite phalloïde est naturelle et ce n’est pas pour cela qu’elle est bonne. Un peu d’éducation nous évitera d’assaisonner les chipos du barbec’ avec du laurier rose, extrêmement toxique (à cause de la méchante présence d’hétérosides cardiotoniques). Mais juste parce qu’on est des vrais rebelles, nous allons être un peu nuancer dans nos propos : le contre nature peut aussi être bon (euh… oui… vous aussi vous pensiez au chewing gum ?)

VLE

(Virtual Learning Environments)

A VLE is a software system designed to help tutors or teachers in the management of educational courses for their students. It is used by universities and colleges to help lecturers to create a course website with a minimum of technical skills. It facilitates communication, assessments and document sharing (e.g. textbooks). People can also share and build together a learning resource helped by some tools such as wiki, blogs, RSS, etc. VLE is a good choice if you are an enthusiastic lecturer who wants to post a terrific video relevant to your last class about “risk management in oil and gas project development”.

Examples: Blackboard, WebCT, Moodle,…

CMS

(Content Management System)

A CMS is a system used to manage the content of a website. It allows the creation and administration of online content by several people: pages are composed when requested by a user’s browser. A CMS handles modification, and removal of information resources which are stored in a database. CMS is a good choice if you are working with some people on a webzine and if you want to check what your friend Dany wrote in his last article about “the impact of presidential bioethics commissions” before publishing it online.

Examples: Joomla, Dotclear, or WordPress (that is used to publish what you are reading!)

LMS

(Learning Management System)

A LMS automates the administration of learning programs within an organization. It allows you to deliver, to track and to manage training. LMS is a good choice if you are a bit of a stalker and if you want to track the progress of your learners and to automatically send them an email if they did not complete the course.

Examples: Elearning manager, Moodle, or Dokeos,…

LCMS

(Learning Content Management System)

This software application (or set of applications) is a multi-user environment where learning developers can author, approve, publish, and manage a learning content. It has in the same time the characteristics of a LMS (administrative and management) and a CMS (content creation and personalized assembly). LCMS is a good choice if you wrote a course in French that will be translated in Dutch and republished for another audience.

Examples: Claroline, e-doceo solutions, Ganesha,…

To sum up, it can be said that VLE can be a good complement to on-site training, within a blended-learning context. A CMS is more content orientated and will allow you to easily update and change your resources. A LMS is good to manage the activity of the learners since it has a real pedagogical capital gain. A LCMS will be perfect to manage content (a LMS cannot create and manipulate courses).

Several open-source, public and commercial platforms can help you in your project. Now, it is up to you to decide what system matches your need. But be careful: open-source solutions are not necessarily free since you might have to pay for experts, servers, management, etc.

1) Cultural references

Avoid ethnocentrism! Culture, symbolism or even taboos are not universal. That is a masterful statement of the obvious! Let’s take an example: if you want to represent security services, do not display the picture of a policeman in a Polish uniform if your target audience is not only polish. The same goes with colors: white is traditionally linked to purity in most of western countries, while it might be linked to the idea of death in eastern countries.

2) Scenario

Different cultures have different ways of thinking and this will influence your pedagogical approach. Some people are more used to the inductive method, while some others are more familiar with the deductive one. So what pedagogical approach should you choose? Try to analyze your target audience upstream of writing your scenario.

3) Wordplays

Your e-learning production is full of puns, spoonerisms and clever rhetorical excursions? Good for you! But not so good for the person who will be in charge of translating all these messages whose incongruity has the power to evoke laughter.

4) Expressions, pronunciation

Sometimes, even writing in a unique language can be an issue. If your audience is both French and Belgian for instance, watch out: the pronunciation and some expressions may vary. Did you know that these two countries use different words to say 70 and 90?

5) Appropriate layout

Keep in mind that traditionally, people tend to read from the left to the right because it is the way Romanian writing goes. But what about Arabic or Chinese writing? Since their text goes from the right to the left, or from the top to the bottom, the global perception of space will not be the same.

6) Optimal space for your text

Some languages use more words than others in order to express the same idea. That is why you need to think about what space will take each language in your page. Avoid creating text areas that are too small to save you some precious time when you will work on the translated version of your e-learning production.

7) No text in your pictures

If you work with a graphic designer, explain to him the context of your production. Do not put any text in your pictures if it is not the same word in the languages you are using. For instance, the picture of a letter with the text “invoice” will probably not make sense to you Portuguese audience. Also, keep in mind that simple pictograms in your template will be more efficient than buttons with a text written inside.

8) Navigation

All the people do not have the same practice of multimedia, depending of the place they live. For instance, North American countries have more experience with the Internet than South American countries. As a result, the generation gap is less visible in North American countries and most of the people are familiar with surfing on the Internet, even if sometimes the navigation is a bit different than what we are usually used to see. Depending on your target, adapt ergonomics so all the people will be able to use correctly your e-learning resource.

9) Optimal tools

I will talk about the tools that I know the best because I use them for my job: elearning maker and elearning gallery. I think it is useful to work with these tools when doing a multilingual e-learning production because you can export, translate, and import your texts very easily, directly from a simple excel file. You don’t need to create page by page a new resource in the translated language.

10) Technology

Keep in mind that different countries might have different levels of technologies. Even on a national scale, there are some differences if you compare the speed of the computers, the bandwidth, and so on. Imagine what it can be on an international level!

And of course the last tip that goes without saying would be: test, test and test! Good luck with your multilingual e-learning production.

First of all, it can be stated that EU accession of individual nations does not deconstruct their national cultures and identities since it has been argued that a European identity does not exist. Symbols, cultural events or programs imposed upon people are not enough to talk about a European identity. Identity is constructed from outside and inside. European civil society cannot be created by a treaty but has to come from people. Europe cannot ignore the diversity of cultures when it comes to traditions, languages and history. The purpose of Europe is integration, not exclusion. “Cultural unity is also a construct; it masks the diversity in most cultures of rites, rituals, customs, and manners, while it systematically ignores cultural affinities that do not fit the nationalist logic” (Garvin, in Caplan and Feffer, 1996, p.200). Reconciling identities in conflict within each nation is already a challenge so creating a European identity might be a Utopia. An identity anxiety might be the result of a cultural alignment among members. Brubaker (quoted in Jenkins and Sofos, 1996, p.72) has cogently argued that “in the European setting citizenship is a last bastion of sovereignty; states continue to enjoy a freedom in this domain that they increasingly lack in others”. Europe needs a stronger identity. Without demos, there is no democracy (Fuchs and Klingemann, 2002, p.77). Demos would provide legitimacy.
In a context of Euro-skepticism, it seems that nation-states have more legitimacy than Europe. But national identity has to cope with collective forms of identity such as class, gender, race or religion (Smith, 1991, p.143) which means that at the beginning, identity is already a complex issue. The fundamental features of national identity are an historic territory, common myths and historical memories, a common culture, common legal rights and duties for all members and a common economy with territorial mobility (Smith, 1991, p.14). A national identity is fundamentally multi-dimensional and it cannot be “swiftly induced in a population by artificial means” (Smith, 1991, p.14) which means that if a state is reluctant to deconstruct its national culture and identity, it would have to be taken as such. “Culture and social organization are universal and perennial. States and nationalisms are not” (Gellner, 1997, p.5). Some countries have recently seen the resurgence of patriotism and nationalism in reaction to Europe, like the Front National in France. Nationalism is “an ideological movement for attaining and maintaining autonomy, unity and identity on behalf of a population deemed by some of its members to constitute an actual or potential “nation” (Smith, 1991, p.73). Brutishness had to be reconsidered in twentieth-century Britain, regarding the construction and significance of national identity. Great Britain perceives Europe as a threat and wants to preserve its distinctiveness: defending national identity becomes a priority. It can be wondered what links nation-states to Europe. If some nations, especially from Eastern Europe, access to the European Union it means somehow that their culture and identity already has a European look-alike (Laitin, 2007, p.77). But nation-states cannot deny the shift that occurs in their identity once they integrate the EU.

Politics influences culture and national identities are shaped by Europe. National boundaries are transcended by Europeanization. The weakened nation-state has undermined its capacity to meet the demand of citizen and people tend to consider issues more globally. The contact between the different cultural groups leads to social changes, i.e. acculturation. (Berry, 1986, quoted in Florack and Piontkowski, 2002, p.2). European identity is hybrid. It has been constructed through common historical Christian myths, a shared political and legal history and the tradition of humanism (Jacobs and Maier, 1998, p.7). Immigration might be facilitated by the integration of the European Union and those new minorities challenge the national identity. Contemporary perceptions are shaped by European supranationalism but as well economic globalization and the end of the Cold War. Identity is not static but dynamic (Jacobs and Maier, 1998, .p.3). Many states do not have a national identity because of the diverseness of the people. The lack of European civic identity threatens cultural identity. Countries such as Spain or Italy do not have any ambition to play a world role and adapt more comfortably to the implication of Europe’s integration. Moreover, because of their weak central state institution, their national identity is more social or regional and accommodation to subcultures is necessary. Germany, as a federal state already deals with different identities, like a small projection of Europe. Central and Eastern Europe countries are in search of a European identity through European Union membership. To do so they have to rethink their politics. Nation-states who integrate Europe have to sign the acquis communautaires which will as a result shape a new identity. They have to conform to the rules of Europe.
In a world of multi-layered political communities comprising diverse levels of political action, it is manifest that national cultures and identities are limited. Jenkins and Sofos (1996, p.29) explain that “to the extent that localities, regions and supranational institutions are empowered and achieve democratic legitimacy, national consciousness may be reduced to its proper place, as one of a set of ‘multiple identities’ where citizenship and politics are no longer confined within the boundaries of the nation-state”. National identity is today more global and pervasive (Smith, 1991, p.143). “The major concern about Europeanization is that it may weaken national sovereignty and national identity.” (Winn, 2003, p.4) and that is why “it is now a commonplace to talk about a postmodern “crisis of identity” – a sense of alienation and disorientation that accompanies the decomposition of cultural communities” (Kaldor, in Caplan and Feffer, 1996, p.47). Some argue that “in the industrial age only high cultures in the end effectively survive. Folk cultures and little traditions survive only artificially, kept going by language and folklore preservation societies” (Gellner, 1983, p.117). But it is important to keep in mind that “it is (…) multidimensionality that has made national identity such a flexible and persistent force in modern life and politics, and allowed it to combine effectively with other powerful ideologies and movements, without losing its character” (Smith, 1991, p.15). The theory has to be confronted with reality as well: “the EU’s commitment to cohesion, cooperation and multiculturalism in Eastern and Central Europe is mostly a top-down elite-led process, whilst the integration of ethnic groups within states requires a bottom-up society-wide acceptance of new institutions“(Winn, 2003, p.6). But still, this process might contribute to the construction of a post-national or supranational identity.

When it comes to constructing a European Identity, two theories are in competition: neo-functionalism and inter-governmentalism. But people seem to agree on the fact that the spill-over of Europeanization is irreversible and a civil society is developing. For instance, in Europe, there is an international and trans-ideological youth culture (Gellner, 1983, p.117) and Erasmus exchanges promote polylingualism. Transnationality increases interactions among the different actors and challenges the notion of citizenship. European citizenship as defined by the Maastricht Treaty is the result of the common good offered by Europe. People can be Eurocitizen, have a national identity and a regional one, in the same time. Through their national identity, people can play in the pool of European Identity. Sub-national, national and post-national identities can go together since these nested identities are compatible. There is no contradiction in feeling both Dutch and European. A condominium of powers, new form of political association that is sui generis, might be able to coexist with national identities and even to reinforce them since cultural cross-fertilization can provoke renewals of national identity (Smith, 1991, p.153). It opens the possibility of a “heterophilic Europe of multiple and mobile identities and a gradual erosion of the difference between “them” and “us” (Amin, 2000, quoted in Hudson, 2000, p.420). While Jacobs and Maier (1998, p.6) state that post-national citizenship diminishes the importance of national and cultural identity and categorization of self and others, it has to be noted that national sovereignty is often curtailed by the accreditation of power to Brussels, evidence of a small step toward supranational transcendence. “For those who press for a political union of European states the national type of collective identity has ceased to be viable and desirable” (Smith, 1991, p.151). A “multinational nation” can be seen in the making since most states today are ethnically heterogeneous and plural (Smith, 1991, p.144). A common European consciousness might be crucial for the transformation of Europe into a genuine supra-national union (Jacobs and Maier, 1998, p.6). “Unity in diversity” was the motto adopted for the European Union by the Constitutional Treaty signed in Rome on 29 October 2004. Diversity is contained within a coherent cultural system. But the concept of post-national identity has as well its limits.
One can forge supra-national institutions but any attempt to create supra-national facts in unlikely to be successful on the cultural level (Smith, 1993, p.134). European construction is post-national rather than supranational: it recognizes pluralism of the states but does not project the idea of a nation-states upon members. “There is (…) little prospect of a European “super-nation” until the majority of each European nation’s population becomes infused with a genuinely European consciousness” (Smith, 1991, p.152). European public relations campaigns might try to introduce a variety of Eurosymbolism on people but identity cannot be imposed and comes from the people. “It seems that the best foundation for such an identity is the emphasis on a shared political future, rather than a shared national past” (Winn, 2003, p.5) On the Internet, the European library is a good attempt to give cohesion to European culture. But books of European history for school, meeting of European intellectuals or museums of European art might be Utopias. If there is deconstruction of identity, it does not come only from the accession of Europe. International migration, multi-ethnic societies, multi-states bureaucracies and other transnational institutions (Morris, 1997, p.194) play as well a role. “The importance of Pan-nationalisms lies in their ability to counteract, or at least suggest an alternative to, the fissiparous tendencies of proliferating ethnic nationalisms” (Smith, 1991, p.172) which undermines the concept of “family of cultures” where each state is a single bead on a whole necklace.

The European dilemma lies in the fact that unification relies on a plurality of nationals with rival and contrasting European identities more than it could rely on post-national citizen with a united self-consciousness (Deflem and Pampel, 1996, p.138). Europe needs a construction plan to stop looking like a patchwork but it should avoid standardization leading to a vanilla flavored society. Each country has its own views about Europe and European identity; Europe is for Germany a must, for Great-Britain a threat and for Spain a chance. Through construction and deconstruction, nation-states reinvent perpetually their culture and identity. Europe shapes national identities as national identities shape Europe. Bridges have to be built to leave together since culture is as much important as defense. Europeanization of activities is not Europeanization of identities and cultures. Multiculturalism might be what defines the best European identity to shape a concept of Pan-European identity. Europe is diverse and diversity is its strength. More than being about identity, the issue is about identification. Nation-states do not necessarily have to deconstruct their identity but they should definitely build a new form of identification to share the vision of Europe.

Bibliography
\ Caplan, R and Feffer, J. (eds.). (1996). Europe’s New Nationalism: States and Minorities in Conflict. New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press.
\ Deflem, M and Pampel, FC. (1996). “The Myth of Postnational Identity: Popular. Support for European Unification.” Social Forces 75(1): pp. 119-143.
\ Eurobaromètre 68. Retrieved June 8, 2009, from Web site: http://www.tns-sofres.com/points-de-vue/C7E70C4B075948AB969E858DEEEB330C.aspx 
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\ Fuchs, D and Klingemann, HD. (2002). “Eastward Enlargement of the European Union and the Identity of Europe’, West European Politics, 25/2, pp.19-54.
\ Gellner, E. (1983). Nations and Nationalism. Oxford UK and Cambridge USA: Blackwell.
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\ Jacobs, D.and Maier, R. (1998). European identity: Construct, fact and fiction. In M. Gastelaars and A. de Ruijter (eds.), A United Europe: The Quest for a Multifaceted Identity. Maastricht: Shaker. pp.13-33.
\ Jenkins, B and Sofos, S A., (eds.) (1996). Nation and identity in contemporary Europe. London and New-York : Routledge. 
\ Laitin, D. (2002). ‘Culture and National Identity: “The East” and European Integration’, West European Politics, 25/2, pp. 55-80.
\ Morris, L. (1997). “Globalization, Migration and the Nation-State: The Path to a Post-. National Europe?”, The British J. of Sociology, Vol. 48, No. 2: pp. 192-209
\ Smith, A.D. (1991), National identity. London: Penguin.
\ Smith, A. (1993) `A Europe of Nations – Or the Nation of Europe?. Journal of Peace Research 30(2): pp. 129-135 
\ Winn, N. (2003) “The European Union’s External Face: The. Europeanisation of JHA and CFSP”, Perspective on European Politics and. Society, 4 (1):147-166.

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Certes, l’Europe fait actuellement face à certaines situations difficiles telles que des problèmes économiques relatifs à la trop faible croissance ou au chômage, une commission qui est actuellement plus dévouée à la dérégulation qu’à la construction d’une Europe sociale, une présidence en Grande Bretagne qui ne suit pas l’ambition européenne ou encore l’impasse du traité constitutionnel. Mais l’Europe, c’est aussi une vision, un projet de société, des valeurs humanistes, c’est tirer profit de la diversité plutôt que de ne la voir comme un frein. Si l’on s’intéresse à la personnalité juridique, actuellement, il s’agit d’une organisation qui combine le niveau supranational et le niveau intergouvernemental, sur un champ géographique restreint mais avec un rôle politique propre et un pouvoir de contrainte sur ses membres plus importants. L’Européanisation est synonyme d’intensification du processus démocratique au delà des frontières des états. La politique domestique ne peut plus être séparée des exigences internationales dans un monde d’interdépendance. Il est possible que d’ici vingt ans, l’Europe atteigne un stade où le nombre de transfert de compétences rendra la souveraineté nationale moins pertinente. Une des questions majeures dans un futur proche touchera les questions de démocratisation, d’identité et d’intégration européenne.

Les enjeux de l’Europe de demain s’exprimeront à travers l’Union Européenne. L’Europe tend vers une configuration socio-politique d’un nouveau genre où les élites nationales et les gouvernements des états, et les bureaucrates renoncent à une partie de leur pouvoir au profit d’une entité plus puissante. Être citoyen n’est plus nécessairement lié à un état : on peut se sentir également citoyen européen. plus particulièrement, la mondialisation permet de se confronter au regard de l’autre et d’être perçus sur un autre continent comme une personne dite “européenne”. Cela montre l’unité vers laquelle nous tendons. Alors que la notion de citoyenneté est en train d’évoluer, la question des droits des minorités doit être posées, en l’occurence l’appartenence nationale. L’exemple de l’ex-Yougoslavie et de la Russie montrent à quel point il pourrait être dangereux de gommer les identités nationales au profit d’une identité européenne. La question de l’élargissement de l’Europe à la Turquie est un leitmotiv sur la scène publique. Il n’est pas nécessairement envisageable que cette hypothèse devienne réalité. D’une part, le gouvernement turc le souhaite mais pas tous les citoyens. D’autre part, beaucoup d’Européens ne souhaitent pas accueillir un pays grand, avec une forte démographie et une économie bien solide. Dans les prochaines années, l’Europe devra régler ce type de questions. Le socle commun, la clé de voûte doit donc être construite avec raison. Cette Europe n’est pas nécessairement construite par un patchwork de différentes nationalités, à l’inverse ce sont les gens qui construisent mutuellement cette métareflexivité en rapport aux autres et au monde. L’européanisation passe par plusieurs étapes. Le polyglotisme européen est parfois vu comme un problème car de nombreux interprètes et traducteurs sont sollicités au sein des organes politiques de l’Union. Au contraire, il faut voir cette diversité comme une atout, considérant qu’une autre langue, c’est aussi une manière différente d’envisager un problème, du fait même de la structure mentale impliquée. Utiliser uniquement l’anglais au parlement par exemple pourrait avoir comme conséquence de créer un ghetto linguistique où juste une élite pourrait participer aux débats, rappelant l’élitisme du latinisme par le passé. De plus, l’anglais qui est une langue de référence actuellement ne le sera peut-être plus dans les prochaines années, considérant l’émergence de nouvelles puissances. Le problème reste malgré tout que certaines langues telles que le catalan, même s’il s’agit de la dixième langue la plus parlée en Europe n’est pas reconnue officiellement dans les institutions européennes. Pourtant l’hypothèse Sapir Whorf montre que nous avons tout à gagner au multilinguisme puisque le langage reflète une compréhension particulière et unique culturellement, du monde.

La question de l’Europe des vingt prochaines années soulève le cas de la protection, au sens large. l’Europe garantit l’identité de chacun, culture langues doivent être protégés et mis en valeur. L’identité de l’Europe est construite de l’intérieur mais également par les influences extérieures. Le multiculturalisme est une force pour peu que l’on s’attache à unir et unifier tout en préservant les différentes identités. Chacun se doit avoir vis à vis de l’Europe une exigence sociale, civique et écologique. ces dernières doivent être défendues. Des pays qui s’influencent les un les autres : prendre exemple des pays nordiques sur leur politique équité parité genre et travail. L’Union Européenne doit travailler pour devenir plus légitime. Une identité européenne devra être créer afin d’avoir toujours la possibilité de jouer le rôle d’acteur au plan international. Le processus accéléré d’intégration a rendu difficile le travail sur l’identité, d’autant plus que chaque pays tiens à conserver la sienne. Mais identités peuvent être combinées, comme le théorise Habermas ou même le marketing avec le concept d’identité parapluie.

Concernant le pouvoir économique, la concurrence doit devenir équitable au sein de l’Europe et les pays doivent être aidés pour atteindre ces standards. L’Europe doit promouvoir la coopération plutôt que la compétition au sein des pays membres. l’harmonisation plutôt que le dumping. Un impôt unique sur les transactions boursières en Europe pour financer des projets européens tels que l’éducation et la recherche. Un SMIC européen pourrait également être crée. L’Union européenne a fonctionné pour l’Europe mais peut être qu’il n’en serait pas de même ailleurs dans le monde. L’Europe est un modèle mais il faut garder que tout comme certains pays ont été des échecs, certaines organisations peuvent m’être aussi. Espace et temps doivent être pris en considération. Les choses ont changé et si l’Europe devait être recréée aujourd’huin elle serait sûrement différente. Néanmoins, les organisations internationales de ce type semblent être une réponse à la mondialisation et permettent aux plus petits pays de gérer une plus grande compétition des grands pays, via les alliances. La monnaie unique, tout en préservant les identités nationales a permis une nouvelle naissance de l’Europe. L’adoption de l’Euro a été une étape majeure. Ce modèle économique a inspiré d’autres organisations internationales telles qu’ECOWAS en Afrique et dans les prochaines années, d’autres pays adopteront probablement également une monnaie commune. Bien qu’elle soit plus organisée et plus réglée que d’autres endroits du monde; maintenant il faut travailler à une union monétaire plus commune, plus intégrée. L’Union Européenne peut être à l’initiative d’une nouvelle régulation mondiale comme cela a été montré au G20. Le tourisme en Europe et plus particulièrement le tourisme culturel nécessitera dans le futur une grande attention. Il s’agit d’un agent majeur en matière de changement social et économique. De nombreux touristes sont attirés par la richesse historique et culturelle de l’Europe. Mais l’Union devra légiférer dans le futur pour contrôler les dérives du narcotourisme ou du tourisme médical, générateurs d’anxiété.

L’Europe de demain devra être une Europe plus active, plus protectrice, avec un véritable pouvoir économique. Il est nécessaire de se pencher activement sur la question du vote et de la représentation des citoyens européennes au Parlement. Les élections européennes sont extrêmement importantes puisque beaucoup de lois que les Etats implémentent ont comme source l’Europe. Il faut donc réhabiliter ses élections et faire que politiques médias et citoyens se sentent impliqués et concernés dans la campagne. Les élections européennes ne se jouent pas sur une opposition gauche droite ou sur des débats nationaux; au contraire elles ont une portée globale. L’échec de la ratification du traité constitutionnel doit être vu comme un épisode révélant la nécessaire réforme des institutions européennes. Il faudrait une réforme des institutions où un vote à la majorité suffit. La Convention a d’ailleurs proposé dans son projet de redéfinir ainsi la majorité qualifiée de cette manière : “la majorité qualifiée requise est constituée des deux tiers des États membres, représentant au moins les trois cinquièmes de la population de l’Union” (art. 24-2). Des institutions réformées permettraient d’éviter des moments embarrassants telles que le revirement de situation avec la convention sur l’avenir de l’Europe, quand Le Conseil européen, le 23 juin 2007 à Lisbonne, a mandaté une conférence inter-gouvernementale afin d’adopter avant 2009 le traité de Lisbonne. L’avantage des négociations intergouvernementales est la relative rapidité par rapport au vote avec ratification qui ralentit le processus. L’Europe n’est pas celle des bureaucrates de Bruxelles, elle doit être celle de tout un chacun. Il est nécessaire de construire une identité européennes si l’on souhaite renforcer le pouvoir politique de l’Union. Les citoyens doivent avoir la possibilité d’être informés sur les actions qui vont être entreprises et dans un second temps la manière dont elles ont été menées. Ils doivent être en mesure d’être représentés au parlement. Les délibérations doivent être rendues publiques, comme cela se fait pour l’assemblée nationale en France. Bien évidemment, le rôle de l’éducation est fondamental et des projets pédagogiques devront accompagner chaque le projet politique.

Des experts et observateurs peuvent avoir un rôle crucial dans le processus décisionnel. Il est également souhaitable que les organisations non gouvernementales et les organisations internationales telles que l’Europe travaillent mains dans la main pour solutionner les questions de santé, d’énergie où d’aide alimentaire dans le reste du monde. La question des immigrés politiques, économiques ou même climatiques devrait par exemple être adressée de manière Européenne. La questions de la sécurité et du respect des droits de L’Homme devrait être adressée par l’Europe travaillant avec, et non pas contre, des organisations telles que l’OTAN. Chacun a sa force. Par exemple là où l’OTAN est efficace sur le point militaire, l’Europe est efficace sur le plan de l’administration. Il faudra travailler à l’avenir à une sécurité européenne forte, similaire au conseil de sécurité des nations unies. L’ordre mondial de demain n’est ni à chercher du côté de l’anarchie internationales, ni de l’hégémonie mondiale, ni de l’état monde mais plutôt la gouvernance mondiale. Ainsi, l’Europe a et aura dans le futur un rôle important dans l’arène internationale. La vision institutionaliste des relations internationales et une école qui aide à comprendre quels liens entretiennent les institutions : elle est relativement pertinente pour analyser la probable situations mondiale, plutôt que réaliste ou idéaliste. Les pays ont tout intérêt à coopérer ensemble, au sein de l’Europe, afin de servir leurs intérêts. Travailler ensemble provoque une synergie, une valeur ajoutée utile pour gérer des problèmes globaux.

Avec la mondialisation, il est et il sera de plus en plus facile de voyager, et à bas prix, harmonisant temps et distance. La notion “d’étranger”, de “barbare”, risque de devenir floue, révélant du passage du salad mix au melting pot. Des programmes tels qu’Erasmus ou Socrates participent à l’échange d’idées en impliquant directement les jeunes. L’Europe devra par exemple dans le futur jouer un plus grand rôle vis à vis de la question du genre. Légiférer avec harmonie sur la pilule, l’avortement, le mariage homosexuel ou même la pornographie sont des points importants. La question de la prostitution devra aussi être harmonisée : aux Pays-Bas par exemple, les gérants des maisons closes sont tenus garants de la santé de leurs employées. Le modèle reproductif hétérosexuel normé qui est actuellement un idéal ne le sera plus dans un futur proche. Couples monoparentaux, homosexuels ou d’autres formes de familles sont en train d’apparaître. La société devra en tenir compte et un mariage homosexuel aux Pays-Bas devrait être reconnu en France, en tout cas il s’agit d’un des challenges des prochaines années. Le sport symbolise l’Europe en mouvement. Différents groupes luttent à ce propos pour leur propre intérêt, généralement économique. Le football, alliant compétition et coopération est une métaphore intéressant du chemin qu’est en train d’emprunter l’Europe. On peut se demander si le concept d’une unique équipe de football européenne serait possible. La télévision transnationale européenne, régulant la diffusion permet à tous les européens de visionner les grands événements sportifs. Mais ces régularisations peuvent aller plus loin. Par exemple, un système de quotas de programme européen à diffuser permettrait de préserver la culture européenne et d’éviter la dallassification de la culture.

Perpétuer la nation ou réinventer le vivre ensemble sont les questions que l’Europe devra se poser dans les vingt prochaines années. La construction d’une identité européenne sera un des défis majeurs de demain afin de créer un socle commun, tout en préservant les identités nationales. Politique économique et politique d’intégration doivent aller de paire. La culture doit servir de liant entre les différentes nations qui parfois divergent dans leur vision de l’Europe. Actuellement l’Union Européenne est vue comme une menace pour le Royaume-Uni, une nécessité pour l’Allemagne et une chance pour l’Espagne. Malgré ces différentes positions, les pays ont tout à gagner à construire ensemble l’Europe de demain pour que résonne mélodieusement l’ode à la joie dans les oreilles de nos enfants. L’Europe plus qu’un symbole doit devenir une réalité.

Gymnity has a material, psychological and social value. It promotes liberation of body and spirit, it can be seen as a result for women as a feminist practice. Challenging the corset war, the experience of naturism leads to a sensitive torpor. Without clothes, epidermic sensations stimulate women to rediscover their body, like a corporeal therapy. Regression or refinement, Eve’s outfit is considered as shameful nudity by some the Victorian inspired moralists or as true body freedom by some benevolent humanists. But nudity is not the issue whereas our perception of it is. Social nudity is non-sexual: nude is not lewd. The sexualized conception of nudity and modesty is ingrained and it has inspired Merejkosky who wrote in 1919 that women naturally chosen to hide their genitals in order to discourage men, especially from their families to have sex with them (Bologne, 1997, p.14). The breast and the penis have dominated the Freudian map of the mind and according to the psychoanalyst, breast-feeding is “the starting point of the whole sexual life” (Yalom, 1997, p.148) which shapes our current sexual representation of the body. The issue is more related to the humanization of the body that transcends the state of organic nature (Guindon,1997, p.147). Once this new freedom born of nature has been found, women can experience liberation, enjoyment and serenity. Interaction between people as well as the interaction between the body and the environment are challenged. Nevertheless, a gender gap is often noticed in naturist environments: 90% of the naturists are men (Varet, 1989, p.103). Individuals who practice this activity may define it differently but “naturism” is framed by the INF (International Naturist Federation) as a lifestyle in harmony with nature, expressed through social nudity, and characterized by self-respect of people with different opinions. It can take different forms and is acceptable within a specific context, indoors or outdoors: personal and family naturism, social naturism, naturist beaches, skinny dipping, nude snorkeling, nude diving, canuding, free hiking, free riding, naked yoga, sauna and so on. Women can practice naturism alone, in couple, while being pregnant or with their family as long as the environment is safe and healthy. Naturism might promote equality between genders since the traditional indifference toward female well-being is broken (Shorter, 1984, quoted in Kaufmann, 1998, p.51). Our society has to cope with the heritage of the Victorian regime where a series of prohibitions were brought to bear on the body of individuals, and especially women, surrounded by a culture of the alienated body and burdened by centuries of patriarchy. Breaking the body taboo requires courage, trust and independence of thought and despite the sexual revolution, the complex social conditioning-culturally embedded since childhood and doggedly persistent has to be overcome. Women tend to be more wary than men of clothing optional venues since for some of them it creates psychological tension. The fiendish punishment of the women is that she is an invisible victim. The way our culture deals with women’s body is an interesting reflection of culture itself that should be studied. The female naked body has to be analyzed since it provides essential keys to understand the position of women in society. It is important to wonder how naked women are usually depicted, why so few women practice naturism – vide supra, what can be the benefits of naturism for both genders and why the re-appropriation of women’s body is a crucial issue. Naturism is for women a bloom tool, both from a sociological and psychological perspective. Sociologically, family, age, equality, fraternity and pacifism are reinvested. Psychologically, sobriety, liberation, simplicity, rehabilitation, reconciliation, unification, truth, being, openness, sincerity, frankness, innocence, joy and reinsertion are reconsidered.

Modernity is characterized by the development of prudishness and negation of the body although history puts evidence that it has not always been the case. The Greek Olympic games used to be male and nude events and it is interested interesting to point out that the word “gymnastics” comes from “gymnos” (naked). The Digambar, belonging to an indian religion close to gymnosophy, remain naked though generally it is practiced by males. Nudity has a lot of positive virtues: according to Koch (1924), it can help to free the people from authority fixated conditioning which held proletarians in deference of their masters that are parental authority, paternalism of the church, the mass media and organs of law and order. Against body guilt, body objectification and body commodification, naturism that he saw as a means to eliminate them and encourage openness and end the repression of the human spirit. Women who are confronted to an imagery of a so-call perfect female body live sometimes with a feeling of deficiency or shame through social alienation and obscurantism when they think that it does not match this ideal. Modesty is a fear caused by a precise threat of anxiety that is the result of the fear to see the body judged. Phallocentric culture alienates women from their body. Women are determined by the manner in which their body and her cosmic links are modified through the action of others than themselves. A lot would not dare to practice naturism because they would be afraid to suffer from the pangs of social stigma. A significant number of women feel inferior because they think themselves as such and they envisage their body from the standpoint of a tradition of slavery and shame leading sometimes to narcissistic preoccupations. Normative femininity can be challenged by subversion and resistance. Descamps, (1987, p.180) reports the works of Maslow (1965) and Jourard (1964) developing the idea that naturism can provide a psychotherapy. From a psychoanalytic standpoint it could even promote a better ad-equation between body image and body schema (Descamps,1987, p.181). Kaufmann (1996) has studied the body of women linked to glance of men and also women since it is supposed to be less coercive and more acceptable, designing a sociology of bare breast. According to him, tanning topless on the seaside might be ruled by a secret language of segregation even if it seems to be a picture of liberty and tolerance (Kaufmann,  1998, p.103). Women who do not have a nice bosom do not have this practice or lie on their stomach to hide it, which is a shame, succumbing to the culture of the glance and the heritage of the Judeo-Christian moral tradition. Embodying the social order, the genderization of perception leads to a practice of localization that reproduces the structural principles of society: men versus women. Stout (2009) explains that “the mutual vulnerability of having nothing to hide somehow balances the power equation between sexes, and universal body acceptance facilitates a comfortable self acceptance”. Clothes differentiate within the body the areas offered to the other and since some parts are forbidden it creates an attitude of mistrust (Descamps, 1987, p.65). Without anything to hide, one can rebuild trust, genuineness and sincerity. Personal reconciliation has some repercussions on people around (Descamps, 1987, p.63). It promotes communication across gender, generational and genetic differences. A lot of women explain that they feel safer naked in a naturist environment rather than dressed in the street (Descamps, 1987, p.68). The experienced comfort can be reinvested elsewhere (Kaufmann, 1998, p.53). Despite of differences in age, body shape, fitness, and health, a lot of women who practice naturism feel more accepted for their entire being. “Body acceptance is the idea, nude recreation is the way” (TNS, 2005). Unity with humanity becomes more obvious with less regard to a person’s wealth, position, nationality, race, and sex. But obviously, posture, color of skin or language cannot disappear only by the simple action of undressing (Guillain, 1998, p.99). Nudity can still be seen as a political statement: in the Netherlands, the Naastenliefde, vrijheid en diversiteit party supports the idea to pass legislation to make public non-sexual nudity legal everywhere.

It is important to correct common misconceptions about social nudity and to promote the virtues and unexpected insights that it can provide. Naturism is not naturalism, exhibitionism, nudism or sexual tourism. Naturism is not nudity per se (Varet, 1989, p.79). It is a liberating practice that promotes both for women and men positive values such as hygiene, health, sport and even sometimes vegetarianism. “I did not feel violated; rather, I felt liberated from the repressive thinking that the body is an object that must continually be kept hidden from anybody other than one’s spouse or lover” confesses a convert girl who found in other female naturists some role models (Siruno and Toledano, 2006, p.27). It leads to relaxation, stress relief, positive body image, body acceptance and self esteem. Women are more self conscious of their body. This channel is a way to feed spiritual life, to fulfill the need for self-realization. In their every-day-life, women are encouraged to evade human growth in the name of femininity, to wear corset, rags of shame. It is about ethic as well as aesthetic, it promotes an existential euphony established on the model of a piece of art (Kaufmann,1998, p.148). Against gymnophobia and the puritan conception of body expressed with some artifacts such as tattoos or piercing, naturism proposes to get closer to a natural body. It redefines the notions of beauty and celebrates the naked body, as it is presented in several paintings and statues. Emancipated women have more chance to achieve a satisfying life. Naturism helps to understand social mutations. The fear of corruption of the individual body reflects more globally the fear of corruption of the social body. It redefines women’s perception about their body and the body of others. Nudity is not seen as negative but on the contrary as positive since it helps women to get close to their flesh that they usually hide. Being naked helps women to reconsider how to consider and to deal with issues such as shaving, menstruations, shape and so on. To shave or not to shave is one of the elements of a complex corporeal rhetoric (Urbain, 1994, p.316). Hairs can be seen as a cloth sub specie naturae apt to hide the body (Guindon, 1997, p.142). But the male gaze and especially porn movies tend to recreate a hairless aesthetic. Naturist women can escape the social constraint in the name of a legitimate bloom, far from the distortion of the dirty and sinful body. Women have to defend themselves, to emerge into the light of transcendence and the battle of sexes is not directly implied in anatomy of people. The liberation struggle and the struggle to defend the female body are closely linked and what is sometimes considered as women’s weakness is actually their strength. Identity is reconstructed in the light of a new personal insight and a benevolent vision of others. The body is a gift to be loved, appreciated and respected. The attitude women have towards the body somehow defines women themselves.

From a pragmatic point of view, all over the world, there is a large network of people practicing naturism such as the INF or the TNS (The Naturist Society). Also, many organizations, landed site directories and societies can provide more information about the topic. In art, the naked women imagery is quite rich. Hans Baldung is probably one of the best examples of a painter who depicted women linked to the notions of vice, seductive sexuality and even death (Guindon,1997, p.169). On the opposite Cézanne’s bathers or Manet’s Lunch on the grass provide a far more positive image of the naked woman. Bonnard and Sluijters depicted some women after the bath, Botero and Picasso some naked women reading. Judy Chicago with her “Dinner Party” allowed vulvic imagery to stand for common, with a disturbing essentialism toward Freudian misogynistic assumptions. Many feminist artists give interesting clues: Carolee Schneeman and her “Interior Scroll”, Cindy Sherman with “#228” who expresses men’s castration anxiety or Barbara Kruger with an untitled poster who writes “your gaze hits the side of my face”. Art is an interesting medium to gather more information about the naked woman. More theoretically, sociology of the body that studies the representations and social uses of the human body in modern societies. Naturism has as well its own thinkers: the Pudor’s Nacktkultur (1907), Doctor Carton’s healthy way of life philosophy (1922) or Koch’s Körperschülen (1932). Post-modern feminism provides as well keys to understand the female masquerade, the feminine stereotype and the gendered viewer to challenge the male’s gaze. Foucault (1976) locates the body in a political field and sees it as a central component in the operation of power relations. He created the concept of bio-power that is the practice of modern states and their regulation of their subjects through an explosion of numerous and diverse techniques for achieving the subjugations of bodies and the control of populations. The control of women’s body is achieved by putting force to keep them dissatisfied with themselves. Simone de Beauvoir (1952, p.756) admits that “the males find in woman more complicity than the oppressor usually finds in the oppressed”. But where there is power, there is resistance. Naturism is a cultural practice that transcends the female body. Unfortunately, only a few have experimented this lifestyle since laws, institutions, public opinion, customs and the whole social context are not equal yet for men and women. Taylor Allen (2008) states that “despite all the progress that they have made, the women of the twentieth century did not advance into a utopia of equality and justice, and the struggle for gender equality must continue”. The naked truth is that women’s liberation brings with it men’s liberation. A human equality brought by naturism might be utopian idea but it is still an occasion and a symbol. But a happening such as Woodstock is an inspiring example of nudity serving solidarity, fraternity and harmonious behavior toward the body, the environment and the so-called other. Descamps (1987, p.69) summarized with brio that through naturism, a triple reinsertion occurs: from physic to psychic, from psychosomatic to social and from social to natural.

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INTRODUCTION
Living in a multicultural environment is not that easy even if Mc Luhan’s expression of “global village” could presume that time and space compression have been totally achieved. Cultural differences remain and they can become important issue when they lead to misunderstanding. The benefits of intercultural communication are “healthier communities, increased commerce, reduced conflicts and personal growth through tolerance” (Neuliep, 2006) but communication is sometimes made more difficult. Power distance, physical contact or etiquette can cause noise in an intercultural context. Intercultural communication has to be motivated, knowledgeable, skilled and sensitive. In this essay, it will be wondered how proximity is experienced within teachers and students in a multicultural class. Several sub-topics will help to answer the problematic: How does a culture influence proximity and power distance? What are the main proximity differences within international students and teachers? What are the main misinterpretations that can occur? How should people deal with proximity to avoid cultural clash? Different issues will be taken into consideration: proximity and power, individualistic and collectivistic cultures, low contact and high contact cultures, proxemics and power distance. This will be the basis of some recommendations on how to become intercultural.

PROXIMITY AND POWER
Proximity is the distance between two points. Applied to intercultural communication, it is one criteria for the classification of nonverbal communication. It occurs through body gestures, touch, space, physical appearance, vocalics, olfactory system and chronemics. These subcodes have different functions such as identification and self-presentation, control of the interaction, relationship of interactants, display of cognitive information, display of effective information and display of deception. When it comes to studying proximity, it is necessary to be aware of different aspects of non verbal communication: paralinguistic clues (how someone looks, gestures or adopts a particular tone of voice), proxemics (the study of spatial distances between speakers in different cultures and situations), haptics (the study of the sense of touch applied to communication), oculesics (the study of eye contact),  olfactifs (the study of body smell) or even silence and turn taking (how the interaction is dealt with). Proximity and power distance are two notions closely linked. Hofstede (quoted in Neuliep, p.76) explains that “power distance” is “the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country, expect and accept that power is distributed unequally”. In 1985, Wubbels, Créton have Hooymayers elaborated a “Model for Interpersonal Teacher Behavior” (see: Appendix, Figure 1). In this model, teaching is described in term of proximity (cooperation or opposition) and influence (dominance or submission). This theoretical framework is a good starting point to analyze power relations within a classroom. But it becomes even more interesting when it comes to a multicultural environment including different kind of people, from individualistic to collectivistic cultures.

INDIVIDUALISTIC AND COLLECTIVISTIC CULTURES
Dimensions of cultural variability and barriers have to be considered since individualist and collective cultures shape people differently. Individualism is “the opposite of collectivism; together they form on of the dimensions of national cultures. Individualism stands for a society in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after himself or herself and his or her immediate family only”. Collectivism “stands for a society in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong cohesive in-groups, which throughout people’s lifetime continue to protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty” (Hofstede, 1994, p.261). Proximity does not obey global rules. Territoriality, Contact, interpersonal distance, touch, sensory involvement differ from a culture to an other one. Kluckhohn and Strodbeck have theorized value orientations: relations with other people depends on the culture (individualistic or collectivist), the power distance (hierarchical or democratic), they are neutral or convey emotion. High-context communication often corresponds with communitarian settings, while low-context communication often occurs in individualist settings. In high-context cultures, silence is more valued because it means mutual understanding.  Neuliep (2006, p.51) explains the consequences of individualism versus collectivism on a communication level: in the US, it is said that “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” while in Japan, “the tallest nail gets hammered down”. Culture-specific face and face maintenance has an impact on negotiation outcomes. In China (collectivistic, interdependent-self, and high-context culture) it is is presumed to manifest other-oriented and mutual face concerns, and remedial strategies, like avoidance and hinting in face-threatening situations. On the opposite, in America (individualistic, independent-self, and low-context culture) it is assumed to show concern for self-face and to enact self-face related remedial strategies like aggression or clarification. Gudykunst and Kim (2003, p.78) give an interesting example of the dimension of role expectation depending of the culture. In the USA, there is some degree of hierarchy between students and teachers but not as much as in Asia where students are expected to take notes without challenging what the teacher says. They take the case of an American student in China, asking a question to the teacher who does not answer. If an asiatic teacher avoids  answering a question and advices the student to find the answer in a book, he might look unhelpful and lacking of knowledges from an American point of view. But the teacher may on the other hand perceive the student as a trouble maker because he should not talk during the class.

HIGH CONTACT AND LOW CONTACT CULTURES
Gudykunst and Kim (2003, p.253) explain that “close” and “far” mean different things depending of the culture: a high-contact culture will consider more closeness as something positive. People from a low contact culture tend to avoid eye contact. In South Korea it means “I will not attack you”, it is a mark of respect from the student to the teacher. But it can be interpreted as rude, aggressive, disrespectful, or flirtatious, if someone does not maintain eye contact, depending on the culture. Sensory involvement such as smell or touch is preferred by high contact cultures. Mehrabian (1971) defines “immediacy” as “the evaluative dimension of meaning, and it involves judgments of close-far, positive-negative, and good-bad” all these things are used to indicate psychological closeness to others. Immediacy is associated with: close conversational distance, direct body orientation, forward lean, direct gaze, positive facial reinforcers, postural openness, frequent gesturing and touch. The way people interpret a message is a knowledge and this “message about the message” is called metamessage.

PROXEMICS

Space
Proxemics reveals that people handle space differently, depending on the type of culture they come from. If personal space is violated, people from individualistic cultures may react actively while people from collectivist culture may adopt a passive stance. It is crucial for students to understand more about how physical space is dealt with in different cultures if they do not want to experience feelings of exclusion for instance. A Moroccan student in Japan would have to adapt his behavior otherwise he might be labelled as “weird”, “homosexual” or “abuser”. Knowing some proxemics cues is important to increase peoples’ comprehension and expression. Personal space is the space surrounding a person into which intruders may not come. This space is different according to the culture. In a classroom, when personal space is violated, people can react with shift of postures, attempts to move away or defensive gestures. Hall (1959) has defined three types of space: fixed-feature, semi-fixed feature and informal (see: Appendix, Figure 2). The space configuration of the classroom can be described in terms of fixed-feature. The use of the classroom space influences the way students talk, behave, feel and work.

Distance
Hall distinguishes four types of informal distances: public (with unknown people), social-consultative (professional and unofficial social occasions), personal (between friends) and intimate distance (with close relationships). Southern European cultures are known to appreciate relatively close personal space compared to Northern European cultures. Once again, each culture has its body boundaries and the space bubble or body language can be misinterpreted. Axtell (1997, p.40) classifies cultures as follow: “high contact” are touching cultures (Middle East, Latin American, Greece,…), “moderate contact” are middle ground (France, China, Ireland,…) and “low contact” do not touch (Japan, US, England,…). Students and teachers need to be sensitive to these differences since a body gesture can appear personal or intimate depending on the culture of the person.

Territory
Territory refers to any socio-graphical area that someone consistently defends against conspecifics. People tend to protect their territory against. territory invasion. Territoriality (Attman and Chemers, quoted in Gudykunst and Kim, 2003, p.254). Territorial behavior involves control or ownership of a place or object on a temporary or permanent basis. Within the primary, secondary and public territory, the attitude provides identity and status. One can distinguish public territories, home territories, interaction territories (the classroom) and body-territories. Students usually unconsciously choose a territory by sitting all the time at the same place. If someone sits at a place where he usually does not sit, a problem may arise: seating rules are strong enough that they represent social norms and it can be considered deviant to violate them. The territory of the teacher depends of the kind of class and the culture. In the Netherlands, during lectures, the teacher sits in front of students, sometimes on a platform. During seminars, it can happen that the teacher will sit with the students, in a circle. In a classroom or during a meeting, the place where people sit reveals a bit of their function: boss, middleman, side-liner, opponent or outsider. Proxemics give some clues on how much power each person have.

POWER DISTANCE
Power distance refers to the degree of hierarchy and the way organigrams are set-up. Power distance affects verbal and non verbal communication. People from individualistic cultures tend to have a small power distance whereas people from collectivist cultures have a bigger one (see: Appendix, Figure 3). Gudykunst and Kim (2003, p.83) show that intimacy of in-group relationships is rated 5.72/10 in United States and 3.34/10 in Japan. In Asia, when people bow round to salute each other, the way they do it gives clues about their social rank. People from high-power distance cultures accept power as part of society and are more submissive like in Mexico or Brazil. On the opposite, the Netherlands, Sweden or Germany are small power distance cultures. Gudykunst and Kim (2003, p.77) explain that “the formality of student-teacher relationships in some cultures is summarized aptly by and Egyptian proverb: “whoever teaches me a letter, I should become a slave to him forever”. Depending of the culture, power is distributed differently. For instance, in the Netherlands, there is a two way stream model: both teachers and students can talk and quite often, student sit in circle to make exchanges easier. Even if things are changing, the French model tend to have a teacher, sitting in front of the students, a bit upper and making the lecture. Students can talk but they need to raise their hand and what they have to say must be “more important than silence”. In China, students are not supposed to talk or it could be perceived as something rude, disturbing the class. Students and teachers have to be aware of these aspects in order to live in harmony with each other.

BECOMING INTERCULTURAL
According to Adler (2007, p.84) there are different sources of cross-cultural misinterpretations including subconscious, cultural “blinders”, a lack of cultural self-awareness, projected similarities and parochialism. It has been shown that that students perceive teachers in multicultural classes higher on the “influence” and “proximity” dimensions than students in monocultural classes (Houwen 2006). It is important to understand these mechanisms since an attitude leads to an emotional, cognitive and behavioral response from the other party. In international groups, both students and teachers have to adapt their way of thinking and to shift to an intercultural behavior. Some recommendations can help teachers and students to understand more each other and to improve their relations. According to Bennett, there are different attitudes toward cultural differences: denial, defense, minimization (ethnocentrism), acceptance, adaptation, integration (ethnorelativism). It is important for students and teachers to know their own culture in order to understand how to deal with some issues involving people from other cultures. Different behavior can help to accelerate the process: adaptation, education, getting rid of stereotypes ethnocentrism and prejudices, being mindful,  changing our expectations of strangers, changing in attitude toward the group as a whole, switch code, interpersonal synchronization and to finish personal and social communication. Proximity can be a tool used to well-manage classroom and decrease problems. Joule and Beauvois (2002) explain that teachers who touches their students tend to make them more cooperate. Touching people is even on a wider perspective a good way to obtain things from them. The two researchers did the following experience: they left some money in a phone box, let someone taking it and then said to the person that they forgot some money inside. Without touching the person, 63% gave the money back. When body contact is involved, they were 93% to give it back. Touching increases scholar performances, creates a positive attitude in the class room and reduces the stress of people. Of course, there are some limits: it is socially acceptable to put one hand on the shoulder of a student but more could be seen as inappropriate. In a multicultural, the teacher should move a lot, circulating around the room to make students more engaged and involved. Interactive with and monitoring students is a must. And it provides a good feedback to the teacher who can adapt his or her behavior. Students are more aware of the teacher’s presence and it keeps students more on their task, especially if the route is unpredictable. A sense of order is naturally preferable to an oppressive supervision. Each teacher is free to pick-up his or her favorite posture toward students: the expert and the greens, the guide and the actors, the conductor and the performers or the reader and the clarifier. To sum up, reading, interviewing fellow students, observing, taking parts in role plays can be good opportunities for students to learn more on how to deal with proximity.

CONCLUSION
Living in a multicultural environment requires an adjustable behavior since a communicational conflict can occur when people do not understand each other. This essay have shown how proximity is experiences within teachers and students in a multicultural class by focusing on proximity and power, individualist and collectivist cultures, low contact and high contact cultures, proxemics and power distance. Recommendations and answers to the questions came from the research. It has been shown that culture influences the way people behave and more specifically proximity and power distance. People from high-contact culture will touch each other a lot and people from individualistic culture will dare to challenge power, especially the power of the teacher, since their position does not have any repercussion on the whole community. In places where power distance is small, this behavior is usually acceptable. In a multicultural class, space, distance and territory are not experienced the same way by each actor. Some students might appear cold and uninterested by their lack of eye contact while in fact it means that they show respect to the teacher.  Similarly, depending of the country, greeting a teacher can be very formal or more informal. Culture programs the mind of people but it is important to avoid ethnocentrism in order to live harmoniously. One’s body belongs to oneself so it is important to deal with proximity in a way that people are not hurt. Getting to know each other leads to a better understanding.  It is necessary to become more culturally aware, more sensitive to other cultures and more skillful in intercultural communication. The right balance have to be found, following the norms of respect but avoiding to create an aseptic world. Fighting haptephobia is probably the right things to do to make the classroom an pleasant place to be and to learn.

APPENDIX
Figure 1. The model for interpersonal teacher behavior
Retrieved Apr. 2, 2009, from Web site:  HYPERLINK “http://www.fed.qut.edu.au/projects/asera/PAPERS/Image1.jpg” http://www.fed.qut.edu.au/projects/asera/PAPERS/Image1.jpg
Figure 2: Diagram of Edward T. Hall’s personal reaction bubbles
Retrieved Apr. 2, 2009, from Web site:  HYPERLINK “http://www.thuanngo.com/lasalle/images/references/reaction-bubble-by-edward-sm.gi” http://www.thuanngo.com/lasalle/images/references/reaction-bubble-by-edward-sm.gi Figure 3: Individualism and Power-distance
Retrieved Apr. 2, 2009, from Web site:  HYPERLINK “http://www.emeraldinsight.com/fig/3010020301002.png” http://www.emeraldinsight.com/fig/3010020301002.png

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In a way of thunking, it can be argued that politics has become a minor form of show business because of the media-tization of it. The signifiant role played by the media in contemporary Western politics raises the question of whether there is a crisis of public (or civic) communication. Defenders of democracy are sometimes pessimistic and point out the commercialization and the commodification of politics by the media, the rise of infotainment or the tabloidization of political leaders. In 1997, when Diana, princess of Wales died in a car accident caused partially by the paparazzi, the media coverage was massive. The way that the media dealt with this political figure was more similar to a way to deal with a pop idol. In the new publicity game, it can be wondered if there is still an ethic. Roles have shifted and politicians who are looking for the best visibility sometimes have to take part in some entertainment shows. In 2003, Blair appeared on MTV for his campaign regarding the war against Iraq. It can be stated that this strategy was good to reach some people who do not watch political programs but the debate is necessarily less interesting in this kind of situation as tough questions are just non existent. In a tabloid fashion, politics is sometimes treated by the media sensationally, including scandal, tending to “newszak” i.e. news converted into entertainment, degrading public discourse. It is inevitable that politics should be commercialized because it is the way that the media work: the change in the economics of media impacts change in politics. The media want to maximize their profit and their audience size: to achieve these goals and to not bore the audience they sometimes turn politics into show-business. Pseudo events become a prominent part of political news coverage, leading sometimes to the bias of the news. Politics is turned into melodramas. Exoo (1994, p.53) explains that political news are sometimes dramatized, pointing out “the horse race of preference polls”, “the handicapping of the race”, “the soap opera of attack, gaffe and scandal” and “the hoopla of pseudo-events and photo ops”. Murdoch’s motto could be sum up in five “s”: sun, sensationalism, sex, scandals… and more globally scandology. It can be wondered who chooses this system. The hegemony theorists state that television is an instrument of capitalist theory that is narcotizing diversion from the real world of serious problems. Marketplace democracy theorists think that popular culture is chosen by the masses because it serves their interest and their needs. Hegemony theorists consider that rather than being proactive, the public is reactive. He totally agrees with the fact that News Corporation is in the entertainment business. Politics is often closely linked to popular culture: Blair appeared on photographs with Bono or Galagher, said that he loved the Beatles, did a speech on Bowie’s music in 1966. He is perfectly embodying the concept of endorsement and typifying the belief that politics is becoming a minor form of show-business. The idea is that the popularity of these pop idols will rub off on politicians such as Blair. Politics is as well a reality show program on the internet now with the “youtubification of politics”. While entertainment influences politics, politics influences as well entertainment: a lot of authentic events has been the basis of numerous synopsis. Among them, The Queen (Frears, 2006), JFK (Stone, 1991) or W (Stone, 2008). There is as well an infiltration of media actors in politics such as Reagan, Berlusconi, or Stalone.

There is no correlation between news density and news quality. There are more and more publications but obviously it does not mean that the content has a better quality. The media still have to have a code of conduct when it comes to publishing some stories. They are sometimes accused or not being responsible enough, forgetting that they should perform different functions such as information provision, electoral mobilization or watchdog. Relaxation of regulatory regimes, consumerist decisions making, growing power of advertisers and big volume that journalists have to produce make sometimes the responsibility of the media vanishing. The freedom of the press have necessarily to be pointed out, but the media are still responsible about their content. The dilemma opposing consumer sovereignty versus public service reveals that some private channels consider that the viewer is king and that TV should serve the interest of the individuals. In a competitive market, some regulations are sometimes necessary to constrain the media to have quality programs. “The basic ingredients for the renewal of the policy debate over press regulation are still there: a competitive and shrinking newspaper market; journalists’ fascination with human interest stories; and public obsession with the lives of celebrities and elite figures” (Deacon, 2004, quoted in Kuhn, 2007, p.140). Hallin’s model theorizes where the debate can take place: he distinguishes the spheres of consensus, controversy and deviance. It is about how much the media are willing to talk about and how much the audience can handle. For instance, Diana’s last pictures has never been published in a magazine even if it is not true on the Internet since it is very difficult to monitor the internet due to its transnational nature, the amount of data uploaded and the diversity of the users. On one hand, it can be argued that popular news seeks to provoke and question power. But on the other hand, it can be wondered whether it is responsible to deal with politics in a show business fashion. The tabloidization of politics has damaged public life since entertainment removes the real question from discussion. Blumer and Gurevitch (1995, quoted in Kuhn, 2007, p.264) analyze what is the bad consequences of the poor responsibility of the media: “The watchdog role of journalism is often shunted into channels of personalization, dramatization, witch huntery, soap-operatics and sundry trivialities. It is difficult for unconventional opinions to break into the established “market place of ideas”, and political arguments are often reduced to slogans and taunts”. Politicians must accept to become show business figures if they want to introduce the system and to have the possibility to express their political views. So, it can be asked whether democracy is in danger. People tend to pick up what culture has already defined for them and understand politics with those ready made stories, without sometimes understanding how public institutions work. Exoo (1994, p.75) is quite pessimistic about the situation since “the relative deprivation of knowledge leads to the relative deprivation of power”. If some lower status group do not perfectly understand the ins and outs of the issue, manipulated by political marketing, they will be less able to vote as a result in their own interest. There are alternative perspectives of the media. Dahlgren and Sparks (1991, quoted in Wheeler 1997) explain that from a liberal point of view, there should be a free market, a self-regulation and the media should distract the people. From a marxist point of view, the media system is capitalist, non reformable and they have an opiate perception of entertainment. Communists are in favor of public ownership, they want a liberalization reform and prefer enlightenment to entertainment.

The bright side is that thanks to the growth of the media, new channels of communication has been opened up between politicians and the public. Politics is not only dealt in a “show business” way. The sources of information has been expanded while the diversity of content have increased and the access has been widened. The media raise important issues of public concern, communicating, informing and having an agenda-setting function. The medias sometimes publish some newsworthy stories relating to malpractice or corruption. It is as a result more and more difficult for a politician to manipulate the people and to hide some inglorious aspects of their life. In France, the CSA, “Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel”, a French institution regulates the various electronic media in France. More globally, public service broadcasting has the role to provide quality programs, it has an important democratic role in terms of its educational and information functions. Social values, quality, range and balance and diversity are according to Ofcom (quoted in Kuhn, 2007, p.177) the basic objectives of public service broadcasting. The CSA used to be a separate organ but now its president is nominated by the French president, which rises again the question of the link between the media and the politics. But the government has to work hard to dominate the news agenda. Sometime, they might even be satisfied that the medias took a show business standpoint so people will forget about more serious issues. For instance, in France, while all the newspapers were talking about the justice minister, Dati’s pregnancy, more serious issues such as the desperation of the examining magistrate were committed.

Some people argue that it is not that clear that politics has turned into show business. Brants (1998, quoted in Kuhn, 2007, p.271) states that while “we might see a slight tendency towards a popularization of news, there is little evidence that politicians and politics are dramatically more personalized and sensationalized than before”. According to him, a wide range of programs can be regarded as legitimate outlets for civic communication. Some kind of programs, such as chat shows may even be better than other more formal kinds of program in order to see what are the strengths and weaknesses of a candidate, considering that personal characteristics of a politician has to be considered as well during an election. Diversity in kind of programs and point of views should be the main criteria to judge quality of political journalism. Legitimate programs are not only the ones that are considered as mainly informational. A pessimistic argument would even be that lots of people will not even bother getting some serious informations about candidates during an election and will base their vote on non rational aspects, without even soliciting the media to get some information. That is why a wide range of programs are available, in order to inform, entertain and emphasis civic engagement. Nevertheless politics is about performance and politicians have understood very well that making image a key factor. Kennedy was the first politician who used the TV as a mass communication tool. He managed to be more popular than Nixon by working on his ‘young man in a hurry’ image and this is partly how he won the election. He is often compared to James Dean and the rumor states that he had a really close relationship with the glamorous Marilyn Monroe… Nowadays, it is totally common that parties and politicians market and package themselves, seeking to please the media. In an age where image is extremely important, political parties are often personalized into one single person who is highly exposed in the media. Foley (2005, quoted in Kuhn, 2007, p.204) calls this phenomenon “leadership stretch” to describe how political leaders have stretched away when it comes to popular awareness and media attention. It is almost like the politicians have no choice: they are public figures and as a result they are sometimes drawn in the show business sphere. Thatcher, leader of the Conservative party in the seventies, learnt with the media guru Reece how to come over well on television. The media-ization of politics benefits to the politicians since it often works as a leadership projection. Annual party conferences are well packaged and they have become “spectacles designed for the maximization of positive press coverages” (McNair, 2003, quoted in Kuhn, 2007, p.208). The politicians apply marketing strategies and performing personal branding. They accept and benefit from the system. But political marketing results in a couple of negative consequences such as the repetition of a single message rather than an engagement in a more global debate for instance. This is a toned down politics. It has to be wondered as well to what extent it is possible to talk about politics. For instance, in France, in 2008, Sarkozy’s divorce has been hugely covered my the medias. Some of them where accused to enter to far the private life of the president but they answered that the issue was political since the private life of a president has an influence on his professional life. If some people lost faith in the politics, it may be linked with the way that the media deal with politics. If we admit that there is a media-ization of politics, it might be a good thing. Far from a paternalistic pedagogy, different kinds of programs just sprang up and allowed all the voices to be heard. But pedagogy should not turn into demagogy. A liberal system is not a justification to mediocrity. Obviously, the media are not the only one to blame. The users should regulate their own usage of a medium and they should be more responsible. Fortunately, it is still possible to watch some quality programs that resists the flattening formula or other popular shows, especially since the growth of the cable and satellite TV. There are still some solutions to avoid this system i.e. alternative media or more globally alternative lives. Those counter-culture are a kind of micro power challenging authority.

There is no universal definition about the classification of infotainment programs or tabloid coverage. The frontier is then a bit blurry. As a result, perception, unlike reason, is the only mean to know how deep was the shift. It is then hardly possible to be precise about the extent of any alleged changes in the media’s coverage of politics. Media have become the main political arena. They are now the key institution of the public sphere and the quality of both are intimately linked one to the other. But the media are not the only parties involved in the public sphere: citizens have to act responsibly as well. One should not take as granted everything seen in the media, rather show business or more serious coverages. Like Baudrillard has stated, hyperreality – i.e. the incapacity of consciousness to distinguish reality from fantasy, is not reality. “Will they not take these shadows to be reality?” Plato asks in the cave allegory. Nowadays, politics cannot be confined to news and current affairs programs anymore. Contemporary political journalism is more focused than before on performance aspect of political communication. Rather than being good or bad, legal, economic and social contexts has to be taken into account to understand fully the issue. Behind the media-ization of politics, if it is the relationship between the voters and the politicians that is considered to be not satisfying, politics may have to be redefined. Some sources of potential reforms such as the development of new technology, mainstream media practices and public policy initiatives might be a solution. To sum up, vigilance is the most important aspect that citizen should develop since they are all watchdogs.

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