Knowing Otherwise: Affective Actions In Intercultural Communication And Professional Practice

Nuntiya Doungphummes (1) , Mark Vicars (2) , Mathuros Tipayamongkholgul (3)
1. Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia, Mahidol University, Nakorn Pathom, Thailand
2. College of Arts, Business, Law, Education and I.T, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia
3. Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia, Mahidol University, Nakorn Pathom, Thailand

Abstract

Reflexivity, the critical self-examination of one’s role in the research process, has become increasingly central as researchers navigate positionality, power, and methodological bias when working across diverse sociocultural and linguistic contexts. Yet, intercultural research often overlooks the affective, relational, and embodied dimensions of collaboration that shape how knowledge is produced. This paper examines how transnational, multilingual researchers negotiated ontological and epistemological differences during an intercultural research project in Thailand, and how lived, embodied forms of knowing can challenge culturally situated power structures and inform more relationally attuned research practice. Drawing on reflexive autoethnography and narrative inquiry, we reconstruct our experiences from a 2025 interdisciplinary project on trauma-sensitive education in Thailand. Using storytelling and restorying, we analyse two unexpected fieldwork incidents to explore how emic and etic positionalities, affective responses, and intra-team relational dynamics informed our collaborative praxis. The narratives reveal that intercultural research is deeply entangled with affective labour, ethical decision-making, and shifting positionalities. Disruptive incidents, ranging from injury to culturally mediated non-participation, exposed divergent understandings of trust, care, power, and voice. These encounters illustrate how intercultural sensitivity arises through relational reflexivity rather than procedural competence, and how hierarchical cultural scripts shape participation, silence, and agency. The study demonstrates that effective intercultural collaboration requires epistemic flexibility: the capacity to navigate between cultural logics, negotiate multiple ways of knowing, and create “third spaces” where epistemological differences are acknowledged without privileging any single framework. This highlights the need for affective awareness, relational responsibility, and reflexive openness in theorizing and practising intercultural research.

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Authors

Nuntiya Doungphummes
nuntiya.dou@mahidol.edu (Primary Contact)
Mathuros Tipayamongkholgul
Author Biographies

Nuntiya Doungphummes

Nuntiya Doungphummes is an Associate Professor at the Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia at Mahidol University, Thailand. Her research spans several interdisciplinary areas, including media, information and digital literacy, intercultural communication, LGBTQ+ identity, and cross-cultural adaptation of migrants. Her methodological approach, primarily participatory action-based research, is carried out through culturally responsive and inclusive strategies.

Mark Vicars

Mark Vicars is an Associate Professor in the College of Arts, Business, Law, Education and I.T and Research Fellow in the Institute for Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia. His main research interests are literacy, gender and sexuality studies in education. He is Lead Editor of Qualitative Research Journal, Series Editor of Praxis of English Language Teaching, Deguyer/ Brill and Lead Editor of Global Perspectives on Adolescence and Education Series, Springer Publishers.

Mathuros Tipayamongkholgul

Mathuros Tipayamongkholgul is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia Mahidol University, Thailand. She applies her expertise in epidemiology and health sciences across diverse disciplines, including media ecology and culturally informed surveillance of suicide ideation. Her research integrates both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to generate new knowledge and inform the scaling up of interventions and policies.

Doungphummes, N., Vicars, M., & Tipayamongkholgul, M. . (2025). Knowing Otherwise: Affective Actions In Intercultural Communication And Professional Practice. Journal of Intercultural Communication, 25(4), 101-109. https://doi.org/10.36923/jicc.v25i4.1255

Article Details

How to Cite

Doungphummes, N., Vicars, M., & Tipayamongkholgul, M. . (2025). Knowing Otherwise: Affective Actions In Intercultural Communication And Professional Practice. Journal of Intercultural Communication, 25(4), 101-109. https://doi.org/10.36923/jicc.v25i4.1255