Images play a special role in the representation of cultural diversity. In books as well as in digital formats, cultures and people(s) are described not only in words but also in pictures. The diversity of the world is presented in a colourful way. Nevertheless, the visual is also ambivalent. According to Hall (2007), it can carry positive and negative connotations. While the visual provides insights, it can also promote stereotypes and oppression.
This paper refers to representation theories of Cultural and Postcolonial Studies (e.g. Fabian 2014; Hall 2007; Zenker and Kumoll 2013). It argues that the reflection of representation is a relevant component of intercultural education. According to Gorski (2008), the good will of intercultural pedagogy is not enough, especially when there is no postcolonial deconstruction of hegemony. In a textbook analysis, Fougère and Moulettes (2011) demonstrated that a postcolonial deconstructive reading of descriptions of cultural diversity can reveal what is ambivalent or has been excluded. In her example of Australian learning materials, Knudsen (2012) argues that the representation of history can also depend on who writes and illustrates the materials: Different perspectives on “invasion” and “exploration” exist. The deconstructive approach asks who creates the intercultural learning materials and which voices and perspectives that were once left out or neglected can now be retrieved. Describing and illustrating intercultural encounters cannot do without questioning historical and political conditions. With regard to the colourful visual representations, one would have to ask who writes and draws and which power of definition from the past is repeated in the present. In this way, it can also be asked which (powerful) representations are circulating through learning materials.
With regard to ambivalent representational practices, this paper focuses on the goal of acquiring knowledge through intercultural children's non-fiction. The book market consists of a variety of book series that present cultural themes by discussing specific geographical spaces and their peoples and cultures through world atlases for children or through stories about world ‘explorers’, adventurers and scientists. The question is to what extent educational media tell a Eurocentric understanding of cultural history. Books that address the history of ‘exploration’, for example of ‘arrival and contact’, often address this topic over several pages. Many children's books correspond to a Eurocentric interpretation of history. If you write picture books, you have to compress, reduce and omit certain contents. Applying Hall`s theory (2007), children's non-fiction can also be seen as a fragment of a regime of representation. Authors must decide which voices and perspectives they take, what they omit, when they postulate truth, and how they try to show children the construction of world understandings. Books contain both essentialist and deconstructive representation strategies and correspond to a postcolonial framework.
In this respect, this paper addresses the following questions: (1) What can children learn about the historical event of ‘arrival and contact’ as well as about peoples past and present? (2) Which narrative techniques are used in children´s books to either convey a one-sided historical understanding or a multi-perspective one? This paper discusses the various forms of illustrative representation as a starting point for intercultural pedagogical reflection.