International students’ autoethnographies toward understanding multiculturalism and libraries’ role as an essential infrastructure supporting multiculturalism

Abstract

This paper challenges the existing approach by reconceptualizing international students as agents who produce cultural knowledge. Autoethnographies can provide international students with systematic opportunities to reflect their multicultural adaptation, while fostering multicultural literacy and communication skills. If libraries support this proposal, they can fulfill a vital role needed by the community as an inclusive and diverse and inclusive space. Theoretically, this research proposal can contribute to a better understanding of the research agenda regarding Intercultural Communication Competence (ICC) and cultural adaptation. Existing methods for measuring ICC have often demonstrated limitations by relying on generalized concepts out of context. This paper aims to suggest a new framework of measuring ICC based on culturally sensitive approaches, grounded in each student's lived experiences. In practical perspective, two research directions are envisioned. First, it collects autoethnographies centered on the experiences of Korean international students in the United States. Second, the scope of this proposal is expanded to international students in Korea, particularly those from Southeast Asia. By integrating reflective writing of autoethnographies, this proposal offers a framework for strengthening multicultural literacy, and cross-cultural understanding across transnational educational settings. Moreover, academic and public libraries are repositioned as democratic infrastructures for multiculturalism.