An Update on the Book I'm Writing

Happy 2025! As we begin a new year, I want to share an update on a big project I’ve been working on the past several years—a book. I’ve been involved in this book project for longer than I care to admit, and am often asked by colleagues and clients when it will be published. The book is based on a framework that informs my own intercultural teaching and training, which I also teach educators to help them facilitate intercultural learning. This framework—originally developed by a mentor of mine, Dr. Michael (Mick) Vande Berg—hasn’t been published anywhere else yet, so people ask about the book because they want a tangible way to cite and share this information. This brief post is intended to provide an update on the book.

Writing this book has taken much longer than expected for several reasons. For one, authorship has changed multiple times. Originally, Mick Vande Berg was the lead author, with multiple others—myself included—collaborating in different ways. A few years ago, Mick—who is retired—decided he wanted to step down from that role. I took over as lead author, reimagining the format of the book, essentially starting from scratch. Eventually, my two co-authors each stepped away for their own reasons, and I became the sole author. Another wrinkle in the project came when the original publisher, Stylus, was bought by Routledge about two years ago.

So that is where things stand—I am the sole author, with Mick Vande Berg writing the preface, and the book will be published by Routledge. And I’m happy to report I’ve been making slow but steady progress. The working title is, “Intercultural Education from the Inside Out: Learning and Teaching in a World of Difference.” The book is meant to be a practical and engaging guide for educators wanting to develop intercultural competence—their own and others’. It could be seen as a follow-up to the popular 2012 book edited by Mick Vande Berg, my PhD advisor R. Michael Paige, and Kris Lou, “Student Learning Abroad: What Our Students are Learning, What They’re Not, and What We Can Do About It.” That book was an in-depth exploration of why it’s necessary to intentionally facilitate intercultural learning—especially before, during, and after study abroad. The book I’m working on focuses on how to facilitate intercultural learning—although not just abroad, but at home as well.

While I can’t promise a specific publication date, I can confidently state that I will be turning in the completed manuscript to the publisher in 2025. I look forward to (finally) bringing this book into the world, and will share more info as that date approaches. In the meantime, if you’d like to build capacity to facilitate intercultural learning now, I encourage you to check out True North Intercultural’s professional development programs and services (for individual educators and higher education institutions).

Photo credit: Jonas Jacobsson, Unsplash