Abstract from Understanding Transculturality: The material presented in this book is a discussion on transculturality as a term within a multidisciplinary field of studies, concerned with cultural interactions under globalization. It first distinguishes transculturality from other terms used as closed equivalents by some of the authors in this book, such as transculturation, multiculturalism, or interculturality.

Transculturality is mostly argued as a separate concept designating cultural processes and identifying formations not exactly captured by these alternative terms. Second, the chapter provides a typology of approaches that use transculturality in three main perspectives: essentialism, universalism or relativism, and pluralism. Transculturality is posited as a relational view of cultural encounters; one that allows the multiple cultural ascriptions experienced by individuals and communities in highly diverse societies to be described and understood.