Free Together

In Free Together: An Existentialist Guide to Intercultural Living, Fred Dervin offers another radical rethink of how we encounter others interculturally.

Drawing on existentialist writings, the book argues that interculturality is not a problem of knowledge or competence, but rather an existential challenge: how can we meet others as free beings when no guarantee of understanding exists? Written in an accessible tone, the book combines theoretical reflection, personal narrative and reflexive exercises. It invites readers to recognise bad faith — pretending that one’s choices are forced by external circumstances — and to confront the gaze of others. Ultimately, it encourages readers to embrace the freedom and responsibility of intercultural encounters. The book's originality lies in its refusal of easy solutions, its assertion that uncertainty is not failure, but rather the foundation of connection and its timely call to reclaim our shared humanity in a polarised and divided world. Fundamentally, the book contributes to decolonial thinking by demonstrating how questions of freedom, anxiety and responsibility resonate globally and by engaging with voices that challenge assumptions about selfhood and encounters.

Designed for students, educators, researchers and anyone who has ever struggled in conversation with a stranger, this book is an invaluable companion for intercultural living.

Fred Dervin refuses to let interculturality sit still. As Professor of Multicultural Education at the University of Helsinki (Finland), he disrupts how we think about identity and global interaction across 300+ publications. Dervin also challenges us to move beyond simplistic models and question how we communicate about interculturality itself.