Contesting grand narratives of the intercultural Contesting Grand Narratives of the Intercultural uses an auto ethnographic account of the authors experience of living in Iran in the 1970s to demonstrate the constant struggle to prevent the intercultural from being dominated by essentialist grand narratives that falsely define us within separate bounded national or civilisational cultures. This book provides critical insight that: DeCentres how we encounter and research the intercultural by means of a third space methodology Recovers the figurative creative flowing and boundary dissolving power of culture Recognises hybrid integration which enables us the choice and agency to be ourselves with others in intercultural settings Demonstrates how early native speakerism pulls us back to essentialist large culture blocks. Aimed at students and researchers in applied linguistics intercultural studies sociology and education this volume shows how cultural difference in stories personal space language practices and values generates unexpected and transcendent threads of experience to which we can all relate within small culture formation on the go.