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the acknowledgement that understanding and insight is co-constructed and relational, reflecting a

bias toward an indigenous paradigm of knowledge acquisition (Kovach, 2010) that shows an

increasing interest in the dialogical foundations of the self and community. Indeed, dialogical

theory points to the embeddedness of community in self–other relations.

This paper has proposed a dialogical approach to community that draws upon four key

themes of discourse:

1. the sociality of the self;

2. the realm of interindividual relations;

3. the constructive role of social representations; and

4. the emergent properties of collective action.

The ‘between’ constitutes a valuable concept for theorizing fundamental processes of

relational existence and responsive meaning‐making, including the co‐constitution of community.

In the process of coming into dialogic relation with one another, individuals construct

meanings, experiences, and actions that profoundly shape both selfhood and community. Thus

conceived, community is founded on dialogic interaction and intersubjective representation,

thereby becoming the conscious object of reflection and action. The intention here is to theorize

the relational genesis and continued transformation of community through self–other dialogue.

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