3-Credit Course
This course provides an introduction to communication between people from different cultures, covering the study of perceptions and experiences among cultures. Course content focuses on the application of theory and research to intercultural communication, as an exploration of communication through culture and language, gender roles, prejudice, stereotyping, and the diversity of cultural patterns to allow a better understanding among people from various cultural backgrounds.
This course provides an introduction to communication between people from different cultures, covering the study of perceptions and experiences among cultures. Course content focuses on the application of theory and research to intercultural communication, as an exploration of communication through culture and language, gender roles, prejudice, stereotyping, and the diversity of cultural patterns to allow a better understanding among people from various cultural backgrounds.
Through class lectures, discussions, and workshops, students are challenged to explore cultures other than their own with concrete research and actual one-on-one interactions with guest speakers from other countries and cultural anthropologists in the field.
The course is designed with the students to give presentations and turn in written assignments of various lengths and purposes (expository, persuasive, narrative, descriptive) for them to:
1. Increase understanding of the relationship between culture and communication
2. Provide an intellectual framework that allows description and understanding of communication between culturally heterogeneous individuals;
3. Explain the role of cultural patterns, verbal codes, and nonverbal codes in the development of intercultural interpersonal relationships
4. Describe obstacles to competent intercultural communication;
5. Develop communication skills that improve competence in intercultural communications.
Course Details:
Week I: Introduction, Course Expectations, Discussion and workshop on the Imperatives for Intercultural Communications and Bennet’s "Communication in a Global Village”
Week 2. Lecture and Discussion on Cultural Identity, Intercultural Interactions, Cultural Universals, and Culture and Technology
Week 3: Intercultural Competence, Cultural Patterns, and Intercultural Taxonomies
Week 4: Discussion and application and synthesis workshop of GLOBE, Hofstede and Schwartz taxonomies
Week 5: Group presentations
Week 6: Intercultural Film Screening / Discussion on Cultural Identity, Biases and Ethnocentrism
Week 7: “On Becoming American” - Discussion on Immigration and Formation of Identity
Week 8: Verbal Communications: Codes, Language, Meanings
Week 9: Nonverbal Communications
Week 10: Effects of Code Usage and Celebration of Cultural Differences
Week 11: Intercultural - Interpersonal Relationship and the Ethics of Intercultural Communications
Week 12 - 13: Presentations and Final Paper
Undergraduate students interact with Peruvian High School students as part of their immersion experience.