Wikipedia talk:Education program archive/Millersville University of Pennsylvania/Intercultural Communication (Spring 2013)/Course description

Course Overview

In the past most human beings were born, lived and died within a clearly defined geographical area. Seldom did they come in contact with people of other ethnic or cultural backgrounds. Such a world no longer exists. Now all 6.8 billion of us are interconnected. Changes in information systems, travel, global conflicts, international business and immigration patterns have created a world that links the actions of one culture to those of another. Whether for profit, pleasure or survival, most scholars now agree that McLuhan’s “Global Village” is upon us. This course attempts to introduce you to the people in that village so that you might find this community less confusing and frustrating (Teaching Intercultural Communication, Samovar, 1997).

The United States is a heterogeneous culture, made up of a huge variety of people and cultural groups. Each of us tends to favor our own cultural groups and communication styles, and the greater the differences between cultures, the more challenging it becomes to interact with one another. In this class, we cannot learn all there is to know about every culture --- understanding our own culture can take a lifetime. It is also important to realize that although we isolate groups of people to understand their communicative behavior, there are more differences between individuals than between groups. Learning about Intercultural Communication [ICC] can make you uncomfortable (because it requires you to examine your own behavior) and uncertain (because we often don’t know what to expect). Thus, students are encouraged to have an open mind and attempt to increase their tolerance for ambiguity.

This is a reading and writing intensive class in which we will examine a range of scholarship and theories in ICC. Lecture, small group discussion, large group discussion, and experiential exercises will be employed to increase your understanding of the material. We will explore such topics as the fundamentals of ICC, as well as the impact of worldview, context, socialization, relationships, language, the media and nonverbal behavior on intercultural interactions. You will also have the opportunity to investigate in some depth a cultural community of your choice.

Course Goals

Students will be able to:

• Understand one’s own worldview patterns and the worldview patterns of other cultural groups.
• Recognize the contextual factures that contribute to the formation, maintenance and change in groups’ worldview patterns.
• Explain how worldview / cultural patterns are linked to verbal and nonverbal communication preferences.
• Describe the ways in which intercultural encounters (e.g. through colonialism, immigration, migration, conquest, travel), might impact newcomers and natives.
• Interrogate the impact of power, privilege, stereotyping and racism on intercultural interaction.
• Develop an awareness of their own biases, stereotypes, and idiosyncratic interpretations of various cultural groups.
• Identify ways to resolve intercultural conflicts and improve intercultural communication competence.

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