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Intercultural Communication

Instructor: Pari Namazie

Credits: 8

• Academic goals: obtain relevant theories, link the theories to Eastern Europe

• Behavioral goals: apply the contents in student‘s daily life, increase tolerance against uncertainty, promote mindfulness

• definitions of culture and their power to shape social reality
• national and gender identities as examples for social offers to define the Self
• the multivocal and dialogical structure of the Self
• fuzziness and dynamics of cultural borders
• prejudices, stereotypes and prototypes as a support for orientation

• Practical: international assignments, working in international teams, intercultural trainings

Students must complete and pass a specified number of module tasks, participate in online discussions and hand in a final paper (essay of 3,000 words).

Example tasks from the Intercultural Communication Module
1. Write a short essay and answer the following questions: What do you think of the scores of your own country? Do you think that Hofstede’s results apply to your culture? Give at least one case study (from your own experience) for every dimension and explain why agree or disagree with Hofstede’s results. Consult Hofstede’s homepages: http://www.geerthofstede.nl and http://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_dimensions.php.

2. Discuss on the  discussion board: Do you think that the criticism uttered by some scholars and professionals is valid or are you convinced by Hofstede’s method? Read McSweeney’s critique and Hofstede’s reply  for this discussion.

Module abstract
Please find a reading example here: Intercultural Communication.