Communication & Global Competence

With the rise of global mobility and communication, encounters between people of diverse and multiple cultural identities are increasingly common. Less obvious are the reasons why these encounters can be challenging and, more importantly, the knowledge and skills necessary for overcoming communication barriers that arise from differences in communication styles and patterns. This course is designed to give students the tools needed to be competent global citizen in the interconnected world.

The study of intercultural communication requires not only grappling with broad concepts such as "culture", "communication", and "identity", but also learning how communication styles are patterned within cultural groups. This course thus explores the interaction between culture and communication and introduces students to the knowledge and skills requisite to building intercultural competence. More specifically, this course invites students to analyze and evaluate how their own cultural identity influences communication with others; encourages interaction with the host culture; and prepares students with knowledge and skills to be effective and ethical intercultural communicators.