Introduction to Intercultural Communication

Code:

LA013

Acronym:

ICINT

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Cultural Studies

Instance: 2018/2019 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Germanic Studies
Course/CS Responsible:	Bachelor in Applied Languages

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
LA	80	LA - Study Plan	1	-	6	52	162
LRI	95	LRI - Study Plan	1	-	6	52	162

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

This course unit sets out to provide the theoretical and practical knowledge required for intercultural communications. Students will develop the ability to contextualise their individual cultural experience within the wider scope of foreign cultures, which will enable them to have a broader grasp of the extensive system of existing cultural standards. Awareness of certain aspects of so-called foreign cultures should enable them to reflect on their own cultural habits and standards. This unit will see the start of the development of a new professional profile of the cultural mediator (the material in this course unit can be dealt with in greater depth in the 2nd cycle), which can be very important in cultural and business activities, as well as in the major field of translation studies.

Learning outcomes and competences

Students should be able to:
• Reflect upon the meaning of "culture (s)";
• Understand the different ways to approach the concept of culture / cultures in different areas of the Humanities;
• Identify various forms of contact between cultures;
• Identify stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination cases;
• Reflect upon the concepts of identity / alterity;
• Identify and explain different ways to communicate (direct communication, indirect, conversational maxims (intercultural)
• Compare “national cultures” recurring to cultural dimensions (regarding hierarchies, the ralation between the self and the other, time and space, management of uncertainty and emotions).

Working method

Presencial

Program

1. Approaches and meanings of “culture”;
2. Cultures in contact: culture shock, acculturation, identity and otherness;
3. Intercultural sensitivity;
4. Cultural dimensions, concepts and criteria for the comparison of “cultures”;
5. Culture and language: direct and indirect communication;
6. Culture and body: multimodalities of face-to-face interaction;
7. Interpreting cultural values from different kinds of material (films, pictures, adverts, written texts).

Mandatory literature

Cuche, Denys; A noção de cultura nas ciências sociais, Lisboa: Edições Fim de Século., 1999
Hofstede, Geert ; Cultures and Organizations, McGraw-Hill, 1991
Hall, Edward T; Beyond Culture, New York, Anchor books editions, 1989

Complementary Bibliography

Hall, E. / Hall, M.; Understanding cultural differences, Random House, 1993
Hall, E.; The hidden dimenstion, Cambridge University Press, 1990
Trompenaars, Fons ; Riding the waves of culture, Brealey Publishing, 1993
Holliday, Adrian, Hyde, Martin, Kullman, John ; Intercultural communication. An advanced resource book. , London: Routledge, 2004

Comments from the literature

A secondary reading list will be handed out in class.

Teaching methods and learning activities

Classes will be student-centered, stimulating the sensibility to understand the dynamics of cultures, considering different habits, different forms of interpersonal communication and differences of perceiving and interpreting the world.
Individual participation, critical thinking and problem solving will be encouraged, avoiding the lecture. Apart from brief exposures and theoretical explanations, much of the content will be introduced alongside the observation and analysis of different materials.
Main attention is given to the active participation in class, by submitting small projects on different thematic issues.

Software

power point

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Exame	70,00
Participação presencial	30,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	108,00
Frequência das aulas	54,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

positive note in all acessment components

Calculation formula of final grade

Exam = 70%

Presentation of a topic, active participation in class, exercises = 30%

Examinations or Special Assignments

n.a

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

n.a

Classification improvement

Students may improve their grade by resitting the final test.