S1507 Intercultural Communication (Cultures of the World core)

“...Ideas govern the world, or throw it into chaos:
(...) all social mechanisms rest upon opinions.”
(Auguste Comte, Positive Philosophy)
“Power is others' fear”
(Russian proverb)

Intercultural Communication: in this course, “we want to do it, not only talk about it” (Stuart Hall). Much more than a 'course', it is going to be an 'Intercultural Training Experience' with activities designed to develop self-awareness and a positive orientation toward 'otherness'. Cultures are no longer (if ever) homogenous national cultures that do not change over time: multiculturalism is our everyday experience. We can imagine that every single person is a 'kingdom', with her/his expectations and assumptions about 'how the world is' and about how it ought to be. Seen in this light, we cannot escape intercultural communication. Why is it that contact with others is sometimes frustrating and fraught with misunderstanding? Good intentions, the use of what one considers to be a friendly approach, do not always seem to be sufficient, to many people's surprise.
How do we understand one another when we do not share a common cultural experience?
In times of online communication, anyone can study theories about intercultural communication, about assumptions, values, patterns and social practices that shape culture and human interaction. For many decades now, the relationship between culture, society and subjectivity has been the primary focus of social theory.
The process of communication is irreversible and transactional, we take on multiple roles simultaneously and 'build' a complex system. The message received can be very different from the message sent. “We cannot not communicate” (Watzlawick), quite the opposite, we live in a “web of meanings” (Geertz). Communication is the carrier of culture; in turn, culture manifests itself in communication, and tells people “how they should behave appropriately” (Bakic-Miric). Cultures organize our lives: if our (unconscious) assumptions are not met, we may feel frustration and stress.
This course is an introduction to basic tools for interpreting and deconstructing meanings, communication and culture. The goal of this class is to provide students with an opportunity to participate actively in the social construction of reality and challenge the narratives that define subjectivity and social interaction. We are going to learn to fashion tools that will enable us to overcome the human drive to answer, almost automatically, with the “fight or flight response“, if interactions are 'strange', or 'different-from-what-we-expect'.
Niklas Luhmann spoke of 'double contingency': in each interaction a person makes assumptions, assumes that the other person also makes assumptions, and assumes that the assumptions he makes concerning the other person are the same as the assumptions the other person makes concerning himself. Humans are similar in their needs (Maslow) but not in the cultural strategies developed historically to meet them. Working within a rich transcultural class-environment, our goal is to render visible the taken-for-granted assumptions that inform cultural narratives and social communication and to re-think subjectivity and culture as expressions of individual agency.
We are going to learn together a new language: 'meta-communication', the ability to speak about how we speak together, what meanings we take for granted, what we assume, what we want, what we think we are not getting if frustration is the result.

Course Structure
This course is divided into ten different tools-sections:
1. Active listening
2. Non-Violent-Communication (Marshall Rosenberg) and constructive critical feedback
3. the 'Square of Communication' (Schulz von Thun)
4. how to develop an 'ethnological viewpoint', a nonjudgmental stance and master 'crucial conversations'
5. systemic logic behind human situations (expectations, needs & goals)
6. the 'Square of Values'
7. the 'Inner Team'
8. the 'Vicious Circle'
9. People & Diversity
10. Embracing Emergence: Empathy for the Situation

Peer-group work
In the peer-groups you will have the chance to work with students from all over the world and practice every week the tools we discuss together. Peer-groups begin from the first day and are made of 4 to 7 students, if possible each from a different country. Groups work on sharing personal experiences and on sharing what they read. We will sort out membership of the peer-groups in the first week.
We will be sharing PDFs and comments in our VIU-blog. Our policy for each text is 'read all you want', this means that you are free to read as much as you want, but you should be able to exchange perceptions and respond critically throughout the entire in-class discussions. If you want to only read a few pages you should coordinate in large groups, bearing in mind that large groups will be harder to organize and coordinate. Smaller groups are easier to coordinate even though each person must read more. Class discussions will be self-organized. Each of you must be actively involved either by leading the class discussion, presenting a power point or raising critical questions and controversial issues. You will be expected to find creative ways to make in-class discussion inclusive and stimulating for everyone.

In-class activities and discussions
The groups will present and discuss their readings in class, as well as the exercises they have engaged in together during the week. Since students will have come from different cultures, we will have the opportunity to develop our tools directly through everyday incidents and to engage in “meta-communication“.
Our goal is to encourage you to think from a new 'point of view' about cultural perceptions and expectations. I want you to look at the ways in which your personal history, culture and background inform your understanding of reality and social interaction. Your group activities will take place in and outside the class. In-class activities involve enacting just as much as understanding, experiencing just as much as sharing. As a general rule, there will be no opportunities to make up for missed in-class activities. Please let me know by the first week of the semester if you plan on missing classes so that appropriate arrangements can be made.

Final Paper
Choose one of the topics discussed in class and look at the suggested bibliography. Your final paper should describe how you employed one of the tools we have developed to solve or understand a personal “critical incident”. Use all required readings to frame the discussion of your research topic as well as books from the reading list.
As a general rule, your paper should describe a strong personal experience. You can also use your conclusion to raise interesting questions for further study and to give feedback to the course.
Remember that you must cite all your sources, even if you do not quote them directly, and add a final bibliography. Your final paper should be 4 full pages and it must be typed, double space in 12 point Times New Roman, one inch margin, and stapled at the top-left corner of the page.
Class Environment
In this class we want to 'make it safe' for everyone to speak about any personal experience and create a 'special protected area', we are all teachers/trainers and students, so we share together the responsibility for creating and stimulating a safe learning environment. You are expected to be in class, to be prepared, to read, to think and to talk about the assigned tasks. You are also expected to be on time and to actively participate in each class activity and to stimulate lively class discussion. It is crucial to assume that everyone’s experiences are different, and to respect each other’s feelings at all times.
Class Attendance
I will register attendance. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to gather information about the materials covered. If you are late, make sure you sign in for the day. Once you have signed for your attendance, you are required to stay for the entire class. Please, let me know in advance if you expect to be missing a class so that proper arrangements can be made. Class absences will affect your grade.