S1608 Intercultural Communication (Cultures of the World core)

Week 1: Introduction and introductions. Class discussion: 'Culture'? 'Communication'? Active listening. Games to find out 'our rules'.
Week 2: Non-Violent-Communication (Marshall Rosenberg) and constructive critical feedback, in-class activity (exercises, role-playing).
Week 3: the 'Square of Communication' (Schulz von Thun), in-class activity (exercises, role-playing).
Week 4: how to develop an 'ethnological glance', a nonjudgmental stance and 'crucial conversations'; in-class activity (exercises, role-playing).
Week 5: systemic logic behind human situations (expectations, needs & goals), in-class activity (exercises, role-playing).Class discussion.
MID-TERM BREAK
Week 6: the 'Square of Values', in-class activity (exercises, role-playing).
Week 7: the 'Inner Team', in-class activity (exercises, role-playing).
Week 8: the 'Vicious Circle', in-class activity (exercises, role-playing).
Week 9: People & Diversity (Distance/Closeness/Duration/Change); Empathy/Sympathy; in-class activity (exercises, role-playing).
Week 10: Embracing Emergence: Empathy for the Situation, in-class activity (exercises, role-playing).
Week 11: Role-playing and class discussion, in-class activity.
Week 12: Exam week. Your final paper is due on May 27th at 18:00 pm.
Disclaimer: this syllabus is subject to change to accommodate student learning and variations in the course schedule.

Your overall evaluation will be calculated on the basis of your performances in in-class activities and discussions, peer-group work and one final paper. In computing your grades, your performances will be considered as follows: in-class activities, 30% of the grade, final Paper, 40% of the grade, peer-group work, 30% of the grade.

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 up 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 are going to collect the names 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 knowledge and respond critically throughout the entire in-class discussions. If you want to read few pages you should coordinate in large groups, although these 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 done together during the week. Since students will have come from different cultures, through everyday incidents we should have the opportunity to develop our tools directly 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 use 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 and 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 on 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, as 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 take 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.

*Required Readings, the other texts are suggestions.

1.    1.Natasa Bakic-Miric*, An Integrated Approach to Intercultural Communication, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne, 2012 (available in the VIU library);
2.    Patterson, Grenny, McMillan, Switzler, Crucial Conversations, McGrawHill, New York 2012
3.    Paul Watzlawick, The Invented Reality: How Do We Know What We Believe We Know? (Contributions to Constructivism), Norton, New York, 1984
4.    Peter L.Berger and Thomas Luckmann, The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge, Anchor Books, New York, 1966

Texts available online:
1.    Friedemann Schulz von Thun*, Six Tools for clear Communication. The Hamburg Approach.
2.    Dan Sperber, Explaining Culture. A naturalistic Approach, Wiley-Blackwell, 1996.
3.    Janet and Milton J. Bennett*, DEVELOPING INTERCULTURAL SENSITIVITY: AN INTEGRATIVE APPROACH TO GLOBAL AND DOMESTIC DIVERSITY, The Diversity Collegium, 2002.
4.    Bennett, Milton, J.*, Intercultural communication: A current perspective. In Milton J. Bennett (Ed.), Basic concepts of intercultural communication: Selected readings. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press. 1998.
5.    Larry A. Samovar*, Intercultural Communication, a Reader, Wadsworth 2009.
6.    CORE MINDFULNESS HANDOUT*: Non-Judgmental Stance.
7.    Rachelle Lamb*, Compassionate Nonviolent Communication, Nonviolent Communication (Book Publisher’s Site) www.nonviolentcommunication.com
8.    Scott Atran, THE TROUBLE WITH MEMES: INFERENCE VERSUS IMITATION IN CULTURAL CREATION, in: Human Nature 12(4):351-381, 2001
9.    HAROLD GARFINKEL, Studies in ETHNOMETHODOLOGY, PRENTICE-HALL, INC., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1967.
10.    Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfullness, Beacon Press, Boston 1975.
11.    Peggy Holman, Engaging Emergence, Berrett-Koehler, San Francisco, 2010.

If Students would like to read books in Italian or German:

• Luigi Anolli, La mente multiculturale, Laterza, Bari, 2006,
• Dagmar Kumbier, Friedemann Schulz von Thun, Interkulturelle Kommunikation: Methoden, Modellen, Beispiele, Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2006.
• See also: www.ludovicascarpa.eu