Course: Playground - Jason Baxter | University of Edinburgh Moodle

  • Welcome to Intercultural Communications

    Intercultural Communication focuses on the importance of culture in our everyday lives, and the ways in which culture interrelates with and effects communication processes. We live in an era of rapid globalization in which being able to communicate across cultures is imperative to our ability to function in a diverse workplace, city, and world. Using our stories and our online discussions, this course is designed to increase our sensitivity to other cultures by understanding the frameworks of culture. This course will increase our awareness of our own cultural backgrounds, and the contexts in which we live and communicate. 

    The course objectives are as follows:

    • To explore cultural self-awareness, and the dynamics that arise in interactions between differing cultures.
    • To identify challenges that arises from these differences in intercultural interactions and learns ways to creatively address them.
    • To acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes that increase intercultural competence 

  • Open all

    Close all

  • Instructions: Clicking on the section name will show / hide the section.

  • 1

    Tutor: Jason Baxter

    When interacting between cultures, it is common to let our "cultural baggage" construct what the other person might perceive who we are.  In fact, most of us are unaware that our habits, norms, and daily-life routines are formed by our culture and thus can lead people to act in ways that might not be perceived well by other cultures.  

    Activity:

    To begin this week's module, please read the two scenarios and identify why the interaction might be misconstrued by either culture?

    Learning Objectives:

    • Define and identify what is your personal 'cultural baggage.'
    • Determine with your colleagues how cultural baggage plays a role in our daily routine.
    • Evaluate how cultural baggage influences your perception, beliefs, and values.

    Weekly Blog Entry: 

    Based on the definitions of culture baggage given in the reading try to write your own definition of culture. 

    Topic
    1
  • 2

    Tutor: Jason Baxter

    What do we mean by stereotypes and generalizations? How do they affect intercultural communication? We all have ideas and impressions of our own and other cultures, are they stereotypes or generalizations?

    Do they help intercultural communication or cause problems? In these activities you will distinguish features of generalizations and stereotypes and consider some stereotypes about the United States and other foreign countries. 

    Activity: Using the framework from the Defying Definitions Project you will explore identity, and stereotypes by challenging yourself to reflect on how you are perceived by others.

    Learning Objectives

    • Define and describe "stereotypes",
    • Recognize and describe the impact of stereotypes
    • Identify their own biases and how they classify individuals based on stereotypes

    Weekly Blog Entry:

    Have you ever heard or experienced any stereotypes about France? Are there any stereotypes that you may have had about other cultures? Examine and evaluate what stereotypes a French undergraduate student might face when studying aboard?

    Topic
    2
  • 3

    Tutor: Jason Baxter

    Culture has been compared to an iceberg. Just as an iceberg has a visible section above the waterline and a larger, invisible section below the water line, so culture has some aspects that are observable and others that can only be suspected, imagined, or intuited. Also like an iceberg, the part of culture that is visible (observable behavior) is only a small part of a much bigger whole.

    Activity:

    This week's module will allow students to explore within the structure of the cultural metaphor in order to determine the undergraduate's cultural iceberg.  The conversations will begin through scheduled Skype online chat session, and continued within the forums exchanging each group's idea of undergraduate culture.

    Learning Objectivesiceberg

    • Define and classify of the features of culture through the metaphor “Culture is an Iceberg”
    • Evaluate the university’s culture by determining what values, beliefs and world views are influential to university undergraduate students.

    Weekly Blog Entry:

    Though continued to be perceived by interculturalists as a valued metaphor to describe culture, other critical theorists have said its time to retire the metaphor.  What other possible metaphors  do you believe represent culture?  Please define your reasons with a 500 word response.

    Topic
    3
  • 4

    Tutor: Jason Baxter

    National cultures can be described according to the analysis of Geert Hofstede. These ideas were first based on a large research project into national culture differences across subsidiaries of a multinational corporation (IBM) in 64 countries. These studies identified and validated five independent dimensions of national culture differences.

    Activity: Go Shopping with Geert Hofstede.  Using the framework defined in the Hofstede's cultural dimensions and the De Mooij reading, you will apply your national's culture to the consumer habits and products at a retail outlet. 

    Learning Objectives:

    • Analyze the framework of Hofstede's definition of cultural dimension.
    • Compare and contrast countries through the Hofstede's cultural index tool.
    • Critically apply theories on culture to organizations in which they operate.

    Weekly Blog Entry:

    What do you think about making generalizations about national culture? Have you seen cultural norms in your national culture that seem to be different from those that Hofstede finds?  Do you think that Hofstede is right to argue that organisations should take national culture as a given?

    Topic
    4