Key Information
About the content
Learn how the principles of intercultural contact may challenge the way in which you think about social interaction.
On this course you will examine the idea of intercultural contact and the effects of cultural interactions from historical and global perspectives. Through videos and articles, you will discover how intercultural contact is experienced in our everyday lives, and learn about the ways in which people develop intercultural competence.
As the course progresses, you’ll consider terms such as ‘globalisation’ and ‘acculturation’, explore the relationship between nationality and culture, and compare different experiences of returning ‘home’ following periods of absence.
Syllabus
- The history of intercultural contact and the effects of globalisation.
- Intercultural competence – the skills necessary to interact effectively with people from different environments and backgrounds.
- How critical incidents and rich points can provide fertile ground for developing intercultural awareness.
- The effects of returning to “home” cultures following periods spent in another environment.
- How preconceptions and assumptions affect intercultural contact.
- Looking beyond national identity to find ways in which connections between people can be established.
- An introduction to the way in which ethnography can be used to investigate cultural environments.
Instructors
Haynes Collins
I am Director of Intercultural Studies in the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies at the University of Leeds.
Content Designer
L'université de Leeds est un établissement d'enseignement supérieur britannique située dans la ville de Leeds, dans la région anglaise de Yorkshire-et-Humber.
Platform
FutureLearn is a massive open online course (MOOC) learning platform founded in December 2012.
It is a company launched and wholly owned by The Open University in Milton Keynes, England. It is the first UK-led massive open online course learning platform, and as of March 2015 included 54 UK and international University partners and unlike similar platforms includes four non-university partners: the British Museum, the British Council, the British Library and the National Film and Television School.
