COMS 237 - Intercultural Communication

3 Credit(s)

This course explores the ways in which humans communicate differently across cultures at the international, national, regional, and local levels. Students learn how power and social structures impact what culture is and how it is communicated through history, experience, and memory across gender, race, nationality, sexuality, ability, and socio-economic status among other aspects of identity. Sample topics include ritual and tradition, language as power, food as communication across cultures, globalization and consumption, methodologies for intercultural research, and intercultural justice. By grappling with the intricacies of cultural understanding through the lenses of power and language, students come to appreciate the many nuances of communicating across cultures. They learn to acknowledge the importance of language barriers and the limitations of monolingualism for true effective communication.