cross-cultural communication in sciences

Module Descriptions

Language :

Language & Cross-Cultural Communication

This module is an introduction to the study of language and communication from a cross-cultural perspective. It examines how people from different cultures behave similarly or differently in a range of communicative contexts. Topics covered include the notion of culture, learning culture through language, cross-cultural communication in business settings, cross-cultural communication in educational contexts, and diversity at work. This core module provides a backdrop to the field of language and cross-cultural communication in a variety of other academic and professional fields.

Professional Communication Skills

This module aims to develop both an understanding of the essentials of successful and effective professional communication, and practical skills in professional communication, in cross-cultural contexts. This module will also give students an opportunity to reflect on the wide range of topics/issues that have been covered in other modules including language and communication and specialism modules. It will be especially useful to students with little or no experience of professional communication in English-speaking environments.

Sociolinguistics

This module explores different approaches to the study of the relationship between language and society. It introduces you to key concepts and topics relevant to the study of language use in different societies, drawing on theory and practice from the field of Sociolinguistics. The people we are, and the communities and societies we inhabit, shape and are themselves shaped by our use of language. Broadly, the module is concerned with how people as members of social groups use language and what they use it for. The class considers research that focuses on language in interaction, and ways that sociolinguists have approached the study of this linguistic interaction.

The Social Psychology of Communication

Social Psychology is concerned with individuals as social beings. Much of our social behaviour, and the relationship between our social environment and individual self, involves communication. This module introduces and explores how cross-cultural, social, situational and structural factors influence communication of various kinds. Topics and issues concerned with attitudinal, educational, motivational and cognitive aspects of communication will be explored using social psychological models and frameworks such as Intercultural Communicative Competence, Social Identity Theory and Communication Accommodation Theory.

English in the World: Global and cross-cultural issues surrounding English as a ‘Lingua Franca’

This module examines the current ‘lingua franca’ status of the English language. The implications of this status are wide-ranging and creating major changes in the way in which the language is used, taught, learned, conceptualised and assessed. As non-native speakers now outnumber native speakers of English by a ratio of 3:1, we face a scenario where native speakers no longer unproblematically lay claim to sociolinguistic and cultural acceptability and normativity. What will this mean for international communication in general? How will such a state of affairs feed into current issues in cross-cultural communication and applied linguistics? With norms and standards in a state of flux, what kinds of Englishes are emerging and what will this mean for our understanding of ‘English’? These questions, and others, will be covered in this module.

Culture, Interculturality and Identity

This module will provide an overview of culture, interculturality and identity. Lectures will be underpinned by the idea that culture, interculturality and identity are ubiquitous constructs that are integrally tied to the various contextual instantiations that represent our lives. This includes, but is not limited to, speaking in a foreign language, discussing politics amongst friends, eating, grooming, shopping, and dinner time conversations. A number of concepts will be introduced to help students critically evaluate the Hofestedian idea that national or regional groupings are accurate representations of any given society.

Research Portfolio As part of the programme you are required to complete three research files (two written files and one oral presentation). The aim of the files is consistent with the overall aim of the programme which is to develop your knowledge of cross-cultural communicative competence for your chosen specialism. In many ways the research files are the most important pieces of work you are required to do in order to obtain the MA. The Research Files also constitute the largest piece of independent work you will do during the MA programme.

Brief  Description of  Media Modules:

Communication and Culture: Global Media

We live in a globalised world that is undergoing rapid transformation on social, cultural, political and economic levels. Global media are increasingly becoming major agents of these changes. Whether it be news channels such as CNN, BBC World and Al-Jazeera that are beamed into our living rooms via satellite or entertainment media like reality television (e.g. Big Brother and The Apprentice), soap operas and series like Desperate Housewives and Friends being watched from Newcastle to Nairobi - global media are changing the way we conduct politics, understand our place in society and make sense of the world around us. But what are the implications of global media for societies around the world? What are their influences on global power relations? Who owns these media and how are the economics of the global media industry influencing content? Whose voices are heard over these global networks and who remain silent? How are different regions of the world portrayed? What role do global news and communication play in geopolitical conflict, war and terrorism? Will we all eventually become cultural clones of Hollywood?

Perhaps today more than ever before a knowledge of global media and their impact on society, culture and power relations is vital for understanding how our world is changing around us and how we should find our place in it. This module will introduce you to some of the main themes, issues and debates in this area. The aim of the module is to enable you to ask critical questions about global media and their impact and to enhance your understanding of how global media is shaping your own world view. It will be expected of you to read widely and come prepared to class discussions. While a solid grounding in the theoretical literature forms the basis of the lectures, you will be required to apply these concepts and theories to case studies.

Media Analysis

This module provides students with a critical and theoretical understanding of culture, communications and the media. The module explores media institutions, media texts, cultures and media technologies in the context of changing cultures and identities globally. Students will have the opportunity to analyse a range of aspects of media, culture and communications covering film, television, popular literature and music.

Media Law

This module familiarises students with aspects of the legal system, in a transnational context, by examining the constraints placed on the production of news and current affairs. Ethical issues that apply to these contexts are examined in relation to international human rights law. The range of restrictions associated with court reporting is examined to allow students to develop and apply techniques of writing court reports, war reports and election reporting. Aspects of the legal system that impinge on journalists’ professional practices are studied, including concepts of defamation, privilege and contempt and the constraints of reporting during war and elections.

Strategies & Management in Public Relations

This module introduces the theory of PR and enables students to develop and experiment with a wide range of professional skills. Through practical workshops, supervised exercises and discussion, they will engage in a project to plan and produce a PR campaign for a private, public or voluntary sector organisation. Students will work in groups and the project will culminate in a presentation of the campaign to their 'clients'. Students will also be introduced to the theories of crisis management and work in groups in a 'live' crisis management situation

Professiona Sub-Editing and Design

This module introduces students to the editorial production processes in print journalism and the new media sector, and develops skills which continue to be in demand within the industry. It will develop, primarily through workshop sessions, the skills of copy-editing, proof reading and clear, concise, accurate writing involved in preparation for publication and apply them to news, features and other newspaper, magazine and website content. It encourages a critical awareness of the need for, and develops the creative skills necessary to produce, accurate and ethical copy, combined with functional and engaging design in the context of print publications. A critical awareness of key ethical and legal issues relating to the representation and inclusion of diverse groups will be integrated into every facet of the curriculum.

Advertising & Consumption

The module examines the cultural politics of advertising and consumption in relation to the perspective of cultural studies. It provides a critical map of the field and studies work on consumer culture in anthropology and sociology as well as work on media audiences within media studies and sociology. The module will examine the balance between constraint and power and creativity and resistance, making links between consumption and production, and the patterns that shape access to symbolic and material resources. Questions of place and identity, poverty, the privatization of the home, and the linking of local everyday practices with broader, global processes are explored in the context of advertising and consumption.

Broadcasting and Audience Studies

This module will examine the constructions, formations and activities of media audiences. The module will provide you with a space in which to explore and examine a range of current topics related to audience studies and audience research. What is an audience? How are audiences formed? Do audiences have power to shape the media? These and similar questions will be investigated and critically examined. The classes will be structured around a series of formal and informal meetings (lecture, seminar, speakers, both internal and external) which will engage students in issues of audience research practice.