Utrecht, Netherlands

Introduction to Intercultural Communication

This course will be offered in an online setting.

This course provides an introduction on foundational theories in the field of intercultural communication. These theories will be linked to different contexts, ranging from education and business, to migration and media. Drawing from different exercises and assignments throughout the course, we will conclude by focusing on enhancing your own intercultural awareness and applying the theories to personal experiences while attending to linguistic and cultural diversity.

This course provides an introduction on foundational theories in the field of intercultural communication. These theories will be linked to different contexts, ranging from education and business, to migration and media. We will start by introducing five approaches which study cultures from a top-down approach, such as advertising in business contexts and cultural values and differences in communication styles. We will also cover the representation of cultural groups in media and texts. These top-down approaches will then be critically discussed, after which the notion of interculturality will be introduced. Here, culture is studied from a bottom-up approach.

Interculturality is mainly concerned with investigating the relevance of culture in identity formation and its influence on interaction between individuals from various countries. During the one-week course, we will look at ways to analyse culture and identity within real-life interactions. Additionally, we will discuss competencies that enable speakers to reach a mutual understanding across cultures. Finally, drawing from different exercises and assignments throughout the course, we will focus on enhancing your own cultural awareness and applying the theories covered to personal experiences while attending to linguistic and cultural diversity.

This course is offered in cooperation with the master Intercultural Communication.

Course leader

Prof. dr. Jan D. ten Thije

Course aim

To provide students with a clear and broad introduction to the field of Intercultural Communication.

Fee info

EUR 400: Course + course materials.

The fee for students enrolled in our Master's programme Intercultural Communication is €300. If you are also following our summer school course: Research Methods in Intercultural Communication you will pay a total fee of €500 for both courses. If you follow both this course and Research Methods in Intercultural Communication, but are NOT enrolled in our Master's programme, there is a discount and you will pay a total fee of €700.
EUR 200: Housing fee (optional)