Undergraduate Module

The undergraduate module at Cultural Encounters consists of a broad introduction to the field of cultural and linguistic theory as well as cultural-analytical methods, including discourse analysis and ethnographic methods. This module consists of a basic course, a thematic course, a course in method, study group work and project work.
 
Basic course:
The basic course will focus on cultural and linguistic practice, cultural and linguistic diversity and intercultural learning, competence and communication.

Thematic course:
During the thematic course, you will be working with a particular theme, which integrates the different approaches to cultural analysis within the human and social sciences.

Course in method:
In this course, you will work with empirically oriented methods within cultural analysis, including ethnographic and discourse-analytical methods.

Study group:
Here you will concentrate on academically relevant literature of your own choice and you will discuss its content and academic importance in a smaller study group.

Project work:
In the project work at the undergraduate level, you must include cultural theory and possibly linguistic theory as well as analytical methods that should be applied in the interpretation of the empirical work of the project. You are free to choose the subject of your project, but you must include at least 1 out of the 5 governing angles and you must also show that you can communicate the result orally and in writing.

The 5 governing angles

During your studies (the undergraduate as well as the two graduate modules), you must cover the 5 governing angles of the study programme Cultural Encounters. See the definition of each angle below:

The cultural encounter:
Here you will study different aspects of the cultural encounter as well as grasping how cultural and linguistic phenomena interact and are affected by the encounter.

Cultural and linguistic development dynamics:
Concerning this angle, you will investigate cultural and linguistic phenomena in a time-related perspective and you will obtain an understanding of the relations between internal dynamics and external framework conditions and processes.

Socio-cultural parameters:
Here you will examine socio-cultural parameters or categories, such as e.g. language, gender, religion, age, generation, occupation, education, resource access, life style, nationality or ethnicity in order to understand the importance of these parameters in relation to the linguistic and other symbolic forms of expressing cultural and social practice and identity. You will also learn about the different research fields working with these parameters and you will see how it is possible to work theoretically and methodologically with these socio-cultural parameters.

Cultural and linguistic globalisation and localisation:
In respect to this angle, you will investigate cultural and linguistic processes of globalisation and localisation and their significance in connection with identity formation.

Theory, empirical work and method:
By exploring the interplay between theory, empirical work and method, you will learn how to organise field work, how to handle the treatment of your data and how to interpret and communicate the results. You will also reflect on the correlation between theory, empirical work and method as well as your own role in the research process.

For a more thorough explanation of the 5 governing angles, please see here