InterCultural Communications

Intercultural Communication Course Descriptions: Core Courses (9 credits): 1) Introduction to Russian Language and Culture An introduction to elementary spoken Russian and basic reading skills, providing a means of practical orientation in the social/cultural environment that students would be exploring “live”. Typical communicative situations encountered in daily life would be rehearsed and discussed. The verbal component of readily recognizable cultural symbols and familiar representations of “Russianness” (e.g. in visual arts, street advertising, media coverage, etc.) would be identified and discussed. 2) Intercultural Communication: A Discourse Approach Intercultural communication is not just a theoretical discipline. Its theory emerged as a response to world globalization, which can be mostly clearly seen in the globalization of the economy, the international character of education, the role of multinational corporations and of tourism. The professional interactions of hundreds of thousands of people from different cultures are the reason for the existence of this field as well as the new scholarship arising from it. The focus of the course is threefold: a) to provide students with basic knowledge from the field of cultural linguistics; b) to teach them the practical skills of intercultural communicators; c) to expose them to the methods and strategies of intercultural training and consulting. Having completed the requirements of the course the students will be able to see intercultural communication as a key element of modern multinational societies and institutions, and to incorporate its diversity in their lifestyles; they will become acquainted with the tools necessary to analyze cross-cultural conflicts in institutional and community environments; they will learn the skills necessary for successful communication in multicultural organizations: the methods and techniques of intercultural conflict resolution, for low-structure, higher-structure, and interactional communication; they will learn how to work in an intercultural team and how to become successful team leaders. 3) Modern Mass Media in Russia: Intercultural Aspects The goal of this course is to present the most important tendencies in Modern Mass Media development all over the world. The students get acquainted not only with Russian realities, but they have a chance to look at Mass Media in a cross-cultural or intercultural prospective. The course covers the following topics: Mass Communication: concepts and theories. Functions of mass communication. Mass Media and modern communication theories. Structure of Mass Media. Basic components of Mass Media. Functions of Mass Media in modern society. Structure of the information fusion flow. Audience and Communicator. The role of the communicator in the production and perception of the message. Print press. History, development of press in Russia and the West. Structure of the modern press. Types of the press. Radio. History, its development in Russian and in the West. Cross-cultural components of the modern radio broadcasting. Television. History and development of TV in Russia and the West. Cross-cultural analysis of the Russian and the Western TV: historical and functional peculiarities. Types of programmes: cross-cultural analysis. The Western tradition on Russian TV. Mass Media and advertising: advertising in Russia and the West. Internet – a global network: universal and specific cultural tendencies . Mass Media and PR-strategies. The Russian way of running PR-campaigns. Mass Media and censorship. New look at “democracy?” in Russia.   Elective Courses (6 credits): 1) Russia and the West: Problems of Perception and Communication of Cultures.The course is dedicated to the problems of cross-cultural perception and communication. Both the theoretical aspects of the problem and the practical material concerning the perception of Russia in the West are considered. The course also includes analysis different situations and conflicts that arise in the process of communication between Russians and people from other countries. An important place is occupied by an examination of historical features of the origin of international stereotypes as well as by the problems of national characters. Themes: 1. The notion of “culture”: different definitions and interpretations. 2. National stereotypes - definitions, history of scholarship, and importance of scholarship. How stereotypes are created and spread in society. The role of stereotypes in cross-cultural communication. 3. The problem of national character: theory, history, problems of scholarship. Factors that influence the creation of national characters. 4. Stereotypes of the perception of Russia in the West: Their significance in understanding of the national features and national characters of both Russia and the West. 5. Travelling to other countries. The psychology of a tourist. The role of European travel in Russian and American cultures. The problem of cultural shock and cultural misunderstanding while travelling. Methods of overcoming crisis situations. 6. Is it possible to learn to communicate? The analysis of orientation literature. 7. Is it possible to get to know another culture? The methods of studying and teaching a foreign culture. Sources of information about other cultures. 8. Living in the environment of another culture. The experience of Russian emigrants. 9. Foreigners in Russia. Attitudes to foreigners in Russia. 10. The Russian national character: evaluation and self-evaluation. Difficulties that arise when Russians communicate with foreigners. Difficulties that arise while communicating with Russians. 11. “One can not comprehend Russia”. The features of Russian life: traditions, values, way of life. 2) RUSSIA AND AMERICA: COMMON AND DIFFERENT The objectives of the course are to reveal the history of development of relations between Russians and Americans, the evolution of public opinion in both countries concerning one another, to reveal common and different features in different spheres of life of both countries, traditions, systems of values, ideals, ways of life, political systems, features of the national characters, as well as historical conditions of the setting up of cultural traditions of both countries. Each problem is considered in historical and comparative perspectives. Themes: 1. Historical paths of Russia and America : common and different. The main stages in the development of relations between both countries. 2. How do we see each other? Stereotypes of perception. 3. Attitude to the outer world. Russia and Europe, America and Europe. 4. System of values, national character. 5. Traditions and culture. Ways of life. 6. Family life. The status of women. 7. State and society. 8. Social relations. Relations between people. 9. Capital - city- the provinces - village. 10. Career, work, business. 11. Religion. 12. Education. 13. Literature. Mass-media. 14. Free time. Festivals. Sport. Amusements. 3) Intercultural Communication in Business and Management The target audience is students as well as business people, managers of multinational companies and joint ventures, managers of the hotels, international airports and train stations. With this training people will be able to manage more effectively in multinational companies and enterprises and to run successful business with international partners. Topics for discussion include: Reasons for Intercultural differences; Group dynamics; Culture and its impact on style of management and decision making (cognitive styles); Types of management models; Intercultural communication in business and “globalization”; Cross-cultural aspect of business etiquette. 4) Tourism and Intercultural Communication The target audience is students as well as those working in the travel industry. The training allows one to see the causes of intercultural misunderstanding and to lessen the cultural shock. Practically, it teaches how to apply knowledge of intercultural communication and how to train others. Topics for discussion: What is “Culture”? The common and the specific in culture. Deep and superficial cultures. Subcultures. Sources for intercultural differences. Cognitive and communicative styles in different cultures. Verbal and nonverbal behavior. How to get information in different cultures. How to negotiate in different cultures. The meaning of time and space in different cultures. How to remove intercultural barriers. What should tourists know about the country they are going to. 5) Russia: Culture and Civilization Orientation course for students from abroad. The main aim of the course is to acquaint students from abroad with features of the Russian world: traditions, customs, history, the way of life, mentality, and the Russian national character. The course will help them to find their way in different situations, to understand what is happening around them, and to avoid misunderstandings that are caused by the lack of knowledge of the cultural traditions of Russian people. The duration of the course depends on the programme and on how long the students stay (from 2 to 16 lectures). The course is based on the comparison of Russian culture with cultures of other countries. Offered in Russian or English. Topics: Main Issues of the Course: The Russian national character. Factors that influenced its formation. The problem of understanding. Russians in the perception of the West. Russians about themselves. Russian values and assumptions. Politics: traditions and attitudes. State. Law. Family relations. Raising children. The structure of the family. The status of women. Male-Female relationships. Love. Friendship. The system of education. Student life. Moscow State University. Behavior in the University. Student-teacher relations. Behavior in different places and situations. Relations between people. Non-verbal communication. Communication : features, themes, ways and forms. Business in Russia - features, traditions. Business communication. Work : attitude, behaviour, the relationship between the boss and the subordinate. Moscow and Muscovites. Moscow and Petersburg. Interaction and features of the city and country life, the capital and provincial life in Russia. Church, religion. Art, culture, science. Mass-media: attitudes toward it, its role in life. Means of communications, computerisation. House, way of life, home, fashion. Bath-house. Festivals, traditions, customs. Russian food. Alcohol. Free time, leisure, sport. Attitude to time. Transport. The peculiarities of driving a personal means of transportation in big cities. Trade. Shops. Markets. Attitude to foreigners in Russia. What should foreigners remember when coming to Russia.