Master 2023/2024

Adviser's Seminar "Current Paradigms of Inter- and Cross-Cultural Communication"

Type: Compulsory course (Foreign Languages and Intercultural Communication)

Area of studies: Linguistics

Delivered by: School of Foreign Languages

Where: School of Foreign Languages

When: 1 year, 1-4 module

Mode of studies: offline

Open to: students of one campus

Instructors: Мошняга Елена Викторовна

Master’s programme: Иностранные языки и межкультурная коммуникация

Language: English

ECTS credits: 6

Contact hours: 18

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The seminar is aimed at a deeper exploration of basic paradigmatic issues of intercultural and cross-cultural communication: Self and Other, Otherness and Otherisation, In-groups vs. Out-groups, Social and Cultural Identity, Mentality, Basic Personality, Paradigms of seeing or making sense of the world, Values – Beliefs – Attitudes – Norms – Worldview, Paradigm of ideology, Intercultural dialogue, Intercultural mediation, Cross-cultural communication as cross-cultural research. The seminar also targets the design of students' trajectories in the field. It focuses on educational and professional standards (e.g., ethics) as well as their personal contribution to theoretical and practical research. Projects in the field of communication are highlighted. An important aspect of the seminar is discussing preliminary and final outcomes of students' dissertation research.

Learning Objectives

• The purpose of the course is to provide for the academic and research capacity-building of master’s degree students in the spheres of intercultural and cross-cultural communication: to facilitate building systematic, consistent and fundamental knowledge, designing of students' research trajectories, assisting them in their personal contribution to current research issues, advising in the choice and application of research methods, designing analytical reviews, reports and articles, developing projects and theses.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Students distinguish cultural paradigms and can explain the differences.
• Students use relevant terms and concepts of intercultural and cross-cultural communication in academic discourse.
• Students analyze key trends and current issues in intercultural and cross-cultural communication studies.
• Students detect research gaps in the domains of culture, identity and discourse while studying intercultural and cross-cultural communication.
• Students choose appropriate methods to do research on the topic.
• Students apply parametric models to do cross-cultural research.
• Students distinguish novelty and innovation in research.
• Students apply critical thinking and creativity while doing research.
• Students develop research hypotheses and apply the principle of triangulation while doing research.
• Students apply multidisciplinary , interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary approaches while doing research.

Course Contents

• Basic cultural paradigms. Key terminology and conceptology in the fields of intercultural and cross-cultural communication
• Key issues and trends in intercultural and cross-cultural communication studies
• Doing cross-cultural research
• Innovation and creativity in intercultural and cross-cultural research
• Strategies and perspectives of completing theses in the fields of intercultural and cross-cultural communication
• Semiotic analysis in intercultural communication research.
• Conceptological analysis in intercultural communication research.
• Discourse analysis in intercultural communication research.
• Content analysis in intercultural communication research.
• Methods of cross-cultural communication in comparative research.

Assessment Elements

• Class participation
  Participating in the discussion of problems on the topics of the course, answering topical questions, commenting, providing arguments, examples and illustrative cases, modelling, projecting and designing
• Practical and analytical assignments
  Completing assignments for all topics of the course
• Analytical survey
  Writing an analytical survey of research papers on a specific topic
• Article review
  Writing a review of a sample research article
• Report presentation
  Report presentation on one of the topics of the course, raising and analyzing the problem, providing illustrative material, examples, cases and solutions.
• Practice
  Scientific and research practice: practical training (probation) and the analysis of its results

Interim Assessment

• 2023/2024 4th module
  0.1 * Analytical survey + 0.1 * Article review + 0.05 * Class participation + 0.05 * Class participation + 0.05 * Class participation + 0.05 * Class participation + 0.05 * Practical and analytical assignments + 0.05 * Practical and analytical assignments + 0.05 * Practical and analytical assignments + 0.05 * Practical and analytical assignments + 0.25 * Practice + 0.15 * Report presentation
• 2024/2025 3rd module
  Independent

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• A tale of two cultures : qualitative and quantitative research in the social sciences, Goertz, G., 2012
• Conducting research in educational contexts, Basit, T. N., 2010
• Doing cross-cultural research : ethical and methodological perspectives, , 2008
• Methods and data analysis for cross-cultural research, Vijver van de, F., 1997
• Performing gualitative cross-cultural research, Liamputtong, P., 2010

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Cross-cultural research methods in psychology, , 2011
• Designing research in the social sciences, Maggetti, M., 2013
• Quantitative research in linguistics : an introduction, Rasinger, S. M., 2011