Intercultural Communication

This subject invites you to take a critical perspective on living in a diverse community in the context of expanding migration and globalisation. We will focus on the role of language, and what it means to communicate across cultural and linguistic boundaries. You will learn about how communication differs across cultures around the world, looking at case studies including French, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, Anglo-Australian and Australian Aboriginal English. We will interrogate the outcomes of such cultures coming together in a multicultural city such as Melbourne. You will gain a new skillset from the discipline of applied linguistics, as well as learning the core skills required to succeed at university, where you will interact with and encounter people of different backgrounds. You will interview other people in your class, creating a sense of connection and belonging, as well as systematically observing instances of communication and miscommunication as it occurs across campus and in our communities.