Taught by

How does culture matter? How is our sense of self and others culturally situated? This program will attempt to answer these questions through the study of cultural psychology and cross-cultural communication. Exchange students from Daejeon University in Korea will join Evergreen students in this program to engage in a cross-cultural examination of social/cultural norms, values, and practices. Our studies will focus on culture in relation to ideological values (including ideas about gender, family, body aesthetics, community, work, and education), language and perception, nonverbal communication including use of space, emotional experience and expression including cultural “feeling rules,” ritual including meanings and social functions, and cognition including judgment and decision-making. We will draw primarily on cross-cultural communication and psychology literature but include some study of cultural, historical, and political/economic material in order to deepen our understanding of cultural contexts.

Evergreen students will learn basic introductory language skills in Korean reading, writing, and speaking. They will also learn useful communication strategies for helping Korean speakers improve English language skills. All students will work on increasing their intercultural competence as we exchange ideas and cultural practices, taste each other’s favorite foods, interact with local Korean immigrant communities, watch U.S. and Korean films, and interview each other on thematic interests of cultural difference and similarity. In addition to engaging in reading, writing, and research assignments, students will collectively produce audio recordings on cross-cultural themes for possible broadcast on local community radio.

Quarters

Spring Open

Location and Schedule

Campus Location

Olympia

Time Offered

Day