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2021/2022  BA-BBLCO2022U  Cultural Analysis

English Title
Cultural Analysis

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Bachelor
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Spring
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for BSc and MSc in Business, Language and Culture, BSc
Course coordinator
  • Maribel Blasco - Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC)
Main academic disciplines
  • Globalisation and international business
  • Sociology
Teaching methods
  • Blended learning
Last updated on 23-06-2021

Relevant links
Learning objectives
  • Define and compare the theories and perspectives on cultural difference presented in the course material and readings, and be able to evaluate their strengths and limitations for explaining a chosen cultural issue.
  • Apply appropriate readings, theories and concepts taught during the course to analyse the assumptions and observations presented in the student exchange logbook or their experiences ‘at home’.
  • Reflect critically on his/her own cultural assumptions and situatedness, with a point of departure in analysis of experiences with a familiar or unfamiliar culture.
Examination
Cultural Analysis:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Size of written product Max. 10 pages
The course concludes with an essay based on a theme that students select themselves, within a set framework.
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 7 days to prepare
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Summer
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Description of the exam procedure

The essay should take its point of departure in one of the main course themes – i.e. analyzing a familiar or an unfamiliar culture - and discuss it in the light of the theoretical perspectives and concepts taught during the course. 


Students will develop an idea for the exam essay in groups during the course. Feedback will be provided on this idea on two occasions: 1) A supervision session will assist the student groups in choosing and refining their ideas; 2) At the end of the course, a workshop will be held where the student groups present their essay ideas and receive feedback from peers and from the teacher. Students may develop their ongoing idea into their exam paper; they are, however also free to choose a completely new topic if they prefer.

 

Cultural Analysis is designed to integrate with the bachelor project.
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

Today’s BLC graduates are likely to be employed in multicultural organisations in Denmark and/or abroad. The ability to work effectively with people from a wide range of backgrounds is therefore increasingly crucial, both when in a foreign environment, and when ‘at home’ - e.g. in one's own organisational/work environment. Awareness of one’s own cultural situatedness and assumptions, both in unfamiliar and familiar contexts,, are important elements in enabling this. 
  
“Cultural Analysis” is designed to foster and train these abilities. The aim of the course is to encourage critical reflexivity concerning students’ own cultural situatedness, and the ways in which they apprehend and negotiate difference both in a foreign context and at ‘home’. Students will be introduced to theories and concepts that will enable them to carry out a cultural analysis both of a familar context (where they feel 'at home') and of an unfamiliar/foreign context. This is achieved in two ways in this course:

 

During the first part of the course we will follow up on students’ experiences from their semester abroad in the lectures, using cases drawn from the ‘exchange log book’, an electronic media platform accessible only to the class and teacher, which students are required to post on during their exchange. We will use the posts as data and discuss them in the light of the course theories and concepts. Students will be introduced to different approaches to culture, identity and difference (e.g. functionalist, interpretive, post-modern).

 

During the second part of the course, we will focus on the challenges involved in carrying out a cultural analysis of a familiar environment, e.g. a Danish organisation or institution (such as CBS, a workplace, sports club or family context).

 

Students will thus be expected to draw on the perspectives and concepts taught during the course in explaining and reflecting on their experiences both in familiar and unfamiliar contexts. The cultural analysis techniques students learn during the course are also intended to equip students with conceptual and methodological tools that they can deploy when writing their bachelor project. 
  
Guidelines for the exchange log book will be distributed at the end of the 4th semester before the students leave for their semester abroad.
Description of the teaching methods
The semester is organised as lectures, as well as a supervision session and a workshop involving presentations and discussions of the student groups' ideas for exam their assignment, as well as teacher feedback. These different learning situations will equip students to apply the conceptual tools they have been taught in order to analyse their experiences with familiar and unfamiliar cultures.

Data about exchange experiences will be generated by the students themselves, who are required to post on a virtual platform whilst on exchange, regarding their experiences, anecdotes, interviews, images, music, newspaper articles, film clips, etc. that they found thought-provoking, interesting, shocking, surprising, etc.
Feedback during the teaching period
The students receive feedback twice during the course.

The first feedback session takes the form of a supervision meeting at which the students receive feedback on their ideas for their exam assignment (submitted to their supervision teacher prior to the supervision session in the form of a maximum 2-page WIP document).

The second feedback session takes the form of a workshop, at which the students present a 5-page practice assignment (which represents the further development of their 2-page WIP supervision document) prior to the workshop, and receive feedback on it at the workshop from peers and from their workshop teacher.

Students are also strongly encouraged to make use of the coordinator's office hours to discuss their assignment ideas or other aspects of the course.
Student workload
Lectures 20 hours
Feedback 1,5 hours
Preparation and exams 184,5 hours
Total 206 hours
Further Information

Please note that this course will be discontinued and will be offered for the last time in spring 2023. The last exam in the course will be offered in summer 2024. The course Cultural Analysis and Identity will replace it.
Expected literature

To be announced on Canvas
Last updated on 23-06-2021