2023/2024 BA-BBLCO2104U Cultural Identity and Analysis
English Title | |
Cultural Identity and Analysis |
Course information |
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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
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Course coordinator | |
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Teaching methods | |
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Last updated on 14-02-2024 |
Relevant links |
Learning objectives | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Examination | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 positionality and
assumptions, both in unfamiliar and familiar cultural contexts, are
important elements in enabling this.
These theories will be applied to students' experiences both in an unfamiliar and an familiar context:
Unfamiliar cultural context: we will follow up on students’ experiences from unfamiliar cultures (for instance, the exchange semester abroad or another unfamiliar culture students have experienced earlier in their lives (e.g. a holiday abroad, a new sports club, or a move from Jutland to Sjælland). Cases will be drawn from students' own experiences, including 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). Students' experiences will be discussed in the light of the cultural assumptions, positionality and identity issues that they raise.
Familiar cultural context: with a point of departure in their own experiences, students will be introduced to the challenges, including cultural blind spots, involved in critically reflecting on their own cultural assumptions, identity and positionality in a familiar context, 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 if they choose to write about a cultural topic - notably the concept of 'positionality' which runs through the entire Cultural Analysis course and which will also be addressed in their IRM course.
Guidelines for the exchange log book will be distributed at the end of the 4th semester before the students leave for their semester abroad. |
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Description of the teaching methods | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The semester is organised as follows: 1) Two
individual supervision sessions with a teacher will assist
students in choosing and refining their ideas; 2) Five
assignment development workshops will be held where the students
receive input from a teacher about how to write their essays, and
will 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. 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 will draw on their own previous experiences with culture. All students, including those that do not go on exchange, are required to post on the Exchange Log Book - 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. This is regardless of whether they go on exchange or not - other types of cutlural experience may also be written about in the Exchange Log Book (cf. course content). |
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Feedback during the teaching period | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The students receive feedback on seven occasions
during the course.
Two feedback sessions take the form of 15-minute individual supervision meetings 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 2-page and then a 5-page WIP document for the first and second supervisions, respectively). Five feedback sessions take the form of workshops at which the students receive input about how to craft their exam papers, and receive feedback on their ideas both from their 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. |
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Student workload | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Further Information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This course will run for the first time in Spring 2024. |
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Expected literature | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
To be announced on Canvas |