992230 Intercultural and International Communication

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.

UTS: International Studies: International Studies and Global Societies
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks

There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.

Description

This subject provides students with theoretical insights into and practical skills for intercultural and international communication by equipping them to explore links between culture and identities, and between language and society. This subject further equips students for diverse and complex multicultural workplaces and societies, covering skills in research, policy, and ethical engagement. Students analyse connections between personal experience and professional practice to reflect on how their cultural identities shape the way they engage with the world, and thus how their identities inform their practices in professional, institutional, and social contexts. By engaging in critical debates on intersections between cultures, languages, and identities, students have the opportunity to apply their learning to contemporary, real-world instances of intercultural and international communication.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

a.	Articulate awareness of their own cultural identity (beyond national cultural typologies) and how it shapes their intercultural and international communication.
b.	Recognise and demonstrate awareness of others’ perspectives in intercultural interactions, by critically analysing intercultural communication concepts, theories and frameworks.
c.	Critically analyse and apply professional experiences to interact effectively in intercultural situations in professional settings in Australia and internationally.
d.	Critically analyse perceptions and experiences of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians to inform capabilities to work for and with Indigenous Australians within professional contexts.
e.	Demonstrate theoretical and practical (experience-based) knowledge to convey ideas by using academic register within the field of intercultural communication, including correct referencing.

Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)

This subject engages with the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs), which are tailored to the Graduate Attributes set for all graduates of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (INT = International Studies CILOs):

Employ effective strategies to navigate professional interactions across diverse cultural contexts in Australia and internationally. (1.1)
Demonstrate proficiency in navigating intercultural dynamics in Australia and internationally. (3.1)
Critically reflect on ethical Indigenous research practices to work with and for Indigenous peoples across international relations research and professions. (4.1)
Demonstrate an informed, critical perspective on current sustainability practices and act in socially responsible ways in both Australian and international settings. (5.1)

Teaching and learning strategies

Students are guided through a series of six online modules. Each module contains rich content that is organised around a series of topics and includes activities that help students actively engage with the content and undertake the practice–based tasks. Students engage interactively through online discussion boards, embedded comments, and concept-based activities that are scaffolded to culminate in a first-hand experience in exploring intercultural and international communication issues within a professional setting.

Synchronous online seminars provide an opportunity to revise key concepts, further develop connections with other students, and to prepare for assessments. Students receive formative feedback on assignment tasks both from their lecturers and peers, including early formative feedback.

To ensure practice-relevant outcomes, this subject employs an authentic learning approach in which students interview a professional (or 2 professionals), ideally in their field, and analyse an organisational environment of their choice. Students examine cultural differences that might have contributed to particular problems, misunderstandings, or conflicts that have influenced the various interpretations and explanations of the interviewed participant(s). Students provide in-depth analysis and practical feasibility of recommendations for enhancing intercultural and international communication in the organisational context.

Content (topics)

This subject delves into the multifaceted aspects of identities, exploring both the expressive and instrumental roles of identities in shaping intercultural and international communication. It is designed for anyone interested in the interplay of identities and cultures and how strategic use of language – whether verbal, symbolic or written – can foster ethical and effective communicative interactions, including conflict management. By examining how cultural discourses and practices are negotiated across diverse contexts, both locally and internationally, the subject invites students to critically analyse popular assumptions surrounding the concept of culture, by encouraging them to draw on their experiences and professional practices. Finally, the content is designed to lead towards a critical reflection and applied practices on the prospects and limitations of complex understandings of culture, (threats to) identity, power, and agency, and how those apply in the process of intercultural and international communication.

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Critical reflection on my learning journey for future practice

Objective(s):

a, b, c, d and e

Weight:

40%

Length:

Part 1: Critical reflection using concepts and theories covered in Modules 1 & 2, and a cultural scenario of their choice (600 words)

Part 2: Critical analysis based on a case study provided, using concepts and theories from Modules 1 to 3 (1500 words)

Criteria linkages:

Criteria	Weight (%)	SLOs	CILOs
Depth of self, critical and contextual reflection on intercultural and international communication	35	a, b, c	3.1, 5.1
Depth of critical analysis of key?contemporary debates on intercultural professional practices when working with and for Indigenous Australians	35	c, d	3.1, 4.1
Application of culturally appropriate terminology/ language, using appropriate Terminology Guide	10	d, e	4.1
Integration of relevant literature, and referencing accuracy under APA referencing guidelines	10	e	1.1
Use of academic writing skills, written expression (tone and register) and structure	10	a, b, e	1.1

SLOs: subject learning objectives
CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Assessment task 2: Intercultural and international communication in practice

Objective(s):

b, c and e

Weight:

60%

Length:

Pre-recorded video presentation between 8 and 10 minutes.

Criteria linkages:

Criteria	Weight (%)	SLOs	CILOs
Depth of critical and contextual analysis of the cultural environment of the interview case study.	30	b, c	1.1, 3.1
Depth of critical analysis of key themes of the interview case study concerning intercultural and international communication.	30	c	3.1
Practical feasibility of recommendations for enhancing intercultural communication.	25	c	5.1
Use of academic register in oral expression, with clear coherence of structure, and ideas in video recording (unless in case of special requirements, students need to record themselves in the presentation- details in the briefing, for authenticity purposes).	15	e	1.1

SLOs: subject learning objectives
CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Minimum requirements

Part 1 of A2. Students need to undertake an interview to be able to complete Part 2 of A2.

Recommended texts

There are no required texts for this subject. Recommended readings will be available via UTS Library and the subject site.

References

Amiot, C. E., de la Sablonnière, R., Terry, D. J., & Smith, J. R. (2007). Integration of Social Identities in the Self: Toward a Cognitive Developmental Model. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 11(4), 364-388. https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.uts.edu.au/10.1177/1088868307304091

Bamberg, M. (2010). Who Am I? Narration and its contribution to self-identity. Theory and Psychology, 21 (1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354309355852

Block, D. Multilingual Identities in a Global City: London Stories (2005), Palgrave Macmillan UK. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uts/detail.action?docID=257336

Burkitt, I. (2004) The time and space of everyday life. Cultural Studies, 18 (2)-3, 211-227. https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.uts.edu.au/10.1080/0950238042000201491

Castells, M. (2009) The Power of Identity. Oxford: Blackwell. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uts/detail.action?docID=470449

Dervin, F., Yuan, M., & Sude, NA (Eds.). (2022). Teaching Interculturality 'Otherwise' (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003345275

Eiras, P., & Huijser, H. (2021) Exploring spaces in-between: reimagining the transnational student in a transnational university in China. In: Brooks, R. and O’Shea, S. (Eds) Reimagining the Higher Education Student. SRHE/Routledge Research into Higher Education Series. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780367854171-13

Hall, S. (1996). Who needs identity? Hall, S. & du Gay, P. (Eds). Questions of Cultural Identity. Sage Publications.

Ho D. Y. F. (1995). Selfhood and identity in confucianism, taoism, buddhism, and hinduism: Contrasts with the west. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 25(2), 115–139. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5914.1995.tb00269.x

Hua, Z. (2018). Exploring Intercultural Communication: Language in Action (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315159010

Fitzpatrick, F. (2020). Understanding Intercultural Interaction: An Analysis of Key Concepts. Emerald Publishing. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uts/detail.action?docID=5979616

Holliday, A. (2016). Difference and awareness in cultural travel: negotiating blocks and threads. Language and Intercultural Communication,16 (3), 318-331. https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.uts.edu.au/10.1080/14708477.2016.1168046

Jackson, J. (2020). Introducing Language and Intercultural Communication (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351059275

Jenkins, R. (2004) Social Identity. London: Routledge https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.uts.edu.au/10.4324/9781315887104

Kim, Min-Sun (2021). Towards new conceptions of multicultural identity in intercultural communication, Empedocles: European Journal for the Philosophy of Communication, 12(2), 183–202, https://doi.org/10.1386/ejpc_00036_1

Lim, L., Stroud, C., & Wee, L. (2018). The Multilingual Citizen: Towards a Politics of Language for Agency and Change, Bristol, Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters, 2018. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781783099665

Nakayama, T. K., & Halualani, R., T. (Eds) (2024). The Handbook of Critical Intercultural Communication (2nd ed). Wiley-Blackwell.

Scott, S. (2015). Negotiating Identity: Symbolic Interactionist Approaches to Social Identity, Polity Press. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uts/detail.action?docID=4094504

Spencer-Oatey, H., & Franklin, P. Intercultural Interaction (2009). A Multidisciplinary Approach to Intercultural Communication, Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uts/detail.action?docID=533550

Spencer-Oatey, H., & Wang, J. (2020). Establishing Professional Intercultural Relations: Chinese Perceptions of Behavioural Success in a Sino-American Exchange Visit, Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 49 (6), 499-519. https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.uts.edu.au/10.1080/17475759.2020.1788119