Penn Arts & Sciences: Global Culture and Communication Academy

The Global Culture and Media Academy seeks to offer students a foundation for understanding the intricate and complex relationship between language, culture, communicative practices, and the role we play as individuals in the globalized world of today. The course will focus on key ideas to provide a basis for nuanced practices, reflections, and strategies that are associated with 21st-century skills and essential behaviors of a global citizen. 

Based on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Can-do statements, students will achieve various investigative and interactive objectives by the end of the course:

• In my own and other cultures, I can explain how stereotypes influence a country’s products or marketing strategies
• I can share my interpretations of a piece of art of music with someone else while respecting theirs
• I can respond to a social media post in a culturally appropriate manner
• In my own and other cultures, I can explain how globalized products impact society and individual lifestyles
• I can collaborate on an online project to explain misconceptions underlying stereotypes

Through active learning, students will collaborate with their peers in activities that seek to promote nuanced reflection, keen observation, and transformative practices when engaging in intercultural communication.