“Understanding is the journey into the land of the other.”(Fazil Hüsnü Daglarca, poet)

To be understood stems from understanding, an ability to change perspective, and of reflection. In order to act socially sustainably in organisations, people are obliged to deal with a growingly complex role set in competent ways. Key competences and social skills play a vital role in dealing with the complexity of human diversity. Is it enough to travel, to attend a training, to read a book for “intercultural competence”? Probably not. In this training seminar, approaches of intercultural understanding are examined in 7 workshops of 3 full hours: Theoretical frameworks are laid out; exercises and levels of reflection are experienced. Enlightenment and practical value from different approaches are examined. Participants explore the issue interactively with theory, in exchange of thoughts, and by exercises, in the light of entering a probably intercultural work life in the near future.

Framework: Social sustainability is one of three global goals noted in the Rio Convention 1992 by the UN World Commission of Environment and Development. While economic sustainability is a booster of change in modern organisations, ecological sustainability remains a acknowledged task (political pressure), while social sustainability is often neglected (burnout, early retirement). Therefore, it is important to understand how organisational structures, groups, and the individual’s processing and coping are interlinked. This General Studies series, based on sociological and psychological knowledge, is focussing on theories and praxis concepts that allow participants to gather an understanding on how organisations and their role actors can shape a workplace “socially sustainably”. All parts of the training seminar series can be studied separately, or as a row.

The seminar uses English as a lingua franca. Coping with the effects of this setting is part of the reflection within the course. Students are supported expressing themselves. The interactive training setting combines theoretical and practical parts, including reflection of own experiences. Students should be willing to participate in this manner. A field exploration for research-based learning will be part of this term’s requirements, besides an interactive workshop and its documentation.

Open for 1st semester students and above, recommended for Bachelor students before their internship and thesis, as well as for Master students. Open to Erasmus students and to students of other faculties. Please note: this course is limited to 20 participants.

2 SWS: Fortnightly, starting in the 2nd week of the term, Tuesdays 6 – 9 pm; 3 full hours (s.t.!). Please register reliable via Stud.IP for your participation; all material see there.

References
Hall, E. (1959). The Silent Language. Garden City. https://monoskop.org/images/5/57/Hall_Edward_T_The_Silent_Language.pdf
Hofstede, G. (1980). Cultures Consequences. International differences in work-related values. Sage.
Crisp, R. (ed.)(2010). The Psychology of Social and Cultural Diversity. Wiley-Blackwell.
Meyerhuber, S. (2020). Deconstructing impoliteness in professional discourse: The social psychology of workplace mobbing. A cross-disciplinary contribution with conclusions for the intercultural workplace. In Lodz Papers in Pragmatics, Special Issue on (in)tolerance and (in)civility in public discourse from interdisciplinary perspectives. 16/2, pp. 235-264. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/lpp-2020-0011 Download bei DeGruyter: https://www.degruyter.com/journal/key/LPP/16/2/html

Performance requirement for ECTS points
Preparation of an interactive lecture, field exploration and exposition in small groups (6 CP / 3 CP).