OSAKA UNIVERSITY SHORT-TERM STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM _

04s-09
APPROACHES TO UNDERSTANDING CULTURES

Tomoko ARIKAWA (International Student Center)

Objective
More and more people meet with others of different cultural backgrounds. What happens when those people meet? What are the ways to better understand each other? This course studies "culture" from various perspectives, using the issues and problems of the past and present in Japan and in other countries. This course aims to help broaden the understanding of "culture" and help students become better prepared for interacting with the people of different backgrounds. Each class will be conducted through lecture and discussion. Students are expected to participate actively in each class and share the views and experiences with each other. The medium of communication in this course will be English.

Textbook
Reading materials will be given at each class.

Teaching Schedule
Week 1. Introduction
Week 2. What is culture?
Week 3. What is learning?
Week 4. Culture and individuals
Week 5. Culture and religion
Week 6. Culture and ethnicity
Week 7. Culture and nation states
Week 8. Stereotype, prejudice, ethnocentrism
Week 9. Culture and education (1)
Week 10. Culture and education (2)
Week 11. Culture and cognition
Week 12. Culture and learning
Week 13. Students' presentation
Week 14. Students' presentation
Week 15. Conclusion: the dynamics of culture

Grading
Class participation 20%
In-class assignments 30%
Term paper 50%