Summer 2013 Courses

Understanding the influence of culture on organizational communication is more and more crucial in today’s workplace. The experience of working abroad and with people from different cultures can be a terrific experience or a frustrating one.  This program of providing international internship experience and learning about the influence of culture on the workplace is applicable to all of our majors in SMC, as well as to majors outside of SMC. No matter what type of internship experience the students have, there are principles for understanding how to adjust to different cultures and how to work with people from different cultural backgrounds that cut across these experiences.  This program, and the two courses provided within the program, should appeal and be applicable to students from a broad range of professional interests. Summer study on the International Internship program is designed to prepare you for an international internship in Barcelona, Hong Kong or Costa Rica through an exploration of Intercultural Communication in the Workplace.

Special Topics: Intercultural Communication in the Workplace: STRC 3670 (3 s.h.) 

How does culture influence how we communicate in the workplace?  This course will be taught on campus before the students leave for their respective internships abroad.   The ICW course will examine the theory behind understanding how culture influences communication processes across interpersonal, organizational, and mediated levels. With special attention given to workplace environments and negotiation processes, this course will be an intense coverage of major theories of intercultural communication and how they apply to the organizations across a variety of cultural contexts. This course will consider major theories of intercultural communication, look at many of the different processes that make up cultural differences, and examine how these theories and processes affect and apply to the practical matter of communicating with people around us.

Internship: ADV 3185 (3 s.h); JOURN 3885 (3 s.h.); STRC 3385 – Internship in Public Communication (3 s.h.); STRC 3585 – Internship in Public Relations (3 s.h.); STRC 3685 – Internship in Organizational Leadership (3 s.h.); 
Students selected on the basis of qualifications and interests work as interns with relevant professional organizations in either Barcelona, Hong Kong or Costa Rica; work is on a full-time unpaid basis for the duration of the eight week program.

The overarching theme of this course is the following: How does culture influence the internship experience overseas? This course will be taught on-line during the time that the students are working abroad in their respective internships.

The I² course will be both a practicum and an academic experience that will be designed to draw on the specific internship experiences to which the students will be assigned. Assignments (e.g., journals, reaction papers, or blogs on cultural insights and experiences) will be developed based on (a) the cultures they go to, (b) the types of experiences that DCI provides the students (e.g., field trips, site visits), and (c) the specific organizations and job responsibilities that the students are assigned to. Particular attention will be given to the specific cultural contexts and how those cultures influence communication at various levels, from face to face within ethnic neighborhoods, to political communication with the particular countries, to the use of media within the country and the organization.

The Summer 2013 Program Director

The Temple International Internship Faculty Director for Summer 2013 will be Professor Deborah A. Cai, former chair of the Department of Strategic Communication at Temple University and current appointee to the Dean of the School. She led the London program in Summer 2011 and 2012, and she has taught and trained undergraduate and graduate students, business leaders, diplomats, and political leaders in intercultural communication in the U.S., China, Philippines, and Italy. Most of her research focuses on the theory and practice of communicating across cultures.