Winter School: Cultural Psychological Perspectives on Intercultural Communication & Competence

The English-language Summer School creates international and interdisciplinary spaces of learning in which understandings of interculturality, communication and competence are taught, analyzed and discussed. This is done on the basis of simulated settings, along guidelines of intercultural communication and competence mediation. Intercultural communication is highly relevant in the globalized world in a wide variety of professional fields, organizations and life situations in which people from different cultural contexts meet. Thus, the topic addresses a broad student body of cultural studies, humanities and social sciences and prepares them for possible problems, but also learning potentials in intercultural encounters. Concrete forms of interaction are addressed - for example, in the sign of conflicting expectations, failed negotiations and misunderstandings that can occur in professional contexts (foreign assignments, intercultural teams, educational work, cultural mediation) and everyday negotiations with the culturally foreign ("culture shock", stereotypes & prejudices) as well as experiences of recognition and resonance. "Intercultural competence" enables to deal with such situations in a qualified way. It is imparted through trainings, coachings and mediations and works towards the reduction of hurdles and the success of communication in intercultural exchange. In addition, the participants learn a cultural-psychological perspective, which enables a reflexive, analytical and critical approach to the contents and mediation methods of intercultural communication and competence. In this way, the Summer School opens up a space that points beyond the teaching of intercultural competence and allows the understanding of the connection between culture and actions not only to succeed in practice, but also to deepen academically.

Organization: Viktoria Niebel und Oswald Balandis

01. – 04.03.2021, Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Funding: inStudies.

Program of the Winter School

Symposium zum Werk von Ernst E. Boesch - 7./8. Juli 2016

"Symbolic Theory of Action and Cultural Psychology: An Examination of the Work of Ernst E. Boesch." This was the title of a two-day symposium held July 7-8 in cooperation with the KKC and the Ernst Boesch Archive at the Ruhr University Bochum. The lectures on July 7 took place in the "Euro-Eck" on the edge of the campus (Europahaus), on June 8 in the Event Center in Room 3.

Scientific Management: Jürgen Straub, Pradeep Chakkarath und Sebastian Salzmann

Poster of the event

Program of the Symposium