We are living in a postmodern world where the technology changes rapidly. Such rapid change in technology would bring with it changes in the culture in which we live. People also migrate from one cultural community to another cultural community, either as sojourners or students or as immigrants. Cultural transition has become an important part of every modern professional's life. In this course, we will introduce classical and modern theories on sojourning, migration and acculturation. We will also introduce strategies of coping and thriving in cultural transitions, including coping with cultural diversity in multilingual and multiethnic societies. Finally, we will discuss the process of acculturation and adjustment to a new culture, and the patterns of the host country's reaction and accommodation to the new immigrants.
Comments
There is no tutorial for this course and no textbook required. However I strongly suggest you to attend all lectures as some stuff mention in lecture are not in notes. The mid term CA is quite easy. All mcq. Since 30% so in a way must still study hard to score. For finals you need to memorise quite alot. The short qns are mostly from the qns in the notes. The essay for me is quite tough and you got to really use your thinking because not all is straight from notes.
This course is really tough and only take it if you have interest in it or you are willing to use your SU to clear Gerpe LS/LA
This module covers aspects of culture shock, intercultural training and puts focus on various context such as business, international students, media, etc. It is a Liberal Studies/Liberal Arts GER-PE under Psychology.
Readings consist of only the lecture slides and handouts for every chapter. There is no assigned textbook.
Lectures are supposed to be 3-hr each, but most of the time it ended within 2.5 hours. Some content in the lecture slides are not covered in the handout so it is good to attend the lecture, otherwise it may be hard to understand the points written in the lecture slides.
For mid-terms, there are only MCQs, so not much memorising needed. Be sure to know which are the main points (e.g phases of culture shock) and definitions. Bell-curve can be quite steep for MCQs so it is important to study for it.
For finals, there are fill-in-the-blanks which most test how well you remembered the main points. The questions usually serve as good cues to remember your answer if you studied well enough. For essays, the questions can range from 5 to 20 marks. You may be required to draw out diagrams given in the lecture slides, and much memorising is needed for the essays. There are also a few application questions which test your knowledge for the specific contexts of acculturation.
Since this is a cultural transition module, you do need to know about the differences between cultures (e.g. individualism VS collectivism) and this can form a framework to understand the topics that focus on specific contexts of acculturation.
Programme: PSY(HSS)
We are living in a postmodern world where the technology changes rapidly. Such rapid change in technology would bring with it changes in the culture in which we live. People also migrate from one cultural community to another cultural community, either as sojourners or students or as immigrants. Cultural transition has become an important part of every modern professional's life. In this course, we will introduce classical and modern theories on sojourning, migration and acculturation. We will also introduce strategies of coping and thriving in cultural transitions, including coping with cultural diversity in multilingual and multiethnic societies. Finally, we will discuss the process of acculturation and adjustment to a new culture, and the patterns of the host country's reaction and accommodation to the new immigrants.