Guide in PDF format

Intercultural Communication

Code: 103099
Credits: 6

2026/2027

Degree programme	Type	Course
Journalism	OP	3

Contact lecturer

Name :: David Rull Ribó
Email :: david.rull@uab.cat

Teaching staff

: Carlos Sanandres Martinez

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

The subject of Intercultural Communication is Found within the area of Theory, History and Structure of communication, forming part of the mention in Analysis and Planning of the Communication.

Objectives

The course on Intercultural Communication aims to raise students' awareness of interpersonal and intergroup relations within the intercultural media context resulting from globalization, to help them acquire a set of critical tools to analyze this geopolitical situation that shapes intercultural communication, to practice a new methodology for analyzing this hybrid society, and to develop a critical perspective on the relationships established between individuals, groups, and institutions who, coming from diverse sociocultural experiences, discourses, and representations, form intercultural communication networks where they engage in dialogue or rejection, agreement or confrontation, the exchange of experiences or the rejection of others'.

Intercultural communication, moving beyond the ethnocentric approach used in traditional analyses of communication networks, explains the complex and dynamic social relationships that develop at both interpersonal and collective levels, shaped by highly diverse social and political contexts in an accelerated process of globalization.

We will show that cultures are not homogeneous or static entities but rather hybrid and dynamic. We will demonstrate that cultures do not engage in dialogue with one another; rather, the individuals or groups that compose them are the ones who end up debating or confronting each other. This study will be carried out from an interdisciplinary perspective as a transversal vector of intercultural communication.

The multicultural perspective requires a different analytical methodology in which supposed or imagined identities are dissected to uncover the classificatory and exclusionary systems that constitute them. We analyze the exclusion and inclusion of individuals and groups within those who can 'speak' and manage communication, or who are silenced and muted by political and media powers.

The content of the course will be sensitive to aspects related to respect for fundamental rights of equality between women and men, human rights and the values of a culture of peace and will seek to promote personal growth and professional commitment to oneself. and the community and, nevertheless, as the Catalan Audiovisual Council suggests, “to show the different social realities, not allowing the creation of contents that can encourage or justify homophobia, biphobia, lesbophobia and transphobia, disseminating the denunciation of discriminatory acts and presenting good practices in relation to equality and non-discrimination ”(Recommendations on the treatment of LGBTI people in the audiovisual media, CAC, 2017).

Course objectives:

Reflect on cultural diversity and its presence in the media.
Become familiar with some of the most relevant authors in the study of cultural otherness.
Identify cultural and linguistic stereotypes related to cultural otherness.
Learn to apply the acquired knowledge in the production of a journalistic piece.
Complete various journalistic exercises within the course's area of specialization.

Learning outcomes

CM17 (Assess the role of the media in constructing discourses of power and in the representation of minority groups, and ensure that journalistic contents are inclusive and respectful of human rights.) Assess the role of the media in constructing discourses of power and in the representation of minority groups, and ensure that journalistic contents are inclusive and respectful of human rights.
CM18 (Include the gender perspective, the condemnation of gender violence, the defence of victims’ rights and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the analysis and production of media discourses, and guarantee diverse, inclusive, socially responsible media.) Include the gender perspective, the condemnation of gender violence, the defence of victims’ rights and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the analysis and production of media discourses, and guarantee diverse, inclusive, socially responsible media.
KM17 (Recognise the theoretical foundations of social communication, including semiotics, intercultural communication and public opinion, and identify their impact on the construction of reality and media representation.) Recognise the theoretical foundations of social communication, including semiotics, intercultural communication and public opinion, and identify their impact on the construction of reality and media representation.
SM20 (Develop production strategies for journalistic and audiovisual contents that foster cultural diversity and equitable representation in media discourses.) Develop production strategies for journalistic and audiovisual contents that foster cultural diversity and equitable representation in media discourses.

A detailed schedule outlining the content of each session will be presented on the first day of the course and will be available on the course’s Virtual Campus, where students will find all teaching materials and necessary information for effective course monitoring. Should the teaching modality change for reasons of force majeure according to the competent authorities, the teaching staff will inform students of any modifications to the course schedule and teaching methodologies.

The course will be divided into:

1) Theoretical classes

2) Practical sessions (derived from theoretical teachings)

3) Seminars

4) Fieldwork

Theoretical classes (programme)

Session 1: Understanding

A history of the “others”
The description of the “others”
Key concepts in anthropology
Otherness and language
Otherness and war

Session 2: Listening

Music and identity
Language and sound
Music, beliefs and religiosity
Case studies

Session 3: Looking

Visual language
Looking at the “others”
The photographic gaze. Stereotypes and clichés
The cartographic gaze. Maps and power

Session 4: Eating

Food and communication. Around the fire
Food and culture. Grandmothers as cultural transmitters
Food and beliefs
Food and taboo

Session 5: Narrating

Tools and strategies to explain the “others”
Journalism and language
Journalism and otherness
Journalism and racism

Practical sessions

In the practical classes, autonomous working groups of 2 or 3 students will be formed with the aim of producing journalistic workrelated to interculturality, such as:

Journalistic essays
Digital cartographies
Social media profiles
Others (at the discretion of the teaching staff)

The functioning and dynamics of the practical sessions will simulate those of a newsroom, where the teaching staff will provide guidance on the different assignments, how to produce them, and submission deadlines.

Learning activities and methodology

Title	Hours	ECTS
Personal work	16	0.64
theory	100	4
Seminars	34	1.36

Training activities in ECTS credits, their learning methodology and their relationship with the skills to be achieved.

In the event that the student commits any irregularity that could lead to a significant variation in the grade of an assessment act, this assessment act will be graded with 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that may be instituted. In the event that several irregularities occur in the evaluation acts of the same subject, the final grade for this subject will be 0.

Learning activities		Learning methodology		Skills
DIRECTED ACTIVITY
	Theoretical Classes	Master Classes	25%	CG1; CE1; CE3; CE4; CE11; CT1
	Seminars	Treball d'un grup sobre un tema o activitat específica.	10%	CG1; CG3; CE1; CE3; CE4; CE11; CT1; CT2; CT11
SUPERVISED ACTIVITY
	Tutories	Individual or group face-to-face activities aimed at developing knowledge in practical situations and solving learning problems.	5%	CG1; CG4; CE1; CE3; CE4; CE11; CT1; CT2; CT11
AUTONOMOUS ACTIVITY
	Reading, analysis and synthesis of texts, preparation and completion of assignments. Comprehensive reading of texts and study, reviews, bibliographic essays and creation of diagrams, conceptual maps and summaries.		55%	CG1; CE1 ; CE3 ; CE4; CE11; CT2; CT11

In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title	Weight	Learning outcomes
Practices	60%	CM17, CM18, KM17, SM20
Critical News rewriting	15%	CM17, CM18, KM17, SM20
demonstration of the knowledge acquired in theory classes	5%	CM17, CM18, KM17, SM20
Book Review	20%	CM17, CM18, KM17, SM20

The assessment system will be based on attendance and participation in the theoretical sessions and practical seminars of the course (with participation being evaluated), as well as the development and submission of assignments according to the instructors’ guidelines:

Theory

Submission of written essays in class: 5%
Submission of a review of one required reading chosen from the books by Perceval (2013), Kapuscinski (2019), or Todorov (2009): 20%
Oral presentation in class of a news item related to the subject area: 15%

Practice

Practical assignments (journalistic essay, cultural cartography, and/or social media project) and oral presentation of the work: 60%

The student must obtain a minimum score of five (5) in all course activities. Otherwise, the student will fail the course, regardless of whether the rest of the activities have been passed.

Plagiarism in any of the course assignments will result in a failing gradefor the entire course.

Class attendance and participation are mandatory in order to pass the course. Throughout the course, students will be requiredto submit various assignments such as:

– Short essays on topics discussed in theoretical classes

– A review of one required reading chosen by the student

– Group presentation of a news item related to the subject of the course

Plagiarism

Plagiarism in any of the course work will be penalized with a general failure of the course.

Attendance and participation

Attendance and participation in class are mandatory in order to pass the course. Throughout the course the student will have to complete various assignments such as:

- Short essays on issues raised in theory classes

- Review of a compulsory reading to be chosen by the student

- Group presentation of a news item related to the subject of the course.

Artificial Intelligence

For this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is allowed only in those tasks explicitly indicated by the professor. Students must clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. The non-transparency of the use of AI in this assessable activity will be considered a lack of academic honesty and may lead to a partial or total penalty in the grade of the activity, or higher penalties in cases of seriousness.

Bibliography

BASIC BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bohannan, L. (1966). “Shakespeare en la selva” a: Honorio, Honorio M. (2010) Lecturas de antropologia social y cultural, UNED - Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, pp. 53-65. [ed. original: Bohannan, L. (1966). “Shakespeare in the bush”, a: Natural History, Agusut-September 1966].

Kapuscinski, Ryszard (2019). Viajes con Heródoto. Anagrama.

Perceval, José María (2013). El racismo y la xenofòbia. Crítica.

Tejedor, Santiago y Pérez Tornero, José Manuel (2024) (dir.). Contar el Mundo. Barcelona, Carena.

Todorov, Tzvetan (2008). El miedo a los bárbaros. Galaxia Gutemberg.

COMPLEMENTARY BIBLIOGRAPHY

Alfaro, Santiago (2008). Ciudadanía Intercultural. Conceptos y pedagogías desde América, Fondo editorial de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.

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Appadurai, Arjun (1996). Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization, University of Minnesota Press.

(trad.esp. La modernidad desbordada: dimensiones culturales de la globalización, Buenos Aires, FCE, 2001).

Appadurai, Arjun (2006). Fear of Small Numbers. An Essay on the Geography of Anger, Duke University Press.

(trad.esp.: El rechazo de las minorías. Ensayo sobre la geografía de la furia, Barcelona, Tusquets, 2007).

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Grimson, Alejandro (2001). Comunicación Intercultural. Norma.

Gruzinski, Serge (1999) : La pensée métisse. Fayard.

Gruzinski, Serge (2004). Les Quatre Parties du monde: histoire d’une mondialisation. La Martiniere.

Guha, Ramachandra (2007). India after Gandhi: The History of the World’s Largest Democracy. Macmillan.

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Kapuscinski, Ryszard (2007). Encuentros con el Otro. Anagrama.

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Lustig, Myron W.; Koester, Jolene (2003). Intercultural Competence: Interpersonal Across Cultures. Snippet views.

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(Trad. Identitat I violència. Qui té interès a convertir la identitat en conflicte?, Barcelona, La Campana,2009).

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Taguieff, Pierre-André (2001). La fuerza del prejuicio. University of Minnesota.