SFB13009 Meetings among Cultures I (Spring 2014)

The course is connected to the following study programs

The course is optional in all study programmes.

Prerequisites

For students who choose another target language than English the prerequisite is knowledge of French/Spanish/German equivalent to Level 1 Foreign Languages in the Norwegian upper secondary school.
Active knowledge of French, Spanish or German is not required but sufficient passive language knowledge is necessary. The students must be able to understand and make use of regular French, Spanish or German factual prose and have sufficient understanding of the target language to be able to grasp the main content of everyday speech.

Lecture Semester

The course is offered as supervised project work.

• Students may complete the course with the progression and at a time that suits the individual student. Thus, the course is unattached to either the autumn or spring semester.
• Students on the bachelor programme in International Communication may only take the course in the 5^th semester (autumn)

The student's learning outcomes after completing the course

KNOWLEDGE

The students have further developed their knowledge in the field of culture and society, as well as their knowledge of academic writing.

SKILLS

The students have developed their skills in working independently with an academic assignment.

GENERAL COMPETENCE

At completion of the course the students will have gained specialised knowledge through in-depth work with a self-chosen topic related to culture and society in the English-/French-/Spanish- or German-speaking countries. They will have become aware of intercultural and/or comparative aspects, and their ability to work independently with an academic topic will have improved.

Content

The course is based on supervised individual work. The students choose their topic based on their own interest and in agreement with a tutor.
The topic can be related to taught courses (e.g. in the 60 and 90 ECTS modules in one-year programmes and extension programmes, or courses that are being taught in the same semester or have been taught in earlier semesters in the bachelor programme in International Communication), or it can be related to other areas or issues in the target countries.

Forms of teaching and learning

Supervised individual project work with tutorials either in Norwegian or in the target language.

Examination

Individual written project work

The report, which may be written either in the target language (English, French, Spanish or German) or in Norwegian, is to be approx. 15 pages long (illustrations not included). Students on the bachelor programme in International Communication who choose the English variety of this course have to write in English.
The paper should include correct references. In agreement with the tutor other media than a written paper may be chosen. Advice is offered through the entire work process.

The assessment is based on the ability to work in-depth with a topic as well as on independence and sound presentation of the work. The grading scale A-F is used.
The candidate may additionally be called in for an oral examination that may influence the final mark.

Course evaluation

The course is evaluated twice each semester.

Literature

The students compile a reference list in connection with the chosen topic. The reference list is to be submitted along with the project.