Lower Level Coursework in World Languages & Cultures

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Upper Level Coursework in World Languages & Cultures

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This interdisciplinary course is designed to get students reading, thinking, and discussing the similarities and differences between life in the U.S. and other countries. It offers an overview of American educational, cultural, social, economic, and political systems, using a historical perspective. It also focuses on basic American values and beliefs. Occasional guest lecturers from Drake and the Des Moines community will help ensure that ideas and opinions are up-to-date and varied.

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This course prepares students for their study abroad experience through familiarization with the 10 most important cultural stress factors (cultural differences, ethnocentrism, cultural immersion, cultural isolation, language, prior cultural experience, expectations, visibility and invisibility, status, and power and control; Paige [1993]). Students' examining their own identity and culture is integral to this familiarization process. Students will also examine their own learning styles so as to facilitate their increased competence in language and culture. Finally, students plan ahead for their re-entry into the Drake environment.

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This course encourages students studying abroad to interact with members of the culture by requiring them to complete a variety of functions. Completion of each of the functions will be required for passing the course. The students then blog about their experiences and read the blogs of other students studying abroad and taking the course.

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Students enrolled in the course engage in interdisciplinary work while examining global/local issues with a holistic approach. Students attend weekly class meetings; prepare, present, and attend end-of-term student presentations on their capstone projects; and write a reflective report relating their internationally-oriented coursework, language courses, study-abroad experiences, capstone project, and related studies to their overall education and personal and career goals.

This course is the culmination of the previous work you have completed for your minor. Primarily reflective in nature, the course requires you to compile an electronic portfolio that should include a collection of your best work. The portfolio should provide evidence of developmental progress, and, most importantly, reflective writing that addresses the minor's learning outcomes.

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This course focuses on the applied understanding of basic concepts and principles regarding communication between people from different racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds/cultures in the context of both the globalizing world and the U.S. Through reading, discussing, writing about, and reflecting on relevant texts and films, you will become acquainted not only with some of the theory and research in the area of intercultural communication, but also with how to apply that knowledge with the goal of understanding and improving human interactions in both global and domestic contexts. Special attention will be paid to the barriers that exist between cultures that may potentially disrupt attempts at fluid intercultural communication, as well as the means to circumvent those barriers. By developing insights into the social, cultural, and historical dimensions of relations among racial, ethnic, and gender groups, you will make progress toward achieving one of the course’s major goal: becoming aware of “cultural relativism” as an ethical guiding principle that results in respecting other cultures more than is the case when ethnocentrism is the guiding principle. Cultural relativism is the practice of examining or considering a culture other than one’s own culture through the lens of that culture prior to evaluating or judging it. We will also consider in some depth the role of the media in creating and diffusing information that affects intercultural communication. Thinking critically about issues such as these will help you demonstrate what Drake’s Mission Statement refers to as “responsible global citizenship.”

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The topic of this course will vary. Students may take the course more than once if the topic has changed.

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This course examines the varied experience of the African diaspora in the United States. It is an interdisciplinary review of the different paths of past and recent waves of African immigrants from the causes of their migration to the social, cultural, and economic adaptation in the fabric of the United States. We will map out the heterogeneous mosaic of “People of African descent» in America and discuss how they adjust, integrate, assimilate, resist, and adapt to the many forces that affect their lives. We shall pay special attention to identity formation, ethnic culture and community challenges and successes. We will also discuss the historical links between Africa and America, as well as the contemporary American perceptions and misperceptions towards Africa.

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This course is designed to provide students with an informed understanding of postcolonial Africa’s key issues. Through lectures, readings, films, discussions, case studies, reportage of current events and independent research, we challenge some American/Western reductionist and stereotyped narratives and images about Africa and Africans, and emphasize the way Africans (ordinary people, writers, artists, etc.) represent themselves, their continent -- its beauty and its challenges -- and their experiences. Selected topics include postcolonial African worldview, sociohistorical foundations of Western misconceptions about Africa, young people’s lifestyle, common cultural practices and perspectives, ethnicity and racial identity, emigration, women’s issues, art and music, challenges and transformations in the continent, etc. Through this interdisciplinary perspective and our “postcolonial” approach, students will develop tools of critical inquiry and increase awareness of themselves compared to others as citizens of a globalized world. This course is taught in English.

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This course will help students better understand the main characteristics of the Arab people, their culture, and their society. The course will closely examine Arabs origins, identities, and values as well as the importance of family and language. Many other things will be examined including: classic and contemporary poetry, music, Arab thought, and the novel. The course will also include a discussion of the Arab Spring, the Syrian Refugee tragedy, and the contemporary crisis of the Arab Culture, including the social, intellectual, and political issues connected to modern Arab culture and thought. In addition, an understanding of Islam and Islamic community is necessary to fully appreciate this region of the world and its people.

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The course will cover social, cultural, political and economic aspects of China. It will not only help the students better understand an otherwise mystifying country, but, more importantly, stimulate the students’ thinking in regard to China. The ultimate goal is for the students to shape a more sophisticated strategy in their future career encounters, both in international relations, business negotiations, and general familiarity with China. This course is taught in English.

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Students enrolled in this course utilize their language skills to pursue an area of interest while working directly with a professor of the language.

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