Academic Catalog

Intercultural Communication (ICC)

ICC 600  Foundations, Critical Approaches and Future Challenges in Intercultural Communication  3 Credits  
Grade Mode: Standard Letter, Audit/Non Audit  
  
This course introduces scholarly approaches to the study of intercultural communication that have been developed since the inception of this field of enquiry (including religion, ethnicity, race, nationality and ethics). Through discriminating, critical engagement with theory and its scholarly and practical applications, students will think critically and reflectively about the complexity and implications of the choices that intercultural communication actors have to make across settings and will be encouraged to identify the key challenges that lie ahead for intercultural communication in our multicultural societies.
ICC 601  Research in Intercultural Communication: Tools and Methods  3 Credits  
Grade Mode: Standard Letter, Audit/Non Audit  
  
This course prepares students to conduct research in Intercultural Communication with the necessary research methods and tools provided by Humanities and Social Sciences. Epistemological foundations of qualitative and quantitative research and major ethical and political issues in research will be provided. Linkages between broader theoretical and conceptual issues and alternative hypotheses will be provided to organize knowledge, construct ideas and present various arguments. Hands-on experiences for research design, data collection and analysis, and writing of research findings will be provided.
ICC 602  Managing Communication in Intercultural Settings  3 Credits  
Grade Mode: Standard Letter, Audit/Non Audit  
  
This course introduces students to the challenge of managing communication across national, religious, occupational, gender boundaries in different intercultural settings and to equip them to develop the right skills and mindset to approach intercultural communication.
ICC 603  Intercultural Communication in the Community: Mediation & Interpreting  3 Credits  
Grade Mode: Standard Letter, Audit/Non Audit  
  
This course prepares students to work as intercultural communication actors in community settings, with a particular focus on health care, social services, non-governmental settings, where intercultural communication is key to avoid cultural, linguistic and systemic discrimination. Students will be introduced to the ethical questions raised by intercultural communication in these settings, to the main differences between the role of mediators and interpreters (the two main intercultural communication-related occupations in community settings) and will extensively practice their intercultural mediation and interpreting skills
ICC 604  Discourse and Communication Analysis  3 Credits  
Grade Mode: Standard Letter, Audit/Non Audit  
  
This course engages students in examining and applying the basic concepts of stylistics and discourse analysis to different communication contexts, text types and genres. The course is intended to enhance students’ competence in analyzing and manipulating grammatical, stylistic and rhetorical features of language in multimodal communicative situations. Students will gain insight into, and develop the necessary skills to apply, the different tools and approaches to discourse analysis in various social and cultural settings.
ICC 605  Intercultural Communication in Organizations: Consulting & Management  3 Credits  
Grade Mode: Standard Letter, Audit/Non Audit  
  
This course prepares students to work as intercultural communication actors in the profit and non-profit sectors, with a particular focus on business where intercultural communication is key to face the challenges posed by cultural difference to Human Resources, organizational communication, public relations processes. Students will be introduced to the possible difficulties posed by cultural differences in organizations, and will acquire the necessary consulting and management skills to engage in intercultural negotiations and in diverse teams.
ICC 621  Intercultural Communication in Digital Media  3 Credits  
Grade Mode: Standard Letter, Audit/Non Audit  
  
This course will develop media literacy to access and evaluate content development and sharing on digital and social media platforms. Research on content creation and its impact on intercultural settings in Qatar will be core. It will offer opportunities for app development, fit for communication processes on Qatari and MENA platforms. Interdisciplinary reflection on the intercultural aspects of digital media will be enhanced in the framework of digital content creation and e-applications to critically approaching identity, acculturation and intercultural communication.
ICC 622  Intercultural Conflict Management  3 Credits  
Grade Mode: Standard Letter, Audit/Non Audit  
  
This course will reflect on the challenges of today`s increased global cross-border communication between different cultures and specifically on the communication processes that can be used during interactions in conflict situations between different cultures. Communication strategies will be analyzed. It will explore conflict prone dimensions in intercultural interactions, and design methods for successful communication in conflict situations. As a case study, it will analyze and test cultural management strategies in multicultural business environments and the methods of efficient problem solving.
ICC 623  Mediation Interpreting in Healthcare  3 Credits  
Grade Mode: Standard Letter, Audit/Non Audit  
  
This course is offered in the format of the Bridging the Gap Medical Interpreters training offered by WCM-Q and is designed by the US Public Health Services to improve access to healthcare. To meet the need of Qatar's diversified population and to conform to accreditation standards, this WCM-Q based course offers Interpreter skills, Medical Interpreters Code of Ethics, Role of Medical Mediator Interpreters in healthcare settings, Culture and its impact on interpreting, Communication skills and appropriate advocacy, and Medical terminology.
ICC 624  Intercultural Competence in Healthcare  3 Credits  
Grade Mode: Standard Letter, Audit/Non Audit  
  
At the end of this joint TISD-WCM-Q course, students will be able to value the impact of diversity in healthcare particularly in Qatar. Define in contemporary terms: culture, cultural competence, patient-centered care and cultural humility. Differentiate between cultural competence and patient-centered care. Describe how culture influences both patients and provider’s interactions and expectations. Recognize the effect of bias and stereotyping on healthcare quality and describe strategies to reduce their effect.
ICC 625  Diversity, Inclusion and Access  3 Credits  
Grade Mode: Standard Letter, Audit/Non Audit  
  
The widespread notion of equality of opportunities requires that the issue of discrimination and inclusion be studied so as to find solutions for barriers that hinder people from full access to basic spheres of life, such as healthcare, education, employment, information, culture and/or entertainment. This course aims at introducing students to issues of Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility from the slant of communication and (dis)ability, leading them to develop innovative communication strategies to enhance equitable access solutions in diverse contexts.
ICC 660  Independent Research Project  3 Credits  
Grade Mode: Pass/Non Pass  
  
The Intercultural Communication program requires students to either undertake an internship or an independent research project. This course allows students to explore their specific research interests within intercultural communication studies. The student will work closely with the supervisor to implement this project within a given time period. The project may be capitalized on for the purposes of the thesis.
ICC 691  Internship  3 Credits  
Grade Mode: Pass/Non Pass  
  
ICC 695  Master's Thesis Hours  1-6 Credits  
Grade Mode: Pass/Non Pass