COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
WEEK 1
Answering the challenges of immigration and multiculturalism
Anamarija Šporčič
Political careers have ended as a result of failing to address the burning questions of immigration and
multicultural society has been declared ''dead'' by important political leaders. This course takes a
look at why immigration and multiculturalism remain such contentious issues by examining the
historical background of immigration, the current issues that define the debate, the social, political
and cultural impacts of immigration and multiculturalism today, as well as the different interests and
actors involved. Our main objectives will be to differentiate between prejudice and stereotypes,
study the impact of discrimination, integration and assimilation on individual groups, identify major
challenges affecting minority groups and analyse contemporary social concerns regarding
immigration and multiculturalism.
Somewhere Only We Know: Cultural Encounters and Journeys of Self-Discovery on Film
Jose Duarte
The sense of place has always been important for the human being, but, at the same time, travelling
is seen as a cultural necessity, be it for the adventure, need or self-discovery. From the road,
considered one of the most important cultural landscapes, to the city, the aim of this course is to
explore cultural questions on the road in contemporary cinema, considering films directed by David
Lynch, Sean Penn, Sofia Coppola, Sam Mendes, Woody Allen or Wong Kar-wai. The course will be
divided as follows:
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Modern journeys: a history of the road movie genre. The road as a main cultural landscape.
Journey(s): discovering the self and the other.
Screening of a film.
The journey and the city: cityscapes and (magical) road stories
Back and forth: no place like home.
With this course, students will be able to understand the importance of the journey as a means to
comprehend the several cultural landscapes and promote cultural encounters.
Relating to the Other: War and Soldiers in American Writing
Jasna Poljak Rehlicki
War is a complicated phenomenon that connects various political, historical, and cultural
implications. Reading some of the most important war writings provides the insight into both
national interests and authors’ cultural protest concerning the war.
The objective of the course is to introduce students with the history of American war and literature
with a special emphasis on soldier characters being the instrument of politics. The course also
provides a valuable resource to history, politics and culture of the U.S.
Pragmatics across English I
Weronika Gasior
Pragmatics is mainly concerned with the fact that what we say is not always what we mean. The
reason for saying one thing while meaning another is often guided by our need to be polite. In this
course we will explore some pragmatics and politeness features of English, highlighting the fact that
sociocultural mores can vary not only across different languages, but also within a particular
language and its varieties. The course will also be an opportunity to reflect on pragmatics and
politeness of the students’ mother tongues.
House and Home in English-Speaking Countries
Monika Kavalir
The concept of house and home is one of those with interesting differences between cultures. This
course takes a look at housing in English-speaking countries and challenges the students to contrast
those attitudes with their own and those prevalent in their source culture. The topics covered in the
course include the importance of “home” (as opposed to house or land), flats vs. houses, home
ownership, types of homes and house size.
English as an International Language: Towards Intercultural Communication
Lili Cavalheiro
In this course, we will discuss how the English language has developed from a national language in
England to the world’s current lingua franca. As an international language, English today is used by
many different people in a variety of situations, most of which involve non-native speakers of the
language, and because of this, the language has faced several changes.
One of the most important aspects in using English as an international language is achieving effective
communication, therefore, we will reflect on the importance of intercultural communicative
competence and how it can be achieved.
WEEK 2
Pragmatics across English II
Weronika Gasior
A continuation of the course from week 1 where we explore further the pragmatics of the English
speaking world. Expanding the scope, the course focuses on a broad range of aspects, from gender
differences to humour and indirectness. The audience will have an opportunity to discover the
numerous connections between their own languages and English, leading to a better understanding
of the art of doing things with words, especially in multicultural encounters.
Body and Health across Cultures
Monika Kavalir
The course focuses specifically on the human body and the way we talk about physical conditions
and health. Even though this may seem to be an area of universal agreement, intercultural
communication teaches us that this is not so: languages and cultures differ in how they construe
concepts such as body parts and diseases, and general social conventions govern the manner in
which we communicate these issues. Practical work using the local environment will feature
prominently in this course.
Relating to the Other: Military jargon in literature, media and culture
Jasna Poljak Rehlicki
The course will be focused on military jargon in American literature and film, and ultimately culture.
Historical applications to the names of the enemy during different wars will be explained, as well as
the history of rank and unit insignia and meaning. It will also be valuable to explore military hand
signals, which have a lot of overlapping with informal hand signals but with specific military meaning.
The course might also help students understand war movies, series and literature better once they
are familiar with this specific jargon.
English as a Lingua Franca: The State of the Art in Europe
Lili Cavalheiro
English has nowadays achieved an international status around the world and Europe is no exception.
In this course we will specifically focus on the roles English plays in the European scenario, as a native
language, second language, but most importantly, as a lingua franca.
The concept of English as a Lingua Franca has been widely debated in our multilinguistic and
multicultural Europe. Using English as a lingua franca in Europe does not inhibit linguistic diversity; on
the contrary, we will see how it unites more than it divides, basically because it may be "owned" by
all Europeans, not as a cultural symbol, but as a means of enabling understanding.
Cultural Approaches to Geography and Landscape: The Case Study of the United States
Jose Duarte
This course tries to examine the importance of cultural geographies in the United States, looking at
the different landscapes that are part of this vast country.
This course aims, therefore, at understanding the several cultural and symbolic landscapes that
inhabit the country, and, also some of the great American Icons, covering a wide range of major
subjects. The course will be divided in 4 major points:
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Cultures and Landscapes (cultural geography; symbolic and natural landscapes). The cultures of
the United States: geographical distribution and importance.
Great American Icons I (Understanding of the cultural importance of some of the great
American icons, from the Statue of Liberty to the Cowboy)
Screening of a film
Great American Icons II (Understanding of the cultural importance of some of the great
American icons, such as the hamburger, pizza or the hot dog)
The invented cultural space: Utopias and Dystopias. The United States on film and Comics
(Batman, Superman, Spiderman, and some SF works in which the United States are destroyed).
Terror and panic.
With this course students will be able to easily identify the main cultural aspects of the United States
while, at the same time, create awareness towards cultural differences and specificities as well as a
critical mind, so necessary to examine culture.