Communication

This course introduces performance studies and provides the analytical and methodological tools necessary for research on the ways various performance practices constitute public spaces. It introduces the concept of performance understood as an embodying practice, including everyday performances (self-representations, individual activities, daily interactions), civic performances (speech acts, protests, social movements), and artistic performances (theatre, dance, music, artivism), and the concept of public space, including a smooth public space (a space of peace, harmony, consensus) and a striated public space (a space of confrontation, disharmony, dissensus). The course studies how different performances are constructed, how they constitute public spaces, and, consequently, how they produce social, political, and cultural effects. In providing insight into various performance practices, performance theory, political theory, and art studies, this course appeals to students interested in developing the theoretical tools necessary for the study of the significance of performance practices in shaping public actions, discourses, representations, and opinions. Through a combination of close reading of texts, lectures, discussions, video projections and assignments, the course analyzes selected performances both in group and individually. Reflective discussions about selected texts and performances are designed to maximize student input and participation. Equipped with analytical skills, students learn to assess how performances can challenge and reshape public space.

This course uses film to examine the cultural translation of famous stories in different times and cultural settings by looking at how shifts in the narrative, images, dialogue, and translation foreground different ideas. The course looks at the expression of cultural translation in movies and the flow of translation; particularly, how a single story changes as times and cultures change. 
 
Why do some stories travel internationally, while others seem less inclined to relocate? What cultural differences are revealed--and what challenges arise--in the process of translating culturally specific texts for new audiences? How does this traffic of ideas, images, narratives and media affect the ways we understand and relate to each other across cultures? 
 
Through the medium of film, this course introduces students to two important aspects of cultural translation: 1) cultural translation as “a way for minority subjects to claim a degree of agency within a majority culture” (Hodgson, 2018), and 2) cultural translation as a process of “negotiating cultural differences” (Bachmann-Medick, 2006) that involves adapting or rewriting texts to foreground issues relevant to their new audiences (see Bahrawi 2016). 
 
Through a series of case studies ranging from Italian adaptations of Japanese Westerns to Disney fairy tales and the gothic excesses of Toho Studios' vampire films, students will discover the extent to which cultural contexts and formal demands affect the translation of a variety of film elements: from images and dialogue to tropes and narratives.

This course considers the role of journalism in today’s landscape where most people use social media to engage with news content and share information. It discusses the important role of journalism in democracy and the target from autocratic leaders who point to press – and significantly, female journalists – as the enemies of the people. The course also discusses the impact of Artificial Intelligence on journalism and what it means for the future of media. It covers the key elements of journalism to become acquainted with gathering news from different parts of the world and platforms for comparison.

Nowadays, consumers or organizations, are more informed and more demanding as the landscape of international marketing knowledge changes. Combined with technological advancements, environmental degradation and sociocultural changes, these factors provide strong support for the proposition that marketing practices, perspectives, and assumptions are becoming outdated. This course introduces reflection and debate regarding current challenges in international marketing, bringing together culturally diverse and interdisciplinary perspectives. This course provides students with the current challenges and opportunities of international marketing. In this vein, students focus on current trends in international marketing, issues relevant to the global environment.

The course equips students with an understanding of (1) the marketing concept, (2) important strategic marketing decisions for business, (3) emerging trends in marketing, and (4) the relationships and tensions that exist between marketing practice and society. Students are first introduced to important concepts underpinning marketing practice; consumer behavior, segmentation & targeting, branding, marketing communications in a digitalized world, and the marketing mix.

The purpose of this course is for students to learn about Japanese communication behaviors and culture, using a comparative approach with other cultures, while also learning through their own lived experiences. This course covers the chapters that are not covered in spring semester and aims to deepen understanding of the spring course; it is not mandatory to enroll in the spring course.

This course is taught in English and some Japanese and utilizes the peer teaching approach at the beginning of each class. 

In a globalized world, fostering cultural competency is essential for success in any profession and trade that values the diversity of people and their cultures. This course draws on evidence-informed techniques to develop students' cultural competency, focusing on their knowledge and understanding, their awareness and sensitivity, your skills and interaction, and your leadership and management capability. Students are introduced to a range of disciplinary methods that are ideally placed to help them develop specific domains of cultural competency. The teaching is delivered by a wide range of methodological experts from across the College. Learning is dynamic and interactive, and focused on how to make positive changes at the interpersonal, team, institutional/structural and systemic levels. 

This course aims to equip students with the skills necessary to deliver effective and engaging impromptu speeches. In this course, students will learn how to apply various impromptu speech frameworks, including the PREP, STAR, and PPF models, to organize their thoughts quickly and communicate their ideas clearly. This course will also cover persuasive techniques, opening & closing techniques and strategies for building confidence and delivering impactful speeches on stage. Furthermore, students will develop transferable skills in critical thinking and non-verbal communication that can be applied to a variety of personal and professional settings.

This course explores television as an academic discipline. Topics include: history of television-- industry, models and processes of globalization; television as a source of history-- construction of collective imagination; television genres as cultural categories; TV and ideology-- identity politics..

This course offers an introduction into the core concepts of the digital age, drawing on a rich variety of disciplines. Students examine a number of concepts, including, but not limited to: technicity, affective turn, digital subjectivity and extended mind, creative expression and participation in the digital era, amateur production, Free Software, fun and politics, self-organization, media archeology, and sonic architectures.