The School of Literatures, Cultures & Linguistics will be offering a new course on intercultural competence in Spring 2024.

The course, SLCL 100: Introduction to Intercultural Competence, is part of a school initiative which was created with support from the Presidential Initiative: Expanding the Impact of the Arts and Humanities. It’s called the Intercultural Competence Initiative, and its goal is to drive the systematic integration of intercultural competence across the Illinois curriculum and make it a distinguishing component of our academic culture.

The course is described as: "An introductory overview aiming to define and practice intercultural competence by examining how to use it in educational, professional, and social settings. Explores cultural communications by studying how identities and cultures are formed and expressed, drawing on examples from literature, cinema, and other forms of cultural productions."

We spoke to the course's instructor, French professor Daniel Nabil Maroun, about what students can expect.

Why take this course?

Students should consider taking this course because it helps them articulate new knowledge on the importance of diversity and intercultural communication. It is not only an educational/informative class, but it is also practical, guiding students to articulate their knowledge for the professional or post-graduate world. So much of what we do now requires cultural awareness and sensitivity—this course helps students navigate that communication by using humanistic methodologies.

What kinds of things will students learn? Who is this class geared towards?

In the course, students will learn a wide variety of things like how to define intercultural competency but also components like what is an identity? How does language play a role in our identity? What is nonverbal communication and how do we understand it? Or something very practical—conflict resolution. Thus, the class is geared towards the entire campus because of its utility, but we hope that LAS students will find it most interesting because of how it integrates art, literature, and cinema into the lessons.

Is there a story behind the creation of this class? How and why did you get involved with it?

The class stems from a Presidential Initiative that was started by former director Elena Delgado and numerous others who helped with the proposal. I sat on a school initiatives committee that discussed this topic and raised my hand for various elements. Little by little I found myself putting together resources, readings, and a draft syllabus with the help of professors Laurie Johnson, Antony Augoustakis, and Mariselle Meléndez .

What do you want students to take with them after finishing this class?

Ultimately, what I would like students to take away is more cultural awareness—that we as individuals are products of so many different intersecting factors and those factors impact how we behave, act, believe and so on. I also hope students leave with practical skills that help them impact their circles professionally or socially.