This program offers a special opportunity for Evergreen students to study the topic of intercultural competence with students from Daejeon University in South Korea. Intercultural competence concerns a set of variables or “ingredients” that make up one’s ability to develop styles and attitudes that lead to successful interactions with persons of diverse backgrounds with respect to values, beliefs, history, and behaviors. These ingredients arise from a number of spheres of influence which we will explore through an integrated study of psychology and human development in two cultures. 

We will examine societal, institutional (e.g., school systems, religious communities), and familial spheres of influence on the development of self, core values, and beliefs. For example, what cultural beliefs inhibit Korean students from addressing faculty by their first names? How do we increase intercultural competence when cultural beliefs and values contradict each other? 

The study of cultural competence demands examination of a number of other related topics such as the study of morality, social justice, politics, anti-oppression, cultural identity, body awareness, cognition, social media, and normal vs. abnormal. These related topics will be presented to students in various instructional forms ranging from lectures, workshops, a field trip, seminars, guest speakers, reflective and expressive writing, cross- and mono-cultural small-group discussions, mindful movement, and creative project presentations by intercultural small groups. Consciousness and introspection will be emphasized for students to understand their multiples identities and intersections in order to develop effective inter- and intrapersonal communication. Workshops and other learning activities will facilitate student interaction, taking full advantage of the program’s intercultural learning environment.

The goal of this program is to help students mindfully expand their worldviews and identify the kinds or types of ingredients they need to add or subtract to increase their intercultural competence.