Cultural Memory: Perspectives, Voices, and Implications

Increasingly, the ability to engage effectively with stakeholders from a variety of socio-economic, generational, gender, ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds is a prerequisite skill for succeeding in the workplace today. This requires an understanding of the diverse memories, experiences, and perspectives of everyone involved. The culturally infused meanings attached to impactful historical events profoundly influence how people imagine the world and their role in it. This course focuses on the impact of cultural memory on identity and how our perceptions of the past and the caricatures it creates profoundly impact how we see the world today. In this course, students will gain an understanding of how history is constructed, contested, and incorporated into our everyday interactions. They will learn to identify their own biases and better understand the perspectives of others to strategize for increased personal and organizational success.