Communication and Cultural Memory

The ability to communicate effectively with employees, stakeholders, and clients from diverse cultural backgrounds requires an understanding of the cultural memories, experiences, and values of everyone involved. The culturally-inflected meanings attached to historical events such as 9/11, the Civil Rights Movement, the Holocaust, and colonialism profoundly influence how people imagine the world and their role in it. This course focuses on the impact of cultural memory on identity, looking in particular at the implications for effective professional communication across an array of organizational contexts. Students will gain an understanding of how history comes to be contested and changed, creating diversity in cultural memories that must be taken into account in professional communication.