Cross-Cultural Studies Concentration
The Cross-Cultural Studies Concentration objectives are: 1) to train American and international students in a program of study and interaction that will prepare them to live and work productively in a culture different from their own; 2) to provide a forum for studying problems and issues, such as pollution, disease, and human rights, that cut across traditional national or cultural boundaries and that tend to be excluded in traditional disciplines or area studies; 3) to enable students to come to a sharper understanding of their own and their academic focus culture by making comparisons explicit; 4) to create an arena for faculty whose work focuses on different parts of the world to address common issues and problems in a comparative, collaborative framework.
Requirements for the Concentration
Concentrators will select a nation or region of the world on which to focus their cultural and linguistic study.
Language: Language is fundamental to understanding other societies. Each concentrator will fulfill the Carleton language requirement (or demonstrate equivalent ability) in the language of their focus area.
Additional upper-level language study is encouraged. Courses taken in the language and/or while abroad may count (depending on director approval) toward the requirements below.
Off-Campus Study: American students will also participate in an approved international program (one or more terms), in an area where a language related to their focus is spoken. International students are exempt from this requirement since Carleton is a study abroad experience for them, but they are also encouraged to go off campus.
The concentration requires a minimum of 40 credits.
Four Core Courses:
- CCST 100 (Growing Up Cross-Culturally, or Cross Cultural Perspectives on Israeli and Palestinian Identity), or SOAN 110: Introduction to Anthropology, or SOAN 111 Introduction to Sociology, and
- CCST 275 I'm a Stranger Here Myself
- CCST 270 Creative Travel Writing, or AMST 115 Introduction to American Studies: The Immigrant Experience, or CCST 208 (two or more terms) International Coffee and News, or POSC 170 International Relations and World Politics, and
- A capstone course, as approved by the director, and taken in the junior or senior year. The recommended capstone is EUST 398 (which brings together many CCST and EUST students who are working on cross-cultural projects). With director approval, other courses may qualify, such as POSC 236 Global, National and Human Security, or POSC 358 Comparative Social Movements, or PSYC 248 Cross-Cultural Psychology, or PSYC 358 Cross-Cultural Psychopathology.
Electives: Courses from at least three of the four comparative categories listed below, from whatever departments are appropriate, selected with the approval of the director of the concentration to form a cohesive program of study:
1. A course including binary comparison between the student's nation or region of focus and another culture;
2. A course dealing with regional issues (i.e., beyond national borders) related to the student's nation or region of focus;
3. A course dealing with global issues (i.e., cross-regional) including the student's nation or region of focus.
4. A course dealing with ethnic diversity and/or diaspora pertaining to the student's nation or region of focus.
Because of the broad definition of these courses, linked to each student's nation or region of focus, it is impossible to provide an exhaustive listing of options. Check current offerings in the catalog, and discuss them with the director of the concentration.
Cross-Cultural Studies Courses
About Electives
Because the elective portion of the concentration is highly customized, it is impossible to provide a complete listing of all courses that might suit the four elective categories. Students work with the director of the concentration to devise a customized set of courses to meet their needs. When considering comparative, regional, global, or diaspora courses, students are encouraged to search broadly through the curriculum, especially in such programs as: all foreign language/culture programs, Art History, Economics, Environmental Studies, History, Music, Political Science, Religion, Biology and Sociology and Anthropology. For questions about the appropriateness of particular courses, consult with the director of the concentration.