Cross-Cultural Studies

In our courses, Cross-Cultural Studies means comparing and contrasting two or more cultures in order to identify phenomena that are more universal or more culturally specific, as well as examining outcomes when two or more culturally different groups interface, communicate, and/or interact. In the minor, we engage in both transcultural and intercultural work through a blend of personal experience, reflection, theory, and analysis.

Requirements for the Cross Cultural Studies Minor

The minor consists of a minimum of 36 credits, at least 12 of which are at the 200-level, distributed across the following categories (with no courses applied to more than one category):

  • a.  Seeing and Being Cross-Cultural (minimum of 6 credits): 
    • AMST 115 Introduction to American Studies
    • CCST 100 Growing up Cross-Culturally
    • RELG 110 Understanding Religion
    • SOAN 110 Introduction to Anthropology
    • SOAN 111 Introduction to Sociology
  • b. Reflecting on Cross-Cultural Experience (minimum of 4 credits):
    • CCST 208 International Coffee and News
    • CCST 270 Creative Travel Writing Workshop
    • IDSC 103 Student Conversations about Diversity and Community
    • IDSC 128 Civil Discourse on a Diverse Campus: An Experiential Living-Learning Community (not offered in 2018-19)
    • IDSC 203 Talking about Diversity
    (Certain OCS program courses may also apply to this category.)
  • c. Theorizing Cross-Cultural Experience:
    • CCST 275 I'm A Stranger Here Myself
  • d. Principles of Cross-Cultural Analysis (minimum of 6 credits):
    • LCST 245 The Critical Toolbox: Who's Afraid of Theory?
    • POSC 120 Democracy and Dictatorship
    • POSC 215 Political Communications in Comparative Context (not offered in 2018-19)
    • POSC 247 Comparative Nationalism (not offered in 2018-19)
    • POSC 358 Comparative Social Movements*
    • PSYC 248 Cross-Cultural Psychology (not offered in 2018-19)
    • PSYC 358 Cross-Cultural Psychology Seminar in Prague: Psychopathology
    • RELG 300 Theories and Methods in the Study of Religion
  • e. Cross-Cultural Encounters (minimum of 12 credits): Can include, with approval of director, any course dealing substantively with the intersection of two or more cultures—including but not limited to:
    • ARBC 286 Narratives of Arab Modernity (not offered in 2018-19)
    • ASLN 111 Writing Systems (not offered in 2018-19)
    • CAMS 218 Contemporary Global Cinemas (not offered in 2018-19)
    • ENGL 228 Encountering the Other: The Crusades (not offered in 2018-19)
    • ENGL 250 Modern Indian Fiction (not offered in 2018-19)
    • ENGL 251 Contemporary Indian Fiction
    • ENGL 252 Caribbean Fiction
    • ENGL 350 The Postcolonial Novel: Forms and Contexts (not offered in 2018-19)
    • FREN 206 Contemporary French and Francophone Culture (not offered in 2018-19)
    • FREN 245 Francophone Literature of Africa and the Caribbean
    • FREN 255 Paris Program: Islam in France: Historical Approaches and Current Debates
    • FREN 350 Middle East and French Connection (not offered in 2018-19)
    • FREN 352 The Arthurian Legend
    • FREN 359 Paris Program: Hybrid Paris
    • FREN 360 The Algerian War of Liberation and Its Representations (not offered in 2018-19)
    • GERM 215 Refugees Welcome? Debating Migration and Multiculturalism in Post-War Germany (not offered in 2018-19)
    • HIST 141 Europe in the Twentieth Century
    • HIST 142 Women in Modern Europe (not offered in 2018-19)
    • HIST 165 From Young Turks to Arab Revolutions: A Cultural History of the Modern Middle East (not offered in 2018-19)
    • HIST 171 Latin America and the U.S. (not offered in 2018-19)
    • HIST 184 Colonial West Africa
    • HIST 232 Renaissance Worlds in France and Italy (not offered in 2018-19)
    • HIST 254 Colonialism in East Asia (not offered in 2018-19)
    • HIST 260 The Making of the Modern Middle East (not offered in 2018-19)
    • HIST 266 History of Islam in South Asia (not offered in 2018-19)
    • HIST 270 Nuclear Nations: India and Pakistan as Rival Siblings
    • HIST 273 Go-Betweens and Rebels in the Andean World (not offered in 2018-19)
    • HIST 279 Latin America and the Global Cold War (not offered in 2018-19)
    • HIST 281 War in Modern Africa (not offered in 2018-19)
    • HIST 360 Muslims and Modernity
    • MELA 121 East-West in Israeli and Palestinian Fiction and Film
    • MELA 230 Jewish Collective Memory
    • POSC 180 Global Politics & Local Communities (not offered in 2018-19)
    • POSC 215 Political Communications in Comparative Context (not offered in 2018-19)
    • POSC 237 Southeast Asian Politics (not offered in 2018-19)
    • POSC 238 Sport & Globalization London/Seville Pgm: Globalization and Development: Lessons from Int'l Football (not offered in 2018-19)
    • POSC 247 Comparative Nationalism (not offered in 2018-19)
    • POSC 265 Public Policy and Global Capitalism
    • POSC 267 Comparative Foreign Policy
    • POSC 268 Global Environmental Politics and Policy (not offered in 2018-19)
    • POSC 294 Central and Eastern European Politics Program: Perceptions of Otherness in Modern Eastern and Central Europe (not offered in 2018-19)
    • POSC 295 Central and Eastern European Politics Program: Nation-Building in Central and Eastern Europe between Politics and Art (not offered in 2018-19)
    • POSC 296 Central and Eastern European Politics Program: Challenges to the Nation-State in Eastern and Central Europe: Immigrants and Minorities (not offered in 2018-19)
    • POSC 358 Comparative Social Movements*
    • RELG 226 Colonialism and Christianity in the Global South (not offered in 2018-19)
    • RELG 227 Liberation Theologies
    • RELG 228 Martyrdom
    • RELG 234 Angels, Demons, and Evil (not offered in 2018-19)
    • RELG 238 The Sacred Body (not offered in 2018-19)
    • RELG 254 Zen Buddhism (not offered in 2018-19)
    • RELG 262 Islamic Africa (not offered in 2018-19)
    • RELG 287 Many Marys (not offered in 2018-19)
    • RELG 289 Global Religions in Minnesota
    • RELG 326 Religion and the Post-Colonial Imagination (not offered in 2018-19)
    • RELG 353 Saints, Goddesses, and Whores (not offered in 2018-19)
    • RUSS 205 Russian in Cultural Contexts
    • SOAN 252 Middle East: History and Society in Comparative Perspectives (not offered in 2018-19)
    • SOAN 256 Africa: Representation and Conflict (not offered in 2018-19)
    • SPAN 224 Latin American Authors Write the U.S. (not offered in 2018-19)
    • SPAN 242 Introduction to Latin American Literature
    • SPAN 266 Postwar Central American Literature (not offered in 2018-19)
  • f. Capstone (2 credits). CCST 398: Cross-Cultural Studies E-portfolio. After participating in selected co-curricular activities, students will curate work from their CCST courses and experiences in an instructor-guided e-portfolio, including a reflective essay. (Other capstone options may be approved by director.) 

Participation in at least one OCS program, while not required, is strongly encouraged. Courses from OCS programs may be applied to categories A through E, with approval of the director (and subject to rules of the Registrar).

Cross-Cultural Studies Courses

CCST 100 Growing up Cross-Culturally First-year students interested in this program should enroll in this seminar. The course is recommended but not required for the minor and it will count as one of the electives. From cradle to grave, cultural assumptions shape our own sense of who we are. This course is designed to enable American and international students to compare how their own and other societies view birth, infancy, adolescence, marriage, adulthood, and old age. Using children's books, child-rearing manuals, movies, and ethnographies, we will explore some of the assumptions in different parts of the globe about what it means to "grow up." 6 credits; AI, WR1, IS; Fall; Stephanie M Cox
CCST 208 International Coffee and News Have you just returned from Asia, Africa, Europe, or South America? This course is an excellent way to keep in touch with the culture (and, when appropriate, the language) you left behind. Relying on magazines and newspapers around the world, students will discuss common topics and themes representing a wide array of regions. You may choose to read the press in the local language, or read English-language media about your region, meeting once each week for conversational exchange. (Language of conversation is English.) S/Cr/NC Prerequisite: Students must have participated in an off-campus study program (Carleton or non-Carleton) or instructor permission. 2 credits; HI, IS; Fall, Winter, Spring; Luciano H Battaglini, Noboru Tomonari, Mihaela Czobor-Lupp
CCST 270 Creative Travel Writing Workshop Travelers write. Whether it be in the form of postcards, text messages, blogs, or articles, writing serves to anchor memory and process difference, making foreign experience understandable to us and accessible to others. While examining key examples of the genre, you will draw on your experiences off-campus for your own work. Student essays will be critiqued in a workshop setting, and all work will be revised before final submission. Some experimentation with blended media is also encouraged. Prerequisite: Students must have participated in an off-campus study program (Carleton or non-Carleton) or instructor permission. 6 credits; S/CR/NC; ARP, WR2, IS; Winter; Scott D Carpenter
CCST 275 I'm A Stranger Here Myself What do enculturation, tourism, culture shock, "going native," haptics, cross-cultural adjustment, and third culture kids have in common? How do intercultural transitions shape identity? What is intercultural competence? This course explores theories about intercultural contact and tests their usefulness by applying them to the analysis of world literature, case studies, and the visual arts, and by employing students' intercultural experiences as evidence. From individualized, self-reflective exercises to community-oriented group endeavors, our activities will promote new intercultural paradigms in the classroom and the wider community. Course designed for off-campus returnees, students who have lived abroad, or who have experienced being outsiders. 6 credits; SI, IS; Winter; Éva S Pósfay
CCST 398 The Cross-Cultural Panorama: A Capstone Workshop The work of Cross-Cultural Studies traverses many disciplines, often engaging with experiences that are difficult to capture in traditional formats. In this course students will create an ePortfolio that reflects, deepens, and narrates the various forms of cross-cultural experience they have had at Carleton, drawing on CCST coursework as well as such extra-curricular activities as talks, service learning, internships and fellowships. Guided by readings and prompts, students will write a reflective essay articulating the coherence of the parts, describing both the process and the results of their pathway through the minor. Course is taught as a workshop. Prerequisite: Junior or Senior, with at least half of your Cross Cultural Studies minor credits completed. 2 credits; S/CR/NC; HI, IS; Winter, Spring; Scott D Carpenter