Course Description

Communication is the seat of social interaction, and to truly understand the intricacies of communication - we will communicate. Therefore, this course will not be like a traditional lecture-based course, but will include three types of immersive learning contexts: field exploration, rich in-class discussions, and lectures about communicating. There will be four planned field exploration activities, in which we will learn about pragmatics as we people watch at famous locations in Florence, like Ponte Vecchio, discover the city as we use language to navigate maps, and practice our perspective taking skills in local shops or restaurants. In-class discussion will come from discussions of personal experience and review of assigned readings, while the lecture content and knowledge checks will help you learn specific concepts related to communication. These activities will allow us to engage in rich dialogue about topics related to cognition, communication, miscommunication, and learning — with the hope to improve personal and cultural communication practices.