Using an Interdisciplinary Course to Teach Intercultural Communication: Helping Students and Faculty Bridge Disciplinary Divides

There is great value in helping students bridge both cultural and disciplinary divides as we prepare them for the challenges of citizenship in the twenty-first century. This paper describes, Global Perspectives, an interdisciplinary course taught by a faculty member in a technical communication program together with a faculty member in a political science department. The course focused on issues of power and communication as they relate to global issues: world hunger, environmental concerns, world health, and human rights. Through this course, the faculty members addressed a major concern in higher education today: the need to educate students to be global citizens capable of meeting the serious challenges facing the world in the twenty-first century. This concern is relevant for all college students regardless of their majors.