EKIS5130 Social Interaction and Interculturality in Technology-Mediated Collaborative Work (5 cr)

The course familiarizes students with different aspects of social interaction and interculturality in technology-mediated environments and gives them hands-on experience with digital communication tools and platforms used in collaborative work. During the first half of the course, we will address key concepts and theories related to interaction and teamwork in technology-mediated environments. Within this framework, we will also discuss questions related to group membership in the context of distributed teamwork and reflect on interculturality as dynamically produced in interaction. During the second half of the course, students will engage in scenario-based intercultural gameplay that consists of collaboration with students from the University of Vienna. The course can be linked to the participants’ internationality plan.

After this course, students will be able to:

• understand and critically assess theories of social interaction and intercultural communication from the perspective of teamwork
• identify and evaluate the challenges and strategies involved in decision-making and negotiation in collaboration

• trace the ways in which group membership may surface in technology-mediated interactions and critically evaluate the role of interculturality in collaborative work

• adapt communication strategies to diverse contexts and technological environments
• analyze collaborative (serious) game design from the perspectives of recent intercultural theorizing and technologized interaction
• reflect on the potential benefits and challenges technologies pose for communication, collaboration, and decision-making in global contexts

Working methods: Contact and remote teaching: Participating in lectures and gameplay sessions and completing written assignments.

Study materials specified during the course.