Concepts of Culture

Module 1 of the Intercultural Train-the-trainer Course An in-depth analysis of the many approaches to culture is at the center of this first module. We look at which definitions are appropriate for use in training and how they define the participants’ job profile of the intercultural trainer.

Philip Date (Fotolia #79906)

The overall goal of the module is to guide participants towards their own professional profile as intercultural trainers. While this will be an ongoing topic in the other modules, too, these three days will show the broad spectrum of theoretical concepts in which the intercultural trainers are operating.

We discuss ‘culture‘ from an academic perspective and derive its numerous interpretations historically. From there, we make the practical connection to intercultural training and provide you with tools for an effective introduction, including methods to visualize cultural preferences.

Considerable time is dedicated to the comparison of cultures using different approaches towards identifying and analyzing culture. We discuss in detail the significance of the works of Hall, Hofstede, Trompenaars and others for intercultural training.

Finally, we alsonlook at the mutual influence of culture and religion. In many situations 'intercultural' and 'interreligious' cannot be separated. For trainers, especially those without a religious background, this is can be a challenge.