Appoint good practices of (inter)national contexts or interdisciplinary contexts
Interpret in a critical way the underlying anthropological and socio-political views and paradigms
Describe he current reality in a clear way
Describe the current trends, both nationally and internationally, within the social context of their own field
In the context of a dialogue with international students experiment with innovative teaching methods
Question a situation in a critical way critical to grasp the question about the complexity
Run assignments in a methodical, independent and effective manner
Customize their communication, in the multilingual context and diversity
Connect different players by using creative, communicative competences

Our world is a globalized and globalizing world. This not only means that we have access to an increasing amount of information of the world and that it is much easier to travel nowadays. A globalized society consists of a variety of cultures. A global understanding of this diversity, or even superdiversity, is therefore necessary.

Globalization also implicates that, more than ever, people from other parts of the world come to our country, not only as tourists but also to try and build a new life. This means that new rituals and customs also find their way into our society. This provides an enrichment, but also challenges us to reflect and explicate values, norms and limits.

The way of life of people in the West, on the other hand, has a great impact on the lives of people in other parts of the world. For our way of life, we appeal to raw materials and resources far beyond our borders. By explaining specific themes, students are made aware and encouraged to reflect on their own (consumer) behavior. Many (production) activities are outsourced and relocated to places where the rules are the least stringent and /or where f.i. labor is the cheapest. This has both an impact for people in Europe and for the people where these activities are realized.

After an introduction to the subject of Global Understanding, Flemish students will enter into a discussion with Erasmus students who have also joined the course on global understanding. In a second phase, the group will enter into a discussion on selected subjects with students from university colleges and universities from different parts of Europe.

This course, aptly entitled ‘Global Understanding’, wishes to contribute to the development and establishment of a platform for learning about other cultures for students without the need to travel to a distant country. Modern electronic and digital means, such as videoconferencing, skype, facetime, etc., allow homebased learning of other cultures.
She also challenges students to think from a global citizenship how we (as social workers) can contribute to a globally just society.

Important questions and topics include:
How can we get ourselves familiar with other cultures?
What are the stepping stones in order to create more tolerance in society? How can we deal with stereotypes and prejudice? How does a democratic society relate to global understanding?

The teacher will be available during the lessons, through mail or appointment.
Use of the electronic learning environment Chamilo

Presentations from guest speakers and other relevant text material will be offered via Chamilo.

The estimated cost is approx. 10€ for the syllabus.
This study fee may be increased by the cost of study visits.

The arrangements regarding prerequisites applied for this course unit are in the Faculty’s educational and examination regulations (FOER).