COMM/CEP 300 – Tour Guiding & Multicultural Competence (Community Engagement Practicum)

Formerly CEP 101 – Practicum Communication – Mediating Cultures: Tour Guiding and Multicultural Competence

General Practicum Description
In this practicum, students will work with the local non-profit association Ars et Fides, which gives free tours in English to tourists in order to convey even to short-stay visitors the cultural and religious importance of the main Florentine churches. Students will first observe tours conducted by the association’s guides in one church of their choice, then will lead tours on their own.
The seminar meetings are based on readings and students’ journals about their work. Together with the students we will discuss their experiences and any relevant problems. Students will be taught the basic theoretical tools of intercultural communication and will be guided to apply them to their own experiences. Finally, they will also have to design a tour of a part/monument of the city of their choice and guide both me and their fellow students.
The aim of the seminar is to increase the students’ multicultural competence through reflection and discussions.

Learning Outcomes
On completion of this practicum, students will be able to:
– Show awareness of the problems involved in intercultural communication in the tourism sector and know how to overcome them.
– Provide significant information to a diverse and multicultural audience, and act as a mediator between different cultures.
– Identify intercultural theoretical tools to the student’s own experiences outside their Practicum work.

Course descriptions may be subject to occasional minor modifications at the discretion of the instructor.

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