Â鶹´å

Curriculum: 108 units (minimum)

I. Gateway/Methodology Courses (3 courses; 27 units)

II. LCAL Global Cultures and Interdisciplinary Tech Courses (5 courses; 45 units)

• In consultation with their GCET advisor, students should ensure that the courses they select strike a good balance between culture-focused courses (List A) and technology-focused courses (List B). For example, this could involve selecting three courses from List A and two from List B, or vice versa.
• At least one course must be in a language other than English and at the 300-level or above. (See curricular clarifications below.)
• An extra Gateway/Methodology Technological Inquiry course may be counted toward satisfying this requirement. 

III. Interdisciplinary Electives (3 courses; 27 units)

• In consultation with their GCET advisor, students should take three interdisciplinary electives from LCAL and/or other departments. These electives should align with the student's interests and career goals and can include offerings from Dietrich, Computer Science, CFA, Engineering or iDeATe.
• At least two courses must have a tech focus.

IV. Capstone Course (1 course; 9 units)

•  82-580 — The capstone course allows students to integrate their learning from both cultural and technological concentrations.

Curricular clarifications:

• Students may double count up to three courses taken for the GCET major that are also being used to fulfill the requirements of other majors, minors and programs. Double counting with General Education requirements is unlimited. 
• Advanced-level Language Requirement: Students must achieve advanced-level proficiency in a language other than English and demonstrate that proficiency through advanced-level coursework at the 300-level or above, which can be used towards requirement II above.
• Students will generally fulfill the advanced-language requirement through one of the nine languages offered in LCAL, but students wishing to fulfill the requirement with another language may petition for an exception and work with the GCET major advisor to identify equivalent coursework.

Co-curricular Requirements

I. Experiential Learning

Experiential learning is a key component of the major and is defined by Dietrich College as learning that occurs when a student applies their academic learning in authentic contexts. The preferred method for fulfilling this requirement is through study abroad for a summer, a semester or a year. Consult with the appropriate section Study Abroad Advisor and the Office of International Education (OIE) about possible programs. The department guarantees partial study abroad scholarships for all majors and works with students to find additional funding, when necessary, to meet full financial need for participation in study abroad.  

While study abroad is the preferred method of fulfilling the experiential learning requirement, students who have curricular or personal reasons that prohibit them from studying abroad should consult with their major advisor to determine a 9-unit approved research or internship experience in an approved community or organization that relates directly to their advanced-level language choice and uses their language skills. Students may also reach out to Dietrich College’s Director of Experiential Learning for assistance.

Assessments

I. Entry assessment (Gateway/Methodology Courses): 

Use designated gateway/methodology courses to establish baseline competencies. Implement an instructor survey and collect relevant artifacts to assess incoming majors’ skills and knowledge in culture and technology.

II. Progress assessment (Annually): 

Conduct an annual self-assessment. Major advisors email majors to complete a self-evaluation and submit supporting artifacts. Advisors/coordinators review the artifacts to validate the self-assessments and provide formative feedback.

III. Exit assessment (Capstone Course): 

Use the capstone course to evaluate culminating competencies. Administer the instructor survey again for exiting majors, evaluating results with capstone artifacts to measure growth from entry to exit.

List A: Culture-focused

LCAL offers a diverse array of courses that utilize critical cultural studies frameworks to analyze local and global cultures and technologies within various contexts. Our 100- and 200-level English courses emphasize local and global cultural analysis, while most 300-, 400- and 500-level non-English courses focus on cultural content and are taught in one of LCAL’s nine languages. There are simply too many to list here; the following are just a few examples:

• 82-185 Global Food Cultures
• 82-138 Comparative China: Perceptions Through YouTube & TikTok
• 82-188 Global Science Fiction
• 82-215 Minorities in the Middle East and North Africa
• 82-239 Crazy Linguistically Rich Asian Languages
• 82-248 Introduction to Latin American Film and Visual Arts
• 82-260 Black Italy
• 82-270 Technology in Japanese Culture and Society
• 82-278 Japanese Film and Literature: The Art of Storytelling
• 82-279 Anime: Visual Interplay between Japan and the World
• 82-299 Global Minorities
• 82-390 Soviet Futures, Revolutionary Design
• 82-416 Culture of Games and Gaming Culture
• 82-432 A Game of Learning
• 82-455 Is Seeing Believing?: Science in the Hispanic World
• 82-539 Chinese Digital Arts and Literature: Nezha and Wukong

List B: Technology-focused

LCAL has many courses that utilize existing and emerging technologies to enhance innovation and creativity with cultural insights. LCAL faculty are continually iterating in this space and more classes will be developed in the future.

• 82-187 Audio Storytelling: Documentary, Found Sound and Hidden Frequencies
• 82-130: Story+Game Lab: Oracle Bones and Early Chinese Writing
• 82-284 Multicultural Pittsburgh: A Creative Media (iDeATe cross-listing)
• 82-287 Multicultural Immersion: Relating your world in VR (iDeATe cross-listing)
• 82-237/60-216 Animated Storytelling: Chinese Ghost Stories and Shadow Play (co-taught with CFA faculty, iDeATe and CFA cross-listing)
• 82-237/60-415 Animated Storytelling: Chinese Mythology and Animation Creation (co-taught with CFA faculty, iDeATe cross-listing)
• 82-255 Beyond the Korean Wave: A Critical Exploration of K-Pop (creates VR projects)
• 82-265 Third Cinema: People, Language and Culture in Documentary Storytelling
• 82-285 Podcasting: Language and Culture Through Storytelling (iDeATe cross-listing)
• 82-304 French and Francophone Sociolinguistics: Digital Storytelling: Creating digital video, audio and imagery in the French Language (taught in French)
• 82-380 Podcasting in Spanish: Unlocking Cultural Storytelling (taught in Spanish)
• 82-287 Introduction to Linguistic Data Analysis Using R
• 82-269 Immersive Digital Storytelling: Using VR/AR to Explore Language, Culture and Identity (team-taught with CFA faculty, iDeATe listing)
• 82-XXX: Writing as Technology: From Bones to Unicode (to be developed)