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Beyond Cash Value: Promoting Real‐World Competence in the Global Turn
Author(s) -
O'Brien Traci S.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
die unterrichtspraxis/teaching german
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1756-1221
pISSN - 0042-062X
DOI - 10.1111/tger.12120
Subject(s) - conceptualization , discernment , globalization , competence (human resources) , epistemology , sociology , german , public relations , political science , management , economics , law , computer science , philosophy , artificial intelligence , linguistics
Abstract In the literature on intercultural competence, such competence, or set of competencies, is desirable precisely because a globalized world needs world citizens who are at home everywhere and can deal effectively with alterity – presumably in order to be agents of positive change. To remain relevant, we as teachers in German Studies need theoretical and pragmatic justifications for what we do in and outside the classroom in order to prepare students for the reality of our 21 st ‐century world. At the same time, one needs to heed the call of the global turn carefully lest one replaces globalization with homogenization. After thorough research on this topic, some of which I will review in this article, one cannot avoid a surprising conclusion: Without selling out to it, we in the humanities have a lot to learn from the business model in the conceptualization of goals, the implementation of standards, and the identification of the proper assessment tool(s). The root of this problem, I assert, is the theoretical murkiness surrounding claims about value in the humanities (and the social sciences). Ultimately, this article uses comparison with the business model to advocate discernment about claims of value with solid foundations in the real world.