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New culture course now available online to enlisted Airmen

  • Published
  • By Carl Bergquist
  • Air University Public Affairs
Through the efforts of the Air Force Culture and Language Center and Community College of the Air Force, enlisted members now have a distance learning course that will aid them in understanding world cultures.

Introduction to Culture, which is the first course of its kind in the military and is currently accepting enrollment, will be delivered by the Web-based Air University Black Board system.

The course, which begins April 6 and ends July 20, is designed to be an overview of culture in general and is not specific to any particular country.

"We are trying to get Airmen to know what culture is," said Dr. Robert Sands, AFCLC culture chair. "The course doesn't specifically talk about Iraq or Afghanistan or other countries to which Airmen might be assigned, but (it) gives them a head start in completing their mission by understanding the effects of culture."

He said Department of Defense and military members are increasingly integrating into missions less traditional than before, and the course helps Airmen understand what role culture plays in getting the job done.

"They are getting involved in tasks they have never before had to deal with, and Introduction to Culture provides general information about what they will encounter," Dr. Sands said. "The course defines what culture is and how it manifests in other behavior."

Katie Gunther, ITC senior instructor, said training in world culture is important because culture is the way people maintain the type of social order and lifestyle they want.

"Throughout the history of civilized societies, we have developed culture to get across beliefs and behaviors," she said. "An introduction to this level of thinking provides Airmen with the general concepts of culture."

Dr. Sands said the pilot class will be about 50 Airmen, with that number significantly increasing for future classes. The approximately three-month-long course is divided into three levels with 15 modules covering different aspects of the subject.

"One of the precepts of understanding others is to understand yourself," he said. "The first course module addresses that and introduces students to themselves. Later modules develop skills in such areas as cross-culture communications, culture conflicts and negotiations. Course information will also come from case studies of experiences Airmen have in the theater."

Dr. Sands said the course modules are important because many times culture is attributed to "things," or what a person sees. He said ITC helps change that perception by helping students base their assumptions on an understanding of culture and not just what they see.

Dr. Sands, an anthropologist from Southern California who came to the program in June 2008, said the course tries to go beyond "awareness" by helping Airmen understand culture. He said an indication of the importance of that understanding came in 2006 when then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld decided the DoD would take a look at culture and language studies for the military. Air University first began Air Force efforts along those lines that same year, and the rest of the military followed in 2007.

"Based on feedback from Airmen, we think the course will be very successful," he said. "We are getting very positive responses from people who really want to take the course."

Ms. Gunther said student feedback will be a significant factor in determining the success of ITC, and Air University is basing its quality enhancement plan "particularly from the course."

Dr. Sands said ITC, which fulfills a three-hour credit requirement for the CCAF associate degree, has a lot of support from Air University and CCAF.

He said course faculty members are "especially appreciative" of that support, and military members seem to be "more in tune" with what the course is doing, which should enhance the success of ITC.

Enrollment in Introduction to Culture continues through March 20. To enroll, contact the Air Force Culture and Language Center at af.clc@maxwell.af.mil, or Dr. Sands at Robert.Sands@maxwell.af.mil.