Intercultural Competence

Artifact #3: Intercultural Competence

    The artifact I have chosen to represent my intercultural competence is an essay entitled "French Culture: Fashion," which I wrote during my Introductory French II (FRE-112) course in the spring of 2021. This artifact is an informative speech about French fashion and how it relates to the country's culture. I have chosen this artifact because it exemplifies my ability to make connections between a topic and a specific culture. The instructions for this essay were to select an aspect of French culture and discuss its cultural importance. For the assignment, I decided to discuss French fashion because it fit my interests, and I would enjoy discussing it.
   When I first began taking globalized courses, I had several things I wanted to learn about different cultures and countries. My first goal was understanding how other cultures and countries influence the world around me. This goal relates to my artifact because, while researching my topic, I learned how France has influenced the fashion world for centuries. For example, in my essay, I mentioned how King Louis XIV developed France into the artistic hotspot it is known for today. The influence of his fashion style and interest in the arts has surpassed his rule and still manages to have impacted the world today. However, we often overlook how we interact and are influenced by cultures outside our own. Writing this essay reminded me how even simple things like our clothes connect us to others worldwide.
   My second goal was to learn about an exciting aspect of a different culture. The purpose of this goal was to allow me to explore parts of culture outside of the normal conspectus often discussed. For example, in this artifact, I focused on fashion in France. However, in learning about this topic, I found that fashion in France is more than just clothing; it also has cultural and economic influences. Setting this goal helped me to understand how nuanced culture is. It is not just the religion, language, and values of a specific place but also food, clothing, sports, music, and much more. 
   In the end, I learned a lot from this artifact, which has influenced me to continue learning about cultures worldwide. Assignments like these have not only encouraged me to dig deeper into other cultures, but also allowed me to be more accepting and understanding of cultures outside my own. Alongside this, as I continue to expand my intercultural competence through Global Scholars and Global Studies in the future, I will be able to take this newfound outlook to explore the world around me further.