About the course

In any academic activity that entails an element of cross-cultural collaboration the exchange is not only between different persons and different knowledges, but also between different cultures, i.e., between "different and […] incommensurable universes of meaning" (Sousa Santos, 2009:108). But how can we approach the notion of culture and try to make sense out of it in relation to academic collaboration in the field of legal studies?

In order to structure the study of the area, the approach to intercultural communication studies taken in this course divides its field of enquiry into a series of generic dimensions of cultural conventions that can be observed inside every cultural group, e.g. time perception, power distance, group relations, communication styles, etc. These culturally shaped dimensions, however, are generally formulated in generic, unspecific terms and usually no information is available regarding their application to the specific professional and academic cultures of legal practitioners and scholars from diverse European countries.

This course aims to fill this gap by developing a set of course materials dealing with the application of intercultural communication structures and practices to both the collaboration between law students and teachers and to the study of the law. For this purpose, the course is divided into two modules.

The first module (O16.1) offers a concise overview of basic questions and aspects of intercultural communication that affect team work and professional collaboration for both students and teachers. This module is conceived of as a complement to the EDELNet face-to-face Intensive Study Programs (Summer Schools, Winter Schools, and Staff Trainings) but can also be taken separately from the face-to-face activities as a training module on its own merit.

The second module (O16.2) explores more directly the cultural approach to legal studies, i.e. law as culture(s). The module reviews different approaches to the question of whether and how law and legal scholarship in general are affected by (cross-)cultural factors. This part of the EDELNet intercultural communication program is not conceived of as a preparation for face-to-face training activities. Rather, it is meant to stimulate discussions among those EDELNet members – students, researchers and teachers – wishing to engage in a constructive dialogue about the approach to legal studies from the point of view of culture.

Both modules can be taken together or separately. Ultimately, both modules are meant to serve as a basis for the achievement of one of EDELNet’s main goals, i.e. the development of an interdisciplinary, cross-culturally sensitive working community of law students and instructors.

The first module (O16.1) offers a concise overview of basic questions and aspects of intercultural communication that affect team work and professional collaboration for both students and teachers. This module is conceived of as a complement to the EDELNet face-to-face Intensive Study Programs (Summer Schools, Winter Schools, and Staff Trainings) but can also be taken separately from the face-to-face activities as a training module on its own merit.


The second module (O16.2) explores more directly the cultural approach to legal studies, i.e. law as culture(s). The module reviews different approaches to the question of whether and how law and legal scholarship in general are affected by (cross-)cultural factors. This part of the EDELNet intercultural communication program is not conceived of as a preparation for face-to-face training activities. Rather, it is meant to stimulate discussions among those EDELNet members – students, researchers and teachers – wishing to engage in a constructive dialogue about the approach to legal studies from the point of view of culture.