Syllabus for COM-335-OL
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Elements of Intercultural Communication presents a theoretical and practical approach to the study of intercultural communication. The course focuses on the many elements and processes involved in the sending and receiving of messages across cultures. The aim of the course is to increase your sensitivity to and understanding of intercultural differences and similarities so that this awareness can lead to more effective communication. The course covers basic concepts, principles, and practical skills for improving communication between persons from different ethnic, racial, religious, and cultural backgrounds.
After completing this course, you should be able to:
You will need the following required texts to complete the work of the course:
To learn more about specific topics, check the references in the “Notes” section starting on page 412 of your textbook. A helpful (and often entertaining) paperback book that is a widely known bestseller on inter-cultural communications may interest you if you are actually interacting personally or professionally with individuals from other cultures. The book is Do’s and Taboos Around The World, by Roger E. Axtell, a former executive with Parker Pen. The most recent version—the third edition—is published by The Benjamin Company, a John Wiley & Sons division, and is available from libraries, book stores, and Internet book sites for under $15. Among other features, the book contains a country-by-country bullet-pointed discussion of tips on greetings, gift giving, topics of conversation, and general protocol—all of which are very useful to anyone interacting regularly with colleagues, acquaintances, or relatives from other cultures! Movies dealing with cross-cultural issues are easy to come by, are an enjoyable way to observe what may happen when cultures collide. Some noteworthy movies that illustrate aspects of inter-cultural communications—often humorously or very dramatically—are: My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Bend it Like Beckham, Gung Ho, Tootsie (for male-female communication insight), The Birdcage (for insight into the culture and communication of gay individuals), Black Rain, King Ralph, Moscow on the Hudson and Lost in Translation. Check out some of these titles in movie guides or on Internet sites to see if you think you’d enjoy any of them for what they say about the cultural issues on which they focus.
Elements of Intercultural Communication is a three-credit online course consisting of six assignment modules. Each module includes a reading assignment (chapters from the textbook and reader and lecture notes in Course Documents), an online discussion (except in module 3), and a written assignment. The course also requires you to take a proctored midterm exam and complete a final project consisting of a written paper. For details about this paper go to the Final Project area of the course Web site. We highly recommend that you read the textbook chapter in Communication between Cultures before you study the readings in Intercultural Communication: A Reader. The textbook chapters give the background and basics needed to understand the readings. The readings should stimulate thought patterns. "Lecture Notes" in Course Documents summarize and supplement the textbook chapters. For the course's assignment modules (reading, online discussions, and written assignments), go to the Assignment Modules area of the course Web site. (See also the course Calendar.)
In addition to posting an introduction to the class in module 1, you are required to participate in five graded online discussions. Communication with the mentor and among fellow students is a critical component of online learning. Participation in online discussions involves two distinct activities: an initial response to a discussion question and at least two subsequent comments on classmates' responses. Meaningful participation is relevant to the content, adds value, and advances the discussion. Comments such as "I agree" and "ditto" are not considered value-adding participation. Therefore, when you agree or disagree with a classmate, the reading, or your mentor, state and support your agreement or disagreement. You will be evaluated on the quality and quantity of your participation. Responses and comments should be properly proofread and edited, professional, and respectful. For additional information on online discussions, see Online Discussions in the Online Student Handbook.
The six (6) written assignments that you submit to the mentor for evaluation and grading consist of essay questions on material from the textbook and reader and encompass personal experiences, theories, and synthesis. Communication does not take place in a vacuum, and applying real-life experiences and anecdotes you have had to your discussions and assignments enhances your appreciation and understanding of the subject you’re studying. (You’ll also find that the experiences and anecdotes that other class members will share with you in the online discussion forums will help you gain additional insight into the subject.) Take the time to familiarize yourself with the written assignment questions in each assignment module, and read through assignment questions before you begin each reading assignment. Your answers to assignment questions should be well developed and should show evidence of thought, organization, effective writing, and of course responsiveness to the question! Please make sure you edit and proofread your work before submitting it. Gross errors in grammar, spelling and punctuation distract from what you are writing and compromise the credibility of your work. Preparing and Submitting Assignments Before submitting your first assignment, check with your mentor to determine whether your word processing software is compatible with your mentor's software. If so, you can submit your work as you prepared it. If not, save your assignment as a rich-text (.rtf) file, using the Save As command of your software program. Rich text retains basic formatting and can be read by any other word processing program. When satisfied that your assignment represents your
best work, submit it to your mentor by means of the
>>View/Complete Assignment link provided at the bottom of the respective
assignment page. Use the Browse button within this link to locate and submit your assignment file.
The final project is in the form of a written paper that is worth 20% of your course grade. You will be required
in your paper to develop a framework for analyzing and understanding a specific culture or co-culture by
examining these characteristics: For details about this written paper go to the Final Project area of the course Web site. See also the course Calendar for the due date.
This course requires you to take a closed-book, proctored
midterm examination. It is two hours long and covers material in Modules 1, 2, and 3.
It consists of short essay questions on the basic concepts from the textbook and reader.
If you have concerns about the format and/or content of the examination, please contact
your mentor at least a week in advance of the scheduled test. You may take the examination only during the designated exam week, at an approved location, and with an approved proctor. In this regard, you need to schedule your exam and submit your "Proctor Request Form" with the necessary documentation no later than the end of the first week of the semester (see Administrative Forms in the General Information area of the course Web site). If you are on a course extension and have not yet taken the midterm exam, you must let your examination proctor know when you plan to take the exam and contact the Office of Test Administration (609-984-1181) two weeks in advance to request that your exam be sent to the proctor. For more information on scheduling a proctored examination, see the section Examinations and Proctors in the Online Student Handbook. Your grade in the course will be determined as follows: Letter grades for online participation, written assignments, and the midterm examination are based on the following numerical grades: Note:
To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of D or higher on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, projects, papers, etc.). You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted.
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