CMST 280 Intercultural
Communication
(FORMERLY SPCH 230)
Winter 2011 Course Syllabus
Items:
0782 section OAS, 0783 section OBS, & 0785 section OCS
Instructor: Stephanie Hurst
Course Website: http://bellevuecollege.edu. (Log into MyBC and into Blackboard Vista.)
Email: Use the email option on the course web site.
Phone: 425.564.3062
Office Hours: Tuesdays
& Thursdays 12:30 PM – 1:20 PM in R230V (or e-mail me to set up an
appointment).
Required Text: Communication
Between Cultures by Larry A. Samovar,
Richard E. Porter, & Edwin R. McDaniel, 7th edition
Note: It is important to use the7th edition as it differs greatly from previous
editions.
The text is available for purchase at the
Bellevue College campus bookstore ($100.49 for new, and $82.80 for used).
eTextbook options are also available at
http://www.cengage.com/highered/ (go into the Students tab, search the eTextbooks catalog $55.99) and at http://www.chegg.com
($51.40).
Other Required Reading
(Optional Purchase):
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell,
Chapter 7 only.
We will be reading Chapter 7 only of this book (The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes ‘Captain,
the weather radar has helped us a lot’.) I have placed two of my
copies of this book on reserve in the Bellevue College Library Media Center.
These reserved copies may be used in the library for 2 hour increments. In
addition, the LMC has a copy of their own for check out.
Course Goals: This course aims to increase student
intercultural competence by examining the effects of culture on both the
communication process and individual. Students taking this course will explore:
communication and culture, intercultural messages, the role of context in
intercultural communication, how culture affects one’s identity, how culture
influences communication style, language, and non-verbal communication, and how
to improve their own intercultural competence.
Students who successfully complete this course
will be able to:
1. explain how environmental factors affect and
make cultures different,
2. explain how cultural variables influence
intercultural competency in an oral communication context,
3. explain why appropriateness and effectiveness
are critical in constructing oral intercultural messages,
4. explain how individualism and collectivism
affect the oral communication in an intercultural communication context,
5. demonstrate how Hofstede’s
Cross-cultural Orientation model affects status oriented and person oriented
oral communication styles,
6. define prejudice and discrimination. Provide
examples to demonstrate your competence in applying the concepts,
7. apply the E.T. Hall’s Context of Meaning Model
to explain high and low context and direct and indirect oral communication styles.
Format: You will be engaged in online discussions and activities
designed to aid your understanding of the concepts explored in this class. This
course uses online learning. Computer use is required. Please review the
“Equipment and Skills” requirements at
http://bellevuecollege.edu/distance/skills.asp. Students can expect to spend
between 4 and 7 hours per week online, completing assignments and reading
course material. (Note: this estimate of online time does not include time for
reading the text.) This course also includes small group assignments. Given
this format, students need to commit to being active participants online. In
addition, this area of study contains complex theories and difficult social
science jargon. I will do my best to assist you, but a college reading level
and college writing level in English is needed to succeed in this course.
Expectations and Policies: How
to succeed in this class…
Success in this class is dependent on:
1. your motivation and desire to explore and
learn,
2. your competence using Blackboard VISTA,
3. logging into the course website and checking
the ‘Announcements’ and the ‘Calendar’ tools at least five times per
week,
4. keeping up with the assigned readings by the
due dates,
5. your ability to read and write in English at
the college level,
6. the ability to learn from written materials,
including lectures, e-mails, and on-line discussions,
7. meeting the attendance policy and contributing
in a relevant and constructive manner to class discussions,
8. the ability to successfully collaborate and
cooperative with group members on
group projects,
9. a good working knowledge of your computer and
your Internet Service Provider (ISP), including e-mail,
10. self-discipline to focus, set goals, and
complete assignments on time without face-to-face contact with an instructor.
Should
you experience any technical computer issues (software or otherwise) anytime
throughout the quarter, you should contact Distance Education: 425.564.2438 or
toll free 1.877.641.2712, www.bellevuecollege.edu/distance, Room A140,
disted@bellevuecollege.edu.
Winter Quarter 2011 Distance Education
Hours: Monday – Thursday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm; Friday, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm.
To help, Distance Education will need your registered name, student number,
course name and number, instructor’s name and details of the problems you are
encountering. Your ability to use
Blackboard VISTA competently is a requirement for this course. Prior to the
start of the quarter go to http://bellevuecollege.edu/distance/classroom.asp
to:
• review the Blackboard VISTA Online Tutorial to
better understand how the course management system works,
• set up your browser for Blackboard VISTA
access,
• and learn “How to Start Classes on Blackboard
VISTA”.
If you
are new to using VISTA or have never taken an online (or hybrid) class before,
I strongly encourage you to attend a VISTA workshop in the Distance Education
Office in A140. Need help getting started
online? Blackboard VISTA Workshops for students are available during the first
two weeks of the quarter.
Winter 2011 VISTA Distance Education Workshops:
Tuesday January 4th, 11:30 AM - 1 PM in Room N252
Tuesday January 4th, 3:30 PM - 5 PM in Room A134
Wednesday January 5th, 5:30 PM - 7 PM in Room
A132
Thursday January 6th, 3:00 PM - 5 PM in Room A134
Students should have their MyBC
student portal set up to allow network access and use of campus computers
before attending any of the workshops. Distance Education can only answer
Blackboard VISTA questions in these workshops. Distance Education cannot help
with questions related to other software or computer issues you may need to
resolve in order to succeed in your online course. Blackboard VISTA Workshops
give you a hands-on version of the same material that is covered in the
Blackboard VISTA Tutorial located online at: http://bellevuecollege.edu/distance/studentguide/.
Required Assignments:
Chapter Discussion Responses & Comments (10
topics @ 40 points each) 400 Points,
Exams (3 @ 100 points each) 300 Points,
Cultural Identity Analysis Paper (7 – ? pages)
100 Points,
Group Responses (4 @ 50 points each) 200 Points,
Total Points Possible: 1000
Specific guidelines and details regarding all
assignments can be found on the course Blackboard Vista website on a later
date.
Assignment Descriptions (Condensed):
Chapter Discussion Postings (400 Points):
Students will be evaluated on the quality and substance of their contributions
to online discussions. Students are expected to complete all required reading
assignments by the designated due date and share in a relevant, constructive
and meaningful manner with their colleagues via online discussions.
Both student responses to chapter discussion
questions and comments to their colleagues will be evaluated.
Each chapter discussion question will be
evaluated based on the following ten requirements:
1. the use of course terminology and concepts
from the assigned reading,
2. course terms (key terms from the chapter
reading) should be typed in bold, italics, CAPITALIZED or underlined so that
they stand out on the screen (using the HTML creator is usually best for this),
3. page references to the text,
4. thoughtful explanation of why or how,
5. organization,
6. grammar,
7. spelling,
8. the use of adequate examples,
9. a minimum length of 8 sentences,
10. complete comments to the specified number of
colleagues per question (see below).
After a student completes his/her response to a chapter
question (using the first 9 requirements above), he/she should read through
several of his/her colleagues’ responses, choosing at least two (and in some
cases more) to comment on. One of the comments should be to a student’s
response that has not been commented on by another student (or has had a
limited number of comments.) Often a student will choose to comment on a
response that was most helpful to him/her in understanding the course material
better. In other cases students choose to comment on responses that are most
interesting or intriguing to them. Regardless of the reason you choose to
comment on a particular colleague’s response, each comment made to a colleague
must state something substantive about the colleague’s posting. That is, a substantive
comment should explain why or how you found their response helpful, interesting
or intriguing. In addition, each comment should be at least five sentences in
length using complete sentences (not abbreviated or in ‘text-messaging’
language), good grammar and spelling.
Here are examples of both a student’s response to
a chapter discussion question and a comment to a colleague:
Example Chapter Discussion Question:
Identify some of the specific ways your family
has influenced your cultural identity.
A Good Example of a Student’s Response:
“The
textbook very eloquently described family: ‘...family is charged with
transforming a biological organism into a human being who must spend the rest
of his or her life around other human beings’ (p. 54). A dominant theme
in my family was that we had to learn to get along with everyone. I was raised
in a conservative small town by relatively liberal parents. I did pick up many
of my parents political values.
But more importantly, I learned from a very young age that it was important to
be able to get along, and even befriend, people that I disagreed with. My
father is one of the most open-minded people I have ever met. He modeled
tolerance for me by maintaining friendships with people from a variety of
backgrounds, and with differing values
and politics. He also sent me to public school in a town where many people were
not as open-minded as my family, and I had to learn to get along with those
kids, too. Now as an adult living in Seattle, a major component of my identity is interacting with people who
are different from me.”
A Good Example of a Student’s Comment to a
Colleague:
“I
think it is interesting to observe how many children follow their parents'
political beliefs. When I went to Gonzaga, I found that a lot of young students
did not really know what they stood for or why, but instead followed a party
because their parents did. While not always the case, it does seem to be a
pattern. Also, tolerance and patience are very difficult to learn. Seattle is a
great place to put those skills to use as there are many cultures represented
here. I really like how you brought up the point that your parents are open
minded and that has influenced you to be tolerant. For me, my father is fairly
narrow minded, and that in turn has caused me to be the exact opposite. I
suppose the influence family can have on CULTURAL IDENTITY can be direct or
indirect.”
Notice that in the first example, the student
fulfills the first 9 requirements listed above. Similarly, in the second example,
the same student fulfills the requirements for what makes a substantive
comment.
Here Are Two Examples of What NOT to Do in Your
Comments:
“thnx 4 sharing. u r awesome.”
Or:
“I
totally agree.”
Attendance: This course utilizes the Arts and Humanities
policy on attendance. Although this is an online class, students are expected
to participate in all chapter discussions, assignments, and group activities
online. Participating online is how you ‘attend’ this class. Students who miss
any combination of 4 or more: discussion questions, group activities, exams or
assignments will fail the course. See
http://bellevuecollege.edu/ArtsHum/policy.html for more information.
Students can expect to spend between 4 and 7
hours per week online, completing assignments and reading course material.
(Note: this estimate of online time does not include time for reading the
text.)
Exams (3 @ 100 points each):
There will be a total of three exams worth 100
Points each. Each exam will be accessed in the ‘Assessments’ module on the
course website and will consist of multiple choice and true and false
questions. One week prior to each exam, an exam review will be posted on the
course web site in ‘Resources’. I do
not welcome argument over exam questions as each question has been tested for
reliability, and validity. I do,
however, provide two opportunities for extra credit early in the quarter to
make-up for any exam questions students may not like.
Cultural Identity Journal (100 Points):
Students will write a Cultural Identity paper
analyzing and exploring elements of their cultural identity. The paper must be
typed, double-spaced in size 12 Times New Roman font (or similar) with 1” (one
inch) margins. Detailed instructions for the paper will be made available on
the course website. This paper will be submitted online using the Assignments
Tool. Papers should be attached to the submission page in either .doc or .docx format.
Group Responses (200 Points: 4 @ 50 Points each):
Students will be assigned to groups and given a
total of four assignments requiring: group analysis, group discussion and the
formulation and completion of a group response. These four group responses will
be based on films and articles. As this is a group assignment, all group
members will receive the same score (unless a particular group member has made
little or no contribution to the group discussion.) Each group member is
required to be an active and contributing member to his/her group. Each group
member should engage in regular dialogue with his/her group members regarding
the assignment at hand. Non-contributing group members will be asked to leave
their group and complete the assignment at hand (as well as future group
assignments) independently.
Grading Scale: A = 940 – 1000, A - = 900 - 939,
B+ = 860 – 899, B = 830 – 859, B - = 800 – 829, C+ = 760 – 799, C = 730 – 759,
C - = 700 – 729, D+ = 660 – 699, D = 600 – 659, F = 0 – 599
Student
Conduct…
The division policy on classroom and on-line
conduct applies to this course.
Academic
Dishonesty…
Plagiarism and cheating are serious offenses. The
division’s policies on plagiarism and cheating are clear. Students caught
plagiarizing papers, discussions, or responses will receive an “F” (0 points)
for the assignment and will be reported to the Dean of Student Programs and
Services. See http://bellevuecollege.edu/ArtsHum/policy.html for more
information.
Late
work and Assignment Completion…
Assignments are due on the designated due dates
by the designated time. Late work will not be accepted by the instructor unless
prior arrangements have been made (that is, before the due date).
In order to receive credit for this course,
students must complete all the assignments as well as meet the attendance
requirement.
Values
Conflict…
Essential to a liberal arts education is an
open-minded tolerance for ideas and modes of expression which might conflict
with one’s personal values. By being exposed to such ideas or expressions,
students are not expected to endorse or adopt them but rather to understand
that they are part of the free flow of information upon which higher education
depends. To this end, you may find that class requirements may include engaging
certain materials, such as books, films, and articles which may, in whole or in
part, offend you. These materials are equivalent to required texts and are
essential to the course content. If you decline to engage the required material
by not reading, viewing, or performing material you consider offensive, you
will still be required to meet class requirements in order to earn credit for
this class. This may require responding to the content of the material, and you
may not be able to fully participate in required class discussions or
assignments. Bellevue College upholds an "Affirmation of Inclusion” which
states, “Bellevue College is committed to maintaining an environment in which
every member of the campus community feels welcome to participate in the life
of the college, free from harassment and discrimination. We value our different
backgrounds at Bellevue College, and students, faculty, staff members, and
administrators are to treat one another with dignity and respect.” This
Affirmation sets forth the expectation that we will all treat one another with
respect and dignity regardless of whether or not we agree philosophically. This
expectation is in line with the principle of free speech in a free society: we
have the right to express unpopular ideas as long as we don't show disrespect
for reasonable people who might believe otherwise. In an online course, you
will be expressing ideas through the medium of the course site. These
expectations also refer to the courtesy with which you communicate with one
another through e-mails and online discussions. Part of this respect involves
professional behavior toward the instructor, colleagues, and the class itself.
Disruptive behavior is disrespectful behavior.
The Arts and Humanities Division honors the right of its faculty to define
"disruptive behavior," which often involves such things as
inappropriate comments or ‘flaming’. Such behavior interrupts the educational
process. When you are in doubt about any behavior, consult your instructor via
e-mail as the judgment of the instructor is the final authority in these
matters.
Suggestions
Regarding Online Discussions:
Be careful about your tone of voice. In a written
discussion a slightly critical comment can seem like a crushing condemnation
because readers can't see the facial expressions and body language that tell
them how serious you are. On the other hand, it's not a good idea to write
"smiley-face" comments all the time. Those kinds of comments don't
add anything substantial to the discussion. If you question or disagree with
something someone has said, you need to say so—tactfully. One way to express a disagreement tactfully
is to couch your comment as a question: "Do you think we should
consider...?" Another way is to use tentative language: "But I wonder
if we couldn't look at it from another angle..." These kinds of comments
invite others to join the discussion and give their ideas. Remember—our purpose
is to generate ideas, not to win verbal battles.
Part of your success in this class is dependent
upon your development of competent skills in dealing with people who are
different than you. The difference may be in worldview, beliefs, and/or values.
We will respect one another in all of these ways.
Students with disability and/or Special Needs:
If you require accommodation based on a
documented disability, have emergency medical information to share, or need
special arrangements, please e-mail me as soon as possible. Students with
disabilities who have accommodation needs are required to meet with the
Director of Disability Resource Center (B132) to establish their eligibility
for accommodation. Disability Resource Center is in B132, and can be reached by
phone at 425.564.2498 or TTY 425.564.4110. Students are encouraged to review
their accommodation needs with each instructor during the first week of the
quarter.
Students who need extra help in college writing
should go to the Academic Success Center’s Writing Lab located in D204 for
assistance.
Students who need access to a computer can
utilize computers in the BC Computer Lab located in N 250.
On a
General Note…
Communication is key! Please e-mail me if you
have any concerns or issues.
The following quotes illustrate my teaching
philosophy:
If I am
walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick
out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the
other and correct them in myself. - Confucius
What we
have to learn to do, we learn by doing. – Aristotle
The
wise teacher does not bid you enter the house of wisdom, but rather leads you
to the threshold of your own mind. – Kahlil Gibran