Northeastern State University

College of Liberal Arts

 

Summer 2008 syllabus for

COMM 4543

Intercultural Communication

and COMM 5623

Marginalized Cultures

(last updated 07.29.08)

 

Instructor: Amy Aldridge Sanford, PhD         

Office:  Leoser Center (Tahlequah Campus)                Ext.:  2896

E-mail: aldridga@nsuok.edu (This is the best way to contact me)        

Office Hours:  See Contact Info on webpage.

Facebook:  Amy Aldridge Sanford

 

Class Meetings:  MW; 10:30am-1:10pm; SH 229

 

Your professor’s philosophy of education:  I am a facilitator of learning.  The participants in any given classroom enter with different paradigms and truths.  I aid in the exploration of those truths.  I do NOT believe that the instructor is THE holder of Truth; therefore we must all participate to co-construct knowledge and create synergy.  When a student starts to feel uncomfortable in his/her existing paradigm that means s/he is growing as a scholar.   My desire is that all of my students feel the joy of discomfort from time to time.

 

Grading Philosophy:  I prefer intrinsic motivations, and therefore, am not a fan of letter grades.  I believe this extrinsic reward is too often the only motivation for students to complete assignments.  A college education should be viewed as a privilege and an opportunity to become learned and scholarly.  However, until there is a better system, grades will be assigned in this class.  Work that meets the minimum requirements of an assignment, is completed on time and displays average involvement with the course content is deserving of a “C.”  Higher grades are awarded to work that goes above and beyond the minimum standards to produce papers and presentations that reflect superior intellectual effort, excellence in critical analysis and overall creativity in the approach towards any given assignment.  In other words, grades are earned in this class.  An “A” is attainable but will require more than minimal effort.

 

Required Texts (for everybody):     

Griffin, J.H.  (1960).  Black like me.  New York:  Penguin.  ISBN:  0-451-19203.

 

Jensen, R.  (2005).  The heart of whiteness:  Confronting race, racism, and white privilege.  San Francisco:  City Lights.  ISBN:  0-87286-449-9.

 

Rosenblum, K.E. and T.C. Travis.  (2008).  The meaning of difference:  American constructions of race, sex and gender, social class, sexual orientation, and disability.  Boston:  McGraw Hill.  ISBN:  9780073380056.

 

Recommended Texts (for the graduate students):

Foss, Sonja K.  (2004).  Rhetorical criticism:  Exploration and practice.  (3rd ed.)  Waveland Press.  ISBN: 1577663187.

 

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA). (5th ed.)(2001). American Psychological Association.  ISBN:  1557987912.

 

Description of SPCH 4543:  Examines socio-cultural forces as they influence human interaction.  Included are international cultures and co-cultures within the United States, cultural communication rules, verbal and nonverbal symbol usage, the improvement of communication and the ethics of intercultural communication.

 

Description of SPCH 5623:  This is a special topics course on the marginalization of cultures.  It will be taught like a graduate seminar course.  Emphasis will not be placed on lecture, but on class discussion, co-construction of knowledge, and analytical thought by the students.

 

Pre-requisites:  none.

 

Learning Outcomes:  By the end of the course, you will have…

  • Investigate the relationship between culture and communication;
  • Learn how culture, your own and other people’s, shapes visions of the world and ways of speaking;
  • Read about culture and communication from several different perspectives;
  • Discover the importance of the roles of context and power in studying intercultural communication; and
  • Make connections between theory, research and everyday experiences.

 

Attendance:

An attendance sheet will be passed out at the beginning of every class period.  NOTE:  You are absolutely, positively 100% responsible for signing the attendance sheet each class period.  If you are late, you must get the sheet and sign it after class… “I forget to sign it” or “I’m sure I was there” will not be sufficient to document your attendance at the end of the semester.

 

The emphasis on performance and participation in this class requires close attention by students and the instructor to attendance.  You are allowed three hours of unexcused absences (i.e., three unexcused absences for a MWF class, two unexcused absences for a T Th class, or one three hour session in the summer or with an evening class).  For every hour of unexcused absence over the limit, 2% will be deducted from your final grade.  Absences will be excused only under the following circumstances:

  1. Absence while under a doctor’s care (written documentation required).
  2. Absence due to participation in an authorized college activity (advance notification and written documentation required).
  1. Absence due to attendance at legal proceedings requiring your presence (advance notification and written documentation required).
  2. Absence due to the death or serious illness of an immediate family member (written documentation required).

I consider an excused absence one in which the absence is beyond your control. (For example, the time of a check up or a dental appointment can be controlled).  I will not excuse an absence in which you have to take somebody else to the doctor, hospital, dentist, court, etc.  That is why I give you the three unexcused absences.  Use them wisely.  I think good attendance is very important.  Documentation is due by the last day of classes before finals week.   An excused notes will only excuse one day of absence unless a memo is attached explaining why multiple dates should be excused.

 

 Missed/Late Assignments:

Getting the Homework:  If you miss class, please consult with one of your fellow students for the notes and/or homework.  Write down to of your classmates’ names and phone numbers here:

___________________________________________________________________________

If you cannot reach either one of them after a few attempts, you should contact me. 

Written Work:  Assignments are due at the beginning of the hour.  It is late after that. For each class session that an assignment is turned in late, you will be assessed a penalty of 10 points for that particular assignment. 

E-mailing assignments/computer problems:  You will need to submit most of your assignments in hard copy.  On occasion, it will be possible to submit assignments via e-mail.  Please note:  your computer breaking, printer not working, etc. will never be accepted as an excuse for late work.  It is your responsibility to begin work early enough to accommodate unforeseen circumstances.  In addition, e-mailed work is recorded as “turned in” according the time stamp in the introduction to your message.  “I got your address wrong” or “my e-mail wasn’t working” will not be accepted as reasons for late assignments.

Presentations:  If you miss an assigned speech, we may not have time to allow you to present it later.  If you know you are going to miss an assigned speech, trade speaking dates with someone in the class, and let the instructor know about the change.  Failure to make a presentation will result in a zero for that assignment.

 

Class Participation: You are expected to attend class regularly and be prepared so that you may intelligently discuss assigned material.  Proper preparation means reading the assigned chapters and completing daily assignments.  Warning:  This professor is well known for counting students absent when they are not prepared for class.

 

Food and Drink:  Feel free to bring food and drink to class.  Just be sure to dispose of it properly when you are finished.

 

Classroom Climate:  The success of this course is directly related to the sense of community that we will develop in this classroom.  Participation is essential to this process.  I encourage you to share your views and listen to those of others.  Debate and discussion are an important part of the learning process.  While there will no doubt be disagreements, I expect the members of this community (including myself) to challenge ideas in a manner that reflects respect and recognition of opposing viewpoints without attacking individuals.  There is no doubt in my mind that controversial topics will come up during the course of this class.  They always do. If you are a person who is easily offended by the topics of sex, alcohol, abortion, the death penalty, racial stereotypes, and other potentially controversial topics, then it is advised that you enroll in another communication course not taught by this instructor. 

 

Electronic Readings:  The hyperlinked readings below are available electronically.  If the reading is marked as “Course Reserve” it is available through the library’s website and the password is comm4543.  If the hyperlinked reading is NOT marked “Course Reserve,”  the password is aldridga.   The readings provided here are for educational purposes only.  We will use them for teaching, scholarship, research, criticism, and comment.  You cannot financially profit from these works.  You will need to buy the three required texts (listed above) for this course.

 

Outline of Course:  All of the following assignments and point totals are considered tentative and may change over the course of the semester due to your progress and interests. 

Day/Topic

Reading

AV Clip

Assignment due

(assignments are explained in detail below)

1

Introduction to the Course

Syllabus

 

“The Tyra Banks Show” on names

 

2

Defining some terms

“Among Cultures”:  Ch 1 (Course Reserve);

“ Difference” #1 Smedley

 

RR 1

Example RR

3

Whiteness/Privilege

“Difference” pp 194-220, #6 Frankenberg and #46 McIntosh

 

RR 2

Week 1 Journal due

4

“The Heart of Whiteness”

 

RR 3

Research Proposal due (G)

5

 

“Crash”

Cast interview with Oprah (if time)

Family Interview due (UG)

Week 2 Journal due

6

Blackness

“Black Like Me”

 

RR 4

7

“Among Cultures”:  Ch 7 (Course Reserve);

“Difference” #2 Davis, #25 Tatum

“Columbine” clip about black men

RR 5

Week 3 Journal due

8

 

O’Reilly clips

09/19/07 at 36:00

09/28/07 (reaction to Jesse Jackson)

Final Paper Outline due (G)

9

 

Cosby clips

C. West rap & info

Week 4 Journal due

10

Class

“Difference” #12 Zweig, #36 Ehrenreich, #14 Kendall

“Class Dismissed” clip

RR 6

11

 

“30 Days” minimum wage episode

“Maxed Out”

Week 5 Journal due

12

“Difference” #16 Horwitt, #38 Larew, #39 Fitzgerald

 

RR 7

13

Sexuality

 

20/20 episode:  “My Secret Life”

“The Oprah Winfrey Show”

Week 6 Journal due

14

Serano (electronic reading);

“Difference” #9 Fausto-Sterling, #11Kessler & McKenna

“Cops” segment

RR 8

Propose a Unit due (UG)

Final Paper due (G)

15

 

 

Week 7 Journal due

Final Presentations

16

 

 

Final Presentations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grading: 

UG and G:  Reading Responses (20%):  Reading responses are reflections you have on the reading.  They should be one to two pages and thoroughly thought out.  You are to include information from all of the day’s assigned readings in ONE reading response.  Mark up your book/articles while you are reading and discuss the most interesting things to you in your reading response for that chapter.   Reading responses should include brief summaries of the text (be sure to use page numbers when directly quoting from the readings), your analysis of the material, and examples when appropriate.  This will add depth to your responses.  At the end of your response, write some possible discussion questions.  Students may be chosen at random to share their responses and lead the class in discussion.  This will also affect your participation grade.

 

UG and G:  Journal (20%):  For many of you, this class will be one of the most difficult experiences you’ve had in college.  You probably will be uncomfortable as you really start to think about race, class, and sexuality.  You will hear and see things that will take you through a wide range of emotions, which may include the painful emotions of anger, shame, and embarrassment.  You may have a hard time dealing with these emotions and all the new information that you will learn in here.  Your paradigm may begin to shift, and that is never comfortable.  To help you through this process, I believe it will be important for you to journal your intercultural experiences inside and outside of the classroom.  For every week we are in class, you will be required to turn in your journal for that week.  Undergraduates:  I ask that you have a minimum of three entries every week and that they are typed.  Graduate Students:  You need a minimum of four entries and they must be typed.  (It’s best not to turn in a notebook/journal because you may have an experience that you would like to write about while I have your book).

 

UG and G:  Class Participation (20%):  Students will receive a zero (no credit), 5 (half credit), or 10 (full credit) during each class to represent his/her participation during that class session.   Simply talking does not guarantee full credit for class participation.  Students are expected to make intelligent verbal contributions to the class.  A student’s discourse should reflect his/her knowledge of the text and his/her ability to synthesize that knowledge with further theoretical implications and application.

UG:  Family Interview (10%):  History is an integral part of the study of intercultural communication.  For this assignment, you will interview the oldest member of your family.  If possible, conduct this interview in person.  However, phone is permissible if face-to-face is not a possibility.  You are to discover what this person’s life has been like.  What were they like when they were your age?  What were their dreams?  What expectations did the world have of them?  What were the norms of the time?  What did they think of them then?  What do they think of them now?  This is an excellent opportunity to learn the stories of your ancestry.  Share your reflections on the interview in the last few paragraphs.  Plan your questions in advance.  You will submit a list of your interview questions with your paper.  The paper should be at least 3 FULL pages and no more than 5 pages. 

 

UG:  Propose a Unit (20%):  We are covering four units during this class:  1) whiteness; 2) blackness; 3) class and 4) sexuality.  There are so many more cultures (American Indians, women, Latinos, polygamists, disabled, skinheads, little people, homosexuals, Muslims, etc.) that could have been covered in an intercultural course.  I want you to propose just one of them.  Submit a proposal for adding another unit to this course.  (You do not have to delete an existing unit to do this, but if you would like to do that, tell me which one you’re deleting and why).  Write a justification for the unit you have chosen.  Be sure to localize it:  Why should NSU students be exposed to this material?  Use sources to strengthen your argument and be sure to include a bibliography page.  How long will this unit take?  What readings would you include and why?  What assignment(s) would you give the class to go along with your unit?  What multi-media (movies, audio clips, etc) would you use?  The paper should be at least 3 FULL pages and should be APA formatted.  Feel free to attach any materials that strengthen your argument and be sure to reference those materials in your paper.

 

UG:  Final Presentation (10%):  You have a few options for your final presentation.  You can give a presentation on 1) your journal entries, 2) your family interview, 3) the unit you have proposed, or 4) give a reading response to a full-length book or movie you have read pertaining to intercultural scholarship.  (If you have another option you’d like to explore, let me know and we can talk about it).  You have 5 to 7 minutes for your presentation and you will be graded by the criteria in this rubric.  You are expected to hand in an outline of your presentation and a list of references in APA format.

 

G:  Final Paper (30%):  I find it very important that graduate students write papers in their graduate classes.  These papers should be written with the idea of submitting to a conference in mind.  Students from our communication graduate classes have presented at state, regional and national conferences in the last couple of years, and you should strive to have the same scholarly experience.  For this paper I want you to focus on marginalized cultures.  Choose an artifact from popular culture and write a rhetorical criticism about that artifact.  (For instance, the comments Imus made about black women would make for a great study).  If you aren’t familiar with rhetorical criticism, I strongly recommend you go out and buy a copy of the Foss book listed in the recommended readings ASAP.  Additionally, it will also help if you seek out other rhetorical criticism that has been written about cultures.  Remember, EBSCO Host is your friend.  Papers should be at least 14 pages in length (not including cover pages and reference pages) and should be formatted in APA style (i.e., double spaced, 12 point TNR font, 1” margins).  Please pay attention to deadlines throughout the semester pertaining to this paper.  Your proposal for this paper is due Day 4 of class.

 

G:  Final Paper Presentation (10%)

In a 6-8 minute speech, educate your audience with the material you gathered in your final paper.  This gives your cohorts an opportunity to learn from your research efforts and rhetorical criticism.  Remember, you are the expert in this room on your particular topic.  You will be required to submit both an outline and bibliography before your presentation. You may only use the outline during your presentation. Please see the rubric for the grading criteria. 

 

"A grade (is) an inadequate report of an inaccurate judgment by a biased and variable judge of the extent to which a student has attained an undefined level of mastery of an unknown proportion of an indefinite amount of material." (Author Unknown)

 

Class Grievances:

I am willing to meet with you to discuss our class and/or particular assignments.  I ask that you please wait 24 hours after you have received a graded assignment to come see me.  Before we discuss your work, you are required to type out a document detailing what particular elements of your work you feel merit discussion. 

 

Students with Disabilities: If any member of the class feels that he or she has a disability and requires special accommodations, of any nature whatsoever, I will work with you to ensure that you have a fair opportunity to perform in this class.  Please advise me of such disability and the desired accommodations at the close of the first class period.  Students with disabilities who need accommodations to achieve course objectives should visit the Office of Student Affairs, Ext. 2120.

 

Plagiarism:  According to Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary (1983, 2nd Ed.), to plagiarize is “to steal or pass of ideas or words of another as one’s own…to use created productions without crediting the source…to commit literary theft…to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source” (p.1371).  Students in this course will be responsible for authenticating any assignment submitted to the instructor.  If asked, you must be able to produce proof that the assignment you submitted is in fact your own work.  Therefore, it is recommended that you engage in a verifiable working process on assignments.  Keep copies of all drafts of your work, make photocopies of research materials, write summaries of research materials, keep logs or journals of your work on assignments and papers, learn to save drafts or versions of assignments under individual file names on computer diskettes, etc.  In addition to requiring a student to authenticate his/her work, the instructor may employ various other means of ascertaining authenticity—such as engaging in internet searches, creating quizzes based on student work, requiring students to explain their work and/or process orally, etc.

 

NSU’s policy on Academic Misconduct (from http://www.nsuok.edu/policies/academic/misconduct.html): Academic misconduct includes cheating (using unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise), plagiarism, falsification of records, unauthorized possession of examinations, intimidation, and any and all other actions that may improperly affect the evaluation of a student’s academic performance or achievement, or assisting others in any such act or attempts to engage in such acts. Academic misconduct in any form is inimical to the purposes and functions of the University and therefore is unacceptable and prohibited.  Any faculty member, administrator or staff member may identify an act of academic misconduct and should report that act to the department head/college dean, Vice President for Academic Affairs or administrative supervisor.  Students violating the standards of academic honesty are subject to disciplinary action including reduction of a grade(s) in a specific course, assignment, paper, or project; a formal or informal reprimand at the professorial, dean, or academic vice president level; expulsion from the class in which the violation occurred; expulsion from a program; or expulsion from the University.

 

Inclement Weather/Disaster Policy:  The following are basic premises for the inclement weather policy at Northeastern State University:

1. Classes are expected to be held if at all possible.
2. It is the student's responsibility to receive the information when weather is questionable.
3. Neither students nor faculty are expected to risk life or limb.
4. Faculty members are obligated to hold classes if the University is not closed, unless the faculty member is unable to get to campus.

Policy: During times of inclement weather, decisions concerning day classes will be made by 6:00 a.m. in order for the media to be notified and for students to receive the announcement before they leave home. Decisions concerning night classes will be made by 3:00 p.m.

The following media will be notified regarding closing of the campus:



Radio Stations

Television Stations

KRMG 740 AM Tulsa

KJRH Channel 2 Tulsa

KAYI 107 FM Tulsa 

KOTV Channel 6 Tulsa

KTLQ 1350 AM Tahlequah

KTUL Channel 8 Tulsa

KEOK 102 FM Tahlequah

KFSM Channel 5 Fort Smith

KBIX 1490 AM Muskogee

 

 

 Common courtesies:

  • Please turn all cell phones/pagers on silent while you are in class.  Check your messages AFTER class and return the calls then.
  • Do not pack up before I dismiss you.  You never know when I may say something important or give a last minute assignment.  You’re going to want to have that pen and paper handy.