Paul Mason Fotsch, Ph.D.
http://www.csun.edu/~pfotsch/
email:
Comm Studies Office: Manzanita Hall 220
Office: Manzanita Hall 348
Office hours: Monday, Wednesday 11-11:50am, Monday 2-3:50pm and by appointment
Communication Studies 356-Spring 2009
Intercultural Communication
Required Books available at Matador Bookstore:
Martin, Judith and Thomas Nakayama. Intercultural Communication in Context. Fourth or Fifth Edition
Sassen , Saskia. Deciphering the Global: Its Spaces, Scales and Subjects
Required Reading Packet available at ASAP copy at Prairie & Reseda:
Readings with an * are from the Reading Packet
Recommended Books:
Pocket Dictionary
College Dictionary
Course Description
This course is designed to understand the ways in which culture and communication intersect and influence each other. An emphasis will be placed on understanding the importance of context--social, cultural, historical and political--in intercultural interactions and communication.
Student Learning Outcomes:
SLO 3: Articulate the reciprocal relationship between communication and culture.
Students should be able to
3.1 Demonstrate ways in which culture influences communication
3.2 Understand how socially constructed systems of exploitation are historically based, perpetuated and changed
SLO 7: Understand and apply communication competencies in civic engagement for a multicultural, global society.
Students should be able to
7.1 Illustrate how communication processes differ among cultures and acquire knowledge and skills to increase intercultural competence
7.2 Make critical connections between local and global issues in the context of globalization
7.3 Identify the manner in which effective communication has occurred between different groups
7.4 Analyze and evaluate personal communication with other cultures
Objectives:
· Explore cultural self awareness, other culture awareness and the dynamics that arise in interactions between people from different cultures.
· To understand how communication processes differ among cultures and to acquire knowledge and skills that increase intercultural competence.
· To identify barriers--racism, sexism, and systems of privilege--that arise from histories of colonization, exploitation, and discrimination and learn ways to creatively address these inequities.
· To gain a critical perspective on local/global issues by examining the historical and political dimensions of intercultural relations.
Requirements: For a total of 100 pts.
quiz 1: 10 pts 2/9
midterm : 20 pts 3/2
quiz 2: 10 pts 4/13
Group Presentation: 20 pts 4/27-5/4
Final 30 pts. 5/11 5:30 pm
Attendance and Participation: 10 pts
Email and Grades
This is an internet campus. All information for this university is now officially provided only via the internet. This means you are required to have internet access and an email account. However, grades CANNOT be given over the email for security purposes, so do not request information on grades via email. If you would like to discuss a grade for a particular assignment please make an appointment to see me.
Attendance and Participation
Students are required to attend every class and be on time. There are NO excused absences! Emergencies of various kinds--illness or death in the family, job conflicts, automobile accidents--unfortunately happen every semester. If something of this kind should happen, please do not bring me any documentation such as a doctor's note or a receipt from the towing company. Unfortunately, there is no way of making up a missed class, but missing one or two classes will not harm your grade. This is why you should make an extra effort to never miss class. You should consider missing class like missing work. If you consistently miss work or show up late, would you still have a job? Not if I was your boss.
I take attendance at the beginning of class, so if you are late do not assume I have counted you as here. You can tell me after class, and I will mark you as here but with a blue pen indicating you were late. Students who miss class or regularly show up late will lose points. If you miss class, please do not ask me what you missed, instead acquire the notes on what you missed from a fellow student. Please exchange phone numbers with at least two student partners with whom you can share notes, in case one of you misses class.
Please do not use your laptops during class! Of course this also holds true for cellphones or other electronic devices. An open laptop makes it difficult for us to look at one another and be focused on what the other is saying. Texting during class is simply juvenile. Participation is just as much about attentive listening and focusing on what others are saying as contributing your own voice.
Students must be prepared to discuss the readings and participate in class discussions in a respectful manner. Students who whisper or speak to their neighbor while someone else is trying to be heard will lose points. If you must communicate with your neighbor during class, passing notes, even texting, is more respectful.
If after a particular class I judge someone to have been especially disruptive, I will mark a green line for their attendance that day. Having many green days will seriously harm your grade. If you sit next to someone who is talking, I cannot always watch to see who is the source. If your neighbor is talking, I strongly recommend sitting somewhere else.
Examples of attendance and participation grades:
10 pts= Student attends every class or nearly every class, participates when given the opportunity and listens respectfully to the contributions of others.
9 pts= Student attends every class but almost never speaks in class, even when called upon.
8 pts= Student attends class regularly, but is often checking the cellphone or reading non-class materials (e.g school newspaper) rather than following discussion.
7 pts= Student misses more than 5 hours of class time, regularly comes late to class or leaves early.
6 pts= Student attends nearly every class but often whispers while other students are talking.
The instructor is also responsible for showing up on time as well as being prepared to facilitate learning through respectful engagement with students and provide thoughtful and responsible assessment of student learning.
Course Schedule
The following is an outline for when we will cover the readings. At times we may take time to meet in groups or show media clips, so keep in mind the time we actually cover the readings may shift. DO NOT assume you can delay your reading if the class is behind schedule! You are still expected to do the readings according to the schedule.
Introduction to History and Theory
Week 1: 1/26
Martin and Nakayama, ch. 1
*"Globalization and Identity", Jan Arte Scholte
Week 2: 2/2
Martin and Nakayama, ch. 2
Week 3: 2/9
Martin and Nakayama, ch. 3
Quiz 1 2/9
Week 4: 2/16
Martin and Nakayama, ch. 4
Identities and Changing Contexts
Week 5: 2/23
*"Racial Formation", Omi, Michael and Howard Winant
*"Race Only Skin Deep", Katherine Corcoran
Martin and Nakayama, ch. 5
Week 6: 3/2
Martin and Nakayama, ch. 6
Midterm 3/2
Week 7: 3/9
*Raka Shome, "Space Matters: The Power and Practice of Space"
Martin and Nakayama, ch. 7
Week 8: 3/16
Martin and Nakayama, ch. 8
Relationships and Conflicts
Week 9: 3/23
*Zygmunt Baumann, "Tourists and Vagabonds"
Martin and Nakayama, ch. 9
3/31 Cesar Chavez Holiday: No Classes
Week 10: 3/30
Martin and Nakayama, ch. 10
SPRING RECESS: 4/6-4/10
Week 11: 4/13
Martin and Nakayama, ch. 11
Quiz 2 4/13
Week 12: 4/20
Martin and Nakayama, ch. 12
Preface, Introduction Deciphering the Global
Presentations on Deciphering the Global
Week 13: 4/27
Group Presentations
Week 14: 5/4
Group Presentations
Final Exam 5/11 5:30pm