Syllabus for SPCH 3309.01
Intercultural Communication
T/R 11 a.m.-12:20 p.m.
SCRB-101
Instructor Information:
Jeff Sorrels
Office Hours: Monday, 12-2 p.m.
Tuesday, 9-9:30 a.m. & 12:30-2 p.m.
Wednesday, 12-2 p.m.
Thursday, 9-9:30 a.m. & 12:30-2 p.m.
Friday, 12-2 p.m.
*Other times by appointment only
Office: SCBR 108 Office Phone: 903-923-2317
E-mail:
Required Text:
Lustig, M. W. & Koester, J. (2013). Intercultural Competence: Interpersonal Communication Across Cultures (7th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
ISBN: 978-0205211241
Course Description:
This course provides a study of the relationship between communication and culture. Students will examine the effect of culture on human communication and develop strategies for communicating with people in contrasting domestic and international cultures.
Course Objectives:
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Have a full understanding of the many ways in which cultures differ
- Be more prepared for communicating interculturally
- Develop a personal strategy for being an effective intercultural communicator
Course Format:
This course is a combination of lectures, discussions, and student participation. Students are expected to read the assigned chapters in the textbook and any additional handouts. Lectures are supplements to the readings.
Communication:
Your Tigermail account is your official means of communication with the university and I expect you to check it on a regular basis. I will send out occasional reminders via e-mail, as well as any important information that may come up in the course of the semester. If you need to contact me, you may do so by e-mail (preferred) or by calling my office phone. If you choose to leave me a voice mail, talk slowly, give me your name, course number and section number and a number at which I can reach you. I check both of these on a regular basis, usually return emails very quickly and am committed to returning your call or e-mail within 48 hours.
You should know that email etiquette is a very valuable skill to learn and it will be enforced in this class. Each email you send me should include a subject line that includes your course and section, which is located at the top of this syllabus. Your email should begin with a greeting (Hi Jeff or Hello Professor will work just fine). The body of your email should be polite, correctly spelled and contain complete sentences with proper capitalization and grammar. “Text Speak” is not appropriate in a professional email. Finally, you should have a closing (Thanks, Regards or something similar) followed by your name. If your email does not meet the standard of professionalism expected by those who will eventually be hiring you, I will be responding with the following:
“Because I value the ability to communicate effectively through writing, as will your future employers, you will need to resend this email once it meets the following standards: A) an appropriate subject line, B) an appropriate greeting, C) a professional body and D) a closing with your name.”
Furthermore, I expect all face-to-face communication, whether it be with me or with other students, to be respectful and kind. Any breach of this expectation will be addressed.
Most importantly, I value you and your communication. Please come see me if you have any questions, concerns, or difficulties with the course. I will be glad to try to support you, but I can't assist you if I don't hear from you! You are always welcome to visit during my office hours or we can schedule an appointment, if needed.
Attendance & Participation:
Because a significant portion of the learning in this class is based on participation, part of your grade for the course will be determined by your attendance and active participation in class. For your attendance & participation grade, you will begin the semester with 100 out of 80 possible points. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of class. If for some reason you arrive to class late, it is your responsibility to make sure that you are not counted absent. You will lose 5 points from your attendance and participation grade each time you arrive late or leave early. You will lose 10 points from your attendance and participation points for each absence, regardless of the reason. This means that if you are absent on a class day in which there are no assignments due, there is no need to offer a reason for the absence. It is your responsibility to contact me via phone or e-mail if for some reason you are unable to attend class. Your instructor will be much more understanding if contacted before class begins rather than after the fact.
Keep in mind that just coming to class does not mean that you will receive your participation points for that day. I expect you to attend each class, arriving on time with assigned readings and preparations for experiential exercises completed. Please bring your textbook to class and be prepared to discuss course material, pose questions, and be actively involved in experiential in-class exercises. I reserve the right to mark you as absent if you do not have the needed materials, are not actively participating, or are being disruptive in class.
On the other hand, if you consistently participate in the class in a way that adds to the learning environment, I will add extra points to your attendance and participation grade. As a result, you may get more than the 80 possible points for attendance and participation. If you miss more than 25% of class meeting, you will fail the course in accordance with university policy S-1.
Preparation:
Come to class prepared. I expect you to read the assigned chapters and have your materials with you every day. All assignments should be stapled if more than one page, typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman or Book Antigua, 12 point font, with one inch margins. It is necessary that you check your Tigermail account and Blackboard regularly. Papers & all assignments are due on the date scheduled at the beginning of class. I do not accept assignments via email. You are responsible for any material and assignments that were covered in class and will need to get those from a classmate.
Student Conduct:
It is expected that each student acts in a respectful and professional manner. Once class begins, you are expected to stop talking, cell phones should be turned off and put away, and you should be attentive and engaged. It is also expected that students show courtesy by actively listening to others who are talking whether it be instructor or classmates.
Academic Integrity:
Students enrolled at East Texas Baptist University are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the highest standards of academic honesty and integrity avoiding all forms of cheating, illicit possession of examination materials, unwarranted access to instructor’s solutions’ manuals, plagiarism, forgery, collusion, and submissions of the same assignment to multiple courses.
Penalties that may be applied by the faculty member to individual cases of academic dishonesty by a student include one or more of the following:
· Failure of the class in question
· Failure of particular assignments
· Requirement to redo the work in question
· Requirement to submit additional work
All incidents related to violations of academic integrity are required to be reported to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and multiple violations of academic integrity will result in further disciplinary measures which could lead to dismissal from the University.
Accommodations:
A student with a disability may request appropriate accommodations for this course by contacting the Office of Academic Success and Graduate Services, Marshall Hall, Room 301, and providing the required documentation. If accommodations are approved by the Disability Accommodations Committee, the Office of Academic Success and Graduate Services will notify you and your professor of the approved accommodations. You must then discuss these accommodations with your professor.
Assignments:
All assignments will be available on Blackboard. It will be your responsibility to follow the syllabus and retrieve the appropriate assignments in a timely fashion.
All written assignments must be typed unless otherwise specified. With all assignments, please consider self-presentation and impression formation as you put together your written and presentational assignments. Also remember that for group projects/assignments, what is turned in reflects your entire group—each group member is personally responsible for making sure the assignment to be submitted is acceptable. Specific writing requirements for each assignment will be shared later in class.
Papers are expected to reflect college-level writing quality. In other words, spelling, organizational, and grammatical errors will greatly reduce your final grade. To aid in this, I recommend you make use of the ACE Lab to get help if need be. Additionally, I can review any written work prior to the due date and provide feedback on content so you can make appropriate changes. If you would like to take advantage of this opportunity, please visit me during my office hours or make an appointment.
Course Website:
All students enrolled in this course have access to the course website on Blackboard. Copies of the syllabus, assignments, readings and grades will be available through this site. Additionally, any important announcements will be posted on the site.
Course Material:
You will be responsible for all materials in the class, including the book, supplemental readings, and lectures. All of this material may be used in both application and examination.
Grading:
Your grade should be a reflection of what you demonstrated you have learned, not a reflection either of how hard you've worked or what you report you have learned after you've received your grade. You must demonstrate that you have learned the material by the work that is submitted. I must base my evaluation of your work on work that you submit and the presentations you give. I will be happy to discuss your grade with you, with the following guidelines:
· You must wait 24 hours after receiving the assignment grade to contact me to discuss or appeal it. This way, you have time to fully review the comments given as well as review the assignment guidelines.
· You have one week from the date the assignment was returned in class or was posted on Blackboard to meet with me about it. When bringing assignments in for discussion, I expect that you have thoughtful arguments to make and can point to specifics in the assignment as well as in your work. I will not discuss grades after one week has elapsed. This course moves extremely quickly and we will have moved on to several other assignments by that point.
· Extra credit is never given to individual students. If extra points are available, all members of the class will have equal opportunity to participate. I will notify you of any such opportunities.
· Waiting until the end of the semester to start caring about your grade is neither productive nor convincing. Do not e-mail me after final grades are posted and expect big changes.
Quizzes (12%):
We will have a quiz after we complete each chapter. These quizzes will typically fall on a Thursday. These quizzes will allow you to demonstrate an understanding of the material for each chapter. There will be 12 quizzes worth 10 points each. Many of the questions from these quizzes will be on the exams so you should be sure to look over your quizzes before the exams. If you miss a quiz and still want to take it, you must come to my office during office hours before the next class meeting to take it or make other arrangements. If you don’t do this it cannot be “made up.” Once graded quizzes have been returned to the class, you cannot make up a quiz.
Exams (40%):
You will be given four exams during the course of the semester. These exams will consist entirely of short answer/essay questions to allow you to demonstrate your mastery of the subject matter. Each exam will cover three chapters of our textbook and the accompanying lectures. The final is NOT comprehensive. There will be NO make-up exams unless approved by the instructor. Each exam is worth 100 points.
Papers (30%):
You will complete four short papers (including your service learning paper) during the course of the semester. Each paper is worth 50 points and must be typed and submitted to BlackBoard. Further instructions are provided on BlackBoard.
You will also complete one longer research paper. This paper is worth 150 points and must be typed and submitted to BlackBoard. Instructions are provided on BlackBoard.
Service Learning (10%):
To extend your learning beyond the classroom, you are expected to complete 5 hours of service in the community. These service hours can be of your own choosing, but you must interact with members of a culture very different than yours. One great idea would be to visit a nursing home. Your hours must be documented. If you have doubts about what is and isn’t service learning, speak with me. Your five hours of service will be worth 50 points. You will also write a 2-3 page paper reporting what you learned. This paper will be worth 50 points and should be typed and submitted to BlackBoard.
***This syllabus is not a contract and is subject to change.***