EXPECTATIONS, ASSIGNMENTS, AND EXAMS:

1. Participation: Throughout the term, we will engage in a variety of in-class activities, exercises, etc. Some of these require you to prepare before class, but most will simply take place in class. You are expected to be an active and constructive participant. Missed participation opportunities cannot be made up. If you are present but not constructively participating, this counts as a zero.

2. Reading Quizzes: Quizzes are not surprises in this class. Your syllabus schedule shows you when to expect each quiz. Each quiz covers your readings assigned for that topic. Quiz questions include multiple choice, true or false, and fill-in-the-blank. Quizzes may not be made up.

3. Culture & Communication Engagement projects: Four assignments are available for you to choose from – you pick 2. The assignments range in scope and format from more traditional research to creative projects. The CC Engagements to choose from are: Family history, spatiality as culture, culture jam, & questioning ecoculture. (See descriptions below.) All assignments are due emailed to Tema at [email protected] by midnight on their designated due days (see schedule). Late work will not be accepted.

4. Final Exam: The exam will cover material from class discussions, exercises, activities, and course readings.

GRADING:

Your participation, quizzes, CCE projects, and final exam will be given the following weights in calculation of final grades:

Participation:                                                    300 points (30% of final grade)                  

Reading Quizzes (12 quizzes counted at 20 points each):                                                                                240 points (24% of final grade)

CCE Projects (2 assignments @ 100 points each):                                                                                           200 points (20% of final grade)                           

TOTAL:                                                           1,000 points (100%)

End of semester letter grade is on a strict percentage basis based on your points earned:

900-1,000 Excellent                            97-100% = A+

                                                            93-96.9% = A

                                                            90-92.9% = A-

800-899 Good                                     87-89.9% = B+

                                                            83-86.9% = B

                                                            80-82.9% = B-

700-799 Competent                            77-79.9% = C+

                                                            73-76.9% = C

                                                            70-72.9% = C-

600-699 Below Average                     67-69.9% = D+

                                                            63-66.9% = D

                                                            60-62.9% = D-

0-599, Failing                                      less than 60% = F

A =  Work meets all requirements of the assignment and shows a superior understanding of the material. Excellent work is creative in presentation, and in the application and evaluation of concepts. A assignments are precise, well thought-out, well organized, and have no stylistic errors.

B = Work meets all requirements of the assignment and shows a valid understanding of the material. Good work exceeds assignment content expectations and has no to few stylistic errors. B assignments are clear in presentation and in the application and evaluation of concepts. B assignments are accurate and thought-out.

C = Work simply meets the requirements of the assignment. Average work meets the minimum assignment content expectations and has some stylistic errors. C assignments show an understanding of the material, and in general how to apply and evaluate it. Demonstrates basic competency in organization, spelling, grammar, and structure is simply meeting the average expectations of a college student.

D = Work does not meet the minimum assignment expectations for content and has several stylistic errors. Below average work misses portions of requirements and shows the student has failed to grasp or utilize concepts. D assignments do not show competency in basic fundamentals expected of college students.

F = Work does not reflect the content expectations and is plagued by numerous stylistic errors. Poor work indicates a student has no grasp of the material or does not care.

POLICIES & TIPS FOR SUCCEEDING IN CLASS:

1.   Come to class prepared and sit up front – Read the assigned readings BEFORE you come to class. This helps ensure you can participate and get the most out of lecture and discussion. You’ll feel more involved in class and retain more when you sit near the front, so don’t be shy.

2.   Ethics: As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision. Students need to do original work and properly cite sources. For example, be aware of plagiarism—directly copying more than 3 or 4 words from another author without quoting (not just citing) the author is plagiarism. Further, course content will encourage the ethical practices and analysis of communication.

1.   Late work & absences: Late work will not be accepted. Turn in your work in a timely manner by deadline. In addition, you will not have a chance to rewrite your work after it has been turned in. However, you are encouraged to meet with the professor in advance to discuss and ask questions about your assignments in progress. If you know you have an institutionally excused absence coming up, you must turn in your assignments in advance or by deadline. Any excused absence must be documented, and you must get this documentation to the professor if you want to receive credit for your work. Late work, again, will not be accepted.

2.   Missed final exam: Make-ups for a missed exam will be allowed only in situations where the student has contacted the professor considerably in advance of the exam with a documented university-approved excused absence, which are limited to 1) illness documented by a physician, 2) death in the family with requisite documentation, 3) religious observance, and 4) University-sanctioned activity.

3.   Attendance (which means being present AND prepared) is mandatory. You should expect to plan other events in your life at times other than class time. Because participation points make up a large portion of your grade, which you may not make up outside of class, you’ll want to come to class prepared each day. If you are absent, it is up to you to contact another student to catch up on information you missed that day.

4.   Grade appeals: I have a 24-7 policy, which means you must wait 24 hours after receiving a grade and appeal within 7 days. I will not discuss grades on the day a grade for an assignment is returned. If you receive a grade you feel is unfair, please provide me a written response either via email or on paper, no later than 7 days after the grade has been assigned (note: not the day you receive your grade), explaining how you feel the grade you received did not reflect your fulfillment of the assignment. I will then assess your written response and reassess your graded assignment.

5.   Email responsibility: Check your email account regularly, as I will use this account to keep in touch with you about course requirements or updates.

6.   Cite and reference all sources you refer to in your written work, and do so using APA style. For guidance on how to use APA style, go to these helpful sites: http://www.stylewizard.com/apa/apawiz.html and www.ccc.commnet.edu/apa/ (on this second site, use the sections titled “Students’ questions about references” and “Students’ questions about parenthetical citations.”)

7.   Technology: Be respectful of each other’s learning by turning off cell phones and not using the internet while in class. No texting during class time.

8.   Diversity: This course encourages different perspectives related to such factors as gender, race, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, and other relevant cultural identities. The course seeks to foster understanding and inclusiveness related to such diverse perspectives and ways of communicating.

9.   Students with learning or other disabilities: John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

Culture and Communication Engagement assignments (CC Engagement Projects)

(Choose 2 of these 4 assignments and turn in by due date)

Family History: Connecting Personal History to Broader Cultural Contexts

For this assignment you will interview the oldest living member of your family (that you are in contact with) about their past experiences. Take notes of what your family member says as well as how you feel in response to the information. Make sure that the interview lasts long enough and covers enough information in depth to do a close analysis of history. Organize your interview around questions 1 & 2 below. On your own, feel free to come up with follow-up questions that are appropriate to your family (and feel free to use the prompts I’ve included below).

1. Can you tell me about our family’s history?

* How long has our family lived in (insert specific location)? Why did our family move there? Or what has it been to live there?

* What are the most important family traditions that we still practice? Where did they come from? What are some traditions that have been lost? Why do you think we stopped practicing them?

2. What are some significant national or world events that happened during your life time?

* What was it like to experience those events?

* Were any of our family members involved in any of these events (WWII, civil rights, labor movement, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, indigenous rights, human rights, etc.)? If so, how?

* Can you tell me a story that you remember from one of those events?

* How did these events change your life or the way you thought?

Writing Assignment: After you have interviewed your family member please answer the following questions to complete these assignments.

1. What parts of your history were you familiar with? What parts of your history surprised you the most? Why do you think you have heard about certain things and other things have remained hidden?

2. How do you see these dimensions of your family history connect to broader national, international, ethnic, racial, gendered, diasporic, colonial, socio-economic class, or sexual orientation histories?

The paper must be 2-3 typed pages, double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman, 1-inch margins. Please attach your notes from the interview to the back of your paper. The response paper will be assessed with the following criteria: Depth of engagement with family history; Rigor of analysis in connecting family and cultural histories; Exemplifies comprehension of readings and discussion; Clarity and flow; Free of grammar and spelling errors.

Spatiality as Culture

Drawing from Philipsen’s discussion of space, consider the cultural implications of the neighborhood you grew up in. First, create an illustration of the neighborhood, including roadways, buildings, houses, stores, natural features (river, pond, ocean, mountain), etc. You may create this illustration by hand, computer, etc. Be as detailed as possible, making sure to label the different elements of the illustration. Next, you should consider the ways in which people communicated (or did not communicate with one another) in this space. In a 2-3 page essay paper answer the following questions:

1. Where did your neighbors congregate to talk? Who would typically talk? What would they talk about?

2. What were the rules of sociability in these spaces and elsewhere in your neighborhood? How, in general, do people in this space relate to each other?

3. How do these spaces and rules reflect the racial, ethnic, religious, gendered, age, class, sexuality, or nationality dynamics of your neighborhood?

The paper must be 2-3 typed pages, double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman, 1-inch margins. Please scan in your neighborhood illustration and include the illustration as an attachment with this assignment. The assignment will be assessed with the following criteria: Depth of detail in the illustration Creativity of the illustration; Rigor of reflection and engagement with the questions; Exemplifies comprehension of readings and discussion; Clarity and flow; Free of grammar and spelling errors.

Culture Jam

Steps to this engagement:

1. Identify an element of Western culture that you would like to jam.

2. Design a creative, playful, and effective way to culture jam that element, informed by your class readings and discussion. The jam can be enacted by yourself or by a group of people you organize (this can be done, for instance, as a collaborating group with other students in the class). The jam can take one of many forms, including but not limited to a flash mob, derive, detournment, subvertisement, public engagement, etc.

3. Enact the culture jam and video record the experience.

4. Edit your video to show the jam, effectively, to a larger public. Post it on YouTube.

The paper must be only 1 page, describing steps 1-3, and including the YouTube address of your recording. Double space, 12 point Times New Roman, 1-inch margins. Include APA citations and a reference list for any source you paraphrase or quote. The engagement will be assessed with the following criteria: Appropriate and critical identification of cultural element to jam; Creativity and rigor in creating the culture jam; Exemplifies comprehension of readings and discussion; Clarity and flow of culture jam/accessibility to the public you interact with in the jam; Free of grammar and spelling errors.

Questioning Ecoculture

Go to a place in which people experience nature in a somewhat organized or constructed way. For instance, you can go to a zoo, a botanical garden, a signed pathway, etc. Bring a notebook and take detailed notes as you pay close attention to the following:

1.     Talk (e.g., direct quotes from visitors, guides, your own talk)

2.     Texts (e.g., signage, maps, brochures)

3.     Spatial communication (e.g., the layout of exhibits, groupings of exhibits, the construction of trails)

4.     Sensorial reactions (yours)

5.     Nature’s and other animals’ communication

Afterward, review your notes and write a 2-3 page paper that first very briefly identifies the place you chose to experience and then answers the following questions:

1.     How did the talk, texts, and spatial communication of the place you chose to observe represent particular cultural understandings of nature? Be sure to describe the particular cultural views of nature that you encountered by providing examples.

2.     How did nature’s and other animals’ communication reinforce or resist these particular representations and cultural understandings? How did your own sensorial reactions reinforce or resist these understandings? Again, provide examples to back up your claims.

3.     Do you think the cultural representations, or constructions, of nature you encountered are helpful or harmful in creating sustainable or restorative human-nature relationships? Explain.

It will be helpful to reference ideas from the readings for the Ecoculture/Culture & Nature week (remember to use APA style to cite and create your reference list). This will help you focus your own writing about your observations as the theories about culture and nature will likely help you interpret, reflect upon, and analyze your field experience. It also may be helpful to include images of the place you visited, including images of signs, texts, exhibits, trails, etc., that you reference in your paper.

The paper must be 2-3 typed pages, double spaced, 12-point Times New Roman, 1-inch margins. The assignment will be assessed with the following criteria: Originality and creativity; Rigor of reflection and engagement with the questions; Organization of thoughts; Exemplifies comprehension of readings and discussion; Clarity and flow Free of grammar and spelling errors.

Our mission in the course is to gain an understanding of and sensitivity to a variety of cultural perspectives and to learn ways of understanding and appreciating cultural similarities and ways to productively engage challenges that may arise from cultural differences. Student learning objectives are:

1) To understand yourself as a cultural being and enhance self and other awareness about culture and communication.

2) To be able to explain the basic terms, concepts, and theories of intercultural communication.

3) To apply these terms, concepts, and theories to your interactions with others and critically analyze and evaluate the influence of your culture(s) on the ways you communicate.

4) To demonstrate understanding of and sensitivity to a variety of cultural perspectives and be able to identify ways of understanding and appreciating cultural similarities and differences.

5) To identify barriers and systems of privilege that arise locally and globally from histories of colonization, exploitation, and discrimination, and to learn ways to creatively address these inequities.

**TENTATIVE WEEKLY SCHEDULE:

M&N = Your textbook; CR = Course Reader

COURSE READER (CR):

ACCESS COURSE READER FREE OF CHARGE AT ERESERVES.UNM.EDU (OR GOOGLE UNM ERESERVES).
GO TO “FIND YOUR ERESERVES COURSE HERE.” SEARCH UNDER MILSTEIN. (PASSWORD: CMS280)

**This syllabus is subject to instructor’s changes, which will be announced in class.