University of Calgary

Faculty of Communications and Culture

Development Studies (DEST) 485 S01

International and Intercultural Communication

                                         Fall 2008: Tuesday /Thursday 11:00 h to 12:15 h

Instructors:    Dr Harry McPherson and Dr Mary Liao

E-mail: harryjmcp@shaw.ca and meliao@ucalgary.ca

Office Location Dr Liao:  Centre for Innovation and Research in International Development (CIRID) Lower Floor 14, Dining Centre

Office Phone Dr Liao: 220 7056

Office location Dr McPherson  SS209

Phone Dr McPherson: 532 3096

Office hours :    Tuesday and Thursday  9 30am to 10 30. am or by appointment

Course Description :

This course is a seminar in cross cultural communication at the personal, organizational, societal, and international levels. It will discuss the concept of globalization and its implication for communication among different cultures, analyze theoretical perspectives underlying intercultural communication, explore issues of power, identity and   influence, and examine intercultural encounters in the context of specific diversified settings.

Course Objectives : The overall objectives of the course are to provide students with:

• An understanding of globalization and its implications for intercultural, international and inter societal relationships ,
• An understanding of how the internet and information technologies are transforming global communication and information flows in an increasingly global society
• An analysis of the issues, challenges and impacts on culture, identity, power, language ,international development, global peace and security and gender relations in the present global communication environment

 

Text: Judith N Martin and Thomas K Nakayama   Intercultural Communication in Contexts 4 th edition 2007.

In addition to the assigned readings additional readings may be given throughout the term

Assignments and Evaluation

Mid term 20 %   The midterm will consist of two sections, one short answers and the other essays.  Students will be tested on material presented in class and the assigned readings. The midterm will be held in class on October 14 th

Individual Research paper 35%   Individual research paper topics will be chosen in consultation with the instructors  on September 18 th and are due October 23 rd

Team Project 35%  The team project will involve oral presentations on November 27 th,  December 2^nd and December  4 th  and a report to be handed in one week after the presentation .

In class final  10%  November 25 th The final will be an essay exam. The material to be examined will cover the period from the mid term and will include material presented in class and the assigned readings.

The individual research paper and the team project represent 70% of the students grade and are therefore very important. The individual research paper assignment aims to provide the students  with the opportunity to research  topics of interest to them and  the experience of writing a quality research paper.

Team work is increasingly being emphasized in the work environment. The team research paper aims to give students the chance to work collaboratively, present their findings to their peers for discussion and prepare a final report . The report is due one week after the presentation to allow time for the teams  to reflect on the  peer discussions .

It is the student's responsibility to keep a copy of each submitted assignment.
Note: Please hand in your essays directly to your tutor or instructor if possible. If it is not possible to do so, a daytime drop box is available in SS110; a date stamp is provided for your use. A night drop box is also available for after-hours submission. Assignments will be removed the following morning, stamped with the previous day's date, and placed in the instructor's mailbox.

Registrar-scheduled Final Examination:  NO

Please note: If your class is held in the evening, the Registrar's Office will make every attempt to schedule the final exam during the evening; however, there is NO guarantee that the exam will NOT be scheduled during the day.

Policy for Late Assignments

Assignments submitted after the deadline may be penalized with the loss of a grade (e.g.: A- to B+) for each day late.

Writing Skills Statement

Faculty policy directs that all written assignments (including, although to a lesser extent, written exam responses) will be assessed at least partly on writing skills. For details see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/info. Writing skills include not only surface correctness (grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc) but also general clarity and organization. Research papers must be properly documented.

If you need help with your writing, you may use the Writing Centre.  Visit the website for more details: www.efwr.ucalgary.ca

Grading System

The following grading system is used in the Faculty of Communication and Culture:

(Revised, effective September 2008)

 

	Grading Scale
A+	96-100
A	90-95.99
A -	85-89.99
B+	80-84.99
B	75-79.99
B-	70-74.99
C+	65-69.99
C	60-64.99
C-	55-59.99
D+	53-54.99
D	50-52.99
F	0-49

 

Where a grade on a particular assignment is expressed as a letter grade, it will normally be converted to a number using the midpoint of the scale.  That is, A- would be converted to 87.5 for calculation purposes.  F will be converted to zero.

Plagiarism

Using any source whatsoever without clearly documenting it is a serious academic offense. Consequences include failure on the assignment, failure in the course and possibly suspension or expulsion from the university.

You must document not only direct quotations but also paraphrases and ideas where they appear in your text. A reference list at the end is insufficient by itself. Readers must be able to tell exactly where your words and ideas end and other people's words and ideas begin. This includes assignments submitted in non-traditional formats such as Web pages or visual media, and material taken from such sources.

Please consult your instructor or the Writing Centre (SS 106, efwr.ucalgary.ca) if you have any questions regarding how to document sources.

Students with Disabilities

If you are a student with a disability who may require academic accommodation, it is your responsibility to register with the Disability Resource Centre (220-8237) and discuss your needs with your instructor no later than fourteen (14) days after the start of the course.

Students' Union

For details about the current Students' Union contacts for the Faculty of Communication and Culture see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/su

"SAFEWALK" Program -- 220-5333

Campus Security will escort individuals day or night -- call 220-5333 for assistance. Use any campus phone, emergency phone or the yellow phone located at most parking lot booths.

Ethics

Whenever you perform research with human participants (i.e. surveys, interviews, observation) as part of your university studies, you are responsible for following university research ethics guidelines.  Your instructor must review and approve of your research plans and supervise your research.  For more information about your research ethics responsibilities, see

The Faculty of Communication and Culture Research Ethics site: http://www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/ethics

or the University of Calgary Research Ethics site: http://www.ucalgary.ca/research/compliance/ethics/info/undergrad/

Schedule of Lectures and Readings

Week 1    Sept 9/11

Introduction and Foundations of Intercultural Communication 

Text Chapters 1,2,

Week 2    Sept 16/18

Intercultural Communication, History and Power

Assignment of individual research papers

Text Chaps 3 and 4  

Week 3     Sept 23/25

Globalization and its implications (culture, communication, intercultural relationships, international  development, global conflicts, peace and security  etc)

Thomas L  Friedman : The world is flat -the globalized world in the 21 st century  Penguin books 2006  Chapts 1,2,3,4, 10

Don Tapscott  and Anthony.D. Williams   Wikinomics-  how mass collaboration changes everything  Portfolio books 2006. Chapts 1,7

Week 4    Sept 30/ Oct 2

Globalization continued

Week 5      Oct 7/9

Gender, identity, culture and intercultural communication. Oct 7  discussion by instructor on feminist theory and application to gender in development

Text Chapter 5

Additional Readings:

Handout - Feminism, Development and Women in Development

Ester Boserup. Women's Role In Economic Development, London: Goerges Allen & Unwin; 1970. Chapters 1 and 5.

Marilyn Waring. If Women Counted: A New Feminist Economic, San Francisco: Harper and Row; 1988. Prologue and Chapters 1, 2 and 3.

Week 6      Oct 14/16

Mid term Exam Tuesday October 14.

Oct 16 th Discussion of and allocation of team projects

Week 7      Oct 21/23

Gender continued

Barbara Heron. Desire for Development: Whiteness, Gender, and the Helping Imperative; Chapters  to be assigned

 Oct 23 Individual research papers due.

Week 8       Oct 28/30

Information technology, the internet, the interactive world wide web and global  communication  Presentation by instructor

Thomas L Friedman  The world is flat  Chap 2

Week 9       Nov 4/6

Implications of IT and global information flows

Don Tapscott and Anthony D Williams  Wikinomics Chap 2

Week 10    Nov 11/13 No classes Remembrance day and reading

Week  11   Nov  18/20 

 The media, popular culture, intercultural communication and platforms for participitation.

Text Chap 9

Don Tapscott and Anthony D Williams  Wikinomics Chap 3

Week 12    Nov25/27   In class final exam Nov 25 th. 

Nov 27 th Oral presentation of team projects  Report due on December 4 th  The report to be handed in to the instructors during office hours

Week 13    December 2/4 

Oral presentation of team projects

Report on team project due December 9 th The report to be handed in to the instructors in SS209 during office hours 930 to 1030.