CMST 9 - Intercultural Communication

Transfer Status

CSU/UC

Unit(s)

3.00

• Lecture: 51.00 Contact hours/102.00 Out of class hours/153.00 Total hours/3.00 Unit(s)
• Total: 51.00 Contact hours/102.00 Out of class hours/153.00 Total hours/3.00 Unit(s)

Course Description: This course provides an introduction to intercultural communication in domestic and/or global contexts. Students will develop knowledge, attitudes, and skills to become more effective intercultural communicators. Students will explore the influence of cultures, languages, and social patterns on how members of groups relate among themselves and with members of different ethnic and cultural groups. The course also focuses on the theory and knowledge of effective communication within and between cultures, as well as the appreciation and comparison of communication among diverse groups within the larger context of American culture. (C-ID COMM 150).

Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Recognize and articulate how core values, worldviews, and communication patterns shape cultural and individual identities.
2. Identify the components of culture and communication and their interrelationship.
3. Explain how culture influences verbal and nonverbal communication.
4. Identify and explain the social and psychological variables of culture and its expression.
5. Discuss the diverse ways of thinking, perceptions and interpretations.
6. Compare and contrast intercultual communication strategies in various contexts.
7. Recognize barriers to effective intercultural competenices such as stereotyping, prejudice, and ethnocentrism.
8. Identify elements of common ground among diverse cultures.

Topic Titles / Suggested Time Topic

Lecture

1. Class Activities
2. Discussion
3. Homework: Students are required to complete two hours of outside-of-class homework for each hour of lecture
4. Lecture
5. Multimedia Presentations
6. Reading Assignments

1. Exams/Tests
2. Research Projects
3. Oral Presentation
4. Written Assignments
5. Essays and research papers
6. Class Discussion

Reading Assignments

1. Read Chapter 1 from Understanding Intercultural Communication by Leeva Chung and Stella Ting-Toomey. Consider the components of flexibility in intercultural communication. How can you balance being yourself with adapting to another individual’s cultural values and behaviors? Be prepared to discuss your answers in class.
2. Read “On the Invisibility of Privilege” from Dr. Peggy McIntosh. Analyze your own behavior in relation to the author’s argument and come to class prepared to discuss.

Writing Assignments

1. In a 3-4 page paper, view and analyze a full-length, feature film that relates to some aspect of intercultural communication. Your paper should summarize the film and give a brief overview of the setting, the plot, and any other relevant information necessary to describe the context for understanding the intercultural communication dynamics in the film. Be sure to relate the film to class material. Does the film confirm or contradict information from our text? Discuss at least three (3) specific intercultural communication concepts from our text and relate them to the film. Be sure to connect specific examples from the film with the concepts from the text. Finally, provide an overall assessment of the film. Argue whether the film helps inform intercultural communication, or constrain it (by perpetuating negative stereotypes, for example.)
2. Prepare a report based on research presented in a scholarly journal. You must first locate a study that is relevant to the material being covered in class. After reading the study, you will prepare a 3-4 page report that should be approximately evenly divided into the following sections: a summary of the study, a section relating the study to class material, and a section relating the study to personal experience. Cite and reference all work using current APA guidelines.

Out-of-Class Assignments

1. This assignment is designed to bring awareness of diversity on campus and in our communities and to foster tolerance in our society and empathy in our relations with others. Each group will create an interactive project that helps to reach this goal. Projects will be displayed in the student center in conjunction with other campus activities, such as Diversity Days and International Education Week.
2. View “Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People.” Do you agree with the statement that Arabs are “the most maligned group in the history of Hollywood”? What other groups of people have also been depicted negatively in Hollywood films? What are some consequences of negative media representation? What images come to your mind when you think of Arab men, women, and children? Are those images different after seeing this film? Why or why not? How do you think these films might shape perceptions of the United States in the Arab world, especially among young people? In 500- 750 words (2-3 pages), respond to these questions.

Chung, L. C. & Ting-Toomey, S. (2022). Understanding Intercultural Communication. Oxford University Press, 3rd Edition. 978 – 0190297442.

Martin, Judith N., & Nakayama, Thomas K. (2022). Intercultural Communication in Contexts. McGraw Hill, 8th. 9781260837452.

Grothe, Tom. (2020). Exploring Intercultural Communication. LibreTexts, 1st. OER.

Communication Studies