Syllabus

Lecturer: Miss Emel Ozdora
G034 Weimer Hall
(352) 273-5783
eozdora@ufl.edu

Course Hours: Tuesday 3rd & 4th, Thursday 4th periods.
Office Hours: Tuesday 2nd & 5th, Thursday 3rd & 5th periods.
If any of these times don’t work for you, you can come to talk to me some other time, as long as you make an appointment in advance.

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course focuses on how communication between different cultures takes place. People from different cultures have become closer and they need to communicate due to globalization and growth of multinational corporations. History proves that there is always a need to understand each other to be able to communicate. For intercultural communication to be effective, we need to understand others and be willing to accept differences.

PURPOSE OF THE COURSE
Increasing awareness and understanding of intercultural communication and how we can improve our intercultural communications skills as individuals.

REQUIRED READINGS
Communication Between Cultures, 6th Edition
Larry A. Samovar - San Diego State University, Richard E. Porter - California State University, Long Beach, Emeritus, Edwin R. McDaniel - Aichi Shukutoku University, Japan. ISBN-10: 0495007277 ISBN-13: 9780495007272 © 2007 Published

COURSE FORMAT
Please do the required readings and research required before coming to class as this class will benefit from your contributions and student discussions. All class discussions will be ruled by mutual respect – for each other and different opinions. We should be open to the diversity of opinions.

A: Excellent; outstanding in concept development and writing style
B: Good; well above average
C: Acceptable; fulfills minimum requirements to pass the course
D: Poor; does not meet requirements
E: Fails to meet even minimum standards (Dr. Waters)

*** It is your duty to provide good quality work in accordance with the lecturer’s instructions. Tardy work will affect grades.

Class requirements and their percentages:
Attendance/ Exam Questions/Reaction Papers 25%
Quizzes (3 out of 4)                                       ghkldh10%k
Group Presentations                                       hgjjh20%
Midterm                                                       jhkhkjhk20%
Case-Study Projects (Final Project)                     25%

Exam Questions:
Students are required to prepare 5 multiple-choice exam questions from the course book. The students will be informed from which chapters they need to prepare questions from.

Reaction Papers
Students are going to write 5 reaction papers to 5 chapters from the course book. The lecturer will assign the chapters. These reaction papers will be 1 page double-spaced, and they need to exhibit that students are either engaging in critical thinking, applying the concepts from the reading to the real world, or proposing further questions.

Quizzes
A total of 4 pop-quizzes will be given throughout the semester. You can choose to have only 3 counted towards your final grade.

Group Presentations
Students have to give a short presentation (20 minutes) about an assigned chapter or topic. Presentation groups and topics will be assigned by the lecturer.
(Groups of 5 – there will be a total of 7 group presentations)

Midterm
One midterm exam will be given that will consist of multiple choice questions prepared by the students and short essay questions. Details of the midterm exam will be provided later.

Case-Study Projects (Final Project)
There will be no final exam for this course. Instead, students will be required to prepare a 15-20 page, double-spaced case study about a topic of their choice – related to intercultural communications. Case study topics must be negotiated with the lecturer in advance.

ATTENDANCE POLICY & ABSENCES
Class meets three hours a week. Attendance is required and roll will be taken each class. However, if you need to miss a class, you have to let the teacher know in advance. You can call the lecturer or send an email prior to the class. You can miss up to three hours of class, and you need to send an email for each. If you miss more than 3 hours of class, 5 points will be deducted from your overall grade. This is non-negotiable. Attendance is very important for this class, and students are required to attend class and take the attendance policy seriously.

*** Division of Student Services (392-1261) Contact this office if you need to miss class due to an on-going medical problem or family emergency. The office will send a courtesy letter to the lecturer about your absence.

MAKE-UPS AND LATE ASSIGNMENTS
There will be no make-up exams or deadline extensions. Exceptions can be considered only in cases of extraordinary, documented circumstances, as determined by the lecturer.

ACADEMIC HONESTY
The work you submit must be your own work and it must be created for this class. You have to attribute any direct or paraphrased material from any other source, including Web sites. You cannot turn in anything that you wrote for another class, at an internship, as a volunteer or in another academic or professional setting. Incidents of academic dishonesty will be evaluated according to the University of Florida policy.

University of Florida Honor Code: http://www.dso.ufl.edu/judicial/academic.php
Preamble: In adopting this Honor Code, the students of the University of Florida recognize that academic honesty and integrity are fundamental values of the University community. Students who enroll at the University commit to holding themselves and their peers to the high standard of honor required by the Honor Code. Any individual who becomes aware of a violation of the Honor Code is bound by honor to take corrective action. A student-run Honor Court and faculty support are crucial to the success of the Honor Code. The quality of a University of Florida education is dependent upon the community acceptance and enforcement of the Honor Code.

The Honor Code: We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity. On all work submitted for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied: "On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment."

Academic Honesty Guidelines
The Academic Honesty Guidelines at the University of Florida are designed to develop and engender a community of honor, trust and respect. Students within the system receive the benefits of the academic pursuit of knowledge, free from the obstacles of lying, cheating and stealing. Every student who approaches their studies with honesty and forthrightness suffers when another student attains an unfair advantage by cheating.
An academic honesty offense is defined as the act of lying, cheating, or stealing academic information so that one gains academic advantage. Examples of violations of the academic honesty: Cheating, Plagiarism, Bribery, Misrepresentation, Conspiracy and Fabrication.
As a University of Florida student, one is expected to neither commit nor assist another in committing an academic honesty violation. Additionally, it is the student's duty to report observed academic honesty violations.

ACCOMMODATION & STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
Students with disabilities must first register with the Dean of Students Office and provide the documentation to the lecturer when requesting accommodation. Please talk to the lecturer if you have any questions.

Jan. 15 – Communication and Culture - Chapter 1
First 1 page reaction paper assignment due: Bring paper to class and be ready to participate in class discussion.

Jan. 22 - The Deep Structure of Culture - Chapter 2
First multiple-choice question assignment due: Bring your question to class.

Jan. 24 – Review and discussion of student multiple-choice questions
How to write good multiple-choice questions

Jan. 29 – Review of chapters 1 & 2, putting what we learned into practice and discussion
Multiple Choice question 2 due

Jan. 31 – Review of chapters 1 & 2, putting what we learned into practice and discussion
Multiple Choice question 3 due

Feb. 5 - World View – Chapter 3
Group 1 presentation
Reaction paper 2 due

Feb. 12 - Cultural and the Individual: Cultural Identity – Chapter 4
Group 2 presentation
Multiple Choice question 4 due

Feb. 19 - Alternative Views of Reality: Cultural Values – Chapter 5
Group 3 presentation
Multiple Choice question 5 due

Mar. 4 - Words and Meaning: Language and Culture – Chapter 6
Group 4 presentation
Reaction paper 3 due

Mar. 18 - Nonverbal Communication: Messages Of Action, Space, Time, and Silence – Chapter 7

Mar. 20 –* Final Case Study assignment introduced – what you need to do for the final paper.
Develop some ideas about what you can do for your case study
Make appointments with lecturer to talk about your case study topic

Mar. 25 - Cultural Influences on Context: The Business Setting – Chapter 8
Group 5 presentation

Mar. 27 – Cultural Influences on Context: The Educational Setting – Chapter 9
Group 6 presentation
Reaction paper 4 due

Apr. 1 – Cultural Influences on Context: The Health Care Setting – Chapter 10

Apr. 8 – Case-Study example discussion – in class
How to write a case study, how to start, how to develop, how to wrap up.

Apr. 10- Discuss student cases for the final case study assignment, open mic
Case study assignment first draft due

Apr. 15 – Becoming Competent: Improving Intercultural Communication – Chapter 11
Group 7 presentation
Reaction Paper 5 due

Apr. 17 – Evaluation of what we learned – a wrap-up of the semester
Newspaper articles analysis

Apr. 22 – Last class
Final questions, discussions – a review of the semester

Apr. 24 – No class