Course Syllabus

ISI Website | indepst@uidaho.edu | 208-885-6641

COMM 345 Intercultural Communication

Sponsoring Institution: Lewis Clark State College

3 Credits

Instructor Information

Course Instructor: Kyle Ferguson

• Email: kjferguson@lcsc.edu
• Office Hours: By appointment only
• Copy the ISI office at indepst@uidaho.edu on all communications.

My name is Kyle Ferguson and I am the instructor for COMM 101. Please feel free to call me Kyle. Please check out the online classroom and let me know if you have questions.  

Now a little about me...

After being born and raised in Nebraska, I married a California girl and moved to Central California, only to move to San Diego a few months later. We stayed nearly nine years in the San Diego area before I accepted a full-time teaching job at Lewis-Clark State in 2016. While I miss parts of San Diego, I am thrilled to be in a nice community.

I have a B.A. in Communication from York College (Nebraska) and hold an M.A. in Communication from Spring Arbor University (Michigan).  Previously, I was the Athletic Director at San Diego Christian College, as well as an Adjunct Instructor in the Communication Department for a few colleges. I am currently in a doctoral program at Idaho State University.  In all, higher education is a passion of mine and I feel very blessed to work here.

In my downtime (as if there is any) I enjoy reading, fixing up our house, fishing, and watching and playing sports. I am a Nebraska football fan (Go Big Red) as well as a Kansas City Royals and San Diego Padres baseball fan. In addition, my favorite thing to do is to spend time with my family. It does not matter what we are doing, as long as we are together, I am having fun.

I am here to serve you and help you grow as a student. Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions! I love to help!

Course Description

Analytic study of the similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication of various cultures. Includes language or code systems and the perception of relational and intent aspects of messages.

Course Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students should have a better understanding of how culture and diversity influence communicative patterns of behavior, including, but not limited to the following:

1. Define communication, especially intercultural communication - identify, describe, and explain the cultural context and its impact on intercultural communication.
2. Identify, describe, and explain the microcultural context and its impact on intercultural communication.
3. Identify, describe, and explain the environmental context and its impact on intercultural communication - identify, describe, and explain the perceptual context and its impact on intercultural communication.
4. Identify, describe, and explain the socio-relational context and its impact on intercultural communication.
5. Compare and contrast verbal communication styles and patterns of various cultures.
6. Compare and contrast nonverbal communication styles and patterns of various cultures.
7. Identify and describe the factors that affect the development of relationships across cultures.
8. Define intercultural conflict and five types of communication conflict styles.
9. Explain how the cultural, microcultural, environmental, perceptual, and socio-relational contexts affect intercultural communication in organizations.
10. Describe the types of and process of acculturation.
11. Define and identify the stages of culture shock.
12. Describe and practice the components of intercultural competence.

General Education Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to demonstrate the following competencies:

1. Describe how perceptions of sameness/difference influence uncertainty and anxiety in communicative situations.
2. Provide examples of how diverse social categories (race, class, religion, ethnicity, education, sexuality, gender).
3. Intersect to influence worldview, identity, and personal experience.
4.  Explain how cultural variables (space, time, high/low context, individualism/collectivism, power distance, masculine/feminine culture, uncertainty avoidance, etc.) influence communicative interactions.
5. Explain the notion of face (both “self” and “other”) and its relationship to conflict or conflict resolution.

Required Materials

Intercultural Communication, 7th ed., by James W. Neuliep, Sage Publishing, 2018.
ISBN-13: 9781506315133

Course Rules and Requirements

Assignment Guidelines

1. All assignments should be submitted in order (Module 1, then Module 2, then Module 3)
2. Quizzes should be completed before the exams.
3. Papers in this class are submitted and graded in Canvas. Student’s should have the ability to use word processing software and save in specified file formats (Word document or .pdf)
4. All work for this class is to follow precise APA formatting rules as outlined in the APA manual, 7^th
5. Everything turned in needs to be stapled together, typed and double-spaced in 12-pt, Times New Roman font.
6. It is required that a correctly formatted cover page and reference page be included with every assignment unless otherwise stated.
7. Proper spelling, grammar and punctuation is also critical and failure to do so will result in a loss of points for that assignment.
8. Written work (e.g., outlines, extra credit, etc) can be submitted electronically (Canvas dropbox).

Statement on Information Literacy

Information Literacy – What Constitutes Effective Research?

In order to produce a quality paper, you need to use a variety of sources in order to follow different angles in the pursuit of your topic. Recognize that in doing good research, nothing good comes easy. A well-planned, systematic approach to research will allow the student to uncover valuable information toward mastery of the research topic.

A preferred approach to doing better research involves the following sequence:

• First, consult the reference resources that provide the overall content needed for your topic.
• Second, use the library catalog to locate books and journals that will contribute more specifically to your topic.
• Third, use the library research databases to find peer-reviewed articles and other sources.
• Fourth, use the library web-resources to locate quality websites.

As a component of critical thinking, it will be important for the student to determine what constitutes a better-quality, professional source. For example, the Internet contains both paragraphs of content with no listed author (not very useful), as well as scholarly information that is undeniably practical. Research is a progression of discovery and evaluation, requiring a first-rate strategy and efficient time management on the student’s part. Flexibility in the process is important as well, since research ideas are naturally reformulated and redirected during the course of creating the final product.

This course is reading intensive and is designed to lay the foundation for much of your future research as a communication scholar. It is important that you read and comprehend the information as much as possible. I understand that it is a lot to read and take in and I don’t expect you to memorize all of the information. You should, however, use this course material and textbook as a resource for finding information in the future. A person who has developed skills in information literacy will always know when information is needed and where to go to find that information, This course is designed to familiarize you with information that you can later rely on and re-visit.

Effective Research

Students should always incorporate effective research in every assignment as a component of critical thinking. Developing a well- planned, systematic strategy is necessary to uncover valuable information. It is important for you to determine what constitutes a quality, professional source. The internet contains information that may be scholarly.

Students should always evaluate the selected material for authority, accuracy, content, and usefulness.

The following questions should be asked:

• Who wrote it? — Authority
• Is the information accurate? — Accuracy
• Why was it written? — Purpose
• What is the bias? — Objectivity
• Is the information dated? — Currency

Grade Information

Grading Breakdown

• 10 Quizzes (10 pts each) = 100 pts
• 3 Exams (50 pts each) = 150 pts
• Movie Reflection Paper = 30 pts
• Cultural Profile Paper = 50 pts
• Cultural Analysis Paper = 100 pts

430 total points possible

Grading Scale 

Final grades will be determined as follows: 

• A 93.45-100%
• A- 90.00-93.44%
• B+ 86.45-89.99%
• B 82.45-86.44%
• B- 80.00-82.44%
• C+ 76.45-79.99%
• C 72.45-76.44%
• C- 70.00-72.44%
• D+ 66.45-69.99%
• D 59.45-66.44%
• F Below 59.45%

Course Policies

Refer to the ISI Policies for the most current policies and procedures, including information on setting up accounts, student confidentiality, exams, transcripts, course exchanges, refunds, academic integrity, library resources, disability support and other services.