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Proposal for a Dialogue Minor, School of Communication
(September 2003)
This Minor concentration in studies on dialogue enables students with interests in many
disciplines, and communication, to focus on the conceptual framework, art, and practice
of creating and completing dialogue. The relationship of dialogue with associated issues
of conflict resolution, conflict management, and negotiation will be highlighted.
Governance
The Dialogue Minor will be governed and managed by the School of Communication, in
conformity with Faculty and University regulations, and in regular communication with
the Steering Committee of the Centre for Dialogue at Harbour Centre. The
Undergraduate Studies Committee of the School of Communication and members of the
Steering Committee, including its chairs or co-chairs, shall meet twice each year.
Access
The proposed four credit series of dialogue courses will be
similar to the Undergraduate Semester in Dialogue in their teaching approach. Courses
will be open to students from all faculties who have completed 45 credit
hours. Students registered in the Dialogue Minor program will have first
priority for registration in these course, and secondary priority will be given to students
who have not yet taken any DIAL courses. Otherwise, admission to any course
will be based on the order in which students register. Enrollments
generally will be limited to about 25-30 students per course, or such other limits as the
School may set from time to time.
Students should consult with their major Department prior to their Dialogue course to
determine the application of DIAL credits to fulfill
major, non-Dialogue minor, or elective course requirements. Questions about the
Dialogue Minor itself would be addressed to the School of Communication.
Cross-listing
The courses described below will be developed as unique DIAL course
offerings, representing the core of the program. Already-existing courses at SFU will be
listed as applicable to the Dialogue Minor, with the cooperation and approval of the
relevant Departments/Faculties. Cross-listing of courses will be formally established
according to university regulations. For example, a current course in Biological Sciences
(BISC 425, Biology and Society) might be offered as BISC 425/DIAL 412,
taught by a Biology faculty member. This instructor might/might not be seconded to the
Dialogue Minor to teach this course, and it would be open first to all students registered
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in the Dialogue Minor, and second to others. Note that electives in this minor course are
course already taught in the University.
Similarly, CMNS 447, Dialogue and Negotiation as Communication, taught by a
Communication faculty member, might be offered as CMNS447/DIAL 411.
Course Offerings
Generally, each DIAL course will each be offered once every two years. New course
proposals and calendar descriptions will be generated for the
DIAL Minor at Harbour Centre, through the School of Communication)
DIAL 311 (0-4-0). Introduction to Dialogue. The theory and practice of
dialogue will be the focus of this course, including history, underlying
philosophy, motivational factors that lead to dialogue, and the
relationship of dialogue to other conflict-resolution processes. Case
studies will be examined, and successes and failures of dialogic processes
analyzed.
DIAL 411 (0-4-0). Dialogue and Society. This course focuses on practical
tools and strategies used in dialogue, comparing the role and impact of
dialogue when employed by corporate, government, legal, regulatory,
community, First Nations, union, and advocacy groups. Emphasis will be on
the nature and dynamics of interactions among multiple stakeholders,
cultures of decision-making, techniques for facilitation, and the
development of perspectives, tools, and strategies for effective dialogue.
DIAL 421 (0-4-0). Special Topics, Public Issues and Dialogue. This course
will focus on a different and broad public issue for each offering,
emphasizing the interaction between how issues are publicly discussed and
how conflicts develop. The course format will include guest speaker
seminars, discussion, and student presentations/projects.
DIAL 490 (0-4-0). Dialogue Project. Each student will produce a manuscript,
video, audio tape, or other suitable project for submission to a major
newspaper, television, radio, or other public media outlet, on a topic of
significant controversy and public importance of which dialogue is a
component. Communication skills will be emphasized, and students will work
together and with Dialogue Institute faculty to develop, revise, and
complete, and present projects.
DIAL 498 (0-4-0). Seminar in Dialogue and Public Issues. This seminar
course is for Minor in Dialogue and Public Issues students only. Attendance
at ten dialogue events is required, including a mix of Dialogue Institute
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lectures, public events, and other venues approved in advance by the
Director. Students will be provided with a list of pre-approved seminars
prior to each semester.
A typical cycle for course offerings might include:
Year 1: DIAL 311, DIAL 421, DIAL 498
Year 2: DIAL 411, DIAL 490, DIAL 498
Minor in Dialogue and Public Issues
A Minor in Dialogue and Public Issues can be obtained in two ways:
a)
Completing the 15-credit Undergraduate Semester in Dialogue, plus
one of DIAL 311, DIAL 411 or CMNS 447, and DIAL 498 (total of 18 credits).
b) Completing the following coursework (a minimum of 19 credits from
at least six courses, plus DIAL 498):
DIAL 311 (0-3-0). Theory and Practice of Dialogue
DIAL 411 (0-4-0). Dialogue and Society, or CMNS 447 (0-4-0) Negotiation and
Dialogue in Communication
DIAL 421 (0-3-0). Special Topics, Public Issues and Dialogue
DIAL 490 (0-3-0). Essay in Dialogue
DIAL 498 (0-0-0). Seminar in Dialogue and Public Issues
Two of the following courses, or other issue-based courses approved by the
Director of the Undergraduate Dialogue Program (Note: approval of each
Department to list these courses, and accept DIAL minors into them, must be obtained):
BISC 425-3
Biology and Society
BUS 303-3
Business, Society, and Ethics
CMNS 347-4
CMNS 425-4
Communication in Conflict and Intervention
Applied Communication for Social Issues
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CMNS 447-4 Negotiation and Dialogue as Communication
CMPT 320-3
CED 403-3
Social Implications of a Computerized Society
Models and Cases in Community Economic Development
ECON 362-4
Economics of Natural Resources
FNST 401-3
Aboriginal Rights and Government Relations
GEOG 362-4
Geography of Urban Development
GEOG 389-4
Human Ecology: Human Relations to Nature
HIST 432-4
Problems in Environmental History
PHIL 320-3
Political Philosophy
POL 348-4
International Conflict Resolution
SCI 300-3
Science and its Impact on Society
SA 326-4
Ecology and Social Thought
Admission to the Minor in Dialogue and Public Issues will be open to
students who have completed 45 credit hours. In order to maintain
reasonable class sizes and provide access for non-Minor students in DIAL
courses, no more than 10 students will be admitted annually to the Dialogue
Minor. The admission procedure is yet to be determined, but will be
designed to insure broad access without an overly competitive application
process.