Education wasn’t what he wanted to perform on the world, me included.
He was after transformation.
-Tracy Kidder, Mountains Beyond Mountains
RTM 404, Spring 2014, W 7-9:40
Larry Beck, Ph.D.
Office Hours in PSFA 445:
Tuesdays 2:30-4:30, Thursday 12-3, and immediately after class on Wednesday
Why This Course is Important
The subject matter in this course is important because travel and tourism is the number
one industry in the world. It is essential to be aware of its importance globally and the
implications concerning environmental, economic, and social issues (often referred to as
the “triple bottom line”).
There is also much to learn in this course that applies to your own lives. Travel offers us
adventure, education, and enjoyment. As we learn about other cultures we also learn
more about ourselves; and we learn tolerance. We learn to extend compassion to help
others less fortunate than we are. These are primary messages in our reading, Mountains
Beyond Mountains.
On a broad scale, tourism offers hope for global peace as we learn more about the beauty
and value of diverse cultures and learn to appreciate them through first hand experience.
Tourism has also been promoted as a conservation tool as travelers gain global
environmental awareness. Tourism offers hope for global stewardship. What larger
issues are there than world peace and environmental sustainability? Tourism can
contribute to both of these.
So this subject is relevant as the number one industry in the world, in our own personal
lives, and in a larger context concerning global peace and environmental stewardship.
Student Learning Outcomes
1. Synthesize the major theories and concepts related to cross-cultural behavior in
tourism.
2. Explain major differences between various cultures and their influence on tourist
and host social behavior. (Codes of cultural behavior and social etiquette.)
3. Consider how our actions can contribute to world peace and stewardship through
our travel choices.
4. Determine how cultural differences influence tourist perceptions and satisfaction.
5. Develop greater appreciation and tolerance for various cultural frames of
reference.
6. Consider increased empathy for those from less fortunate cultural backgrounds.
7. Generate interest in living and traveling in ways that promote cultural
understanding and sustainability.
Required Reading
Kidder, T. (2004). Mountains Beyond Mountains. New York: Penguin.
(This book was a New York Times Bestseller and the author is a winner of the Pulitzer
Prize.)
Course Overview
The course is designed based on state-of-the-art instructional theory that has you actively
involved in your learning. The course structure is intended to be convenient, meaningful,
relevant, and enjoyable. But for this to be the most powerful learning experience possible
you must be engaged. We will be involved in a wide range of activities that require a
high level of commitment to the course. If this level of investment in the class is not
appealing, then I encourage you to pursue other course options that will better suit your
needs. The course is designed upon a “blended” approach to learning that uses the best of
the traditional classroom and the best of online resources.
Course Requirements
Online Exams (100+40)
Online Quizzes (6)
Portfolio Project
Total
140
60
100
300
Grading (Standard Percentage Grading: 90-100 = A range, etc.)
276-300=A, 270-275=A-, 264-269=B+, 246-263=B, 240-245=B-, 234-239=C+,
216-233=C, 210-215=C-, 204-209=D+, 180-203=D, <180=F, >210=CR.
Online Exams
The exams will consist of multiple-choice questions. The first exam is worth 100 points
and the second exam is worth 40 points. The exams cover all the course materials
presented in class. You may use your personal notes and study guides for the exams
but, of course, must complete the exams individually. To do otherwise is cheating.
There is a definite correlation between effort and achievement on exams. Furthermore,
there is a correlation between preparation for the exams and your success on them. For
additional instructions see the Blackboard course menu item “Exams.”
Only under extreme circumstances will make-up exams be allowed. Contact the
professor before the test for any special arrangements. Written documentation of
emergencies is required. Otherwise, you forfeit half your total points for that particular
test. Exam dates are provided on the course calendar.
Reading Study Guide and Online Quizzes
This policy is designed to help keep you on track with the reading assignments and to
provide you full credit for completing the reading. A study guide will be posted for the
book with the understanding that you must complete all the reading on your own
(not copy answers from someone else which is cheating). The book is extraordinary
and I encourage you to read it carefully for your own edification. Students from past
semesters have loved the book and recommended it to family and friends.
Quiz questions are derived almost entirely from the study guide. Reading assignments
and quiz deadlines are listed on the course calendar. Conscientious reading is also
necessary for you to do well on the Portfolio. If you miss a quiz you lose those points.
Portfolio Project
The Portfolio Project is an opportunity to reflect on various dimensions of the class. This
project stresses personal intellectual development, written communication skills, and
practice of 21st century skills including information and technological literacy. Full
instructions for completing the Portfolio Project are posted on Blackboard (click on
“Portfolio”). Portfolios must be turned in by the deadline. Late projects will lose 20
points (up to two days late maximum).
#1 PBS Untold Stories Project
#2 Codes of Cultural Behavior
#3 Mountains Beyond Mountains Essays
#4 Midterm Online Survey
#5 Project Implicit
#6 VolunTourism
#7 Final Online Survey
15
25
15
5
15
20
5
100
Statement on What I Can and Can’t Do To Assist You
I will do everything within reason to actively support a wide range of learning styles. I
will also do everything possible to make this class as well organized and straightforward
as possible so that students may be successful. My concern is for ALL of the students in
the class, making sure that everything is fair, and that everyone has the opportunity to
earn the highest grade possible.
For those who would seek special treatment:
Over many years of teaching I have found that, recently, the number of students who seek
special consideration at the end of the semester has increased. This practice is especially
common among students who have missed quiz deadlines or done poorly on the midterm
exam. Seeking special favors is not fair to all the hard-working students who have kept
up with the course work over the entire semester and reflects a lack of integrity.
Furthermore, university policy does not allow professors to change grades or permit
individual students to earn extra points without that same opportunity being available to
every student in the class.
If you are concerned about your grade the time to do something about that is right now
at the beginning of the class and throughout the full semester.
If you must have a certain grade in the class to meet eligibility requirements for a major,
a scholarship, athletics, or graduate school then it is your responsibility to see that you
earn that grade. Out of respect for hard-working and honest students in the class, and
university policy, I cannot provide special treatment for individual students. Although it
is my hope that everyone is successful, that will ultimately be up to each of you. The
course is designed to reward your efforts. If you want to do well in the class you will.
Extended deadlines for “emergency” situations:
If you are involved in a car accident, or have an illness that has you out for a few days—
or other similar circumstance—I will allow you to make up assignments or tests. You
must present written documentation (police report or notice from Student Health
Services, for example) and meet in my office during office hours to turn in or make up
the work.
Accommodations for students with disabilities:
If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for this
class, it is your responsibility to contact Student Disability Services at (619) 594-6473.
To avoid any delay in the receipt of your accommodations, you should contact Student
Disability Services as soon as possible. Please note that accommodations are not
retroactive, and that I cannot provide accommodations based upon disability until I have
received an accommodation letter from Student Disability Services. Your cooperation is
appreciated.
Detailed Course Description
SDSU General Catalog: Concepts, definitions, and measures of essential cultural
components of tourism. Integrated view of interrelated socio-cultural tourism issues with
an understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures. Prerequisite: Completion of the
General Education requirement in Foundations II.B., Social and Behavioral Sciences. As
a GE cultural diversity course the content will focus on non dominant perspectives,
cultures, views and traditions.
Courses that fulfill the 9-unit requirement for Explorations in General Education take the
goals and the skills of GE Foundations courses to a more advanced level. Your three
upper division courses in Explorations will provide greater interdisciplinary coverage,
more complex and in-depth theory, deeper investigation of local problems, and wider
awareness of global challenges. More extensive reading, written analysis involving
complex comparisons, well-developed arguments, considerable bibliography, and use of
technology are appropriate in many Explorations courses.
This is an Explorations course in Social and Behavioral Sciences. Completing this course
will help you learn to do the following with greater depth: 1) explore and recognize basic
terms, concepts, and domains of the social and behavioral sciences; 2) comprehend
diverse theories and methods of the social and behavioral sciences; 3) identify human
behavioral patterns across space and time and discuss their interrelatedness and
distinctiveness; 4) enhance your understanding of the social world through the
application of conceptual frameworks from the social and behavioral sciences to firsthand engagement with contemporary issues.
Academic Integrity
The faculty and staff demand the highest levels of academic and professional integrity in
all work at San Diego State University. Plagiarism, cheating, or any other type of
academic dishonesty will be referred directly to the Office of Student Rights and
Responsibilities for disciplinary action and you will earn zero points on the assignment.
For Your Success:
Attend class regularly. Those students who are present in class may expect to gain
more from the course and, subsequently, will perform better on exams.
Prepare for exams. The highlights of the lectures will be summarized on PowerPoint
slides. Although you don’t have to memorize material, be sure to prepare carefully for
the exams so that you are familiar with all the information. Remember, exams are timed.
Complete the reading. Complete the study guides and quizzes by the deadlines.
Follow the instructions for the Portfolio. Complete the assignments by the
recommended deadlines and turn everything in by the due date listed on the calendar.