COMMUNICATION 201
COMMUNICATION AND COMMUNITY
SPRING 2016
Billy Fallon
Office: PSFA 411
Email: wfallon@mail.sdsu.edu
Office Hours: Mondays 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.; Wednesdays 10:45 a.m. 11:45 a.m.
Schedule Number: 20908
This course will examine the discipline of Communication: its history, methods, theories, and basic
understanding of how to understand your major and professors in order to graduate in a timely
manner. My classroom philosophy is centered on respect and honesty to create a comfortable
learning environment. With a large classroom, it becomes everyone’s responsibility to ensure that
all students and guests feel comfortable to ask and answer questions and make comments to advance
everyone’s learning and understanding of communication. Class runs most effectively when we all
are free to participate and contribute to the day’s discussion.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
1. To think more critically about the process and study of communication.
2. To gain a better understanding of the discipline of communication.
3. To be able to identify, describe, and evaluate the various subjects of communication
studies.
4. To be able to articulate what a communication scholar studies and why.
5. To appreciate the study of communication and its possible effects on our culture.
6. To understand the fundamental role that communication has in shaping our individual
identity and society as a whole.
7. To investigate more fully our own communication processes.
8. To increase our listening abilities in order to communicate effectively and appropriately.
9. To develop a better understanding of the School of Communication and our faculty at
SDSU.
TEXT:
Wood, J. T. (2017). Communication mosaics: An introduction to the field of communication.
(8th Ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
COURSE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES:
1. The midterms must be taken in class on the scheduled days. They will NOT be
rescheduled.
2. The best grades are earned by students who attend class, participate, and try. There is no
failure if you learn from your mistakes and then correct your actions.
3. No “re-do” or “extra” assignments will be accepted due to poor grades.
4. Cell phones are a necessary part of life; I understand that. Make a decision about whether
this class is a necessary part of you life, and treat your cell phone accordingly.
5. I will not return exams. You are welcome to stop by my office hours to review and
discuss the exams and how you did at any time. All exams will be destroyed at the end of
the next semester.
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 accommodations based upon
disability cannot be provided until you have presented your instructor with an accommodation letter
from Student Disability Services. Your cooperation is appreciated.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Chapter Quizzes: You will complete an online quiz each week. The quiz must be completed by
midnight, the day prior to our covering it in class. Each quiz is worth 10 points. There are 15
chapters, so your quizzes are worth a total of 150 points. Pay attention to the deadlines.
Exams: Two midterms are scheduled to reinforce classroom discussion and the text. Each test will
contain 50 multiple choice questions worth a total of 50 points. The final exam will contain 75
questions worth a total of 150 points. The final exam is cumulative.
Observation Papers: You will write four papers throughout the semester about your communication
observations as follows:
1. Notice something about communication. It may be a single occurrence or a recurring event.
2. Ask questions about the communication phenomenon you noticed.
3. Speculate on what the answers to your questions may be.
4. Papers should be one page in length, double-spaced.
5. Papers should be written in first-person, in an informal style.
6. Avoid making broad statements about communication; focus on your own thoughts, feelings,
and experiences.
7. This is not a research paper; avoid telling us what the book says.
8. Papers will be submitted via Blackboard.
GRADING SCALE:
A
500 - 465
A464 - 450
B+
449 - 435
B
434 - 415
B414 - 400
C+
399 - 385
C
384 - 365
C364 - 350
Credit= 365+
D+
D
DF
349 - 335
334 - 315
314 - 300
299 - 000
This schedule is subject to change
Date
Jan 20
Jan 22
Jan 25
Jan 27
Jan 29
Feb 1
Feb 3
Feb 5
Feb 8
Feb 10
Feb 12
Feb 15
Feb 17
Feb 19
Feb 22
Feb 24
Feb 26
Feb 29
Mar 2
Mar 4
Mar 7
Mar 9
Mar 11
Mar 14
Mar 16
Mar 18
Mar 21
Mar 23
Mar 25
Mar 28
Mar 30
Apr 1
Apr 4
Apr 6
Apr 8
Apr 11
Apr 13
Apr 15
Apr 18
Apr 20
Apr 22
Apr 25
Apr 27
Topic or Activity
Chapter
Class Introductions, Policies, and Orientation
Looking at the field of Communication
1
The Communication Major at SDSU
Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on Communication
2
Careers
Perceiving & Understanding
3
Perceiving & Understanding
Observations
Challenging Perceptions
Verbal Communication
4
Verbal Communication
Power of Words
Nonverbal Communication
5
Flirting & Lying
EXAM #1 (Chapters 1-5)
Listening
6
Listening
Listening Exercises
Communication Climates
7
Communication Climates
Observations
Learning to be Confirming and Supportive
Cultures and Social Communities
8
Cultures and Social Communities
Investigating your Culture
Identity
9
Identity
Who do you think you are? How do you know?
Personal Relationships
10
Personal Relationships
EXAM #2 (Chapters 6-10)
SPRING BREAK
SPRING BREAK
SPRING BREAK
Groups and Teams
11
Groups and Teams
Observations
Group Exercises
Organizations
12
Organizations
Networking
Public Speaking
13
Public Speaking
Public Speaking
Mass Communication
14
Mass Communication
Observations
Apr 29 Media Literacy
May 2 Digital Media and Online Communication
May 4 Digital Media and Online Communication
May 6
FINAL EXAM (Chapters 1-15)
15
PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is one of the highest forms of academic offense. It represents several ethics violations. It
is theft of intellectual property. In academe, a scholar’s words, ideas, and creative products
represent essential intellectual property, which are the primary measures of scholarly identity, status
and achievement. It is fraud. Students should be assessed on their own ideas and abilities; not the
ideas and abilities of others. It is unfair. It introduces bias and inequity in the assessment process,
producing grades for fellow students based on disadvantaged standards and expectations. It is
corruption. It undermines the credibility of higher education by misrepresenting the meaning of
university grades and degrees to the rest of the public. Whether by ignorance, accident, or intent,
theft is still theft, fraud is still fraud, inequity is still inequity, and corruption is still corruption.
Therefore, the offense, no matter how minor in quantity, is still serious, and is treated as such.
The 2008-2009 SDSU Graduate Bulletin policy1 states:
Plagiarism is formal work publicly misrepresented as original; …. Work shall be
deemed plagiarism: (1) when prior work of another has been demonstrated as the
accessible source; (2) when substantial or material parts of the source have been
literally or evasively appropriated (substance denoting quantity; matter denoting
qualitative format or style); and (3) when the work lacks sufficient or unequivocal
citation so as to indicate or imply that the work was neither a copy nor an imitation.
This definition comprises oral, written, and crafted pieces. In short, if one purports to
present an original piece but copies ideas word for word or by paraphrase, those ideas
should be duly noted. (Lindey, 1952, Plagiarism and Originality)
Specific exemplary infractions and consequences:
● Course failure: Reproducing a whole paper, paragraph, or large portions of unattributed
materials without proper attribution, whether represented by: (a) multiple sentences, images,
or portions of images; or (b) by percentage of assignment length, will result in assignment of
an “F” in the course in which the infraction occurred, and a report to the Center for Student
Rights and Responsibilities (CSRR2).
● Assignment failure: Reproducing a sentence or sentence fragment with no quotation marks,
but with source citation, or subsets of visual images without source attribution, will
minimally result in an “F” on the assignment, and may result in greater penalty, including a
report to the CSRR, depending factors noted below.
● Exacerbating conditions--Amount: Evidence of infraction, even if fragmentary, is
increased with a greater: (a) number of infractions; (b) distribution of infractions across an
assignment; or (c) proportion of the assignment consisting of infractions.
● Exacerbating conditions--Intent: Evidence of foreknowledge and intent to deceive
magnifies the seriousness of the offense and the grounds for official response. Plagiarism,
whether ‘by accident’ or ‘by ignorance,’ still qualifies as plagiarism—it is all students’
responsibility to make sure their assignments are not committing the offense.
● Exceptions: Any exceptions to these policies will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and
only under exceptional circumstances.
1