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Communication 371, Intercultural Communication Syllabus
SPRING 2016
Sec 3 Sched # 20921
TH 1600-1845
E. R. McDaniel, Ph.D.
Email: EMCDANIEL@mail.sdsu.edu
AL 105
Last Exam TH May 12, 1600-1800
Office: PSFA 411
Office Hours: TH 1500~1645 & by appointment
SDSU School of Communication Website: http://communication.sdsu.edu/
SDSU CATALOGUE COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Study of communication with emphasis on influence of cultural background, perception, social
organization, language and nonverbal messages in the intercultural communication experience.
COURSE OVERVIEW:
An introduction to traditional and critical theories, concepts, and principles regarding
communication between and about people of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
Employs a culture-general approach to examining the relationships among culture,
communication, context (social, historical, political), and power. Emphasizes domestic issues
with attention given to how they impact, and are impacted by, international communities.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
The goals of this course are (1) to instill students with an understanding of the concepts,
principles, and skills regarding communication between persons from different cultural
backgrounds, (2) examine how those cultural backgrounds affect communication, and (3) to
provide students the ability to apply those precepts to contemporary, practical situations. The
focus of the class will be on the worldviews, values, beliefs, and communication styles of
differing cultural, ethnic, and national groups. Students will examine what transpires when
individuals from different cultural groups interact, what influences those interactions, and how
the interactions vary.
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Define, understand, and discuss the concepts of culture, multiculturalism, and diversity.
Define and discuss intercultural communication, its processes, principles, and concepts.
Discuss the history of intercultural communication.
Understand and explain the symbiosis of language and culture.
Understand the acquisition and influence of worldview on communicative behaviors.
Comprehend the influence of history and historical memory on worldview.
Describe their personal cultural heritage and identities.
Recognize and understand how beliefs, values, and attitudes vary across national
cultures.
9. Discern the different approaches, theories, and research methods used in intercultural
communication.
10. Understand how culture influences their communicative behaviors.
11. Comprehend variances in verbal and nonverbal communication behaviors due to
nationality, ethnicity, and social status.
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12. View local/global issues from a critical perspective.
TEXTBOOK USED:
Martin, J.N., & Nakayama, T.K. (2010). Intercultural Communication in Contexts 6th ed. (Boston,
MA: McGraw Hill).
The textbook is accompanied by an Online Learning Center that provides interactive resources
such as chapter outlines, chapter overviews, and sample quizzes with feedback.
( http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0078036771/student_view0/ )
CLASS FORMAT:
Classes will consist of lectures, interactive discussions, reviewing the readings, videos and
video clips, and aperiodic experiential exercises. Students should be prepared to contribute to
class discussions and activities based on course readings and personal experiences.
Since a substantial portion of class time will be devoted to information presented in, or related to,
the textbook, it is important that students be familiar with the lesson material before coming to
class. I strongly recommend highlighting and taking notes.
COURSE EVALUATION AND GRADING:
Evaluation Activity
Exam I **
Exam II
Exam III
Cultural Heritage Essay
Three Short Assessments
%_
20%
25%
25%
20%
10%
Point Value
200
250
250
200
105
1005 Total points
**Exams in this class will not be returned, but you may make an appointment to see and review
your exam. All exams will be destroyed at the end of the following semester.
For Exams 1~3, you must have a Red Scantron F-289 answer sheets and No. 2 pencil. You
will be provided the necessary answer form for all in-class exams.
Exam 1~3 answers are subjected to extensive item analysis. Those questions/answers that
prove statically to be overly difficult, unclear, or otherwise unreliable will be adjusted accordingly.
There is no curving of test grades once items have been adjusted.
Grade Challenges: All grades earned on exams and assignments are final unless a detailed,
typed challenge is provided no sooner than 24 hours, and no later than the next class period
after the assignment/exam is returned. I will respond, in writing, within two or less working days.
Course grades are determined by the total points accumulated based on the following scale:
Grade Distribution:
Grade
%
A
93-100%
A90-92%
B+
87-89%
Points
930-1000
900-929
870-899
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B
BC+
C
CD
F
83-86%
80-82%
77-79%
73-76%
72-70%
69-60%
<59.999%
830-869
800-829
770-799
730-769
700-729
600-699
<600
There are NO class participation or extra credit points for this class.
Withdrawals and Incompletes will be in accordance with SDSU policy.
COURSE POLICIES:
Attendance: Classroom attendance will not be taken. However, a considerable amount of
material from sources other than the textbook, and not otherwise available, will be covered in
class. Therefore, attendance is strongly recommended.
Classroom Decorum: It is essential that you arrive on time for each class period; entering the
class late is distracting to me and your fellow students. If you arrive late or leave early, do so
unobtrusively and quietly so as not to disrupt the class.
Cell phones must be turned off and put away during class!! The first time a cell phone rings
during class, I will stop the lecture and allow everyone to check to see if their phone is off. The
second time a cell phone rings during class, I will immediately conclude the lecture, but
everyone is still responsible for all the material scheduled to be covered that day.
During class, your laptop should be used only for classroom related activities. If some situation
requires your immediate attention, perhaps it would be better to focus on that rather than
attending class.
Teachers Can Open Doors, but You Need to Walk Through Yourself
教师可以打开门，但你需要穿行自己走
(Jiàoshī kěyǐ dǎkāi mén, dàn nǐ xūyào chuānxíng zìjǐ)
Student Responsibility: An integral aspect of attending college is assuming increased selfresponsibility. You are largely responsible for your own learning behaviors. In keeping with this,
I expect you to:
(1) Keep track of your own grade.
(2) Stay abreast of all reading assignments.
(3) Submit all assignments on time. Late submissions will not be accepted unless caused by
a validated personal emergency.
(4) Treat everyone in the classroom with the same respect you expect to receive.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
The Academic Dishonesty Policy of the School Of Communication
Plagiarism is theft of intellectual property. It is one of the highest forms of academic offense
because in academe, it is a scholar’s words, ideas, and creative products that are the primary
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measures of identity and achievement. Whether by ignorance, accident, or intent, theft is still
theft, and misrepresentation is still misrepresentation. Therefore, the offense is still serious, and
is treated as such.
Overview:
In any case in which a Professor or Instructor identifies evidence for charging a student with
violation of academic conduct standards or plagiarism, the presumption will be with that
instructor’s determination. However, the faculty/instructor(s) will confer with the director to
substantiate the evidence. Once confirmed, the evidence will be reviewed with the student. If
following the review with the student, the faculty member and director determine that academic
dishonesty has occurred, the evidence will be submitted to the Office of Student Rights and
Responsibilities. The report “identifies the student who was found responsible, the general
nature of the offense, the action taken, and a recommendation as to whether or not additional
action should be considered by the campus judicial affairs office.”1 (CSSR Website:
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http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/srr/academics1.html )
Intellectual Property:
The syllabus, lectures and lecture outlines are personal copyrighted intellectual property of the
instructor, which means that any organized recording for anything other than personal use,
duplication, distribution, or profit is a violation of copyright and fair use laws.
Proper Source Attribution
Proper attribution occurs by specifying the source of content or ideas. This is done by (a)
providing quotation marks around text, when directly quoted, and (b) clearly designating the
source of the text or information relied upon in an assignment.
Specific exemplary infractions and consequences:
a. Reproducing a whole paper, paragraph, or large portions of unattributed materials (whether
represented by: (i) multiple sentences, images, or portions of images; or (ii) by percentage
of assignment length) without proper attribution, will result in assignment of an “F” in the
course, and a report to Student Rights and Responsibilities.
b. Reproducing a sentence or sentence fragment with no quotation marks but source citation,
or subsets of visual images without source attribution, will minimally result in an “F” on the
assignment.
Self-plagiarism
Students often practice some form of ‘double-dipping,’ in which they write on a given topic
across more than one course assignment. In general, there is nothing wrong with doubledipping topics or sources, but there is a problem with double-dipping exact and redundant text.
It is common for scholars to write on the same topic across many publication outlets; this is part
of developing expertise and the reputation of being a scholar on a topic. Scholars, however, are
not permitted to repeat exact text across papers or publications except when noted and
attributed, as this wastes precious intellectual space with repetition and does a disservice to the
particular source of original presentation by ‘diluting’ the value of the original presentation. Any
time that a writer simply ‘cuts-and-pastes’ exact text from former papers into a new paper
without proper attribution, it is a form of self-plagiarism. Consequently, a given paper should
never be turned in to multiple classes. Entire paragraphs, or even sentences, should not be
repeated word-for-word across course assignments. Each new writing assignment is precisely
that, a new writing assignment, requiring new composition on the student’s part
Secondary citations
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Secondary citation is not strictly a form of plagiarism, but in blatant forms, it can present similar
ethical challenges. A secondary citation is citing source A, which in turn cites source B, but it is
source B’s ideas or content that provide the basis for the claims the student intends to make in
the assignment. For example, assume that there is an article by Jones (2006) in the student’s
hands, in which there is a discussion or quotation of an article by Smith (1998). Assume further
that what Smith seems to be saying is very important to the student’s analysis. In such a
situation, the student should always try to locate the original Smith source. In general, if an idea
is important enough to discuss in an assignment, it is important enough to locate and cite the
original source for that idea. There are several reasons for these policies:
(a) Authors sometimes commit citation errors, which might be replicated without knowing it;
(b) Authors sometimes make interpretation errors, which might be ignorantly reinforced
(c) Therefore, reliability of scholarly activity is made more difficult to assure and enforce;
(d) By relying on only a few sources of review, the learning process is short-circuited, and
the student’s own research competencies are diminished, which are integral to any
liberal education;
(e) By masking the actual sources of ideas, readers must second guess which sources
come from which citations, making the readers’ own research more difficult;
(f) By masking the origin of the information, the actual source of ideas is misrepresented.
Some suggestions that assist with this principle:

When the ideas Jones discusses are clearly attributed to, or unique to, Smith, then
find the Smith source and citation.

When the ideas Jones is discussing are historically associated more with Smith
than with Jones, then find the Smith source and citation.

In contrast, Jones is sometimes merely using Smith to back up what Jones is
saying and believes, and is independently qualified to claim, whether or not Smith
would have also said it; in such a case, citing Jones is sufficient.

Never simply copy a series of citations at the end of a statement by Jones, and
reproduce the reference list without actually going to look up what those references
report—the only guarantee that claims are valid is for a student to read the original
sources of those claims.
Solicitation for ghost writing:
Any student who solicits any third party to write any portion of an assignment for this class
(whether for pay or not) violates the standards of academic honesty in this course. The penalty
for solicitation (regardless of whether it can be demonstrated the individual solicited wrote any
sections of the assignment) is F in the course.
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,
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including a report to the CSRR, depending factors noted below. In this instance, an “F”
may mean anything between a zero (0) and 50%, depending on the extent of infraction.

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.
HOWEVER, THERE ARE NO EXCUSES BASED ON IGNORANCE OF WHAT
CONSTITUTES PLAGIARISM, OR OF WHAT THIS POLICY IS.
Intellectual Property
My syllabus, lectures, and handouts are my personal copyrighted intellectual property, which
means that anything other than personal use (e.g., organized recording, duplication, or
distribution) on your part represents a violation of copyright and fair use laws.
Recording Policy
Students may NOT record any portion of a classroom lecture, discussion, or review without the
prior and explicit written permission of the course instructor. The unauthorized use of any
form of device to audiotape, photograph, video-record or otherwise reproduce (in whole or in
part) lectures, course notes, or teaching materials provided by the instructor may constitute
copyright infringement in violation of federal and state law. Students registered with Student
Disability Services (SDS) who are unable to take or read notes have the right to audio record
class lectures for their personal study only. Lectures recorded for this purpose may not be
shared with other people without the consent of the instructor. Furthermore, permission granted
for recording of a lecture, discussion, or review also requires the observation of privacy
guidelines and regulations for students in the class whose presence or statements might also be
recorded.
Student Disability Services (SDS): (619) 594-6473 or www.sa.sdsu.edu/sds/
Located in Calpulli Center, Suite 3101, SDS is the campus office responsible for determining
and providing appropriate academic 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 SDS. To avoid any delay in receipt of your accommodations,
you should contact SDSU as soon as possible. Please note that accommodations based on
disability are not retroactive and cannot be provided until you have presented your instructor
with an accommodation letter from Student Disability Services.
Test Accommodation Center
Calpulli Center, Suite 1300 (first floor)
Hours: Monday - Friday, 8 am - 4:30 pm (extended hours for test administration)
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This syllabus is intended to provide students general guidance in what is expected to be
covered during the semester and will be followed as closely as possible. However,
provided that fair notice is given, I reserve the right to modify, supplement, and make
changes as course needs arise. In the event changes are made, appropriate notification
will be posted on Black Board.
‘Better’ is the enemy of ‘Good Enough’
Лучшее - враг хорошего!
Sergei Georgievich Gorshkov
(Сергей Георгиевич Горшков)