ROWAN UNIVERSITY
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We live in our communication, but we rarely give it much thought. We spend more time engaged in communication than we spend in any other activity, including sleeping, but it is something we've been talking and listening, gesturing and watching ever since we were born. It is more a basis for our other knowledge than a usual focus of study, but much of what we assume about our communication is wrong, and we are less effective communicators because of it.
In this course we will be digging into and testing our assumptions about the nature of our communication with others. This is a survey course, so we'll be covering a lot of ground. We;ll consider the fundamental structures of the communication process and the ways in which we shape them. We'll look at languages, media, cultures, contexts, and the ways they shape the ways in which we create, consume, process and interpret messages. We'll consider interpersonal communication, organizational communication, small groups, communities, the mass media and the newer communication technologies and systems. We'll consider persuasion, influence, narrative, and the ways in which we shape message to achieve desired effects, including the structuration of languages, media, cultures, and contexts. Finally, we'll spend time thinking about the process of creating and testing communication theories that work in the real world.
There's a lot more to know about communication theory than we can possibly touch on in a single course. The goal, then, is to get you started. I hope you are as excited as I am at the prospect.
Griffin, E. (2006). A First Look at Communication Theory, Sixth Edition.
A package of 3"x5" index cards. This should cost you no more than a dollar or so.
Students should understand a variety of communication theories well enough to usefully apply them to improving their own communication and understanding the communication successes and failures of others.
Your understanding of communication theories will be assessed through two exams (40% of your grade), two short papers (30% of your grade), and several different kinds of participation, including participation in discussions (8% of your grade), submission of questions (8% of your grade), and submission of "think" assignments (8% of your grade), and in class group assignments (6% of your grade). The short papers, which should be at least five pages long (not including the cover page or references), will each explore a communication theory of your choice. You will be expected to BOTH find, read, and make use of at additional original references and to apply the theory to your own life. We'll discuss detailed expectations as you start work on the papers. The two exams will take the form of short essay style questions in which you apply and compare different theories of human communication. The second exam will be comprehensive, covering all of the material in the course.
Weight Description Short Paper 1 12% A short (approximately five page) research paper exploring a communication theory of your choice. Short Paper 2 18% A short (approximately five page) research paper exploring a communication theory of your choice. Mid-Term Exam 15% Short essay style testing on the communication theories we've explored through the middle of the semester. Covers all of the material covered in the course covered up to that date, including classroom discussions and readings. Final Exam 25% Short essay style testing on the communication theories during the semester. Covers all of the material covered in the course, including classroom discussions and readings. Think Assignments 8% Think assignments generally entail doing thinking about a problem or question involving thought or observation and summarizing your findings in brief on one side of a 3x5 card. I don't grade these assignments. Simply turning them in on time nets the points so long as you appear to have taken the assignment seriously. Think Assignments will frequently be used in the course of class discussions. Questions 8% You should bring two questions to class each day based on the readings. Write them on one side of an index card. Class sessions will often take the form of a conversation based, in part, on your questions. Participation 8% This portion of the grade is based on your ability to intelligently talk about the subject matter of the class session, based on the readings. Your ability to both ask good questions and participate in answering them will depend on your familiarity with the days readings. If I feel strongly that the class is not prepared, I may give a quiz that will count as a part of this portion of the grade. Group Assignments 6% There will be a small number of graded in class group assignments conducted during the semester. If you miss class when these group projects are done you lose the points. Total Grade 100% Based on above. Effort Bonus Up to 10% An optional addition, based on good and enthusiastic participation, interest in subject matter, etc. There is no guarantee I will give any of these points to anyone.
A class discussion group will be maintained on Blackboard (which replaces Web-CT this year. I have not, as I write this syllabus, had the opportunity to set up WebCT class spaces as yet (I'm new to Rowan and don't even have an ID yet). When it is set up, you can also use the group to exchange of any class-related information or questions, especially those questions you didn’t want to ask in class. Only class members will be able to post to the forum or read messages on the forum.
My usual practice is to make my lecture/discussion notes directly available to the class via the Internet. If it is possible to do so I will display those notes during class. You can print them out later. You may be able to print them out before class, but I don't guarantee that you will. I frequently change my discussion notes right up to the beginning of class (and sometimes during class). The version posted at the end of class can generally be considered to be reliable, but I occasionally modify them after class based on class discussions.
Attendance is mandatory. Punctuality is much desired. While I am unlikely to lock the door, the participation requirements of this class make it inevitable that I will take account of missed class time in computing grades. You should not, as a general note, ask me for "permission" to miss class. While I will try to be understanding of documented emergencies, the basic reality (which has more to do with your ability to learn when you aren't in class than anything else) is that absences make your grade grow smaller.
I have caught a number of students attempting to pass off other people's work as their own. Such behavior is unacceptable in any classroom, and I won't accept it in mine. My usual practice will be to zero any assignment on which a student has been found to be cheating and consult with the department chair on what other actions may be appropriate
Examples of cheating include:
- Duplicate test answers. I cannot prevent students from studying together or comparing notes on a take home exam (should I give any). Test answers should always be in your own words (e.g. not copied out of a book or off of someone else's test paper).
- Plagiarized term paper content. I encourage you to look at content from a wide variety of sources, but the content of your term paper should be in your own words.
- Unreferenced term paper content. Where, in the course of writing a term paper, you present the ideas of others, you must indicate where they came from with a reference. This is true even when you have stated the ideas in your own words or if the ideas or their sources seem obvious.
Bottom line: Write in your own words and reference the ideas you use to the sources you read them in.
It is your responsibility to ensure that all assignments are submitted by the due date. I will reduce the grade on an assignment by one half letter grade if one period late and one full grade thereafter. As a general rule, it is always best to turn in assignments on time, but not turning in an assignment at all is far worse than turning them in late. A letter grade penalty is far less onerous than a zero.
Students who have a disabling condition which might interfere with their ability to successfully complete this course are encouraged to speak to me confidentially. I will be happy to cooperate in identifying alternate means of demonstrating such mastery where there is a demonstrable need.
Bottom line: I'm here to help.
If you have a question I encourage you to ask it in class. There are no stupid questions; only answers that didn't need to be. If you don't know the answer to a question it is likely someone else is curious as well. Please ask. The worst that can happen is that I defer my answer to a meeting after class or during office hours.
If you have a problem in the class I encourage you to contact me as quickly as possible. Several means of contact are listed at the top of my Rowan University home page, including telephone, e-mail, and instant messenger. I also maintain regular office hours. Note, in particular, that I will not grant an incomplete for the course unless you talk to me about it in advance or I am aware of conditions which would make it impossible for you to do so.