Northeastern University College of Professional Studies

Course Syllabus

GST6101- Global Basics: Global Literacy, Culture, and Community

CRN 20043, Section 02, Graduate Level

Winter 2018 Term: January 8 – March 31, 2018

Online Format

Instructor Name: Dr. Anna Lionello

E-mail: a.lionello@northeastern.edu

Phone Number: +630-386-2004 (EST)

Email is the preferred method of communication

Office Hours: Virtual, Tuesdays 11 am – 12 pm EST and by appointment

Required Texts:

• Book Title: Communication Between Cultures

Author/Publisher: Samovar, Porter, McDaniel, and Roy. Wadsworth, Cengage

Learning

Edition and Year: 8th edition, 2013

ISBN-13: 978-1-111-34910-3

• Book Title: The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think

Differently…and Why

Author/Publisher: Nisbett, Richard. Free Press

Edition and Year: 1st Edition, 2003

ISBN-13: 978-0-7432-1646-3

Optional Text

• Book Title: Globalization: A Very Short Introduction

Author/Publisher: Steger, Manfred B.

Edition and Year: 3rd edition, 2013

ISBN 978-0-19-966266-1

Additional readings will be required and will be posted weekly on Blackboard

Required Software/Tools

This is an online course, you are required to have a working computer, internet connection, a

video feature (computer camera, phone camera, etc.), and headsets to maximize sound. You will

be required to complete some discussions via video.

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Course Description

Introduces basic theories of culture, identity, and communication. Topics may include race,

ethnicity, social class, gender, national identity, and religion. Explores these theories and topics

through an in-depth study of an aspect of culture within a chosen country. Introduces students to

the use of qualitative methods in the analysis of culture and communication. Offers students an

opportunity to use these tools to hypothesize the impact of future global trends on contemporary

cultures and identities.

Course Outcomes

By the end of the course, you will have the opportunity to:

• Become knowledgeable about conceptualizations of culture, cross-cultural adaptations,

and cross-cultural awareness.

• Consider various forces that shape identities.

• Become knowledgeable about Western and non-Western perspectives on learning,

knowing, and communicating.

• Identify and understand your own attitude, cultural values, and assumptions, and reflect

on others' experiences and perspectives.

• Explore the impact of culture on communication.

• Become familiar with some cultural phenomena.

Course Methodology

Our weeks start on Mondays and end on Sundays. Each week, you will be expected to:

1. Review the week's learning objectives.

2. Complete all assigned readings.

3. Complete all lecture materials for the week.

4. Participate in online discussion boards.

5. Complete and submit all assignments and tests by the due dates.

Participation/Discussion Board

Participation is central to this course. Students are asked to:

• Actively engage in online class discussion and/or group discussion with emphasis on

weekly readings and lectures.

• Post one primary response to the discussion board question/s posed by the instructor each

week by Wednesday at 11.59 pm ET

• Post at least two responses to student posts by Friday at 11.59 pm ET

• Respond to everyone who responds to your initial posts.

• Students should be present online a minimum of 3-4 times per week

• Initial responses and initial peer-response should be written in a scholarly fashion using

references, and APA style.

• Posts should be respectful of classmates’ ideas, have a respectful tone, and demonstrate

critical thinking

• Discussion participation is worth 25% of your grade

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Communication/Submission of Work

In the Assignments folder, click on the View/Complete Assignment link to view and complete

each assignment. Attach your completed assignments here and click Submit to turn them in to

me. Once your assignment has been graded, you will be able to view the grade and feedback I

have provided by clicking on My Grades in the Tools module from the Northeastern University

Online Campus tab.

For all other content-oriented communication and questions, please use the appropriate

discussion board so all students can benefit from questions and answers.

For individual/personal communication please use email.

Grading/Evaluation Standards

Discussions/Participation - 25%

Cultural/Identity Paper (Part 1) – 10%

Case Study Analysis – 20%

Cultural/Identity Paper (Part 2) – 20%

Group Project (includes group paper and group presentation) on Contemporary Social Issue –

25%

No final Exam

Late work will not be accepted.

All written assignments must be submitted in APA format, 12 pt. font, and double- spaced

with appropriate margins.

General Grading Rubric

95-100 A

Outstanding, insightful work. Goes beyond requirements of the task to

develop a response, which is thoughtful, reflective, considers alternative

views and makes connections among ideas and information from different

sources or from different aspects of the course. Well researched and

documented (if research is part of assignment). Displays creativity and

originality.

90-94 A-

Very good work. Purposefully and logically developed. Thoroughly

addresses all aspects of the task. Synthesis of details and concepts from

various sources or topics shows evidence of sound understanding and

thoughtful examination. Research information appropriately cited (if

research is part of assignment).

87-89 B+

Good work. Generally clear, accurate and relevant. Adequately addresses

all requirements of the task. Demonstrates understanding of course

concepts, with evidence of some thoughtful examination and reflection.

Development is generally logical, facts generally correct. Tends to focus

on one interpretation.

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84-86 B

Satisfactory work. Shows basic understanding of concepts with minimal

evidence of reflection or thoughtful analysis. Complies with the basic

requirements, relies on limited sources of information, little integration of

concepts.

80-83 B- Minimally satisfactory work. Shows some understanding of concepts with

little reflection or analysis. Barely meets basic requirements of assignment.

77-79 C+ Unsatisfactory work. Fails to address the topic in a meaningful way. May

be extremely brief, inaccurate, illogical or undeveloped. 74-76 C

70-73 C-

69% or

below F Failing/Unacceptable *

*Please note that CPS does not award grades below a C- for graduate level courses.

Specific Grading Rubrics

More specific grading rubrics are available for each assignment graded. Please find these under

Course Material in Blackboard.

Additionally, please refer to the grading standards discussion in the CPS Student Handbook,

available at http://cps.neu.edu/student-resources/.

It is expected that students’ written work be clear, comprehensible, and competently produced.

Resources

The following resources are available to our students who need help to improve their writing

skills:

• Smarthinking (available free in Tool section of Blackboard) – this allows students to submit

written material in any subject and have it reviewed by an e-instructor within a 24-hour

window (in most cases).

• Writing Center on Northeastern Campus – contact the center to schedule an appointment.

• The Purdue Online Writing Lab (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/) is a valuable source

of information about grammar, sentence structure, and general writing skills.

• APA Style For anyone not familiar with APA, please see the Purdue Online Writing

Laboratory (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/). There is also an APA application for the iPad.

There are several APA tutorials on YouTube. The APA style guide, sixth edition, is available

in hard copy. And some specific APA links have been provided in Blackboard.

• International Tutoring Center For the international students, please visit the:

http://www.cps.neu.edu/student-resources/gss/gss-itc-1.php. These tutors specialize in ESL

and can help improve writing.

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Class Schedule / Topical Outline

Week Dates Topic Assignments

1 Jan 8 – Jan 14

-Introductions and Overview of the

Course

-Introductions to Key Concepts and

Definitions

Introduction Post Video due Tue.

Online Discussion Post due Wed. (Chp

1-2 Samovar Text)

Readings/Lecture Videos and Class

Discussion every week unless

otherwise stated. Please see

Blackboard for more information.

2 Jan 15 – Jan 21

-Concept of Culture Cultural Paper Part 1 due

3 Jan 22 – Jan 28 Dimensions of Culture/Cultural Values

4 Jan 29 – Feb 4 Managing Cultural Differences and

Cultural Adjustment

Group Names due (for final group

project)

5 Feb 5 – Feb 11 Communication and Culture: Verbal and

Non-verbal

6 Feb 12 – Feb 18 -Systems of Thoughts: Diverse Ways of

Knowing and Reasoning Outline of Final Group Project Due

7 Feb 19 – Feb 25

No Discussion

Please use this time for Group Work and

Case Study

No Discussion- Group Work

Case Study Due

8 Feb 26 – Mar 4 Culture and Identity: The Individual

Reference Page of Final Group Project

Due

9 Mar 5 – Mar 11 Cultural Relativism and Human Rights

10 Mar 12 – Mar 18 The “Undiscussables” Final Paper due – Cultural Paper Part 2

11 Mar 19 – Mar 25 The “Undiscussables”

12 Mar 26 – Mar 31

Final Group Project Presentations

Course Wrap-up

Final Group Project due (Paper and

Presentation) DRAFT

Academic Integrity Policy

The University views academic dishonesty as one of the most serious offenses that a student can

commit while in college and imposes appropriate punitive sanctions on violators. Here are some

examples of academic dishonesty. While this is not an all-inclusive list, we hope this will help

you to understand some of the things instructors look for. The following is excerpted from the

University’s policy on academic integrity; the complete policy is available in the Student

Handbook. The Student Handbook is available on the CPS Student Resources page > Policies

and Forms.

Cheating – intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, or study

aids in an academic exercise

Fabrication – intentional and unauthorized falsification, misrepresentation, or invention of any

data, or citation in an academic exercise

Plagiarism – intentionally representing the words, ideas, or data of another as one’s own in any

academic exercise without providing proper citation

Unauthorized collaboration – instances when students submit individual academic works that

are substantially like one another; while several students may have the same source material, the

analysis, interpretation, and reporting of the data must be everyone’s independent work.

Participation in academically dishonest activities – any action taken by a student with the intent

of gaining an unfair advantage

Facilitating academic dishonesty – intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to violate

any provision of this policy

For more information on Academic Integrity, including examples, please refer to the Student

Handbook, pages 9-11.

Northeastern University Online Policies and Procedures

For comprehensive information please go to http://www.cps.neu.edu/online/

Student Accommodations

The College of Professional Studies is committed to providing equitable access to learning

opportunities to students with documented disabilities (e.g. mental health, attentional, learning,

chronic health, sensory, or physical). To ensure access to this class, and program, please contact

The Disability Resource Center ( http://www.northeastern.edu/drc/) to engage in a confidential

conversation about the process for requesting reasonable accommodations in the classroom and

clinical or lab settings. Accommodations are not provided retroactively so students are

encouraged to register with the Disability Resource Center (DRC) as soon as they begin their

program. The College of Professional Studies encourages students to access all resources

available through the DRC for consistent support.

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End-of-Course Evaluation Surveys

Your feedback regarding your educational experience in this class is very important to the

College of Professional Studies. Your comments will make a difference in the future planning

and presentation of our curriculum. At the end of this course, please take the time to complete the

evaluation survey at https://neu.evaluationkit.com. Your survey responses are completely

anonymous and confidential. For courses 6 weeks in length or shorter, surveys will be open one

week prior to the end of the courses; for courses, greater than 6 weeks in length, surveys will be

open for two weeks. An email will be sent to your HuskyMail account notifying you when

surveys are available.

Northeastern University Online Copyright Statement

Northeastern University Online is a registered trademark of Northeastern University.

All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective

companies. This course material is copyrighted and Northeastern University Online reserves all

rights. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a

retrieval system, or translated into any language or computer language, in any form or by any

means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual, or otherwise, without the

express prior written permission of Northeastern University Online.

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