CORE 310 – International/Intercultural Experience, CRN:  1645

For Syllabus and Class Info Online, see www.trickster.org/basilica/core310.htm

Fall Semester 2004               Instructor: Laura Ammon

One (1) semester hour                    Contact Info: LauraAmmon@linkline.com; 909-931-9405

No Incompletes or In Progress Given       Class Meeting dates: 9/13, 9/20, 10/11, 11/15, 11/29, 12/6.

Mondays 5-6:50

Required Text: Readings Available on website

 

Course Description

This course is designed to provide you with an international/intercultural experience by immersing you in a national, ethnic, religious or cultural group different from your own.  You will design your immersion experience by researching cultural background information, attending class sessions and cultural events outside of class, writing journals on your experiences, creating a final project and giving an oral presentation in which you share your new insights with the rest of the class.  You will learn to identify and reflect on issues in your own and other cultures and gain perspective on cultural differences.

 

Course Requirements

This is a credit/no credit OR letter-grade option course.  Due to the nature of this course, grades will be given based on work completed at the end of the semester.  There are no exams in this course.  Your grade will be based on attendance, 15 hours of immersion experience, participation in class, readings, journal entries, a final product, and an oral presentation.  Because the class meets only six times, attendance in this course is mandatory.  [If you know in advance you have to miss a class, and believe that you warrant special consideration, please contact your instructor.  The missed class must be made up during that same week.  Otherwise, your unexcused absence will cause your grade to be lowered.]  Under no circumstances can the first two or last two sessions of this class be missed.

 

For this Course, You Will:

·         Attend six seminar sessions.  (Dates listed above.)  You must be in class on time.  If you are not in class when roll is taken at the beginning of class, you will be counted late.  Two late attendances will cause you to receive no credit or an F for this course.

·         Have 15 contact hours of immersion experience.  Home visits may constitute up to 5 contact hours only and an event, celebration, etc. must be part of those 5 contact hours, with the proper artifacts attached to your SIX-PAGE journal entry.

·         Be prepared for each class, have read the assigned readings ahead of time, and participate in class discussions.

·         Post reflections on your events, readings and progress on the blackboard discussion board for this class.

·          Select and read at least one reference text on your chosen culture from which you will compose a journal entry and which will be used in your final presentation.

·         Write journal entries about your cultural experiences which identify issues and values in your own and the target culture.  Entries must be at least THREE-typed pages long.  This is a change from what is written in your required text:  Passport to Exploring Intercultural Perspectives.

·         Bring back artifacts (ticket stubs, programs, photographs, etc.) from each cultural event and attach them to your journal entry.

·         Know that the quality of your journal entries will be assessed for both content (observations) and form (correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc.).  Your journal entries should be proofread and an accurate representation of your work.  Plagiarism will not be tolerated and can result in failure of the class.  See the statement on academic honesty in the ULV Catalog.

·         Arrange your own travel to and from chosen cultural events.

·         Create a final original product that represents some significant aspect of the culture you experienced in a way that shows deliberate and thoughtful effort, organization, and an analysis of what is important in the selected culture.

·         Make an oral presentation around a central theme, which represents the culmination of the knowledge and insight you have gained about your target culture over the semester.

Assessment

Your grade will reflect how well you fulfill the seven (7) Student Learning Outcomes in your Student Handbook.  They are:  Attendance, Immersion, Class Participation, Readings, Journals, Final Product, and Oral Presentation.  Attendance at all six (6) sessions and an Oral Presentation are mandatory to pass this class.  NB:  Plagiarism will not be tolerated (see the ULV Catalog for Academic Honesty standards).   Submit your own work at all times.

COURSE OUTLINE—WEEKLY READINGS, TOPICS, ASSIGNMENTS

1

2/7

 

Introduction to CORE 310

·         Handout waiver form — ASSIGNMENT:  Students sign and return before leaving

·         Hand out and review syllabus

·         Hand out Student Handbook – review in class

·         Review Guidelines for Journal Documentation

·         Discuss how to select target culture (e.g., it should be a culture that can be “experienced” here in Southern California); Handout and review contract form –

·         ASSIGNMENT:  Return Contract Form to Instructor during the second class session

·         Class members sign Student Info form for Instructor

·         ASSIGNMENT:  Complete the Wilson Library on-line tutorial before next class; access at http://www.ulv.edu/library/tutorial/; (see also http://www.ulv.edu/library/courses/core310.htm)

·         ASSIGNMENT for next class:  Orientalism by Edward Said  — on web

·         http://trickster.org/basilica/said1.htm

·         ASSIGNMENT for next class:  read Two-Part Invention by Elizabeth O’Brien — on web http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/storydetail.cfm?ID=1257

2

2/21

·         Completed contract with chosen target culture must be returned TODAY. 

·         Review Cultural Interview questions (handout)

·         Have read and be prepared to discuss “Orientalism” by Edward Said  — on web

·         Have read and be prepared to discuss Two-Part Invention by Elizabeth O’Brien — on web

·          ASSIGNMENT for next class:  Body Ritual Among the Nacirema — on web http://www.msu.edu/~jdowell/miner.html

 

3

3/14

·         Must bring to class, the title and author of source text chosen – add to contract

·         Be prepared to discuss progress on cultural activities, journal entries and source readings,

and turn in at least two journal entries 

·         Have read and be prepared to discuss “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema” – on web

·         ASSIGNMENT for next class:  Select one current article on your culture to present and discuss in next class meeting

·         ASSIGNMENT for next class:  “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari” — on web http://www.dushkin.com/olc/genarticle.mhtml?article=155

4

4/11

·         Be prepared to discuss progress on cultural activities, journal entries and source readings,

and turn in at least two journal entries 

·         Bring to class one current article from the newspaper or reliable internet source on your selected culture or religion.  Be prepared to present and share this article with the class.

·         Report on progress of your project

·         Sign-up for Presentation Day

5

5/2

·         1st Presentation Day 

·         Final Product must be submitted with presentation

·         Journals due

·         Discuss Online Evaluations

6

5/9

·         2nd Presentation Day 

·         Final Product must be submitted — NO EXTENSIONS GIVEN 

·         ALL JOURNALS DUE!   IMMERSION HOURS SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY TODAY