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COMD 7306: Cultural Issues in Communication

Spring 2006
Instructor Dr. Hanna Ulatowska Office Callier A130
Phone (214) 905-3101 Class Location Callier A229
E-mail hanna@utdallas.edu Class Meetings Thursday 4:30-7:15

Course Description
The purpose of this course is to investigate interactions between communication and
culture. Topics will include intercultural competence, cultural identity and biases, and
verbal and non-verbal codes in intercultural communication. Language variation in
different ethnic groups and age and gender groups will be discussed. Application of the
above topics to clinical practice will be emphasized. No background knowledge of
linguistics is assumed. Class sessions will consist of both lecture and discussion.
Lectures and readings will provide a background for more seminal-like discussions
among class members.

Requirements
Students enrolled in this course will complete four basic requirements. First, students
will actively participate in class discussions during each weekly meeting. Second, there
will be a take home mid-term examination that will cover the material from the first
textbook. Finally, students will select a topic of particular interest to them during the
semester and will research this topic independently to prepare (1) an oral presentation of
their topic, and (2) an associated research paper. The oral presentation and written paper
will be due at the end of the course.

Required Texts
Lustig, Myron and Koester, Jolene (2005). Intercultural Competence: Interpersonal
Communication Across Cultures, 5th edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
ISBN 020545352X

Johnson, Fern L. (2000). Speaking Culturally: Language Diversity in the United States.
Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. ISBN 0803959125
COMD 7306: Cultural Issues in Communication
Course Schedule
Week Topic Required Readings
January 12 Introductory discussion
Language, its structure and function
January 19 Intercultural competence Intercultural Competence
Communication, culture, and cultural Chapters 1 & 2
differences
January 26 Intercultural communication Intercultural Competence
Cultural pattern Chapters 3 & 4
February 2 Taxonomies of cultural patterns Intercultural Competence
Cultural identity Chapters 5 & 6
Cultural biases
February 9 Verbal and non-verbal codes in intercultural Intercultural Competence
communication Chapters 7 & 8
February Cultural variations in interpersonal Intercultural Competence
16 relationships Chapters 9 & 10
February Social episodes and contexts in intercultural Intercultural Competence
23 communication Chapters 11 & 10
Acculturation and the ethics of intercultural
competence
March 2 Language in demographic and cultural Speaking Culturally
perspectives Chapters 1 & 2
March 16 Cultural dimensions of discourse Speaking Culturally
Gendered discourse Chapters 3 & 4
March 23 African American discourse in cultural and Speaking Culturally
historical context Chapter 5
March 30 Hispanic peoples and their language patterns Speaking Culturally
Chapter 6
April 6 Language and cultural complexity in Asian Speaking Culturally
American identities Chapter 7
April 13 Discourse consequences: Where language Speaking Culturally
and culture matter Chapter 8
April 20 Bilingual education Speaking Culturally
Chapter 9
April 27 Students’ reports on research papers Papers Due

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