COM 252 Interpersonal Communication
Prof. Tamara Arrington
Department of Communication 243 Grehan Bldg.
University of Kentucky
Spring 2009 Syllabus – MW sections
Email: arrington_tamara@yahoo.com Office hours: M & W 2:00-3:15
Course Blog: com252uk.blogspot.com
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Dr. Deanna Sellnow 235 Grehan Bldg.
859.257.2886 Deanna.Sellnow@uky.edu
Required Materials:
Adler, R.B., & Proctor II, R.F. (2008). Looking Out, Looking In, (12 ed.). California: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.
ISBN: 0-495-83335-5
Students must purchase Scantron Forms #882-ES from any UK Bookstore for taking some quizzes and the midterm and final exam. Exams submitted on Scantron Forms that do not meet the aforementioned requirement will not be graded and the student will receive a grade of zero.
E-mail Account: It is required that all students have a working e-mail account.
The benefits you receive in this class are directly proportional to your efforts in keeping up with the assigned reading and actively participating in class to build trust, cooperation, support and mutual respect.
COURSE OBJECTIVES AND REQUIREMENTS
Many individuals believe that “communication” is so basic that it is taken for granted and not thought about seriously. Unfortunately, this attitude tends to result in such difficulties as misunderstandings, conflict, avoidance, and stereotyping. We will examine basic concepts, theories, and research findings relevant to initiating, developing, modifying, maintaining, and terminating relationships with an eye to the role of communication in the process. Lecture, discussion, in-and out-of-class observations, and “applied” assignments will be used to increase student knowledge and behavioral competence in interpersonal communication.
Interpersonal Communication is designed to increase your understanding and implementation of effective interpersonal communication behaviors and skills. Throughout the semester will examine basic verbal and nonverbal concepts affecting the communication process between individuals in various interpersonal contexts. This course requires you to participate in written and oral activities designed to develop and improve interpersonal skills and will actually improve the quality of your life if you keep an open mind and participate actively! Topics may include: an introduction to interpersonal communication theory, relationship and conversation management, effective listening, conflict management, ethics in communicating, communication climate, and cultural/gender differences in interpersonal communication.
Competencies and Objectives
Interpersonal communication introduces students to the complex interaction of social and psychological forces operating in human communication. The course is designed with a dual approach consisting of both theory and application that allows students opportunities to critically evaluate the intricacies of interpersonal relationships and the communication issues surrounding human interaction in various contexts.
At the conclusion of the course it is expected that students will demonstrate knowledge and skills in several core areas. Specifically, students should demonstrate an increased understanding of:
1. The options and alternatives for action in a wide variety of interpersonal situations.
2. Individual preferences and an increased appreciation for the differences of others.
3. The dialectical tensions that arise as students use communication to satisfy conflicting personal needs.
4. How the process of perception affects communication behavior.
5. The ethical dimensions of interpersonal communication.
6. The importance of nonverbal communication in successful interpersonal interactions.
7. Defensive and supportive communication climates.
8. Competence and an ability to assess the appropriateness and effectiveness of interpersonal strategies used in various interpersonal relationships.
9. Why and how relationships develop and the role communication plays in determining the nature and quality of interpersonal relationships.
10. Conflict in interpersonal communication and the application of conflict management principles.
11. Competencies related to communication with individuals from other cultures and co-cultures.
In addition, COM 252 addresses the following University Studies Program Competencies:
1. Writing: To communicate effectively using standard written English.
2. Reading: To understand, analyze, summarize and interpret a variety of reading materials.
3. Integrated Learning: To think critically and make connections in learning across the disciplines.
4. Creative Thinking: To elaborate upon knowledge to create thought, processes, and/or products that are new to the students.
5. Ethics/Values: To demonstrate an awareness of ethical considerations in making value choices.
COM 252 can be taken to fulfill the Oral Communication Skills Requirements in the University Studies Program. If you have any questions about this requirement, please contact Dr. Deanna Sellnow at 257-2886 or the USP Office at 257-3027.
General Requirements
You are expected to:
1. Be on time for all class meetings.
2. Interact productively in class discussions and group activities.
3. Be prepared daily for discussions and quizzes by reading all assigned material BEFORE the day it is listed on the course schedule.
4. Successfully deliver a group presentation.
5. Submit all written assignments TYPED at the BEGINNING of the class period on the designated due date.
6. Complete all major assignments (presentations, class assignments and tests). FAILURE TO COMPLETE THE GROUP PRESENTATION WILL RESULT IN AN ‘E’ FOR THE COURSE - regardless of your accumulated point total. Failure to complete any major assignment will result in a drop of one letter grade for each assignment missed.
7. Read your email at a minimum of 3 times per week.
Classroom Civility
There are certain basic standards of classroom civility that should be adhered to, particularly on a communication course. Civility does not eliminate appropriate humor, enjoyment, or other features of a comfortable and pleasant classroom community. Classroom civility does, however, include the following:
1. Displaying respect for all members of the classroom community, both your instructor and fellow students.
2. Attentiveness to and participation in lectures, group activities, workshops, and other classroom exercises.
3. Avoidance of unnecessary disruptions during class such as texting, having private conversations, reading the newspaper, and doing work for other classes.
4. Avoidance of racist, sexist, homophobic, or other negative language that may unnecessarily exclude members of our campus and classroom community.
If a student consistently exhibits behavior that disrupts the class or contributes to a negative communication climate, action will be taken, including forced withdrawal from the course. In addition all university students are expected to abide by the Student Code of Conduct. You can access this five-part document at http://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/DeanofStudents/conduct.htm
Reasonable Accommodation
If you have a special need that may require an accommodation or assistance, please inform the instructor as soon as possible. We cannot accommodate needs if we do not know what they are, so please notify your instructor right away.
Help Available: If you need assistance with oral presentations, contact Cyndy Miller at CHMiller12@aol.com or call 859-257-6137.
If you need help with other skills (writing, time management, etc.), contact The Thomas D. Clark Study, 5th floor in W. T. Young Library, or call 257-3156, or go to: www.uky.edu/ugs/study/.
Department of Communication Policies
Research Policy: The Department of Communication is committed to involving undergraduate students in scholarly research so that they may understand the importance of generating new knowledge at the University of Kentucky as a Research I institution. Students in this class are expected to participate in one research study (approved by the University IRB and assigned for this course). The study may take up to one regularly scheduled class period during the term.
Academic Integrity: We expect that all of the individual assignments you complete for COM 252 (and in all of your other courses) are always your own work. Please read the information on plagiarism and cheating from your UK Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook (www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/Code/) and talk with your instructor if you are uncertain about what this entails. If you have any questions about whether you may be plagiarizing in your work for COM 252, please be sure to contact your instructor well in advance of the due date for your assignment. Any work that is found to be plagiarized will result in a minimum of a “0” for the assignment, and may result in failure of the course and bring reported to University authorities. Cheating of any kind will not be tolerated.
COM 252 Policies
Cell Phone/Electronic Devices: Students are required to stow away and silence all cell phones and electronic devices. If you are seen texting during class, you will be asked to leave. Non adherence to this policy may result in a deduction of points. Moreover, violating this policy during quizzes/exams will result in the student receiving a grade of zero on the exam and subject to other penalties (as described above).
Attendance: ATTENDANCE IS REQUIRED. Class attendance and participation are important in accomplishing the goals of this course. Reading, class discussions, group workshops, and in-class activities increase both your understanding if interpersonal communication theory and the development of your interpersonal communication skills. In order to receive credit for attendance you must attend for the ENTIRE class period. Failure to do so will result in an absence for the given class session.
Please arrive to class on time.
Tardiness is unprofessional and displays disrespect toward your instructor and classmates. Consequently, you can expect to have 25 points deducted from your final grade for EACH tardy or early departure more than 2 times over the course of the semester.
Moreover, do not expect your instructor to cover any missed material specifically for you. If you are a few minutes late for a class, it is YOUR responsibility to make sure the instructor has not marked you absent for the day. This must be done on the day you are late. Otherwise, it holds as an unexcused absence.
Because class meets twice a week, you will be allowed 2 unexcused absences. For each subsequent unexcused absence over the maximum allowed, 25 points will be deducted from your final grade. You cannot make up work missed for unexcused absences – you simply receive a zero.
You are given these ‘free’ absences for a special situations for which you have to miss class but would not otherwise receive an official excuse. Do not use these “freebies” for blowing off class and then come to the instructor later (after you have gone over the limit) when you have special circumstances and expect an excuse. The freebie allows for an emergency. Please don’t abuse this option.
The Students Rights and Responsibilities Handbook defines an excused absence as the following:
1. Illness of the student or serious illness of a member of the student’s immediate family;
2. The death of a member of the student’s immediate family;
3. Trips for members of student organizations sponsored by academic unit, trips
for University classes, and trips for participation in intercollegiate athletic events;
4. Major Religious holidays.
For any officially excused absence, you are responsible for presenting official written documentation for the absence. For university-sponsored absences, this notification is to be given to the instructor prior to the absence. For other excused absences, this documentation must be presented within one week of the absence. *Note: yellow date-stamped slips from UK student health center are not accepted as excused absences.
If you have excused absences in excess of one-fifth of the class contact hours, you shall have the right to petition for a “W” or the faculty member may require the student to petition for a “W.” See sections 5.2.4.1 and 5.2.4.2 of the Students Rights and Responsibilities Handbook for further clarification.
Assignments/Due Dates: Being absent does not excuse you from submitting homework on time. Even though missing class may be unavoidable, it is still your responsibility to submit all assignments on or before the designated due dates. If you know in advance that you will be missing, it is your responsibility to communicate with me PRIOR to the class session you will be missing. In the event of an emergency, please contact me by e-mail as soon as possible.
LATE HOMEWORK IS NOT ACCEPTED AND WILL RECEIVE A GRADE OF ZERO.
Moreover, there is NO EXCUSE for submitting assignments late when you know in advance that you will be missing class. In the event of an unanticipated EMERGENCY – and if it is feasible – students who provide proper written documentation for their absence may have up to two days after the absence to submit written assignments. Please note that this policy ONLY applies to University approved absences. Moreover, please be aware that some assignments (e.g., in-class exercises) cannot be made up.
Instructor’s Absence:
In the event of an emergency and the instructor is late for class, please remain in the classroom for 15 minutes. In the event of an emergency and your instructor has cancelled class, an email will be sent to you if at all possible and the department office will be notified to post a notice on the classroom door. In case of inclement weather, please check the local news and the website for cancellation notices.
Contacting Your Instructor:
Please use email as a primary means of contact. Allow 36 hours response time. Do not send repeated messages as this will only confuse the process and possibly delay a response further. Use basic courtesy when emailing. Do not add my email to your distribution list for jokes and other assorted “web junk”.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
This course combines lectures by the instructor, class discussion of assigned textbook readings, group work, audio/video presentations emphasizing certain communication concepts and skills, oral presentations by students, quizzes, exams, and classroom activities which all contribute to your overall understanding of interpersonal communication. Out-of-class work will include written exercises (class assignments), library research of communication concepts and planning of activities that are presented in a group workshop. Assigned chapters should be read before class so that you will be able to make a contribution to the class discussions and activities and perform well on the quizzes and exams.
Oral Skill Opportunities
Since this is an oral communication skills course, we want to provide you with many opportunities to develop these skills. Aside from general class participation, such opportunities may include performance and/or evaluation of role-playing activities, one major in-class presentation, dyadic communication case studies, and group discussions.
Written Work
NO Emailed assignments are accepted, unless otherwise required by the assignment instructions. Emailed work will not be graded, will be deleted, and will not receive a response.
You will be expected to use current APA 5th Edition style guidelines for all written work. Use of appropriate grammar is very important. Your written work will be evaluated on both content and mechanics. Good writing should be reasonably free of mistakes and without composition errors, which are called gross errors (sentence fragments, run-on sentences, subject-verb disagreement, misspelled words, and typographical errors which result in such errors). PROOFREAD your papers; do not leave it up to your computer software. If you are not able to perform these basic written requirements, your instructor may REQUIRE you to schedule appointments with the University Writing Center. In such cases, you will be required to provide your instructor with written documentation of your appointment.
All of your work MUST BE TYPED (using no more than 12 point type with margins not exceeding 1 inch on the top, right, and bottom, nor 1.5 inches on the left) and double-spaced--unless otherwise indicated by the instructor. Handwritten work (except for worksheets that must be filled out) will not be accepted. Multiple pages MUST be stapled in the upper left-hand margin and each assignment should include the following heading, located on the first page, upper left-hand side:
Name
COM 252-(Section #)
Assignment (e.g., Exercise #1)
Date
Submit all written assignments at the beginning of the class period on the designated due date. Failure to meet written work guidelines will result in a grade penalty.
Participation
Participation in this class is an ungraded basic expectation. Students are expected to question, probe, and challenge the course material, the professor, and their peers in the spirit of learning and enriching understanding. Personal attacks, demeaning comments, and overly confrontational scenarios are not tolerated.
FERPA & Privacy
It is against the law for your professor to talk to anyone else (that includes your parents) about your enrollment or work in this class. It is also against the law for me to release your grades or graded work to anyone else except you (that includes best friends and roommates). In addition, I cannot email grades – you must either get them in class, during office hours, or online.
What This Course is Not
We will be discussing communication as it relates to a number of issues, even sensitive issues. But it is not the behaviors themselves that will be the focus, but rather, the communication that underlies the situation. It is inappropriate (and dangerous) to use the course as individual therapy to help you solve serious personal, relational, or family issues such as abuse in all its forms (substance, emotional, physical, or sexual). If you do need help, your professor will be glad to refer you to the counseling center on campus or elsewhere.
GRADED ASSIGNMENTS
EXAMS – 150 points
Midterm Exam – 75 pts.
Final Exam – 75 pts.
These exams/tests cover the course readings, lectures, & class exercises.
QUIZZES – 100 points
There are 10 pre-scheduled quizzes that cover readings and course material (they may cover readings you have been assigned but have not yet been covered in class). These will be during the first 10 minutes of class (or online) and can only be made up with a written excused absence. If you arrive late to class and the quiz has already been distributed and completed by any students, you will not be given the opportunity to take the quiz. Quizzes may be given on an unassigned (“pop quiz”) basis at the instructor’s discretion.
GROUP PRESENTATION – 150 points
(100 points individual, 50 points group)
In order to address and assess the five University Studies Program Competencies met by COM 252 (writing, reading, and integrated learning, creative thinking, ethics/values) students will complete a major application component for this class that combines research, critical thinking, writing, and oral communication skills. Each student will pose a research question about and conduct extensive scholarly research on an interpersonal communication topic that has particular personal interest/relevance to his/her life and/or relationships. Students sharing similar areas of interest will form groups and present their findings to the class in a Critical Research Symposium. Critical Research topics are chosen by the student and approved by the instructor. You are encouraged to begin thinking about your Critical Research topic very early in the semester. Examples of previous student-selected topics and accompanying written outlines will be shared with the class prior to midterm.
Grade will include scholarly research articles, statement of problem, individual research papers, individual outlines, a group paper, a group outline, group and individual assessments, PowerPoint, and individual/group presentations.
Group project assignment details will be posted on the course blog.
APPLICATION EXERCISES - 100 points
Application Exercises: Students will be assigned several exercises designed to enhance their skills, knowledge, and understanding of interpersonal communication theories and concepts. Application Exercises will include in-class and out of class exercises which illustrate concepts/theories discovered in the readings. A written component is included in each of these exercises, and students must adhere to written work guidelines as outlined in the syllabus.
1. Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory & Improving Self-Concept Responses – 25 pts
2. Meez.com Avatar Creation & Response – 25 pts
3. “The List” Relationship Requirements– 25 pts
4. Thomas-Kilman Conflict Mode Instrument & Reaction Essay – 25 pts
Detailed guidelines and grading criteria for all graded assignments are posted on the course blog at com252uk.blogspot.com.
Determination of Final Grade
The final grade will be determined by adding the total points earned for each of the graded assignments and referring to the grading scale. The final grade is based on number of points accumulated—NOT PERCENTAGES. No extra credit is offered in this course. Final grades are not rounded up and are NOT negotiable.
POINT DISTRIBUTION
Quizzes 100 points
Midterm Examination 75 points
Final Examination 75 points
Application Exercises 100 points
Critical Research Symposium 150 points
TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE 500 POINTS
GRADING SCALE
A 450-500
B 400-449
C 350-399
D 300-349
E 0-299
DAILY SCHEDULE
(Any changes will be announced in class, and/or emailed to the class and/or posted on our class website. Additional due dates for project materials will be announced and emailed to the class.)
READINGS/ASSIGNMENTS
January
W 1/14 Syllabus/Course Overview
M 1/19 MLK Holiday - No Classes
W 1/21 COM 252 Pre-testing in Computer Lab
M 1/26 Quiz 1
Intro to IPC/Activities
Ch1: Intro to IPC, Effective Com, Principles & Misconceptions
W 1/28 Our First Relationship(s), H. Harlow’s “The Nature of Love” The need for
personal relationships
Social vs. Personal Relationships
Groups Finalized for Critical Research Symposium Project
February
M 2/2 Quiz 2
W 2/4
Ch 2: Communication and Self Concept/Characteristics of your Self Concept
The Development of the Self via Interaction/Managing Impressions
Class exercise: Take Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory
Improving the Self Concept
M 2/9
Application #1 due: SE Inventory & Improving SC Worksheet
Ch 3: The Process of Perception & Accuracy & Inaccuracy of Perception
W 2/11 Quiz 3 (over Ch.2 and Ch. 3)
Ch 4: Emotions: Thinking & Feeling/Expressing Feelings
Discuss Group Project/Requirements/Working Effectively in Groups/Code
of Conduct
M 2/16 Quiz 4 (over Ch. 4)
Application #2 due: Meez.com Avatar & Response Essay
begin Ch 5: Language
Documentary: The N Word: Divided We Stand
W 2/18 Class discussion of documentary
Due: Group Statement of the Problem/Topic & Rationale
M 2/23 Quiz 5 (over Ch. 5 and documentary)
Conducting research & topic refinement
W 2/25
Ch 6: Nonverbal Communication/Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication
March
M 3/2 Catch-up day, take student questions re: midterm exam
Due: All Research Articles for Project
W 3/4 MIDTERM EXAM
M 3/9
Ch 7: Listening vs. Hearing & Becoming a more effective listener
W 3/11
M 3/16 & W 3/18 No Class-Spring Break
M 3/23 Quiz 6
W 3/25 Due: Individual Papers for Critical Research Symposium
Ch 8: Relational Dynamics
M 3/30 Quiz 7
April
W 4/1 Due: Application #3 The List
Ch 9: Intimacy & Self-Disclosure in Relationships
Benefits & Risks of Self-Disclosure/Alternatives
Lying and Deception
In-class exercise: Love Styles
M 4/6 Quiz 8
W 4/8 Due: Group Paper for Critical Research Symposium
Ch 10: Communication Climates
Confirming & Disconfirming Messages
M 4/13 Quiz 9
W 4/15 Individual Outlines Due
Ch 11: Managing Conflict
Take Thomas-Kilman Conflict Mode Instrument
M 4/20 Quiz 10
Due: Application #4
Due: Group Outline & PowerPoint
Effective Oral Presentations (Content, Structure, & Delivery)
W 4/22 Critical Research Symposiums - 2 groups present
M 4/27 Critical Research Symposiums - 2 groups present
W 4/29 Critical Research Symposiums - 2 groups present
Final Exams:
12:30 section - exam is 5/6 at 1:00
3:30 section - exam is 5/4 at 10:30
* Final course grades posted on MyUK on 5/11 at noon.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
COM 252 Friday Syllabus - OFFICIAL VERSION!
COM 252 Interpersonal Communication
Prof. Tamara Arrington
Department of Communication 243 Grehan Bldg.
University of Kentucky
Spring 2009 Syllabus – Friday section
Email: arrington_tamara@yahoo.com Office hours: M & W 2:00-3:15
Course Blog: com252uk.blogspot.com
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Dr. Deanna Sellnow 235 Grehan Bldg.
859.257.2886 Deanna.Sellnow@uky.edu
Required Materials:
Adler, R.B., & Proctor II, R.F. (2008). Looking Out, Looking In, (12 ed.). California: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.
ISBN: 0-495-83335-5
Students must purchase Scantron Forms #882-ES from any UK Bookstore for taking some quizzes and the midterm and final exam. Exams submitted on Scantron Forms that do not meet the aforementioned requirement will not be graded and the student will receive a grade of zero.
E-mail Account: It is required that all students have a working e-mail account.
The benefits you receive in this class are directly proportional to your efforts in keeping up with the assigned reading and actively participating in class to build trust, cooperation, support and mutual respect.
COURSE OBJECTIVES AND REQUIREMENTS
Many individuals believe that “communication” is so basic that it is taken for granted and not thought about seriously. Unfortunately, this attitude tends to result in such difficulties as misunderstandings, conflict, avoidance, and stereotyping. We will examine basic concepts, theories, and research findings relevant to initiating, developing, modifying, maintaining, and terminating relationships with an eye to the role of communication in the process. Lecture, discussion, in-and out-of-class observations, and “applied” assignments will be used to increase student knowledge and behavioral competence in interpersonal communication.
Interpersonal Communication is designed to increase your understanding and implementation of effective interpersonal communication behaviors and skills. Throughout the semester will examine basic verbal and nonverbal concepts affecting the communication process between individuals in various interpersonal contexts. This course requires you to participate in written and oral activities designed to develop and improve interpersonal skills and will actually improve the quality of your life if you keep an open mind and participate actively! Topics may include: an introduction to interpersonal communication theory, relationship and conversation management, effective listening, conflict management, ethics in communicating, communication climate, and cultural/gender differences in interpersonal communication.
Competencies and Objectives
Interpersonal communication introduces students to the complex interaction of social and psychological forces operating in human communication. The course is designed with a dual approach consisting of both theory and application that allows students opportunities to critically evaluate the intricacies of interpersonal relationships and the communication issues surrounding human interaction in various contexts.
At the conclusion of the course it is expected that students will demonstrate knowledge and skills in several core areas. Specifically, students should demonstrate an increased understanding of:
1. The options and alternatives for action in a wide variety of interpersonal situations.
2. Individual preferences and an increased appreciation for the differences of others.
3. The dialectical tensions that arise as students use communication to satisfy conflicting personal needs.
4. How the process of perception affects communication behavior.
5. The ethical dimensions of interpersonal communication.
6. The importance of nonverbal communication in successful interpersonal interactions.
7. Defensive and supportive communication climates.
8. Competence and an ability to assess the appropriateness and effectiveness of interpersonal strategies used in various interpersonal relationships.
9. Why and how relationships develop and the role communication plays in determining the nature and quality of interpersonal relationships.
10. Conflict in interpersonal communication and the application of conflict management principles.
11. Competencies related to communication with individuals from other cultures and co-cultures.
In addition, COM 252 addresses the following University Studies Program Competencies:
1. Writing: To communicate effectively using standard written English.
2. Reading: To understand, analyze, summarize and interpret a variety of reading materials.
3. Integrated Learning: To think critically and make connections in learning across the disciplines.
4. Creative Thinking: To elaborate upon knowledge to create thought, processes, and/or products that are new to the students.
5. Ethics/Values: To demonstrate an awareness of ethical considerations in making value choices.
COM 252 can be taken to fulfill the Oral Communication Skills Requirements in the University Studies Program. If you have any questions about this requirement, please contact Dr. Deanna Sellnow at 257-2886 or the USP Office at 257-3027.
General Requirements
You are expected to:
1. Be on time for all class meetings.
2. Interact productively in class discussions and group activities.
3. Be prepared daily for discussions and quizzes by reading all assigned material BEFORE the day it is listed on the course schedule.
4. Successfully deliver a group presentation.
5. Submit all written assignments TYPED at the BEGINNING of the class period on the designated due date.
6. Complete all major assignments (presentations, class assignments and tests). FAILURE TO COMPLETE THE GROUP PRESENTATION WILL RESULT IN AN ‘E’ FOR THE COURSE - regardless of your accumulated point total. Failure to complete any major assignment will result in a drop of one letter grade for each assignment missed.
7. Read your email at a minimum of 3 times per week.
Classroom Civility
There are certain basic standards of classroom civility that should be adhered to, particularly on a communication course. Civility does not eliminate appropriate humor, enjoyment, or other features of a comfortable and pleasant classroom community. Classroom civility does, however, include the following:
1. Displaying respect for all members of the classroom community, both your instructor and fellow students.
2. Attentiveness to and participation in lectures, group activities, workshops, and other classroom exercises.
3. Avoidance of unnecessary disruptions during class such as texting, having private conversations, reading the newspaper, and doing work for other classes.
4. Avoidance of racist, sexist, homophobic, or other negative language that may unnecessarily exclude members of our campus and classroom community.
If a student consistently exhibits behavior that disrupts the class or contributes to a negative communication climate, action will be taken, including forced withdrawal from the course. In addition all university students are expected to abide by the Student Code of Conduct. You can access this five-part document at http://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/DeanofStudents/conduct.htm
Reasonable Accommodation
If you have a special need that may require an accommodation or assistance, please inform the instructor as soon as possible. We cannot accommodate needs if we do not know what they are, so please notify your instructor right away.
Help Available: If you need assistance with oral presentations, contact Cyndy Miller at CHMiller12@aol.com or call 859-257-6137.
If you need help with other skills (writing, time management, etc.), contact The Thomas D. Clark Study, 5th floor in W. T. Young Library, or call 257-3156, or go to: www.uky.edu/ugs/study/.
Department of Communication Policies
Research Policy: The Department of Communication is committed to involving undergraduate students in scholarly research so that they may understand the importance of generating new knowledge at the University of Kentucky as a Research I institution. Students in this class are expected to participate in one research study (approved by the University IRB and assigned for this course). The study may take up to one regularly scheduled class period during the term.
Academic Integrity: We expect that all of the individual assignments you complete for COM 252 (and in all of your other courses) are always your own work. Please read the information on plagiarism and cheating from your UK Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook (www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/Code/) and talk with your instructor if you are uncertain about what this entails. If you have any questions about whether you may be plagiarizing in your work for COM 252, please be sure to contact your instructor well in advance of the due date for your assignment. Any work that is found to be plagiarized will result in a minimum of a “0” for the assignment, and may result in failure of the course and bring reported to University authorities. Cheating of any kind will not be tolerated.
COM 252 Policies
Cell Phone/Electronic Devices: Students are required to stow away and silence all cell phones and electronic devices. If you are seen texting during class, you will be asked to leave. Non adherence to this policy may result in a deduction of points. Moreover, violating this policy during quizzes/exams will result in the student receiving a grade of zero on the exam and subject to other penalties (as described above).
Attendance: ATTENDANCE IS REQUIRED. Class attendance and participation are important in accomplishing the goals of this course. Reading, class discussions, group workshops, and in-class activities increase both your understanding if interpersonal communication theory and the development of your interpersonal communication skills. In order to receive credit for attendance you must attend for the ENTIRE class period. Failure to do so will result in an absence for the given class session.
Please arrive to class on time.
Tardiness is unprofessional and displays disrespect toward your instructor and classmates. Consequently, you can expect to have 25 points deducted from your final grade for EACH tardy or early departure more than 2 times over the course of the semester.
Moreover, do not expect your instructor to cover any missed material specifically for you. If you are a few minutes late for a class, it is YOUR responsibility to make sure the instructor has not marked you absent for the day. This must be done on the day you are late. Otherwise, it holds as an unexcused absence.
Because class meets once a week, you will be allowed 1 unexcused absence. For each subsequent unexcused absence over the maximum allowed, 25 points will be deducted from your final grade. You cannot make up work missed for unexcused absences – you simply receive a zero.
You are given this ‘free’ absence for a special situation for which you have to miss class but would not otherwise receive an official excuse. Do not use this “freebie” for blowing off class and then come to the instructor later (after you have gone over the limit) when you have special circumstances and expect an excuse. The freebie allows for an emergency. Please don’t abuse this option.
The Students Rights and Responsibilities Handbook defines an excused absence as the following:
1. Illness of the student or serious illness of a member of the student’s immediate family;
2. The death of a member of the student’s immediate family;
3. Trips for members of student organizations sponsored by academic unit, trips
for University classes, and trips for participation in intercollegiate athletic events;
4. Major Religious holidays.
For any officially excused absence, you are responsible for presenting official written documentation for the absence. For university-sponsored absences, this notification is to be given to the instructor prior to the absence. For other excused absences, this documentation must be presented within one week of the absence. *Note: yellow date-stamped slips from UK student health center are not accepted as excused absences.
If you have excused absences in excess of one-fifth of the class contact hours, you shall have the right to petition for a “W” or the faculty member may require the student to petition for a “W.” See sections 5.2.4.1 and 5.2.4.2 of the Students Rights and Responsibilities Handbook for further clarification.
Assignments/Due Dates: Being absent does not excuse you from submitting homework on time. Even though missing class may be unavoidable, it is still your responsibility to submit all assignments on or before the designated due dates. If you know in advance that you will be missing, it is your responsibility to communicate with me PRIOR to the class session you will be missing. In the event of an emergency, please contact me by e-mail as soon as possible.
LATE HOMEWORK IS NOT ACCEPTED AND WILL RECEIVE A GRADE OF ZERO.
Moreover, there is NO EXCUSE for submitting assignments late when you know in advance that you will be missing class. In the event of an unanticipated EMERGENCY – and if it is feasible – students who provide proper written documentation for their absence may have up to two days after the absence to submit written assignments. Please note that this policy ONLY applies to University approved absences. Moreover, please be aware that some assignments (e.g., in-class exercises) cannot be made up.
Instructor’s Absence:
In the event of an emergency and the instructor is late for class, please remain in the classroom for 15 minutes. In the event of an emergency and your instructor has cancelled class, an email will be sent to you if at all possible and the department office will be notified to post a notice on the classroom door. In case of inclement weather, please check the local news and the website for cancellation notices.
Contacting Your Instructor:
Please use email as a primary means of contact. Allow 36 hours response time. Do not send repeated messages as this will only confuse the process and possibly delay a response further. Use basic courtesy when emailing. Do not add my email to your distribution list for jokes and other assorted “web junk”.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
This course combines lectures by the instructor, class discussion of assigned textbook readings, group work, audio/video presentations emphasizing certain communication concepts and skills, oral presentations by students, quizzes, exams, and classroom activities which all contribute to your overall understanding of interpersonal communication. Out-of-class work will include written exercises (class assignments), library research of communication concepts and planning of activities that are presented in a group workshop. Assigned chapters should be read before class so that you will be able to make a contribution to the class discussions and activities and perform well on the quizzes and exams.
Oral Skill Opportunities
Since this is an oral communication skills course, we want to provide you with many opportunities to develop these skills. Aside from general class participation, such opportunities may include performance and/or evaluation of role-playing activities, one major in-class presentation, dyadic communication case studies, and group discussions.
Written Work
NO Emailed assignments are accepted, unless otherwise required by the assignment instructions. Emailed work will not be graded, will be deleted, and will not receive a response.
You will be expected to use current APA 5th Edition style guidelines for all written work. Use of appropriate grammar is very important. Your written work will be evaluated on both content and mechanics. Good writing should be reasonably free of mistakes and without composition errors, which are called gross errors (sentence fragments, run-on sentences, subject-verb disagreement, misspelled words, and typographical errors which result in such errors). PROOFREAD your papers; do not leave it up to your computer software. If you are not able to perform these basic written requirements, your instructor may REQUIRE you to schedule appointments with the University Writing Center. In such cases, you will be required to provide your instructor with written documentation of your appointment.
All of your work MUST BE TYPED (using no more than 12 point type with margins not exceeding 1 inch on the top, right, and bottom, nor 1.5 inches on the left) and double-spaced--unless otherwise indicated by the instructor. Handwritten work (except for worksheets that must be filled out) will not be accepted. Multiple pages MUST be stapled in the upper left-hand margin and each assignment should include the following heading, located on the first page, upper left-hand side:
Name
COM 252-(Section #)
Assignment (e.g., Exercise #1)
Date
Submit all written assignments at the beginning of the class period on the designated due date. Failure to meet written work guidelines will result in a grade penalty.
Participation
Participation in this class is an ungraded basic expectation. Students are expected to question, probe, and challenge the course material, the professor, and their peers in the spirit of learning and enriching understanding. Personal attacks, demeaning comments, and overly confrontational scenarios are not tolerated.
FERPA & Privacy
It is against the law for your professor to talk to anyone else (that includes your parents) about your enrollment or work in this class. It is also against the law for me to release your grades or graded work to anyone else except you (that includes best friends and roommates). In addition, I cannot email grades – you must either get them in class, during office hours, or online.
What This Course is Not
We will be discussing communication as it relates to a number of issues, even sensitive issues. But it is not the behaviors themselves that will be the focus, but rather, the communication that underlies the situation. It is inappropriate (and dangerous) to use the course as individual therapy to help you solve serious personal, relational, or family issues such as abuse in all its forms (substance, emotional, physical, or sexual). If you do need help, your professor will be glad to refer you to the counseling center on campus or elsewhere.
GRADED ASSIGNMENTS
EXAMS – 150 points
Midterm Exam – 75 pts.
Final Exam – 75 pts.
These exams/tests cover the course readings, lectures, & class exercises.
QUIZZES – 100 points
There are 10 pre-scheduled quizzes that cover readings and course material (they may cover readings you have been assigned but have not yet been covered in class). These will be during the first 10 minutes of class (or online) and can only be made up with a written excused absence. If you arrive late to class and the quiz has already been distributed and completed by any students, you will not be given the opportunity to take the quiz. Quizzes may be given on an unassigned (“pop quiz”) basis at the instructor’s discretion.
GROUP PRESENTATION – 150 points
(100 points individual, 50 points group)
In order to address and assess the five University Studies Program Competencies met by COM 252 (writing, reading, and integrated learning, creative thinking, ethics/values) students will complete a major application component for this class that combines research, critical thinking, writing, and oral communication skills. Each student will pose a research question about and conduct extensive scholarly research on an interpersonal communication topic that has particular personal interest/relevance to his/her life and/or relationships. Students sharing similar areas of interest will form groups and present their findings to the class in a Critical Research Symposium. Critical Research topics are chosen by the student and approved by the instructor. You are encouraged to begin thinking about your Critical Research topic very early in the semester. Examples of previous student-selected topics and accompanying written outlines will be shared with the class prior to midterm.
Grade will include scholarly research articles, statement of problem, individual research papers, individual outlines, a group paper, a group outline, group and individual assessments, PowerPoint, and individual/group presentations.
Group project assignment details will be posted on the course blog.
APPLICATION EXERCISES - 100 points
Application Exercises: Students will be assigned several exercises designed to enhance their skills, knowledge, and understanding of interpersonal communication theories and concepts. Application Exercises will include in-class and out of class exercises which illustrate concepts/theories discovered in the readings. A written component is included in each of these exercises, and students must adhere to written work guidelines as outlined in the syllabus.
1. Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory & Improving Self-Concept Responses – 25 pts
2. Meez.com Avatar Creation & Response – 25 pts
3. “The List” Relationship Requirements– 25 pts
4. Thomas-Kilman Conflict Mode Instrument & Reaction Essay – 25 pts
Detailed guidelines and grading criteria for all graded assignments are posted on the course blog at com252uk.blogspot.com.
Determination of Final Grade
The final grade will be determined by adding the total points earned for each of the graded assignments and referring to the grading scale. The final grade is based on number of points accumulated—NOT PERCENTAGES. No extra credit is offered in this course. Final grades are not rounded up and are NOT negotiable.
POINT DISTRIBUTION
Quizzes 100 points
Midterm Examination 75 points
Final Examination 75 points
Application Exercises 100 points
Critical Research Symposium 150 points
TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE 500 POINTS
GRADING SCALE
A 450-500
B 400-449
C 350-399
D 300-349
E 0-299
DAILY SCHEDULE
(Any changes will be announced in class, and/or emailed to the class and/or posted on our class website. Additional due dates for project materials will be announced and emailed to the class.)
READINGS/ASSIGNMENTS
January
1/16 Syllabus/Course Overview/Intro to IPC/Activities
Ch1: Intro to IPC, Effective Com, Principles & Misconceptions
(Wednesday, January 21st, Last day to add a class for Spring Semester)
1/23 Our First Relationship(s), H. Harlow’s “The Nature of Love” The need for
personal relationships
Social vs. Personal Relationships
Groups Finalized for Critical Research Symposium Project
1/30 Quiz 1
Ch 2: Communication and Self Concept/Characteristics of your Self Concept
The Development of the Self via Interaction/Managing Impressions
Class exercise: Take Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory
Improving the Self Concept
(Wednesday, February 4th, Last day to drop a course without it appearing on the student’s
transcript)
February
2/6 Quiz 2
Application #1 due: SE Inventory & Improving SC Worksheet
Ch 3: The Process of Perception & Accuracy & Inaccuracy of Perception
Discuss Group Project/Requirements/Working Effectively in Groups/Code
of Conduct
2/13 Quiz 3
Due: Group Statement of the Problem/Topic & Rationale
Ch 4: Emotions: Thinking & Feeling/Expressing Feelings
2/20 Quiz 4
Application #2 due: Meez.com Avatar & Response Essay
Ch 5: Language
Documentary: The N Word: Divided We Stand
Class discussion of documentary
2/27 Quiz 5
Due: All Research Articles for Project
Ch 6: Nonverbal Communication/Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication
March
3/6 MIDTERM EXAM
3/13 Ch 7: Listening vs. Hearing & Becoming a more effective listener
3/20 No Class-Spring Break
3/27 Quiz 6
Due: Individual Papers for Critical Research Symposium
Ch 8: Relational Dynamics
April
4/3 Quiz 7
Due: Application #3 The List
Ch 9: Intimacy & Self-Disclosure in Relationships
Benefits & Risks of Self-Disclosure/Alternatives
Lying and Deception
In-class exercise: Love Styles
4/10 Quiz 8
Due: Group Paper for Critical Research Symposium
Ch 10: Communication Climates
Confirming & Disconfirming Messages
4/17 Quiz 9
Individual Outlines Due
Ch 11: Managing Conflict
Take Thomas-Kilman Conflict Mode Instrument
4/24 Quiz 10
Due: Application #4
Due: Group Outline & PowerPoint
Effective Oral Presentations (Content, Structure, & Delivery)
May
5/1 Critical Research Symposiums
5/8 Final Exam - 1:00 pm - should take about 75 minutes to complete, but you have up to 2 hrs.
* Final course grades posted on MyUK on 5/11 at noon.
Prof. Tamara Arrington
Department of Communication 243 Grehan Bldg.
University of Kentucky
Spring 2009 Syllabus – Friday section
Email: arrington_tamara@yahoo.com Office hours: M & W 2:00-3:15
Course Blog: com252uk.blogspot.com
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Dr. Deanna Sellnow 235 Grehan Bldg.
859.257.2886 Deanna.Sellnow@uky.edu
Required Materials:
Adler, R.B., & Proctor II, R.F. (2008). Looking Out, Looking In, (12 ed.). California: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.
ISBN: 0-495-83335-5
Students must purchase Scantron Forms #882-ES from any UK Bookstore for taking some quizzes and the midterm and final exam. Exams submitted on Scantron Forms that do not meet the aforementioned requirement will not be graded and the student will receive a grade of zero.
E-mail Account: It is required that all students have a working e-mail account.
The benefits you receive in this class are directly proportional to your efforts in keeping up with the assigned reading and actively participating in class to build trust, cooperation, support and mutual respect.
COURSE OBJECTIVES AND REQUIREMENTS
Many individuals believe that “communication” is so basic that it is taken for granted and not thought about seriously. Unfortunately, this attitude tends to result in such difficulties as misunderstandings, conflict, avoidance, and stereotyping. We will examine basic concepts, theories, and research findings relevant to initiating, developing, modifying, maintaining, and terminating relationships with an eye to the role of communication in the process. Lecture, discussion, in-and out-of-class observations, and “applied” assignments will be used to increase student knowledge and behavioral competence in interpersonal communication.
Interpersonal Communication is designed to increase your understanding and implementation of effective interpersonal communication behaviors and skills. Throughout the semester will examine basic verbal and nonverbal concepts affecting the communication process between individuals in various interpersonal contexts. This course requires you to participate in written and oral activities designed to develop and improve interpersonal skills and will actually improve the quality of your life if you keep an open mind and participate actively! Topics may include: an introduction to interpersonal communication theory, relationship and conversation management, effective listening, conflict management, ethics in communicating, communication climate, and cultural/gender differences in interpersonal communication.
Competencies and Objectives
Interpersonal communication introduces students to the complex interaction of social and psychological forces operating in human communication. The course is designed with a dual approach consisting of both theory and application that allows students opportunities to critically evaluate the intricacies of interpersonal relationships and the communication issues surrounding human interaction in various contexts.
At the conclusion of the course it is expected that students will demonstrate knowledge and skills in several core areas. Specifically, students should demonstrate an increased understanding of:
1. The options and alternatives for action in a wide variety of interpersonal situations.
2. Individual preferences and an increased appreciation for the differences of others.
3. The dialectical tensions that arise as students use communication to satisfy conflicting personal needs.
4. How the process of perception affects communication behavior.
5. The ethical dimensions of interpersonal communication.
6. The importance of nonverbal communication in successful interpersonal interactions.
7. Defensive and supportive communication climates.
8. Competence and an ability to assess the appropriateness and effectiveness of interpersonal strategies used in various interpersonal relationships.
9. Why and how relationships develop and the role communication plays in determining the nature and quality of interpersonal relationships.
10. Conflict in interpersonal communication and the application of conflict management principles.
11. Competencies related to communication with individuals from other cultures and co-cultures.
In addition, COM 252 addresses the following University Studies Program Competencies:
1. Writing: To communicate effectively using standard written English.
2. Reading: To understand, analyze, summarize and interpret a variety of reading materials.
3. Integrated Learning: To think critically and make connections in learning across the disciplines.
4. Creative Thinking: To elaborate upon knowledge to create thought, processes, and/or products that are new to the students.
5. Ethics/Values: To demonstrate an awareness of ethical considerations in making value choices.
COM 252 can be taken to fulfill the Oral Communication Skills Requirements in the University Studies Program. If you have any questions about this requirement, please contact Dr. Deanna Sellnow at 257-2886 or the USP Office at 257-3027.
General Requirements
You are expected to:
1. Be on time for all class meetings.
2. Interact productively in class discussions and group activities.
3. Be prepared daily for discussions and quizzes by reading all assigned material BEFORE the day it is listed on the course schedule.
4. Successfully deliver a group presentation.
5. Submit all written assignments TYPED at the BEGINNING of the class period on the designated due date.
6. Complete all major assignments (presentations, class assignments and tests). FAILURE TO COMPLETE THE GROUP PRESENTATION WILL RESULT IN AN ‘E’ FOR THE COURSE - regardless of your accumulated point total. Failure to complete any major assignment will result in a drop of one letter grade for each assignment missed.
7. Read your email at a minimum of 3 times per week.
Classroom Civility
There are certain basic standards of classroom civility that should be adhered to, particularly on a communication course. Civility does not eliminate appropriate humor, enjoyment, or other features of a comfortable and pleasant classroom community. Classroom civility does, however, include the following:
1. Displaying respect for all members of the classroom community, both your instructor and fellow students.
2. Attentiveness to and participation in lectures, group activities, workshops, and other classroom exercises.
3. Avoidance of unnecessary disruptions during class such as texting, having private conversations, reading the newspaper, and doing work for other classes.
4. Avoidance of racist, sexist, homophobic, or other negative language that may unnecessarily exclude members of our campus and classroom community.
If a student consistently exhibits behavior that disrupts the class or contributes to a negative communication climate, action will be taken, including forced withdrawal from the course. In addition all university students are expected to abide by the Student Code of Conduct. You can access this five-part document at http://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/DeanofStudents/conduct.htm
Reasonable Accommodation
If you have a special need that may require an accommodation or assistance, please inform the instructor as soon as possible. We cannot accommodate needs if we do not know what they are, so please notify your instructor right away.
Help Available: If you need assistance with oral presentations, contact Cyndy Miller at CHMiller12@aol.com or call 859-257-6137.
If you need help with other skills (writing, time management, etc.), contact The Thomas D. Clark Study, 5th floor in W. T. Young Library, or call 257-3156, or go to: www.uky.edu/ugs/study/.
Department of Communication Policies
Research Policy: The Department of Communication is committed to involving undergraduate students in scholarly research so that they may understand the importance of generating new knowledge at the University of Kentucky as a Research I institution. Students in this class are expected to participate in one research study (approved by the University IRB and assigned for this course). The study may take up to one regularly scheduled class period during the term.
Academic Integrity: We expect that all of the individual assignments you complete for COM 252 (and in all of your other courses) are always your own work. Please read the information on plagiarism and cheating from your UK Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook (www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/Code/) and talk with your instructor if you are uncertain about what this entails. If you have any questions about whether you may be plagiarizing in your work for COM 252, please be sure to contact your instructor well in advance of the due date for your assignment. Any work that is found to be plagiarized will result in a minimum of a “0” for the assignment, and may result in failure of the course and bring reported to University authorities. Cheating of any kind will not be tolerated.
COM 252 Policies
Cell Phone/Electronic Devices: Students are required to stow away and silence all cell phones and electronic devices. If you are seen texting during class, you will be asked to leave. Non adherence to this policy may result in a deduction of points. Moreover, violating this policy during quizzes/exams will result in the student receiving a grade of zero on the exam and subject to other penalties (as described above).
Attendance: ATTENDANCE IS REQUIRED. Class attendance and participation are important in accomplishing the goals of this course. Reading, class discussions, group workshops, and in-class activities increase both your understanding if interpersonal communication theory and the development of your interpersonal communication skills. In order to receive credit for attendance you must attend for the ENTIRE class period. Failure to do so will result in an absence for the given class session.
Please arrive to class on time.
Tardiness is unprofessional and displays disrespect toward your instructor and classmates. Consequently, you can expect to have 25 points deducted from your final grade for EACH tardy or early departure more than 2 times over the course of the semester.
Moreover, do not expect your instructor to cover any missed material specifically for you. If you are a few minutes late for a class, it is YOUR responsibility to make sure the instructor has not marked you absent for the day. This must be done on the day you are late. Otherwise, it holds as an unexcused absence.
Because class meets once a week, you will be allowed 1 unexcused absence. For each subsequent unexcused absence over the maximum allowed, 25 points will be deducted from your final grade. You cannot make up work missed for unexcused absences – you simply receive a zero.
You are given this ‘free’ absence for a special situation for which you have to miss class but would not otherwise receive an official excuse. Do not use this “freebie” for blowing off class and then come to the instructor later (after you have gone over the limit) when you have special circumstances and expect an excuse. The freebie allows for an emergency. Please don’t abuse this option.
The Students Rights and Responsibilities Handbook defines an excused absence as the following:
1. Illness of the student or serious illness of a member of the student’s immediate family;
2. The death of a member of the student’s immediate family;
3. Trips for members of student organizations sponsored by academic unit, trips
for University classes, and trips for participation in intercollegiate athletic events;
4. Major Religious holidays.
For any officially excused absence, you are responsible for presenting official written documentation for the absence. For university-sponsored absences, this notification is to be given to the instructor prior to the absence. For other excused absences, this documentation must be presented within one week of the absence. *Note: yellow date-stamped slips from UK student health center are not accepted as excused absences.
If you have excused absences in excess of one-fifth of the class contact hours, you shall have the right to petition for a “W” or the faculty member may require the student to petition for a “W.” See sections 5.2.4.1 and 5.2.4.2 of the Students Rights and Responsibilities Handbook for further clarification.
Assignments/Due Dates: Being absent does not excuse you from submitting homework on time. Even though missing class may be unavoidable, it is still your responsibility to submit all assignments on or before the designated due dates. If you know in advance that you will be missing, it is your responsibility to communicate with me PRIOR to the class session you will be missing. In the event of an emergency, please contact me by e-mail as soon as possible.
LATE HOMEWORK IS NOT ACCEPTED AND WILL RECEIVE A GRADE OF ZERO.
Moreover, there is NO EXCUSE for submitting assignments late when you know in advance that you will be missing class. In the event of an unanticipated EMERGENCY – and if it is feasible – students who provide proper written documentation for their absence may have up to two days after the absence to submit written assignments. Please note that this policy ONLY applies to University approved absences. Moreover, please be aware that some assignments (e.g., in-class exercises) cannot be made up.
Instructor’s Absence:
In the event of an emergency and the instructor is late for class, please remain in the classroom for 15 minutes. In the event of an emergency and your instructor has cancelled class, an email will be sent to you if at all possible and the department office will be notified to post a notice on the classroom door. In case of inclement weather, please check the local news and the website for cancellation notices.
Contacting Your Instructor:
Please use email as a primary means of contact. Allow 36 hours response time. Do not send repeated messages as this will only confuse the process and possibly delay a response further. Use basic courtesy when emailing. Do not add my email to your distribution list for jokes and other assorted “web junk”.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
This course combines lectures by the instructor, class discussion of assigned textbook readings, group work, audio/video presentations emphasizing certain communication concepts and skills, oral presentations by students, quizzes, exams, and classroom activities which all contribute to your overall understanding of interpersonal communication. Out-of-class work will include written exercises (class assignments), library research of communication concepts and planning of activities that are presented in a group workshop. Assigned chapters should be read before class so that you will be able to make a contribution to the class discussions and activities and perform well on the quizzes and exams.
Oral Skill Opportunities
Since this is an oral communication skills course, we want to provide you with many opportunities to develop these skills. Aside from general class participation, such opportunities may include performance and/or evaluation of role-playing activities, one major in-class presentation, dyadic communication case studies, and group discussions.
Written Work
NO Emailed assignments are accepted, unless otherwise required by the assignment instructions. Emailed work will not be graded, will be deleted, and will not receive a response.
You will be expected to use current APA 5th Edition style guidelines for all written work. Use of appropriate grammar is very important. Your written work will be evaluated on both content and mechanics. Good writing should be reasonably free of mistakes and without composition errors, which are called gross errors (sentence fragments, run-on sentences, subject-verb disagreement, misspelled words, and typographical errors which result in such errors). PROOFREAD your papers; do not leave it up to your computer software. If you are not able to perform these basic written requirements, your instructor may REQUIRE you to schedule appointments with the University Writing Center. In such cases, you will be required to provide your instructor with written documentation of your appointment.
All of your work MUST BE TYPED (using no more than 12 point type with margins not exceeding 1 inch on the top, right, and bottom, nor 1.5 inches on the left) and double-spaced--unless otherwise indicated by the instructor. Handwritten work (except for worksheets that must be filled out) will not be accepted. Multiple pages MUST be stapled in the upper left-hand margin and each assignment should include the following heading, located on the first page, upper left-hand side:
Name
COM 252-(Section #)
Assignment (e.g., Exercise #1)
Date
Submit all written assignments at the beginning of the class period on the designated due date. Failure to meet written work guidelines will result in a grade penalty.
Participation
Participation in this class is an ungraded basic expectation. Students are expected to question, probe, and challenge the course material, the professor, and their peers in the spirit of learning and enriching understanding. Personal attacks, demeaning comments, and overly confrontational scenarios are not tolerated.
FERPA & Privacy
It is against the law for your professor to talk to anyone else (that includes your parents) about your enrollment or work in this class. It is also against the law for me to release your grades or graded work to anyone else except you (that includes best friends and roommates). In addition, I cannot email grades – you must either get them in class, during office hours, or online.
What This Course is Not
We will be discussing communication as it relates to a number of issues, even sensitive issues. But it is not the behaviors themselves that will be the focus, but rather, the communication that underlies the situation. It is inappropriate (and dangerous) to use the course as individual therapy to help you solve serious personal, relational, or family issues such as abuse in all its forms (substance, emotional, physical, or sexual). If you do need help, your professor will be glad to refer you to the counseling center on campus or elsewhere.
GRADED ASSIGNMENTS
EXAMS – 150 points
Midterm Exam – 75 pts.
Final Exam – 75 pts.
These exams/tests cover the course readings, lectures, & class exercises.
QUIZZES – 100 points
There are 10 pre-scheduled quizzes that cover readings and course material (they may cover readings you have been assigned but have not yet been covered in class). These will be during the first 10 minutes of class (or online) and can only be made up with a written excused absence. If you arrive late to class and the quiz has already been distributed and completed by any students, you will not be given the opportunity to take the quiz. Quizzes may be given on an unassigned (“pop quiz”) basis at the instructor’s discretion.
GROUP PRESENTATION – 150 points
(100 points individual, 50 points group)
In order to address and assess the five University Studies Program Competencies met by COM 252 (writing, reading, and integrated learning, creative thinking, ethics/values) students will complete a major application component for this class that combines research, critical thinking, writing, and oral communication skills. Each student will pose a research question about and conduct extensive scholarly research on an interpersonal communication topic that has particular personal interest/relevance to his/her life and/or relationships. Students sharing similar areas of interest will form groups and present their findings to the class in a Critical Research Symposium. Critical Research topics are chosen by the student and approved by the instructor. You are encouraged to begin thinking about your Critical Research topic very early in the semester. Examples of previous student-selected topics and accompanying written outlines will be shared with the class prior to midterm.
Grade will include scholarly research articles, statement of problem, individual research papers, individual outlines, a group paper, a group outline, group and individual assessments, PowerPoint, and individual/group presentations.
Group project assignment details will be posted on the course blog.
APPLICATION EXERCISES - 100 points
Application Exercises: Students will be assigned several exercises designed to enhance their skills, knowledge, and understanding of interpersonal communication theories and concepts. Application Exercises will include in-class and out of class exercises which illustrate concepts/theories discovered in the readings. A written component is included in each of these exercises, and students must adhere to written work guidelines as outlined in the syllabus.
1. Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory & Improving Self-Concept Responses – 25 pts
2. Meez.com Avatar Creation & Response – 25 pts
3. “The List” Relationship Requirements– 25 pts
4. Thomas-Kilman Conflict Mode Instrument & Reaction Essay – 25 pts
Detailed guidelines and grading criteria for all graded assignments are posted on the course blog at com252uk.blogspot.com.
Determination of Final Grade
The final grade will be determined by adding the total points earned for each of the graded assignments and referring to the grading scale. The final grade is based on number of points accumulated—NOT PERCENTAGES. No extra credit is offered in this course. Final grades are not rounded up and are NOT negotiable.
POINT DISTRIBUTION
Quizzes 100 points
Midterm Examination 75 points
Final Examination 75 points
Application Exercises 100 points
Critical Research Symposium 150 points
TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE 500 POINTS
GRADING SCALE
A 450-500
B 400-449
C 350-399
D 300-349
E 0-299
DAILY SCHEDULE
(Any changes will be announced in class, and/or emailed to the class and/or posted on our class website. Additional due dates for project materials will be announced and emailed to the class.)
READINGS/ASSIGNMENTS
January
1/16 Syllabus/Course Overview/Intro to IPC/Activities
Ch1: Intro to IPC, Effective Com, Principles & Misconceptions
(Wednesday, January 21st, Last day to add a class for Spring Semester)
1/23 Our First Relationship(s), H. Harlow’s “The Nature of Love” The need for
personal relationships
Social vs. Personal Relationships
Groups Finalized for Critical Research Symposium Project
1/30 Quiz 1
Ch 2: Communication and Self Concept/Characteristics of your Self Concept
The Development of the Self via Interaction/Managing Impressions
Class exercise: Take Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory
Improving the Self Concept
(Wednesday, February 4th, Last day to drop a course without it appearing on the student’s
transcript)
February
2/6 Quiz 2
Application #1 due: SE Inventory & Improving SC Worksheet
Ch 3: The Process of Perception & Accuracy & Inaccuracy of Perception
Discuss Group Project/Requirements/Working Effectively in Groups/Code
of Conduct
2/13 Quiz 3
Due: Group Statement of the Problem/Topic & Rationale
Ch 4: Emotions: Thinking & Feeling/Expressing Feelings
2/20 Quiz 4
Application #2 due: Meez.com Avatar & Response Essay
Ch 5: Language
Documentary: The N Word: Divided We Stand
Class discussion of documentary
2/27 Quiz 5
Due: All Research Articles for Project
Ch 6: Nonverbal Communication/Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication
March
3/6 MIDTERM EXAM
3/13 Ch 7: Listening vs. Hearing & Becoming a more effective listener
3/20 No Class-Spring Break
3/27 Quiz 6
Due: Individual Papers for Critical Research Symposium
Ch 8: Relational Dynamics
April
4/3 Quiz 7
Due: Application #3 The List
Ch 9: Intimacy & Self-Disclosure in Relationships
Benefits & Risks of Self-Disclosure/Alternatives
Lying and Deception
In-class exercise: Love Styles
4/10 Quiz 8
Due: Group Paper for Critical Research Symposium
Ch 10: Communication Climates
Confirming & Disconfirming Messages
4/17 Quiz 9
Individual Outlines Due
Ch 11: Managing Conflict
Take Thomas-Kilman Conflict Mode Instrument
4/24 Quiz 10
Due: Application #4
Due: Group Outline & PowerPoint
Effective Oral Presentations (Content, Structure, & Delivery)
May
5/1 Critical Research Symposiums
5/8 Final Exam - 1:00 pm - should take about 75 minutes to complete, but you have up to 2 hrs.
* Final course grades posted on MyUK on 5/11 at noon.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Application #1 Assignment
1.Take the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory in class and get your self-esteem score by following the instructions provided in class.
2.Follow the steps in the worksheet on Improving Your Self-Concept.
3.Write a 1-page (12 pt. font, 1 inch margins, typewritten, double-spaced) response paper to this activity. Your response paper should draw on your readings about the self and communication as well as your score on the self-esteem inventory. Your response should give specific examples of how your self-concept and self-esteem influence your day to day interactions as well as the steps you may take to improve your self-concept.
4.Turn your response paper, your Self-Esteem Inventory, and your completed Self-Concept worksheet (all stapled together) in at the start of class on the due date listed in the syllabus.
2.Follow the steps in the worksheet on Improving Your Self-Concept.
3.Write a 1-page (12 pt. font, 1 inch margins, typewritten, double-spaced) response paper to this activity. Your response paper should draw on your readings about the self and communication as well as your score on the self-esteem inventory. Your response should give specific examples of how your self-concept and self-esteem influence your day to day interactions as well as the steps you may take to improve your self-concept.
4.Turn your response paper, your Self-Esteem Inventory, and your completed Self-Concept worksheet (all stapled together) in at the start of class on the due date listed in the syllabus.
Application #1 Response Paper
It came as no surprise that my self-esteem score is an "average" 39. While I seldom feel overjoyed about the "me" that I am, I still feel like a good, well-rounded person with fewer problems and issues than many others.
There are several things I would change about myself if I could. My weight and body image leave me less-than-confident in social situations. I believe that most people are more attractive than I am, and I am sure I communicate with less confidence because of it. I feel that people look at me and see a very overweight woman as opposed to a kind, generous, and intelligent woman. As a result, I try to overcompensate. I rely on humor to cover my lack of comfort. I also try to please people to the extent that I frustrate myself trying make others happy.
My worries and anxieties surrounding work and family relationships and responsibilities often leave me feeling inadequate. In 2001, I received the Educator of the Year award from Columbus State University - a student-nominated award. Even so, I continuously wonder if I am doing as well in my career as I could. I remain a bit bothered by the fact that I am "only" employed part-time and that I contribute far less to the household on a monetary level. I articulate this concern to my husband who is quick to remind me about the litany of ways I contribute that have no monetary value, yet are "priceless".
While I see myself as a passionate and caring person, I recognize from my self-concept worksheet that I could improve my communication of anger. I would like to work on expressing my anger more appropriately. Specifically, I would like to improve on the way I express it, ensuring that it is warranted, and that it is expressed to the proper individual and that it is well timed and communicated with a degree of respect. It will be challenging to do this, as I've learned my patterns of communicating anger from my father who remains a very angry person on many levels. Still, I read books (i.e. "Emotional Intelligence" by Daniel Goleman)and study Biblical scriptures related to anger (Mark, for example). I also receive good feedback from my friend Megan who is honest with her assessment of situations and my responses to them. I plan to carefully assess myself regarding my anger, and allow myself adequate time and space to make changes that can be enduring.
There are several things I would change about myself if I could. My weight and body image leave me less-than-confident in social situations. I believe that most people are more attractive than I am, and I am sure I communicate with less confidence because of it. I feel that people look at me and see a very overweight woman as opposed to a kind, generous, and intelligent woman. As a result, I try to overcompensate. I rely on humor to cover my lack of comfort. I also try to please people to the extent that I frustrate myself trying make others happy.
My worries and anxieties surrounding work and family relationships and responsibilities often leave me feeling inadequate. In 2001, I received the Educator of the Year award from Columbus State University - a student-nominated award. Even so, I continuously wonder if I am doing as well in my career as I could. I remain a bit bothered by the fact that I am "only" employed part-time and that I contribute far less to the household on a monetary level. I articulate this concern to my husband who is quick to remind me about the litany of ways I contribute that have no monetary value, yet are "priceless".
While I see myself as a passionate and caring person, I recognize from my self-concept worksheet that I could improve my communication of anger. I would like to work on expressing my anger more appropriately. Specifically, I would like to improve on the way I express it, ensuring that it is warranted, and that it is expressed to the proper individual and that it is well timed and communicated with a degree of respect. It will be challenging to do this, as I've learned my patterns of communicating anger from my father who remains a very angry person on many levels. Still, I read books (i.e. "Emotional Intelligence" by Daniel Goleman)and study Biblical scriptures related to anger (Mark, for example). I also receive good feedback from my friend Megan who is honest with her assessment of situations and my responses to them. I plan to carefully assess myself regarding my anger, and allow myself adequate time and space to make changes that can be enduring.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Application #3 Assignment
“THE LIST” of Partner and Relationship Requirements
****NOTE**** No "response paper" needed - just your list assignment.
Dr. Neil Clark Warren, founder of eharmony.com, and author of Date or Soul Mate tells us that we should all have a list of “Must Have’s” and “Can’t Stands” when it comes to selecting a life partner. If you were to think about your field of potential eligibles, which characteristics are most important to you? What qualities must be present in your partner no matter what? What behaviors or characteristics will you not tolerate under any circumstances? If you don’t know what you are looking for, how will you know when you have found it? Worse yet, how would you know if someone would be a bad fit for you in the long run?
If you have a partner, think about what you currently get that you would never give up. Likewise, think about that which you do not have in your relationship, but would like (or like to improve). If you do not yet have a life partner, here is your chance to commit to choosing well in the future.
1) Begin by creating a list of at least 50 items (more if you like) that are either “Must Have’s” or “Can’t Stands”. Choose wisely – if you could ONLY guarantee these few things, would you select the ones you listed?
2) Then place your preferences into categories. Below is a list of potential categories for you to begin with.
3) Have at least 1 “Must Have” and 1 “Can’t Stand” for each category listed below, and for any other category you add to the list. Create new headings for yourself as you think about the kind of partner you want and need.
4) Be as specific as possible and provide details and examples where necessary for clarification. There should be no doubt left with what you want. Save the list as an electronic file, as you will be editing your list throughout the semester.
5) When you are done with your list, rank order your top ten choices in each category by placing a number by each one. So, beside the most important item in your “Must Have” and “Can’t Stand” list, write #1, then #2 beside the second most important, and so on – until you’ve identified your top 10 “Must Haves” as well as your top 10 “Can’t Stands” that are on your master list.
Personality Variables
Physical Characteristics
Education
Work
Food
Conflict Resolution
Friendship
Time
Communication
In-Law Relationships
Extended Family Relationships
Travel
Clothing/Dress/Grooming
Money/Finances
Parenting Issues
Nurturing/Caregiving
Affection/Touch
Intimacy
Sexuality
Living Arrangements
Pets/Animals
Roles/Responsibilities
Religion/Spirituality
Taboos
Health/Illness
Recreation/Sports/Entertainment
****NOTE**** No "response paper" needed - just your list assignment.
Dr. Neil Clark Warren, founder of eharmony.com, and author of Date or Soul Mate tells us that we should all have a list of “Must Have’s” and “Can’t Stands” when it comes to selecting a life partner. If you were to think about your field of potential eligibles, which characteristics are most important to you? What qualities must be present in your partner no matter what? What behaviors or characteristics will you not tolerate under any circumstances? If you don’t know what you are looking for, how will you know when you have found it? Worse yet, how would you know if someone would be a bad fit for you in the long run?
If you have a partner, think about what you currently get that you would never give up. Likewise, think about that which you do not have in your relationship, but would like (or like to improve). If you do not yet have a life partner, here is your chance to commit to choosing well in the future.
1) Begin by creating a list of at least 50 items (more if you like) that are either “Must Have’s” or “Can’t Stands”. Choose wisely – if you could ONLY guarantee these few things, would you select the ones you listed?
2) Then place your preferences into categories. Below is a list of potential categories for you to begin with.
3) Have at least 1 “Must Have” and 1 “Can’t Stand” for each category listed below, and for any other category you add to the list. Create new headings for yourself as you think about the kind of partner you want and need.
4) Be as specific as possible and provide details and examples where necessary for clarification. There should be no doubt left with what you want. Save the list as an electronic file, as you will be editing your list throughout the semester.
5) When you are done with your list, rank order your top ten choices in each category by placing a number by each one. So, beside the most important item in your “Must Have” and “Can’t Stand” list, write #1, then #2 beside the second most important, and so on – until you’ve identified your top 10 “Must Haves” as well as your top 10 “Can’t Stands” that are on your master list.
Personality Variables
Physical Characteristics
Education
Work
Food
Conflict Resolution
Friendship
Time
Communication
In-Law Relationships
Extended Family Relationships
Travel
Clothing/Dress/Grooming
Money/Finances
Parenting Issues
Nurturing/Caregiving
Affection/Touch
Intimacy
Sexuality
Living Arrangements
Pets/Animals
Roles/Responsibilities
Religion/Spirituality
Taboos
Health/Illness
Recreation/Sports/Entertainment
The List
My students have an assignment to create their list of Must-Haves and Can't Stands in a life partner. I began creating mine at the age of 14, at the urging of my father. It is now a monster in terms of length, but one that truly represents what I need in a partner. For my students' sake, I'm posting it here and sharing it publicly:
Communication
He will be incredibly honest.
He will never, ever lie to me, even if it means relational discord.
He will tell me if he doesn’t like something I cook, if he doesn’t like something I’m wearing, or if he doesn’t like something I’ve done or am doing.
He won’t wait to tell me until it’s too late to do anything about it.
#5 Together, we will make one terrific team. Together, we will accomplish things that separately we would never be able to achieve.
He will dream big and tell me often about those dreams. He will actively work with me to find ways to make some of those dreams come true.
He’ll listen to me vent after a really bad day – even if he doesn’t feel my frustration, anxiety, or feelings are warranted. He’ll listen to my excitement when I’ve had a really good day – even if it isn’t something that would excite him.
He will have no problem asking for what he wants – relationally, sexually, intimately, or otherwise.
He will want to hear my desires and needs.
He will compliment me when there is something special he takes notice of.
He won’t patronize me. He will see me as his equal.
He will miss me when we’re apart.
He will be proud of my accomplishments.
He will remind me often that he loves me, even though I already know.
He will keep the secrets I tell him.
He will have good social skills, be able to meet new people, carry on a good conversation, and not make a fool of himself or me socially.
He will call if he’s going to be late.
He will ask me difficult questions about life.
He will think I’m wonderful, and when other people ask about me, he will have nice things to say about me.
He will be my confidant.
He will want to hear all the stories from my childhood, my teenage years, and my young adult life.
He will regale me with his stories as well.
He will take great joy in the creation of our new stories together.
He won’t do things out of mere obligation.
He’ll put me first – ahead of others in his life.
My perspectives and opinions will be important to him.
My happiness will be important to him.
He will consider my feelings when making important decisions.
Religion/Spirituality
#1 He must be a born-again Christian. He can and will be fatally flawed, yet forgiven. He must be a spiritual partner who sees God in similar ways and who seeks to understand his relationship with his creator. We can disagree about worship practices and philosophies, but the core values and things we believe in strongly should match. I want a partner to support me spiritually as well. He will go to church with me every week and pray with me regularly. Together, we will have a regular (weekly) Bible study as a couple, and have a goal of praying together every day.
He must not be holier-than-thou, sanctimonious, or overly concerned with ritual and tradition (like what hymns or praise songs are sung or when the offering is taken up or if a woman is in a leadership role). He must not judge others who choose to worship God in different ways. He must not believe that because he was saved as a child, that means he’s still saved. He must not buy into religious teachings that make women subservient, second-class citizens.
Personality Variables
He’ll enjoy a good intellectual discussion as well as utter silliness – even in the same day.
He’ll laugh at everything that is remotely funny. He’ll laugh at himself, at me, and at the millions of funny things this crazy life presents. He’ll want to have lots of fun. He’ll find fun in the mundane goings-on of life. He’ll want to have lots of fun with me.
He will not be selfish, and will know how to put me first sometimes. He will share freely with others and give to those in need.
He must not be depressed and sullen a majority of the time. He must be, overall, a generally happy person. He will want to be happy.
He will be flexible.
Education
#2 He will have at least as much college education as I have. He’ll have common sense, and know about lots of things I know nothing about. He will be brilliant and well read, but will know that other people (myself included) are just as smart and capable. He’ll teach me new things.
He won’t take issue with the fact that there are things I know more about than he does.
Work
He will like what he does for a living. Work/career will not be all consuming to him or me.
He will be interested in my career and future aspirations. He’ll gladly edit my work, listen to what happened in class or at the office, and support me in whatever I decide to do career-wise.
He will work as hard as I do in all aspects of his life. He will not become complacent with his lot in life, and will always strive to become better at what he does for a living.
He couldn’t care less if I make more money than he does.
Clothing/Dress/Grooming
#6 He will have fastidious personal grooming and hygiene habits. He will believe in showering every day and simple things like brushing his teeth. He will cut his hair regularly before he looks homeless. He will also shave every day, and I’ll cut him some slack there on weekends and when he’s not feeling well.
He will not wear pants without appropriate undergarments. He will not wear dirty clothes. He will not find it amusing when he smells bad. He will not pass gas and laugh and rate it on an Olympic scale.
Food
He will encourage me to be healthy - he’ll help me with healthy eating, weight loss or maintenance, and exercise. He’ll eat something decadent and completely unhealthy every now and then and enjoy every bit of it.
He will try new things – new foods, new recipes, new activities – just for the sake of variety. He’ll have lots of new things he wants me to try as well.
I want him to let me try to cook the things he likes as well as allow me the freedom to cook the things that I like and he doesn’t.
He will not be a vegetarian, or insist that we eat only organic foods. He will not be a health-food fanatic or a work-out obsessed body builder.
I want to eat dinner together as often as possible.
Conflict
He’ll respect me. Despite what will certainly be frequent differences of opinion, he’ll respect my right to my own views.
He’ll respect himself. He won’t compromise his values.
He will not engage in physical violence against me, our children, our pets, or other people.
He will not engage in verbally aggressive conflict, including raising his voice, name-calling, or swearing at me.
He won’t run away from an argument (physically or emotionally).
He’ll view compromise as a necessary part of ensuring relational sanity instead of something that causes people to loose out on what they really want.
He’ll not publicly humiliate or belittle me. He’ll keep relational problems out of the public arena. He won’t discuss our relational problems with anyone who will listen. He will not discuss our relational problems with members of his family.
He’ll tell me when I’ve done something that offends him, annoys him, troubles him, or hurts him. He will be open to hearing it when he has done the same.
He’ll accept my apologies. He’ll forgive my faults. He and I will both say “I’m sorry” when we commit a wrong.
Pets
He will tolerate and be nice to my cats. He will give them food and water. I do not expect him to ever have to clean the litter box, except if I am too ill to do so.
He will never hit, kick, or hurt the cats.
He will never want to own a dog.
Friendship
#7 He must be willing to become my best friend, and treat me as such. He must seek to maintain healthy connections with other people he considers his friends. He must correspond with and talk to his friends on a regular basis, and seek to do things together with people other than me. He will want us to spend time together with other people.
He must not place his friends above me. When he thinks he needs to give time to a friend instead of meeting family obligations, he should consult me first. He should not engage in inappropriate behavior when with his friends that he would not engage in when in my presence (drinking, smoking, drug use, swearing, and other assorted “actin’ a fool” behaviors).
Intimacy
He’ll touch me constantly. He’ll rub my feet just because and rub my back when I can’t fall asleep. He’ll run his fingers through my hair and along my back. He’ll hold my hand. He won’t be able to touch me enough.
In turn, he’ll love being touched. He will like to cuddle.
He will be passionate, intense, and want amazing physical intimacy with a partner who wants to experiment and experience new things, and who’s willing to try almost anything once.
He’ll kiss me all the time. Occasionally, he will kiss me passionately. He will love kissing me as much as I love kissing him.
When I’m in bed and can’t fall asleep, I’ll ask him to tell me a story, and he will accept the challenge.
Sexuality
He will meet me for lunch in the middle of the day for no reason other than to see me for just a while before going back to work. On occasion, we will go home and make love in the middle of the day and then spend the rest of our work days grinning.
He will share his fantasies with me and be delighted to hear mine.
He will not believe that sex is for a man’s pleasure alone. He will not ignore my sexual needs by frequently giving me excuses for why he’s not in the mood.
Taboos
He will never, ever, under any circumstance be unfaithful to me – he will not kiss or fondle other women or engage in cybersex.
He will not watch pornography unless he is watching it with me for fun as a couple.
Recreation/Sports/Entertainment
He will want to go out on the town from time to time.
He will have good social skills, be able to meet new people, carry on a good conversation, and not make a fool of himself or me socially.
He’ll take me to the theatre, to concerts, museums, and cultural events. Afterwards, we’ll critique every detail and laugh like idiots.
He’ll enjoy spending time with me and will want to spend a lot time together. He’ll allow us to talk about work if we want to, or not talk about it at all on days we don’t.
He will surprise me.
He will work with me to create a life full of fun, excitement, novelty, and spontaneity.
He will frequently give “romance” his best attempt.
He will do some things just because he knows how important they are to me.
He will want to go out at least once a week, and hopefully more often.
He’ll take me on dates even after we’re too old to do much.
He’ll write me love letters and poetry and play romantic music for me.
He’ll sing to me, even if it’s more funny than serious.
He will not let sports overtake his life, sanity, or responsibilities. He will turn off ESPN and FOX Sports and other assorted sporting events when there are other pressing responsibilities and deadlines to meet. He will strive to maintain a healthy balance between working and watching sports, and other aspects of his life.
He will not require me to go to sporting events with him. He will allow me the freedom to choose which events I want or do not want to attend. He will not pout or complain about my lack of enjoyment of watching or participating in any sport.
He will not be a Nascar fan.
In-Law Relationships
He will love his family and seek to maintain relationships with his family. He will want me to be a part of his family.
I hope he will like my family.
He will not be rude, insulting, or hateful to my family. If he has things to say about my family that is negative, he will reserve those comments for private conversations between he and I.
He will not discuss our relational problems with his family. He will not compare me to his mother (or any other relative). He will not expect me to be like his mother.
Nuturing/Caregiving
He’ll support me. He’ll do things for me when I can’t do them for myself, or just because he knows it’s important to me. He’ll support me emotionally by listening to me. He’ll provide confirmation and validation when I need it. He’ll encourage me to be the best at everything I find important to do.
He will be a life partner – someone who will help out with anything at all, even if it’s not his interest or area of expertise. When life’s in crunch-mode, I want a partner who actually wants to help out.
He will remember my birthday and buy me thoughtful gifts.
He will buy me little presents for no special reason.
Living Arrangements
He will work together with me to afford and buy a house that we will be comfortable and safe in, and that provides a safe and comfortable place to raise a family.
He will work together with me on the upkeep of the house.
He will not attempt household repair jobs that he cannot handle. He will call and pay for a proper expert for home repairs.
He will view housework as a joint effort. He will compromise on household task responsibilities so that together we can live in a clean and relatively organized home.
He will not leave dirty dishes in the sink longer than 24 hours.
Physical Characteristics
He will, of course, be absolutely beautiful to me.
He will not spend more time on his physical appearance than I do.
He will not have long hair, and will get regular haircuts prior to looking homeless.
He will keep his fingernails and toenails neatly trimmed.
He will not be morbidly obese.
He will not be shorter than me.
He will have the presence of buttocks.
He will not grow a beard. He will trim any facial hair regularly before food and small animals take residence in it.
Time
He will be on time for social events and engagements by arriving by the time the function is set to begin. If the movie starts at 7, we will be sitting down in the theatre by 6:55 at the latest.
He will not make me late by failing to be ready to leave the house in time to make it somewhere.
He will do his best not to cancel plans at the last minute (literally).
He will make social arrangements well in advance (hopefully a week in advance at the least).
He will not waste a tremendous amount of time sitting around being slothful.
Extended Family Relationships
He will realize that our long-distance family situations likely make it difficult to maintain frequent contact with family members. Nonetheless, he will make a concerted effort to allow us to see our families at least once a year – if only during the holidays or a short visit during summer vacation.
He will not create guilt-trip scenarios for me if we are unable to frequently travel to spend time with family members.
He will pay special attention to his relationships with his siblings, as they will likely outlive his parents. He will also be supporting of my efforts to maintain a healthy relationship with my brother.
Travel
He will want to regularly get out of whatever city we are living in. This travel can be to another city on a day trip, short weekend trips to an adjacent state, or longer week-long trips.
He will not “count” travel to professional conferences as our vacations and will not consider that sufficient “time away”.
He will not want to go on vacations with extended family.
He will view other vacation options than just going to Las Vegas. He will want to do more on vacation than sit in a hotel room and watch TV. Likewise, he will not have to plan out every single minute of a vacation.
He will plan a trip out of the country with me for sometime in the future.
Money/Finances
He will hate debt. He will work hard to eliminate all sources of debt in his life, as I have in mine.
He will not spend beyond his means. If he cannot afford something, he must not purchase it unless he can make the necessary payments (house, car, major repairs, etc.). He will not use credit cards for unnecessary purchases.
He will save money, both on his own and through retirement accounts.
He will tithe to his church, and view tithing as more than just a financial obligation.
Money and material possessions will not be the most important things in life to him.
Parenting Issues
He will not insist that I put my body through hell to try to conceive. He will view adoption as a viable option for us. He will not view race as an important factor in adoption.
#3 He will view parenting a joint obligation. He will take joint responsibility in caring, feeding, changing, disciplining, and playing with the children.
He will be committed to raising our children in a Christian church, and with Christian principles in the home.
Affection/Touch
He will love giving and receiving hugs and kisses every day.
He will not be stingy or selfish with the giving and receiving of affection. He will not be afraid to touch me in public, but he will not grope or fondle me in public, or engage in socially inappropriate PDAs.
He will like sitting close to me on the sofa, and snuggling up together while we watch TV or a movie, or listen to music.
He will dance with me in the living room.
He will “get fresh” with me, on occasion, in various rooms of the house.
Roles/Responsibilities
He will not view tasks according to gender lines (i.e. that there is “woman’s work” and “man’s work”). He and I will divide tasks and responsibilities according to what we are good at doing, or what we enjoy doing. When there are things that need to get done that neither of us want to do, we will jointly devise a way to get it done that works for both of us.
Health/Illness
He will not expect me to baby him when he is sick. He will appreciate the fact that I will take care of him when he is sick. He will be appreciative of my care giving efforts.
He will keep yearly well-visits to the doctor, and the dentist for routine cleanings.
He will not have any sexually transmitted disease.
He will engage in basic routines of taking care of his health – eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and not smoking, drinking, or doing drugs.
He will not abuse over-the-counter drugs.
He will view his health holistically – physical, mental, and spiritual health.
Communication
He will be incredibly honest.
He will never, ever lie to me, even if it means relational discord.
He will tell me if he doesn’t like something I cook, if he doesn’t like something I’m wearing, or if he doesn’t like something I’ve done or am doing.
He won’t wait to tell me until it’s too late to do anything about it.
#5 Together, we will make one terrific team. Together, we will accomplish things that separately we would never be able to achieve.
He will dream big and tell me often about those dreams. He will actively work with me to find ways to make some of those dreams come true.
He’ll listen to me vent after a really bad day – even if he doesn’t feel my frustration, anxiety, or feelings are warranted. He’ll listen to my excitement when I’ve had a really good day – even if it isn’t something that would excite him.
He will have no problem asking for what he wants – relationally, sexually, intimately, or otherwise.
He will want to hear my desires and needs.
He will compliment me when there is something special he takes notice of.
He won’t patronize me. He will see me as his equal.
He will miss me when we’re apart.
He will be proud of my accomplishments.
He will remind me often that he loves me, even though I already know.
He will keep the secrets I tell him.
He will have good social skills, be able to meet new people, carry on a good conversation, and not make a fool of himself or me socially.
He will call if he’s going to be late.
He will ask me difficult questions about life.
He will think I’m wonderful, and when other people ask about me, he will have nice things to say about me.
He will be my confidant.
He will want to hear all the stories from my childhood, my teenage years, and my young adult life.
He will regale me with his stories as well.
He will take great joy in the creation of our new stories together.
He won’t do things out of mere obligation.
He’ll put me first – ahead of others in his life.
My perspectives and opinions will be important to him.
My happiness will be important to him.
He will consider my feelings when making important decisions.
Religion/Spirituality
#1 He must be a born-again Christian. He can and will be fatally flawed, yet forgiven. He must be a spiritual partner who sees God in similar ways and who seeks to understand his relationship with his creator. We can disagree about worship practices and philosophies, but the core values and things we believe in strongly should match. I want a partner to support me spiritually as well. He will go to church with me every week and pray with me regularly. Together, we will have a regular (weekly) Bible study as a couple, and have a goal of praying together every day.
He must not be holier-than-thou, sanctimonious, or overly concerned with ritual and tradition (like what hymns or praise songs are sung or when the offering is taken up or if a woman is in a leadership role). He must not judge others who choose to worship God in different ways. He must not believe that because he was saved as a child, that means he’s still saved. He must not buy into religious teachings that make women subservient, second-class citizens.
Personality Variables
He’ll enjoy a good intellectual discussion as well as utter silliness – even in the same day.
He’ll laugh at everything that is remotely funny. He’ll laugh at himself, at me, and at the millions of funny things this crazy life presents. He’ll want to have lots of fun. He’ll find fun in the mundane goings-on of life. He’ll want to have lots of fun with me.
He will not be selfish, and will know how to put me first sometimes. He will share freely with others and give to those in need.
He must not be depressed and sullen a majority of the time. He must be, overall, a generally happy person. He will want to be happy.
He will be flexible.
Education
#2 He will have at least as much college education as I have. He’ll have common sense, and know about lots of things I know nothing about. He will be brilliant and well read, but will know that other people (myself included) are just as smart and capable. He’ll teach me new things.
He won’t take issue with the fact that there are things I know more about than he does.
Work
He will like what he does for a living. Work/career will not be all consuming to him or me.
He will be interested in my career and future aspirations. He’ll gladly edit my work, listen to what happened in class or at the office, and support me in whatever I decide to do career-wise.
He will work as hard as I do in all aspects of his life. He will not become complacent with his lot in life, and will always strive to become better at what he does for a living.
He couldn’t care less if I make more money than he does.
Clothing/Dress/Grooming
#6 He will have fastidious personal grooming and hygiene habits. He will believe in showering every day and simple things like brushing his teeth. He will cut his hair regularly before he looks homeless. He will also shave every day, and I’ll cut him some slack there on weekends and when he’s not feeling well.
He will not wear pants without appropriate undergarments. He will not wear dirty clothes. He will not find it amusing when he smells bad. He will not pass gas and laugh and rate it on an Olympic scale.
Food
He will encourage me to be healthy - he’ll help me with healthy eating, weight loss or maintenance, and exercise. He’ll eat something decadent and completely unhealthy every now and then and enjoy every bit of it.
He will try new things – new foods, new recipes, new activities – just for the sake of variety. He’ll have lots of new things he wants me to try as well.
I want him to let me try to cook the things he likes as well as allow me the freedom to cook the things that I like and he doesn’t.
He will not be a vegetarian, or insist that we eat only organic foods. He will not be a health-food fanatic or a work-out obsessed body builder.
I want to eat dinner together as often as possible.
Conflict
He’ll respect me. Despite what will certainly be frequent differences of opinion, he’ll respect my right to my own views.
He’ll respect himself. He won’t compromise his values.
He will not engage in physical violence against me, our children, our pets, or other people.
He will not engage in verbally aggressive conflict, including raising his voice, name-calling, or swearing at me.
He won’t run away from an argument (physically or emotionally).
He’ll view compromise as a necessary part of ensuring relational sanity instead of something that causes people to loose out on what they really want.
He’ll not publicly humiliate or belittle me. He’ll keep relational problems out of the public arena. He won’t discuss our relational problems with anyone who will listen. He will not discuss our relational problems with members of his family.
He’ll tell me when I’ve done something that offends him, annoys him, troubles him, or hurts him. He will be open to hearing it when he has done the same.
He’ll accept my apologies. He’ll forgive my faults. He and I will both say “I’m sorry” when we commit a wrong.
Pets
He will tolerate and be nice to my cats. He will give them food and water. I do not expect him to ever have to clean the litter box, except if I am too ill to do so.
He will never hit, kick, or hurt the cats.
He will never want to own a dog.
Friendship
#7 He must be willing to become my best friend, and treat me as such. He must seek to maintain healthy connections with other people he considers his friends. He must correspond with and talk to his friends on a regular basis, and seek to do things together with people other than me. He will want us to spend time together with other people.
He must not place his friends above me. When he thinks he needs to give time to a friend instead of meeting family obligations, he should consult me first. He should not engage in inappropriate behavior when with his friends that he would not engage in when in my presence (drinking, smoking, drug use, swearing, and other assorted “actin’ a fool” behaviors).
Intimacy
He’ll touch me constantly. He’ll rub my feet just because and rub my back when I can’t fall asleep. He’ll run his fingers through my hair and along my back. He’ll hold my hand. He won’t be able to touch me enough.
In turn, he’ll love being touched. He will like to cuddle.
He will be passionate, intense, and want amazing physical intimacy with a partner who wants to experiment and experience new things, and who’s willing to try almost anything once.
He’ll kiss me all the time. Occasionally, he will kiss me passionately. He will love kissing me as much as I love kissing him.
When I’m in bed and can’t fall asleep, I’ll ask him to tell me a story, and he will accept the challenge.
Sexuality
He will meet me for lunch in the middle of the day for no reason other than to see me for just a while before going back to work. On occasion, we will go home and make love in the middle of the day and then spend the rest of our work days grinning.
He will share his fantasies with me and be delighted to hear mine.
He will not believe that sex is for a man’s pleasure alone. He will not ignore my sexual needs by frequently giving me excuses for why he’s not in the mood.
Taboos
He will never, ever, under any circumstance be unfaithful to me – he will not kiss or fondle other women or engage in cybersex.
He will not watch pornography unless he is watching it with me for fun as a couple.
Recreation/Sports/Entertainment
He will want to go out on the town from time to time.
He will have good social skills, be able to meet new people, carry on a good conversation, and not make a fool of himself or me socially.
He’ll take me to the theatre, to concerts, museums, and cultural events. Afterwards, we’ll critique every detail and laugh like idiots.
He’ll enjoy spending time with me and will want to spend a lot time together. He’ll allow us to talk about work if we want to, or not talk about it at all on days we don’t.
He will surprise me.
He will work with me to create a life full of fun, excitement, novelty, and spontaneity.
He will frequently give “romance” his best attempt.
He will do some things just because he knows how important they are to me.
He will want to go out at least once a week, and hopefully more often.
He’ll take me on dates even after we’re too old to do much.
He’ll write me love letters and poetry and play romantic music for me.
He’ll sing to me, even if it’s more funny than serious.
He will not let sports overtake his life, sanity, or responsibilities. He will turn off ESPN and FOX Sports and other assorted sporting events when there are other pressing responsibilities and deadlines to meet. He will strive to maintain a healthy balance between working and watching sports, and other aspects of his life.
He will not require me to go to sporting events with him. He will allow me the freedom to choose which events I want or do not want to attend. He will not pout or complain about my lack of enjoyment of watching or participating in any sport.
He will not be a Nascar fan.
In-Law Relationships
He will love his family and seek to maintain relationships with his family. He will want me to be a part of his family.
I hope he will like my family.
He will not be rude, insulting, or hateful to my family. If he has things to say about my family that is negative, he will reserve those comments for private conversations between he and I.
He will not discuss our relational problems with his family. He will not compare me to his mother (or any other relative). He will not expect me to be like his mother.
Nuturing/Caregiving
He’ll support me. He’ll do things for me when I can’t do them for myself, or just because he knows it’s important to me. He’ll support me emotionally by listening to me. He’ll provide confirmation and validation when I need it. He’ll encourage me to be the best at everything I find important to do.
He will be a life partner – someone who will help out with anything at all, even if it’s not his interest or area of expertise. When life’s in crunch-mode, I want a partner who actually wants to help out.
He will remember my birthday and buy me thoughtful gifts.
He will buy me little presents for no special reason.
Living Arrangements
He will work together with me to afford and buy a house that we will be comfortable and safe in, and that provides a safe and comfortable place to raise a family.
He will work together with me on the upkeep of the house.
He will not attempt household repair jobs that he cannot handle. He will call and pay for a proper expert for home repairs.
He will view housework as a joint effort. He will compromise on household task responsibilities so that together we can live in a clean and relatively organized home.
He will not leave dirty dishes in the sink longer than 24 hours.
Physical Characteristics
He will, of course, be absolutely beautiful to me.
He will not spend more time on his physical appearance than I do.
He will not have long hair, and will get regular haircuts prior to looking homeless.
He will keep his fingernails and toenails neatly trimmed.
He will not be morbidly obese.
He will not be shorter than me.
He will have the presence of buttocks.
He will not grow a beard. He will trim any facial hair regularly before food and small animals take residence in it.
Time
He will be on time for social events and engagements by arriving by the time the function is set to begin. If the movie starts at 7, we will be sitting down in the theatre by 6:55 at the latest.
He will not make me late by failing to be ready to leave the house in time to make it somewhere.
He will do his best not to cancel plans at the last minute (literally).
He will make social arrangements well in advance (hopefully a week in advance at the least).
He will not waste a tremendous amount of time sitting around being slothful.
Extended Family Relationships
He will realize that our long-distance family situations likely make it difficult to maintain frequent contact with family members. Nonetheless, he will make a concerted effort to allow us to see our families at least once a year – if only during the holidays or a short visit during summer vacation.
He will not create guilt-trip scenarios for me if we are unable to frequently travel to spend time with family members.
He will pay special attention to his relationships with his siblings, as they will likely outlive his parents. He will also be supporting of my efforts to maintain a healthy relationship with my brother.
Travel
He will want to regularly get out of whatever city we are living in. This travel can be to another city on a day trip, short weekend trips to an adjacent state, or longer week-long trips.
He will not “count” travel to professional conferences as our vacations and will not consider that sufficient “time away”.
He will not want to go on vacations with extended family.
He will view other vacation options than just going to Las Vegas. He will want to do more on vacation than sit in a hotel room and watch TV. Likewise, he will not have to plan out every single minute of a vacation.
He will plan a trip out of the country with me for sometime in the future.
Money/Finances
He will hate debt. He will work hard to eliminate all sources of debt in his life, as I have in mine.
He will not spend beyond his means. If he cannot afford something, he must not purchase it unless he can make the necessary payments (house, car, major repairs, etc.). He will not use credit cards for unnecessary purchases.
He will save money, both on his own and through retirement accounts.
He will tithe to his church, and view tithing as more than just a financial obligation.
Money and material possessions will not be the most important things in life to him.
Parenting Issues
He will not insist that I put my body through hell to try to conceive. He will view adoption as a viable option for us. He will not view race as an important factor in adoption.
#3 He will view parenting a joint obligation. He will take joint responsibility in caring, feeding, changing, disciplining, and playing with the children.
He will be committed to raising our children in a Christian church, and with Christian principles in the home.
Affection/Touch
He will love giving and receiving hugs and kisses every day.
He will not be stingy or selfish with the giving and receiving of affection. He will not be afraid to touch me in public, but he will not grope or fondle me in public, or engage in socially inappropriate PDAs.
He will like sitting close to me on the sofa, and snuggling up together while we watch TV or a movie, or listen to music.
He will dance with me in the living room.
He will “get fresh” with me, on occasion, in various rooms of the house.
Roles/Responsibilities
He will not view tasks according to gender lines (i.e. that there is “woman’s work” and “man’s work”). He and I will divide tasks and responsibilities according to what we are good at doing, or what we enjoy doing. When there are things that need to get done that neither of us want to do, we will jointly devise a way to get it done that works for both of us.
Health/Illness
He will not expect me to baby him when he is sick. He will appreciate the fact that I will take care of him when he is sick. He will be appreciative of my care giving efforts.
He will keep yearly well-visits to the doctor, and the dentist for routine cleanings.
He will not have any sexually transmitted disease.
He will engage in basic routines of taking care of his health – eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and not smoking, drinking, or doing drugs.
He will not abuse over-the-counter drugs.
He will view his health holistically – physical, mental, and spiritual health.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Application #2 Assignment
1.Go to Meez.com, or follow the link on the right of this screen.
2.Follow the directions at meez.com and create an avatar of yourself. You do not have to spend any money – simply use all of the free items to create your avatar. Be sure to include appearance, clothing, background, and animation. Be as realistic or creative as you would like!
3.When your avatar is complete, be sure to save it.
4.Click on the link at the top of the page that says "Avatars", then chose "Export Meez", then click on the link at the top of that page that says “Invite A Friend”.
5.Use this application to email your avatar to your instructor using the email on your syllabus. Please be sure to include your name and course section number (day and time your class meets) in the "Comments" section before sending (so I know who you are).
6.In addition, email your avatar to a friend or family member and invite them to give you their reaction to your avatar (i.e. is it true to who you are?).
7.Write a 1-page (12 pt. font, 1 inch margins, typewritten) response paper to this activity. Your response paper should draw on your readings about the presentation of self and communication as well as online communication. Your response should give specific examples from your avatar-creation process as well as your class readings and lecture.
8.Turn your response paper in at the start of class on the due date listed in the syllabus.
2.Follow the directions at meez.com and create an avatar of yourself. You do not have to spend any money – simply use all of the free items to create your avatar. Be sure to include appearance, clothing, background, and animation. Be as realistic or creative as you would like!
3.When your avatar is complete, be sure to save it.
4.Click on the link at the top of the page that says "Avatars", then chose "Export Meez", then click on the link at the top of that page that says “Invite A Friend”.
5.Use this application to email your avatar to your instructor using the email on your syllabus. Please be sure to include your name and course section number (day and time your class meets) in the "Comments" section before sending (so I know who you are).
6.In addition, email your avatar to a friend or family member and invite them to give you their reaction to your avatar (i.e. is it true to who you are?).
7.Write a 1-page (12 pt. font, 1 inch margins, typewritten) response paper to this activity. Your response paper should draw on your readings about the presentation of self and communication as well as online communication. Your response should give specific examples from your avatar-creation process as well as your class readings and lecture.
8.Turn your response paper in at the start of class on the due date listed in the syllabus.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Application #2 Response Paper
I was pleasantly surprised upon logging in to meez that I had the option of choosing an avatar that was "plus sized". Other avatar-creation sites online seemed to have fewer options in terms of body-type. As an endomorph, I find meez uplifiting in that regard, though I must say I still find my avatar is still very thin compared to how I look in real life. In a way, it's nice to live in a thinner body in my online persona.
I created an avatar that I believe to be as close to my "actual" self as possible (both perceived as well as presenting, as Goffman would say). My material self is often represented in my love of jewelry, shoes, and accessories (I often wear a beret in winter - and my beret is an important part of my identity in the winter months. It's my steez!). My social self (selves as William James would argue) is tough to represent nonverbally, though my spiriual self comes through loud and clear in animations that allow me to express most every emotion I might be feeling on a day-to-day basis.
I chose conservative clothing for my first meez as I wanted a "look" that would be very similar to how I look when I teach. I often select clothing for myself in real life that could be worn out and about, or to teach, and I tend to be fairly conservative (revealing my "preppie" years in college). I did not find a large selection of clothing I would call conservative, but this may be due to the younger population that meez.com seems to cater to.
I created an avatar that I believe to be as close to my "actual" self as possible (both perceived as well as presenting, as Goffman would say). My material self is often represented in my love of jewelry, shoes, and accessories (I often wear a beret in winter - and my beret is an important part of my identity in the winter months. It's my steez!). My social self (selves as William James would argue) is tough to represent nonverbally, though my spiriual self comes through loud and clear in animations that allow me to express most every emotion I might be feeling on a day-to-day basis.
I chose conservative clothing for my first meez as I wanted a "look" that would be very similar to how I look when I teach. I often select clothing for myself in real life that could be worn out and about, or to teach, and I tend to be fairly conservative (revealing my "preppie" years in college). I did not find a large selection of clothing I would call conservative, but this may be due to the younger population that meez.com seems to cater to.
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