Students will be aware of the range of variations among 
different world cultures and U.S. co-cultures that are relevant 
for successful inter-cultural communication.  Students will be 
able to recognize culturally inappropriate communication 
strategies and patterns and to recommend more culturally 
appropriate communication strategies for interacting with 
various U.S. co-cultures and some major world cultures.  
Students will have a basic idea of how the media and legal 
frameworks shape cultural identities. 

1. Students will be able to identify the dimensions of cultural
variation in cultural values.
2. Students will be able to recognize how variant cultural 
values manifest in communication practices.
3. Students will be able to recognize communication practices
that are inappropriate with regard to dimensions of cultural
values and recommend more appropriate alternatives.
4. Students will recognize the relationship between their
cultural identities and media.
5. Students will recognize the relationship between national and
international legal frameworks and their cultural identities.

1) Dimensions of Cultural Variation in Relationships: (Hofstede:
Individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, etc.)
2) Dimensions of Cultural Variation in Qualities of Being:
(Perceptions of Time, Space, and Human Relationships to Nature)
3) Dimensions of Cultural Variation in Communication Practices:
(High context/low context, direct/indirect, formal/informal,
decision making and conflict, nonverbal variations)
4) Dimensions of Cultural Variation in Public Speech: (e.g.,
models of leadership, assumptions of "free speech," role of
in-group/out-group identification, sovereignty)
5) Stages of Intercultural Competence:(e.g., Bennett's 6 "Stages
of Change" model)
6) Legal Issues in Intercultural Communication: (EEOC Issues,
ADA, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, etc.)
7) Culture & Identity Formation: (e.g., national, gender, race,
class, sexuality identities formation)
8) Culture Diversity and Media: (e.g., mass media and
socialization; structural constraints and agency)

“Academic honesty is – defined broadly and simply – the
performance of all academic work without cheating, lying,
stealing, or receiving assistance from any other person or using
any source of information not appropriately authorized or 
attributed” (From the Preamble to “A Culture of Honesty”). The
University, the Department of Communication Studies, and I
personally take academic honesty very seriously. Every student 
at the University of Georgia should be familiar with the 
booklet, “A Culture of Honesty: Policies and Procedures on
Academic Dishonesty.” If you are not, please obtain one of these
booklets and read it carefully. This document has a thorough
presentation of four types of academic dishonesty, including 
plagiarism, unauthorized assistance, lying/tampering, and theft,
as well as the procedures that are in place to adjudicate 
alleged incidents of academic dishonesty. The policies and 
procedures described in “A Culture of Honesty” will be 
strictly followed. All academic work must meet the standards 
contained in “A Culture of Honesty.” Students are responsible 
for informing themselves about those standards before 
performing any academic work. More detailed information about 
academic honesty can be found at
http://www.uga.edu/ovpi/honesty/acadhon.htm.