Prerequisites
Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to demonstrate the following knowledge or skills:
- Define cultural values
- Comprehend individual characteristics which contribute to culture, including ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, disability, and sexual orientation
- Explore aspects of their own individual cultures
- Compare local cultural groups to cultures represented in the readings for the class
- Transform negative conceptions about other cultures
- Explore the practical application of the concept of “accommodation” with regard to culture
- Recognize individuals as part of a matrix of disparate cultural cues, rather than simply representatives of a single culture.
- The course will provide instruction in the identification and articulation of aspects of culture, as seen in examples provided by the individual student, the class as a whole, and the assigned works of literature
- The course will focus on broadening students’ definitions of culture, focusing on their ability to appreciate similarities between their own cultures and other cultures.
- In cases where the literature being studied highlights unfamiliar behaviors, students will be encouraged to see as these as “different” rather than “abnormal” or “incorrect.”
- The course is designed to be discussion based, with the majority of class time devoted to student discussion rather than lecture.
- The instructor will require at least one formal essay and one planned and outlined oral report. Students’ grades must be based primarily on their ability to apply generalized concepts of culture to specific examples, rather than on their comprehension of the assigned texts.
- The instructor will require at least one group collaborative project which requires students to work together outside of class.
Students will complete all essays required by the instructor, and will be required to participate in group exercises and complete quizzes and tests in order to reach the goals of the course.
Grades will be established through consideration of formal essays (which may be weighted), quizzes, oral reports, group projects, and attendance. No more than 25% of the overall grade will be based on comprehension of the assigned literature.
Grades may be lowered for late work. Some instructors may require individual conferences.
PO4 should be assessed: Students will be able to recognize or articulate personal/interpersonal aspects of, or connections between, diverse cultural, social, or political contexts.
PO5 should be assessed: Students will be able to solve problems by gathering, interpreting, combining and/or applying information from multiple sources.