Asian Studies 341-80, Yoon

 ASN 341 Asian and American Cross-Cultural Communication

 

Professor: Dr. Keumsil Kim Yoon

                                                     Email: yoonk@wpunj.edu

Department: Languages and Cultures

Office & Hours: Atrium 235, Tuesday 3:30-4:30

 

 

 

Dear Students,

 

I would like to welcome all of you to ASN 341 on-line, Fall 2010.   I am Dr. Keumsil Kim Yoon who will teach the course.   

 

Informal Orientation

 

Although this course will be taught fully on-line, I will hold an informal meeting for those who have questions regarding the course:  Thursday, 9/2,  2:20:-3:30:pm  in Atrium 235.    It will be great to have a social interaction “in person” as we begin.  Please send me an email (yoonk@wpunj.edu) to let me know if you will be attending this informal session.    

 

 

Course Description

 

A comparative and contrastive study of interpersonal communication in East Asia (i.e. China, Japan, and Korea) and the United States.  The course familiarizes students with the foundations of cross-cultural pragmatics, and examines the differences and similarities in cognitive, verbal, and behavioral patterns among East Asians and between East Asians and Americans.  The course explores areas of misunderstanding and strategies for effective communication in business, professional and social interactions between East Asians and Americans.    (Please note that this course does NOT cover South Asia.)

 

 

Required Texts/Readings

 

 

1. Bookstore:

1) Ron Scollon and Suzanne Wong Scollon (2001) Intercultural Communication, Second Edition, Malden Mass: Blackwell Publishers. 

2) Gao, G. and S. Ting-Toomey (1998) Communicating Effectively with the Chinese. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.  ---

3) W. Gudykunst and T. Nishida (1994) Bridging Japanese/North American Differences. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.  --

 

2. Electronic Reserve

1) William B. Gudykunst (Ed. 2003) Cross-Cultural and Intercultural Communication. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publication --- Chapter 1

 

 

3. Posted documents (e.g. lecture/class materials, links, etc.)

 

 

Expectations/Requirements

 

The course is structured to provide students with the opportunity for individual self-reflection, interactive learning, collaborative group work, simulation and case studies modeling while requiring students to challenge themselves to explore their own comfort zones.   The course places a premium on curiosity, insight, reflection, open-mindness, and constructive comments.    

 

The requirements include:

  • ·.Weekly Reading and Active Discussion.
  • Three mini-exams/quizzes and a final exam. 
  • · A term project on cross-cultural analysis of critical incidents.
 
 
Finding the course

 

i) Go to http://bb.wpunj.edu/

ii) Press the Login button to access to the Username and Password page. 

iii) Enter username, which is your identical to your WPUNJ email username.

iv) Enter your id number as your password.

Once you have logged on to Blackboard, find the course ASN341-80 Fall 2010, you are ready to start exploring.  The course shells will be activated on September 1st. 

 

For additional instructions regarding using Blackboard, please refer the various help links contained on the Blackboard Home page at http://bb.wpunj.edu/