Professor
Nancy Baym
Office: 115 Bailey
Phone: 864-9876
Mailbox: Communication
Department Office, 102 Bailey
Email: nbaym@ku.edu (please
include 244 in your subject line)
Office Hours: 2-3 Mondays and Fridays and by
appointment
Graduate
Teaching Assistant Natabhona Mabachi
Office: 5D Bailey Hall
Phone: 864-9888
Mailbox: Communication
Department Office, 102 Bailey
Email: nmabachi@ku.edu
Office Hours: Monday 11-1 and Wednesday 11-12
We often think
that common sense provides us with all we need to know about managing our
interactions and relationships. Other times we think that the way we
communicate is a part of who we are that can not be changed. The goal of this
class is to reveal the complexity of our interpersonal communication, and, in
so doing, to provide the tools to make conscious choices about your self and
your relationships with others. This course also provides a foundation for
further coursework in Communication Studies. The format combines lectures and
discussion to examine how we are defined by interpersonal communication, how we
use interpersonal communication to form impressions of others, and how the ways
we communicate with others creates, maintains, and ends close relationships.
Required Text
Beebe, S. A.,
Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2008). Interpersonal communication:
Relating to others (5th ed.).
Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Additional
readings will be assigned and can be found on the course Blackboard site under
Course Documents.
Attendance and Participation
Seats in Communication Studies courses
are hard to come by. If you are claiming one, you are expected to show up each
and every class meeting having read the readings on time, ready to pay
attention, ask questions and participate in discussion.
Regular attendance and class participation is expected and
required for a good grade in this class. Texts will largely be based on lecture
material, including material not in the textbook. If you must miss a class, it is your responsibility to
get notes and copies of handouts from classmates.
We expect each of you to listen with an open mind and
respect the opinions of others. Furthermore, as it is a communication course,
we expect you to demonstrate competent communication. This means we will not
tolerate racist, sexist, homophobic, or other such statements that may be
demeaning to others. Behavior that interferes with othersÕ ability to focus on
the course will also not be permitted. Examples include but are not limited to:
talking to each other during class, falling asleep, reading the newspaper,
doing puzzles, text messaging, playing with your cell phone, studying for other
courses. If you are engaged in these behaviors, you may be asked to
leave.
Graded Work
1) Quickwrites
– Quickwrites are unannounced writing assignments completed at the start
of class. They may require knowledge of the assigned readings and are a means
of assessing course participation. Quickwrites will be offered 12 times and are
worth 15 points each. Each student may miss up to two quickwrites without
penalty. Students will receive extra credit for completing more than 10
quickwrites. If you are late or absent, you may not make up a missed
quickwrite. If you leave class after completing a quickwrite you will not
receive credit for that quickwrite.
2) Interpersonal
Ethnography – Before February 18th, you should conduct an
interpersonal communication ethnography. During one twenty four hour
period, you should keep a detailed record of every interpersonal encounter you
have. Every time you have contact with another person that you
consider Òinterpersonal,Ó record that event. YouÕll submit the notebook
in which you record your descriptions and a brief paper analyzing your records.
Additional details to follow on Blackboard.
3) Exams
– students will complete three tests and a comprehensive final exam on
all lectures, handouts, and readings covered in class. The tests will consist
of 50 multiple choice and true/false questions. The first will be worth 50
points, the second will be worth 100, and third and the final will be worth 150
points each.
4) Final
Paper – students will apply one of a choice of theories to a real-life
experience, and then critique both the experience and the theory. More details
regarding the theories and paper assignment will be available in the
Assignments section on Blackboard.
5) Extra
Credit – You can receive extra credit by completing 11 or 12
quickwrites for 15 or 30 points accordingly. There will be no other extra
opportunities to earn points.
Ò24/7Ó Rule: Students must wait 24 hours before questioning a
grade – students then have 7 days to bring the issue to Dr. BaymÕs
attention by filing a written appeal of their grade – after 7 days, the grade is final.
DO NOT USE EMAIL. University privacy
regulations require that all grading issues be handled in person, on the
telephone, and on paper.
Grades are updated regularly in Blackboard – however,
please keep track of your own records of all assignments graded in class. Make
a note of which ones you turned in, just in case there should be any question
concerning credit earned. If you receive something back without receiving
credit for it on Blackboard, turn it back in to with an attached note
indicating that you have not received credit. All material for which you did
not receive credit should be turned back in ASAP, and must be returned for credit prior to the final exam
Emailing Dr. Baym and Ms. Mabachi: If you are unable to come to our office hours, we
encourage you to email us with questions you have about course material,
assignments, or exams. Inquiries about grades must be made in person or on the
telephone during office hours. Emails asking what you missed when you did not
come to class are not appropriate. If you must miss class, you should get that
information from peers in the class. You can expect a response to an email
within 48 hours. Do not expect us to respond on evenings, nights, or weekends.
Grade Sheet: Use
This to Keep Track of Your Grade
GRADING SCALE:
900 - 1000 = A, 899 -
800 = B, 799 - 700 = C, 699 - 600 = D, <600 = F
These are the
final grade point divisions for this course. Grades will not be rounded or assigned on a curve. (In
other words, 798 points is a C, while 800 points is a B.) Keeping with these
guidelines keeps final grade assignments fair for all.
A = 90% -100% Exemplary performance –
greatly exceeded course requirements.
B = 80% - 89% Advanced performance
– exceeds requirements - substantial creativity & effort.
C = 70% - 79% Average performance –
simply meets the minimum requirements of the course.
D = 60% - 69% Deficient performance
– meets some course requirements, but deficient in others.
F = Below 60% Poor performance –
deficient in most or all requirements.
|
Type of Assignment |
Points Received/Points Possible |
|
Quickwrites |
|
|
#1 = /15
#6 = /15 |
|
|
#2 = /15
#7 = /15 |
|
|
#3 = /15
#8 = /15 |
|
|
#4 = /15
#9 = /15 |
|
|
#5 = /15
#10= /15 |
|
|
#11 (Extra Credit)=
( /bonus) |
|
|
#12 (Extra Credit)=
(
/bonus)
|
|
|
Quickwrite Total (15%) |
/150 |
|
Quickwrite extra credit |
( /bonus) |
|
|
|
|
Exams (55%) |
|
|
Exam 1 |
/50 |
|
Exam 2 |
/100 |
|
Exam 3 |
/150 |
|
Final Exam |
/150 |
|
|
|
|
Interpersonal
Communication Ethnography (15%) |
/150 |
|
|
|
|
Final Paper (25%) |
/250 |
|
|
|
|
Total Points Earned |
/1000 |
Missed Test,
Late Work, Incomplete, Academic Dishonesty, & Disabilities Policies
Under normal
circumstances missed exams
cannot be made up. If you know you will be unable to make an exam in advance or
encounter an extreme emergency, we may be able to make alternative arrangements
if you contact me immediately. If you contact me after missing an exam, you
will not be able to make up the test without an extraordinary and
well-documented reason.
Assignments are due no later than the start of
class. Unless there has a been prior agreement worked out with Dr. Baym, late
work will not be accepted.
Incompletes will be granted only when these three
conditions are met: there is a serious emergency, no additional class
attendance is necessary to finish the course, and the extension is cleared with
me before the final class period.
Plagiarism and other practices of academic misconduct will result in a lowered grade or 0 points for the
assignment and possibly the course, and will be reported to the college for
possible further disciplinary action at the college and university levels.
Penalties at those levels can include academic probation and expulsion.
University
Senate Rules and Regulations (USRR) 2.6.1 provides the following definition of
student academic misconduct:
Academic misconduct by a student shall include, but not be limited to,
disruption of classes; threatening an instructor or fellow student in an
academic setting, giving or receiving of unauthorized aid on examinations or in the preparation of notebooks,
themes, reports or other assignments; knowingly misrepresenting the source
of any academic work;
unauthorized change of grades; unauthorized use of University approvals or
forging of signatures; falsification of research results, plagiarizing of
another's work; violation of regulations or ethical codes for the treatment of
human and animal subjects; or otherwise acting dishonestly in research.
Simply put, all
work you turn in must be your own. Ideas that came from others must be credited
to them, whether through quotation or citation. If you click on Òavoiding plagiarismÓ
at http://www.writing.ku.edu/students/docs/guides.shtml
you will have a useful starting place if you are unsure what exactly
constitutes the misuse of sources that leads to charges of plagiarism.
Turnitin.com
The plagiarism monitoring website turnitin.com is utilized
in this course to ensure proper citation and originality of student work. An electronic copy of the required
paper will be turned in to http://www.turnitin.com.
You must submit your paper to www.turnitin.com by the time you submit the paper
in class (you are always welcome to turn it in early). If a paper is
not submitted to www.turnitin.com it will receive no points.
Instructions for using www.turnitin.com are posted on the Course Blackboard
site.
Taping Class: Course materials prepared by the
instructor, together with the content of all lectures and review sessions
presented by the instructor are the property of the instructor. Video and audio
recording of lectures and review sessions without the consent of the instructor
is prohibited. On request, the instructor will usually grant permission for
students to audiotape lectures, on the condition that these audiotapes are only
used as a study aid by the individual making the recording. Unless explicit
permission is obtained from the instructor, recordings of lectures and review
sessions may not be modified and must not be transferred or transmitted to any
other person, whether or not that individual is enrolled in the course.
Students
With Disabilities: The
staff of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD), 135 Strong,
785-864-2620 (v/tty), coordinates accommodations and services for KU
courses. If you have a disability
for which you may request accommodation in KU classes and have not contacted
them, please do as soon as possible. Please also see me privately in regard to
this course.
Course Schedule
Friday January 18: WhatÕs A Theory?
Friday January 25: Interpersonal
communication Ch.
1
Messages and Social
Context
Monday January 28: Verbal communication Ch.
6
Friday February 1: Nonverbal communication Ch.
7
Monday February 4: Communication Medium
Friday February 8: Metacommunication
Monday February 11: FIRST
TEST
Friday February 15: Social Norms
Monday February 18: Gender IPC
ETHNOGRAPHY DUE
Friday February 22: Culture Ch.
4
Messages and
Interpersonal Understanding
Monday February 25: Understanding
Messages Ch.
3
Friday February 29!: Personal Identity Ch.
2
Monday March 3: Social Identity
Friday March 7: Listening Ch.
5
Monday March 10: SECOND TEST
Communication in
Relationships
Friday March 14: Relational
Development Chs.
9 and 10
SPRING BREAK
Monday March 24: Managing Openness and Privacy pp.
54-64
Afifi
(2003)
Friday March 28: Relational
Dialectics pp.
298-299
Braithwaite
& Baxter (1995)
Monday March 31: Cross-Sex Friendships pp.
278-279
Friday April 4: Family
Relationships pp.
350-358
Monday April 7: Social
Networks and Exchange pp.
296-298
Friday April 11: THIRD TEST
Monday April 14: Social Support
Friday April 18: Conflict
Management Ch.
8
Monday April 21: Deception Ch.
11
Parks
et al. (2002)
Friday April 25: Power pp.
269-274
Monday April 28: Abuse pp.
330-334
Friday May 2: Ending
Relationships pp.
335-347
Monday May 5: In
Class Review Session
Final Exam: Friday,
May 16, 1:30-4:00, 100 Smith