Purpose

The purpose of this final project is for you to demonstrate your ability to describe the relationship between communication and culture and discuss specific verbal and nonverbal differences and similarities.

Overview

Prepare a final paper that compares two cultures that are both similar and different, often highlighting unexpected differences, such as two different cultural regions of France or Italy; or similarities and distinctions between two distant cultures, such as Australian Aboriginal and Cherokee; or between a culture of origin and an immigrant culture, such as Filipino and Filipino-American.

Include in your comparison paper the following:

1.  A general introduction to the project (why these two cultures?) 

2.  An overview of relevant contexts (e.g., historical, geographical) that might influence culture.

3.  Research, discuss, compare and contrast different aspects of each culture. Choose three focus areas from the list below to include in your comparison.  NOTE:  At least one of the chosen focus areas needs to be a communicative component. 

4.  A conclusion should be provided discussing what students have learned overall about the cultures.

Areas of possible focus

·  Social systems: education, political system, religious system, etc. (Some of these would fit under the category “social systems”; others might belong elsewhere.)

·  Verbal communication (norms/social practices). This might include the language(s) itself (or themselves), aspects of pragmatic usage (how to tell stories, make requests, give directions, etc.), ways in which language is changing, ways in which language reflects underlying “psychographics”.

·  Nonverbal communication (norms/social practices). This might include touch, distance, eye contact, or other channels, as well as paralinguistics (tone of voice, accent, rate of speech, etc.).

·  Rituals (norms/social practices). This might include formal rituals (such as funerals, weddings, initiation ceremonies, retirement/exit ceremonies) or informal rituals (playing the dozens, greeting rituals, interrelated courting behavior, etc.).

·  Psychographics (VBA: values, behaviors, attitudes); might also include world view.

·  Language politics and attitudes: is there/has there been debate over national/officially supported languages? Is there any evidence of prejudice against certain language forms, dialects in the culture? (And so on.)