Class Time:     Autumn Semester, Friday 17.45~19.15             

Place:             OUC Sapporo Satellite

  Course Aims

The purpose of this course is to explore the way culture influences interpersonal communication. The first part of the course considers culture, individual identity and group identity, and the second part of the course considers how culture both affects and is affected by language. Each lesson begins with a lecture by the teacher, and concludes with class discussions about the issues. Students are expected to prepare for each class by reading assigned texts. During the course, students will be set two written assignments and they will have to carry out practical research into one of the class topics. At the end of the course students will make a class presentation and produce a report based on their findings.

This class is conducted in English.

Course Contents

Each class is based on one theme related to culture and communication and issues related to these articles will be discussed in class in small groups.

Schedule

1. 1.How does culture influence language?
   

2. 2.The Relationship of Language and Culture (Sapir-Whorf)
   

3. 3.Linguistic Relativity – Space; Time; Shapes & Substances; Objects
   

4. 4.Individual identity, National Identity & Cultural values
   

5. 5.Linguistic Identity
   

6. 6.Meaning as Sign
   

7. 7.Meaning as Action
   

8. 8.Pragmatics
   

9. 9.Spoken language, oral culture
   

10. 10.Print Language, literate culture (Contrastive Rhetoric)
    

11. 11.Male and female talk
    

12. 12.Language and cultural identity
    

13. 13.Cultural Influences on language – Doctor-Patient communication
    

14. 14.Current Issues
    

15. 15.Presentations
    

Course Materials

We shall use materials from a variety of sources, but the following books are especially important :

1. Kramsch, C. (1998) Language and Culture (Oxford Introductions to Language Study). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
   

2. Monaghan, Leila and Jane E. Goodman (2007) A Cultural Approach to Interpersonal Communication: Essential Readings. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
   

3. Scollon, R. & Wong Scollon, S. (2001) Intercultural Communication 2nd Edition. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
   

4. Joseph, John (2004) Language and Identity: National, Ethnic, Religious. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.
   

Additional Materials & Links

Lecture 1

News Story - Naval Academy Discovers Culture (Washington Post, July 2010). The US navy accepts that learning a language involves learning about the culture in which the language is used.

News Story - Does your language shape how you think? (New York Times, August 26 2010) A Short introduction to Whorf’s original proposition, why it is untenable, and how recent research shows that language does influence culture.

Links

Homepage - Prof. Lera Boroditsky. Department of Psychology, Stanford University (Includes PDF archive of academic articles.)

Homepage - Prof. Daniel C. Everett. Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Illinois State University  (Includes video, audio and PDF files of academic and general articles)

Homepage - Guy Deutscher. Research Fellow at the School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures, University of Manchester. (Includes PDF archive of academic and general articles)

Homepage - Prof. Claire Kramsch. German Department/School of Education, University of California, Berkely.