Diversity Issues in Communication
Course Description
The purpose of this course is to identify barriers to effective communication associated with racial, gender, cultural, and socio-economic diversity in the workplace and in the community. Students will develop an understanding of why and of how diversity issues influence effective communication. This course introduces techniques for improving written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills in response to diversity concerns.
Topics and Objectives
Cultural Values and Intercultural Communication
- Analyze the dimensions of cultural values and cultural communication styles.
- Define various terms related to diversity.
- Explore the personal and professional effects of marginality.
Communication Patterns and Diversity
- Analyze oral and nonverbal communication styles associated with race, gender, and class.
- Examine the effects of nonverbal communication patterns such as paralanguage/metacommunication, chronemics, proxemics, oculesics/haptics, and personal/social zones.
Contemporary Diversity Issues
- Examine images of race, gender, and class in American culture.
- Examine the personal and social barriers of diversity in the workplace.
Future Multiculturalism in the Public Sector
- Analyze how the organization may be regarded as "culture."
- Examine the future of multiculturalism in the workforce.
- Explore aspects of managing diversity in the workplace.
Culture as Confluence
- Analyze the dynamics of communication among diverse people and ethnic groups.
- Relate and compare different experiences and make connections between dominant/subordinate cultures and one's own life.