General Notes:
This syllabus is an outline of proposed events. It is subject to change. I will never change it to make anything due earlier for you. I may change the order of things to allow for a special opportunity or to allow additional exploration on a particular topic. I will supply supplementary readings along the way.

Communication: I expect everyone to use e-mail – direct to me at jswift@uri.edu for papers or personal notes, and inquiries, and the listserv COM324@listserv.uri.edu for general issues and postings – in order that we can communicate efficiently with each other. We will use this tool to increase class discussion by posting additional ideas, observations, questions and insights. If you need to see me, call or e-mail and I’ll get back to you as quickly as possible.

Attendance:
Attendance is expected. Each class is 2 hours and 45 minutes long. If you cannot stay focused for that length of time, drop the class.This class is a whine-free zone. Furthermore, you are upperclass Communication Studies majors and I assume you want the stimulation of class discussion with a professor and your peers. If you will not attend on a given day because of an emergency (and it better be of the "I can't fog a mirror" variety), please call or e-mail. Absences will hurt your grade because class participation is an important aspect of my evaluation of your work. If you are working on a group project and do not show to work with your group, that counts doubly against you. Groups cannot function as teams if they do not support each other with respect. Blowing the team off is disrespectful. No team is required to wait for you or accommodate your failure to perform. Genuine emergencies are different. One class is a lot of class time so if you plan to miss classes—even one—it will hurt your grade. Much of the work is participatory and cannot be made up. I give you one class in exchange for the field trip to be fair. Otherwise, be there on time, prepared, attentive and ready to work.

Submission of Written Work:
All written assignments are to be submitted as an attachment via e-mail. Please send with a subject header in the e-mail as follows: YOURLASTNAME.TOPIC. The file should be saved as YOURLASTNAME.TOPIC.DOC. The document should open to reveal your name, the date and the topic as a header on the paper. If more than one person developed the script/project, then all names should be listed. Do not deviate from this format so that I am not challenged to figure out who sent what paper on what topic. Thank you. I will return incorrect submissions.

Reading List

Required:

Richmond, Virginia P., James C. McCroskey, . Nonverbal Behavior in Interpersonal Relations. Allyn and Bacon, Inc.; 5th edition, 2004. ISBN 0-2053-7246-5

Not Required: good supplementary textbooks

Burgoon, Judee K. Nonverbal Communication: The Unspoken Dialogue. Mcgraw-Hill Publishing Company; 2nd edition, 1996. ISBN 0-0070-0899-5

Knapp, Mark L., Judith Hall. Nonverbal Communication in Human Interaction. Harcourt Brace; 4th edition, 1997. ISBN 0-0030-1802-3

Guerrerro, Laura K., Joseph A. DeVito, Michael L. Hecht. The Nonverbal Communication Reader: Classic and Contemporary Readings; Waveland Press, Inc.; 2nd edition, 1999. ISBN 0-1577-6604-0

Anderson, Peter A. Nonverbal Communication: Forms and Function. Mayfield Publishing Company; 1999. ISBN 0-1559-3472-6

Other readings as applicable and assigned including excerpts from articles, magazine and newspapers.

Evaluation and Grading:
Grades will be determined in accordance with the University system as described in the University Manual beginning in Section 8.53.10.

Honor Code:
I expect each of you to contribute his/her own work; however, I also encourage you to work together to solve problems, achieve solid analysis, critique performances, and even to prepare and explore the theses of your final performances. I also expect that you will all be direct about crediting yourself and/or others about completed work. There is nothing wrong with assisting each other. The only caveat is to acknowledge that assistance. With regard to group work, you will be required to sign a contract agreeing to be responsible for disclosing the amount of your work and to be forthright about how much you did or did not contribute. This saves each of you from ever having to be in the awkward position of reporting or covering for another student. I also know each of you want to be honorable in your individual or group projects. On the other hand, if a student violates rules pertaining to plagiarism or cheating, I will report that student to the appropriate university authorities. I will do this because it is no favor to cover for a person who acts dishonestly. We call this enabling. It is also unfair to the students in the class who come by their grade honestly. For information on plagiarism, please see the University Manual beginning with Section 8.27.10.

Special Needs:
If you have any special circumstances arising from a disability, please let me know how I can assist you. As stated in the University Manual: "The student with a disability shall be responsible for self-identification to the Disability Services for Students in the Office of Student Life, providing appropriate documentation of disability, requesting accommodation in a timely manner, and follow-through regarding accommodations requested." In other words, it is your responsibility to make arrangements for any special needs and my responsibility to accommodate them with the assistance of the Office of Disability Services for Students.

Philosophy of Teaching:
I am committed to an engaging, active partnership of learning in which I rediscover and discover aspects of nonverbal communication/presentation along with you. We will discover that NVC is useful in the exploration of a wide range of topics from historical events to contemporary issues. The ways in which we communicate nonverbally are rich in nuance and meaning. NVC has direct application in all aspects of our lives. In short, this is exciting stuff. However, just as no one is responsible for our individual happiness but us, no one is responsible for our intellectual excitement. I can bring mine to the classroom but you also need to be prepared to risk exposing and exploring yours. Learning should be fun and painful–thinking ‘til it hurts, and addictive. I look forward to the time we will have together examining NVC.

Classroom Etiquette:
Although I am perfectly happy to enjoy the benefits of an informal classroom in which people feel free to speak without the raising of hands and can sit in a less formal arrangement than row-by-row, this informal setting requires a particular adherence to good manners. Quite simply, I expect you all to be respectful of me and of each other. This includes extraneous private commentary between and among students, the use of any telecommunications devices that connect you to the outside world, and the continued courtesy of respectful attention without interruption when others are speaking. We all learned this behavior either at home or in Kindergarten or both. You are the Sesame Street generation - actually the second Sesame Street generation; you grew up with TV shows that taught the value of please and thank you. Consider this experience to be one in which your communication style will be judged and a major part of that judgment is your ability to be courteous on both an interpersonal and group level. I embrace humor; I do not embrace disruption. I am utterly intolerant of any student being harshly judgmental or making fun of a fellow student. I expect you are all courteous people at heart and will have absolutely no difficulty in meeting and exceeding these expectations. If your cellphone rings in my class, guess who will answer it?

Assistance:
If you have difficulty with writing, study habits, etc., Seek assistance at the Academic Enhancement Center (www.uri.edu/aec/)

Additional Information on assignments:

Materials:
Please go to www.uri.edu/artsci/com/swift to locate Writing Tips, Speaking Anxiety and Brainstorming: The Creative Process.