T4214 HAWAI’I: MULTI-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

IN DIVERSE ORGANIZATIONS

December 29, 2013-January 24, 2014

Oahu and Kaua’i

Academic Overview
In Hawai‘i: Multi-cultural Communication in Diverse Organizations, we examine the concepts, theories, and realities of the way individuals and groups work and communicate in organizations where culture and multiculturalism plays a primary or prominent role. We do so in Hawai‘i because our fiftieth state is a microcosm of multi-ethnic cultures and co-cultures, all interacting in a business, retail, nonprofit and arts environment. Hawai‘i provides us with a living laboratory in which we can study and experience multicultural communication and organizations. As we examine multi-cultural and organizational communication, we will be challenged to examine our own cultural identities and assumptions, asking ourselves not only about the role that culture plays in the experiences and observations we will make as part of the class, but as they translate to our daily lives and experiences back on the mainland in our careers and personal life.

We will spend December 31- January 13 on Oahu and January 14- 23 on Kaua‘i, including three partial travel days. Course activities include: classroom sessions, guest presenters, guided tours, a panel discussion on multi-cultural communication led by UST alumni, and, a service-learning project at a bi-lingual Hawaiian school.

Comprehensive Fee
Costs: $5445-5745*
*Each home institution may have supplementary fees in addition to the price listed.
Comprehensive Fee Includes: Transportation and course arrangements as indicated, hotel accommodations in twin and triple rooms with kitchenettes, two lunches, six dinners and one cultural performances. (subject to change)

Prerequisites
Students are required to have one college-level course in communication studies or permission of instructor.

Required Readings
N. J. Adler (2008). International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior (5th edition). Cincinnati, OH: Southwestern (Thompson).
Additional Required Reading Packet

Evaluation
220 points Guided Journal Assignments
150 points Quizzes
150 points Final Analysis/Synthesis Paper
50 points Attendance and Full Participation
570 Points total

Faculty Directors
Debra Petersen, Ph.D., University of St. Thomas (651) 962-5828
Tim Scully, M.A., University of St. Thomas (651) 962-5824

Description of Faculty Directors

Prof. Petersen is an associate professor in the Communication and Journalism Department. In her 23 years at the University of St. Thomas, she has been a full-time faculty member in the Communication and Journalism Department, director of the Luann Dummer Center for Women, and, a member of the Women’s Studies Committee. She has successfully taught abroad, as thesole instructor of COMM 322 Intercultural Communication in Copenhagen (4 credits) and COMM 296 Advanced Readings in Intercultural Listening (2 credits) during the extended summer sessions in 2003 and 2005 for the University of St. Thomas. She has successfully taught Hawai’i: Multi-Cultural Communication in Diverse Organizations, for UMAIE five times. She co-authored a scholarly article, “Service-Learning in the “Away-From-Campus” Context: Lessons, Experiences, and Practical Wisdom from the Hawaiian Ke Kula Ni’ihau O Kekaha School Projects,” based on her Hawai’i experiences. Prof. Petersen received the UST Global Citizenship Faculty award in 2012 and the UST Faculty Service-Learning award in 2010.

Prof. Scully is an Associate Professor in the Communication and Journalism Department. Since 1990 when he joined the newly formed Communication Department, his background as an award-winning television producer has enhanced his teaching of several courses in video production and new technologies. For 14 years he advised the award-winning student-produced video magazine, “Campus Scope and is now an adviser of Tommie Media, an award-winning student-produced website (TommieMedia.com). Documentaries he produces with students often are broadcast on Twin Cities Public Television. In 2003 his class went to Nairobi, Kenya to shoot a mission with Children’s HeartLink. The program earned an Emmy Award nomination. In 2006 his students produced a documentary comparing Somali immigrants in Perth, Western Australia and with those back home in the Twin Cities. A member of the Service-Learning Advisory Board since 2002, he is a recipient of the UST Service-Learning Award for Faculty and Faculty Global Citizenship Award. Prof. Scully has explored intercultural issues and involved his students with service-learning projects all of his 23 years at the University of St. Thomas. He co-authored “From Australia to Africa to the Islands: Service-Learning Projects Far Away from Campus,” a monograph for the Vatican Conference, Power to Transform the World at Marquette University in July 2010. In the spring of 2011 he received UST’s Multicultural Student Services Outstanding Commitment Award. In 2009 and 2012 he was the secondary instructor for Hawaii: Multi-Cultural Communication in Diverse Organizations and he will again be the secondary instructor in 2014.

Final Application Deadline: October 1, 2013

For more information on course content, contact Prof. Debra L. Petersen
On application procedures or logistical information, contact your study abroad office.