Overview:
Communication is affected by a variety of factors, among
these cognitive styles/preferences, physical spaces, and increasingly, virtual
spaces. These virtual spaces are
being populated by those traditionally bound to a more familiar physical space:
by teachers and students in academe, as evidenced by this course, but
more and more these virtual spaces are being populated by work teams
collaborating both in-house and at a distance.
Because these teams are made up of a variety of different people with
different goals—for instance, subject matter experts, supervisors, production
staff, as well as writers and editors—each with a different cognitive style
and cultural background, the ability to communicate effectively in these virtual
spaces (as well as the more familiar physical spaces) is imperative.
Successful communication depends on how well we understand and navigate
these spaces.
This course will explore how space impacts knowledge-making
and communication. We will examine
communicative space in terms of cognitive space, physical space, and virtual
space, exploring each facet individually first, then observing how these spaces
interplay and allow for—demand, in fact—negotiation and collaboration in and
of themselves, and how those populating these spaces might be more effective in
their communication. Cognitive
space might include personality, gender, societal values, and learning styles,
all of which impact communication. Physical
space might include the temperature, the lighting, color scheme, physical
proximity, body language, textures, feng shui, and “flow,” all of which
impacts communication. Virtual space might include technologically enabled
spaces such as notes, PDAs, cell phones, data bases, web-based environments,
allowing for various levels of interactivity, as well as ease of use,
“transparency,” and speed, again all of which impacts communication. These spaces operate in a parallel universe, and by examining
each space individually and then in a complex overlay, we will better understand
how space affects communication in our daily lives, particularly in
knowledge-making/sharing, team building, and goal-based communicative
activities.
Required Texts:
1. Tieger, Paul D., Barbara
Barron-Tieger, Marly
A. Swick.
The Art of Speedreading People: How to Size People Up and
Speak Their Language.
2. Preece, Jenny. Online Communities:
Designing Usability and Supporting Sociability
(paperback).
Online booksellers include: Barnes and Noble (www.bn.com)
or (www.amazon.com) or for used books (www.half.com).
Other
Readings Available on e-Reserve, may include selections from:
Smith, Marc A. and Peter Kollock, Eds. Communities in
Cyberspace.
Tingley, Judith C. Genderflex : Men & Women Speaking Each Other's Language
at Work.
Canary, Daniel J.
and Kathryn Dindia, Eds. Sex Differences and Similarities in Communication : Critical Essays and
Empirical Investigations of Sex and Gender in Interaction (Lea's communication).
Bloom, Paul, Merril F. Garrett, and Mary A. Peterson.
Language and Space (Language Speech and Communication).