Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is for you to research a country you are interested in or have a passion for and explore its geography and culture. Choose a country or culture you are not affiliated with and/or culturally a part of. Imagine yourself in the role of a tour guide leading us through the beauty and excitement of the country of your choice.
Please be very cautious as to avoid playing into any negative or offensive stereotyping of your selected country or culture. Engaging in this type of behavior in your essay will not be tolerated and may result in a failing grade. I trust that all of you will be fine, but if you have any questions as to what constitutes stereotyping, please feel free to consult with me.
Requirements:
In this assignment you will upload your completed essay and works cited page.
Write a 4-7 page paper researching and addressing all of the following aspects of the country/culture of your choice:
Geography/Capital/important lakes, oceans, mountains etc.
Food/Famous Cuisine
Religions
Cultures
Various Peoples
Dress/Fashion
(Cultural/Traditional Customary & Contemporary Modern Fashion)
Music/Arts/Sports
Entertainment
Tourist Attractions/Special Structures
Languages Spoken
Educational System
Problems experienced by the country (current push factors)
Education
Economics/Currency
Other additional/unique/important factors or features of your country
Culture and communication patterns (high-low context, Hofstede)
Skills: The purpose of this assignment is to help you practice the following skills that are essential to your success in school and your professional life beyond school. In this assignment you will:
Access and collect needed information from appropriate primary and secondary sources.
Synthesize information to develop informed views about countries and their cultures
Compose a well-organized, clear, concise and balanced report to expand your knowledge on a subject of your interest.
Knowledge: This assignment will also help you become familiar with the following important knowledge in the field of communication studies:
Cultural influences on communication
How to communicate content in a brief and persuasive manner
Conducting scholarly research formats for documenting in-text sources and creating reference pages
Task: To complete this assignment, you should:
Select a country that you feel passionate about researching and want to explore to learn more about.
You can click on the following link to search countries: https://history.state.gov/countries/allLinks to an external site.
Watch the library tutorial on Canvas (location) to familiarize yourself with credible sources.
Collect 5-7 sources that help you gain insight into the above mentioned topics (geography, dance, arts, etc.)
Write a 4-7 page paper reporting on your findings of your country and its culture. Devote at least one paragraph to describe the communication patterns in your country. Research especially Edward T. Hall’s low- and high-context communication (see below) and Geert Hofstede’s research on individualism etc. (Chapter 8 in our textbook and see below). Cite your sources in your paper MLA or APA style.
Paper Format:
Title page: Name, Title (think of something creative), date
5-7 text pages
Reference page: list the 5-7 sources you found in alphabetical order in MLA or APA style.
Point breakdown:
Paper: 100 Points
Sources to begin your culture and communication research with:
Click on these links and read the relevant information about cultural differences in communication. If you cannot find your country explicitly listed, research which of the listed countries are culturally similar to yours.
Edward T. Hall
https://online.seu.edu/articles/high-and-low-context-cultures/Links to an external site.
https://www2.pacific.edu/sis/culture/pub/context_cultures_high_and_lo.htmLinks to an external site.
Geert Hofstede
https://geerthofstede.com/culture-geert-hofstede-gert-jan-hofstede/6d-model-of-national-culture/Links to an external site.
https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries/Links to an external site.
