SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies 

CRS 331

INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

3 Credit Hours

Course #19984 Section M002

Fall 2024

Wed 5:15-8PM

Sims Hall 131

Professor: Jim Dunagan Office Hours: Monday/Wednesday 12-1PM
Email: jadunaga@syr.edu Call/Text: 315-882-2435
Office: Sims 141

REQUIRED TEXT

Beebe, S.A., Beebe, S.J., & Redmond, M.V. (2020) Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Others (9th ed.), Boston, MA: Pearson. ISBN: 978-0-1348-7717-4

COURSE DESCRIPTION

(From the course catalog)

Application of communication theory to a wide variety of social situations. Accessing communication competence, problem solving, and relationship management.

(From me)

We will examine the nature of communication that exists beyond ourselves, typically between two people. This study of interaction will be accomplished through the lens of established theory, other scholarship and research, as well as your own observations and experiences in establishing, maintaining, and sometimes ending relationships. Our efforts will follow two specific but related tracks: to better understand the process of meaning-making, which is in itself understanding; and to bring into better focus the importance of interpersonal communication as an “other-oriented” activity.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the end of the course, it is expected that you will be able to:

  • Define interpersonal communication and how it functions within the communication process
  • Understand self-concept and how it compares with self-esteem
  • Explain perception and how it is used to form impressions and interpret behavior
  • Define culture and know the barriers inhibiting intercultural communication
  • Explain the significance of listening and use skills for comprehension, empathy, and appropriate response
  • Describe how words create meaning and how to use words to converse with others
  • Identify eight nonverbal communication codes to enhance expressing and interpreting messages
  • Define interpersonal conflict and identify commonly held misconceptions about it
  • Understand what interpersonal relationships are and the three theories that explain them.
  • Know how relationship expectations are violated and what constitutes the “dark side” of relationships
  • Explain the nature of friendships and strategies for initiating, escalating, and maintaining relationships
  • Describe ways to improve family communication and the nature of workplace relationships

COURSE SCHEDULE

The course schedule is provided in a separate document and is subject to change.

METHODS OF INSTRUCTION

  • Class discussion, student interpretation/reaction to work, review video projects
  • Learning module content delivered via Common Ground Scholar learning environment
  • In-class presentations
  • Team projects

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

  • Attendance, participation and professional conduct
  • Complete all Scholar learning module updates including assessments, satisfy contribution requirements
  • Complete team milestones
  • Two team/group projects
  • Critical evaluations of self and others

GENERAL POLICIES

Interpersonal Communication is integral to communication, as I think it alone forms the basis for how we as humans are better able to relate to those around us.  At this point, I don’t anticipate that your instruction will be anything except 100% in person, we all know how quickly that situation can change. To help smooth any change to remote learning, you will work with a good deal of what’s called “asynchronous” content (online only), thanks to a new tool (for many of you) called Common Ground Scholar. It is an online learning community which we will start working with right away.

Attendance–This class is considered “in-person instruction,” which means attendance every class session is required. With a course that meets only weekly, being in class each week is doubly important. As such, 150 points, or 15% of your total grade, is based on attendance and participation. You will earn points each class meeting based on being present in class and involved in class discussions and other activities – 12 points each week beginning with Week 2 for a total of 144 points. You will earn the additional 6 points for having no unexcused absences over the semester. While I do expect you to attend all class sessions, I also know that life often interferes with our best-laid plans. If there is a situation that keeps you from attending class, you will find me both understanding and fair in my dealings with you, provided you keep me informed.  Read more about how excused and unexcused absences are treated below.

  • Excused absences will be permitted if I am notified in advance for an appropriate reason (illness, personal/family issues, etc.) Doing work for another class or some related reason will not be excused.  If you are excused from class attendance, you will still receive attendance points for that day, but you will not earn participation points. An excused absence also does not relieve you of any other class responsibilities. A maximum of two excused absences will be permitted. Student athletes with permission from their team to miss class for games/events will be given excused absences for those occasions. If you face serious life/family/health difficulties that are impacting your attendance, please let me know and I will help you to figure out what to do.
  • Unexcused absences are simply any absences that are not excused. Unexcused absences receive no points for attendance or participation for each instance. Those absences will also result in a zero for any work done in class that day. Multiple unexcused absences will have a damaging effect on your final grade. See below:
    • One unexcused absence          18 points – about 2% of final grade
    • Two unexcused absences        30 points – 3% of final grade
    • Three unexcused absences      42 points – over 4% of final grade
    • Four unexcused absences       54 points – over 5% of final grade
  • In addition, four unexcused absences will require a mandatory meeting with me to avoid getting a failing final grade for the class. In this meeting, we will address issues related to your absences. Five unexcused absences will automatically result in a failing final grade.

Participation – Class participation is crucial in our work together. It is often my best indication that you understand the concepts that we are talking about. There will be several different ways you will be graded for participating. You are ultimately responsible for keeping track of your progress for each of these activities by regularly monitoring My Grades in Blackboard.

  • In-class discussions and team activities that will count toward your Attendance and Participation grade each week
  • Two short presentations about the content you create in Scholar (2 at 10 points each)
  • There will be a total of seven video activities over the semester (one about every other week) to complete using a fun tool called “Flip.” You must do a minimum of 5 at 10 points each with extra credit possible for completing the additional videos

Punctuality – Being on time is so important to our ability to accomplish all the things we need to do. I reserve the right to consider repeated episodes of tardiness as unexcused absences. Please do your part by being on time and let me know if something will cause you to be late.

Deadlines – As a rule, I do not like deadlines. I find them somewhat arbitrary and unnecessary for students able to manage their workloads. However, they are useful for students who struggle with time management. So, there will be deadlines established for all individual and team assignment work and I will retain discretion as to whether or not I will consider any such work as “late.” You will be expected to keep up with the weekly updates from Scholar and to complete the required activities. Since Scholar is not designed to be particularly deadline-friendly, you should also periodically meet with me in a 1-on-1 session to review your Scholar progress.

Technology – Since our class work requires that you have a mobile device, so I am asking you to bring your laptop to each class meeting. You may also use a phone or tablet if you prefer. However, please limit any device use to classroom activity.  If you have a pressing need to call or text someone, please leave the classroom so as not to distract your fellow classmates.

Communication – In the event that you need to email me, please use only your “syr.edu” email account and in the subject line include “CRS 331.”  I will do my best to respond to you in a timely fashion, but don’t assume I have forgotten about you if it’s less than 24 hours after sending me a message.

Scholar – Common Ground Scholar will be the principal learning environment for this class. Please visit my Professor Dunagan website for help with creating a Scholar user account and then joining our class community, which is called “CRS 331 Fall 2024 Interpersonal Communication.” We’ll spend a significant amount of time during the first week in class working together to make sure everyone understands how it works and how you will contribute to it.

Blackboard – We won’t be using Blackboard for a lot in this class, but it will be where you can keep track of your grade progress (exclusive of Scholar). In addition, various individual and team assignments will be submitted to Blackboard.

Grading – You will have constant and real-time access to your grade progress during the course.  Using My Grades in Blackboard, you can track your completion of in-class activities like Scholar updates, attendance and participation, as well as your individual and team assignments. You’ll also be able to monitor your progress in Scholar via the Analytics module.  As you complete Scholar activities, you will be assessed a score based on the individual metrics of each activity. It’s a bit complicated but it will make sense as we progress through the semester. My goal for each of you is to encourage you to do your best possible work. In any case, please remember that I will always be happy to work with you on succeeding in this class. That said, it is ultimately your responsibility to make sure you have received credit for the work you have done, which means monitoring My Grades in Blackboard and the Analytics tool in Scholar. I will always be happy to make sure your grades are correct, but I will not be making such changes as a result of last-minute requests at the end of the semester. Once a final deadline for requesting changes has been established and communicated to you (which will be done well in advance), NO REQUESTS FOR GRADE CHANGES WILL BE CONSIDERED. Grades for this course will be determined based on the table below:

Requirement Total Points
“Ready for Scholar” activities (watch videos, join group, complete first update) 50
7  video activities @ 10 points each (5 required, 2 optional) 50
2 Scholar update presentations @ 10 points each 20
5 Group assignments @ 30 points 150
Attendance and participation 150
Writing project activities (formatted references, completed incorporating reference sources 80
1 final team report/paper 150
1 final team presentation 100
Scholar participation (based on “ideal” Analytics score of 80) 250
Total Points 1000

Grading Breakdown: 1000 – 930 = A; 929 – 900 = A-; 899 – 870 = B+; 869 – 830 = B; 829 – 800 = B-; 799 – 770 = C+; 769 – 730 = C; 729 – 700 = C-; 699 – 650 = D; 649 – 0 = E

OTHER POLICIES

Academic Integrity –Syracuse University’s Academic Integrity Policy reflects the high value that we, as a university community, place on honesty in academic work. As a pre-eminent and inclusive student-focused research institution, Syracuse University considers academic integrity at the forefront of learning, serving as a core value and guiding pillar of education. Syracuse University’s Academic Integrity Policy provides students with the necessary guidelines to complete academic work with integrity throughout their studies. Students are required to uphold both course-specific and university-wide academic integrity expectations such as crediting your sources, doing your own work, communicating honestly, and supporting academic integrity. The full Syracuse University Academic Integrity Policy can be found by visiting class.syr/edu, selecting, “Academic Integrity,” and “Expectations and Policy.”

Upholding Academic Integrity includes the protection of faculty’s intellectual property. Students should not upload, distribute, or share instructors’ course materials, including presentations, assignments, exams, or other evaluative materials without permission. Using websites that charge fees or require uploading of course material (e.g., Chegg, Course Hero) to obtain exam solutions or assignments completed by others, which are then presented as your own violates academic integrity expectations in this course and may be classified as a Level 3 violation. All academic integrity expectations that apply to in-person assignments, quizzes, and exams also apply online.

Students found in violation of the policy are subject to grade sanctions determined by the course instructor and non-grade sanctions determined by the School or College where the course is offered. Students may not drop or withdraw from courses in which they face a suspected violation. Any established violation in this course may result in course failure regardless of violation level.

All generative-AI tools are prohibited in this course because their use inhibits achievement of the course learning objectives. This policy applies to all stages of project and writing processes including researching, brainstorming, outlining, organizing, and polishing. Do not use Generative-AI tools to create any content (i.e., images and video, audio, text, code, etc.). If you have any questions about a feature and whether it is considered Generative-AI, ask your instructor.

Disability Services – Syracuse University values diversity and inclusion; we are committed to a climate of mutual respect and full participation.  There may be aspects of the instruction or design of this course that result in barriers to your inclusion and full participation in this course.  I invite any student to contact me to discuss strategies and/or accommodations (academic adjustments) that may be essential to your success and to collaborate with the Center for Disability Resources (CDR) in this process. If you would like to discuss disability-accommodations or register with CDR, please visit Center for Disability Resources. Please call (315) 443-4498 or email disabilityresources@syr.edu for more detailed information. The CDR is responsible for coordinating disability-related academic accommodations and will work with the student to develop an access plan. Since academic accommodations may require early planning and generally are not provided retroactively, please contact CDR as soon as possible to begin this process.

Religious Observances – SU’S religious observance policy recognizes the diversity of faiths represented among the campus community and protects the rights of students, faculty, and staff to observe religious holy days according to their tradition.  Under the policy, students are provided an opportunity to make up any examination, study, or work requirements that may be missed due to a religious observance provided they notify their instructors before the second week of classes.  For fall and spring semesters, an online notification process is available via My Slice at Student Services/Enrollment/My Religious Observances and is available from the first day of class until the end of the second week of class.