Stiens CAPs Blog #1: Whiteness

Imagine a white blank page. If you look at this page you see nothing. There is no meaning to it. The only thing you notice about it is that it is white. Considering the color white has no meaning why is it so different when talking about the color of a human being? When a human being is white it can apply many meanings. When referring to whiteness in human beings some people may say it means certain privileges for those human beings, others say it a perspective in which people see themselves and others, and some say it is just a culture. (Martin & Nakayma, 2012, p.194). Regardless of the definitions that are given, whiteness has a meaning and is portrayed in many different aspects of daily life.

            Three posts I really found intriguing on the Stuff White People Like website were #133 The World Cup, #124 Hating People Who Wear Ed Hardy, and #120 Taking  A Year Off. The topic of the world cup explains that white people enjoy the world cup because it gives them a chance to act European and a chance to get drunk. This post goes on to say that this is the only sporting event that white women look forward to because it gives them a chance to see European men. This relates to whiteness in the fact that I have often seen people try and find a reason to drink and celebrate. But who doesn’t love a good themed party or to celebrate a good time. You could go so far to say that finding an excuse to party is just a cultural practice of white people. The world cup is just another excuse. However, this post is a major stereotype of white women because there are many women who either enjoy watching other sports or if they don’t enjoy watching sports, they don’t enjoy the world cup either. The Hating People Who Wear Ed Hardy post discusses how common hatred of the same thing can cause people to decide what kind of person someone is. In this case it is talking about the common hatred of people who wear the Ed Hardy brand. This relates to whiteness because it is a view point on how white people see other white people. They assume that all people wearing the Ed Hardy brand act and live a similar lifestyle. This shows that not only is there discrimination across different races but within certain races themselves. In post #120 Taking the Year Off, it discusses how often white people take a year off to relieve stress, travel, volunteer, but mostly to make themselves more interesting. This relates to whiteness because people look at it as a “privilege” of being a white person. This however is a stereotype because there is no way this is a privilege to all white people. This is only a privilege to people who are fortunate enough to have the time and money to do such things. This is regardless of their race.

Below is kind of a humorous video showing how the clothes we wear can cause stereotypes.

            The concept of whiteness is kind of ironic to me. Many people view whiteness as being a privilege. However, as we see in the example about scholarships in the text book that being white can have benefits and downfalls just like any other race. The view that whiteness is a privilege is an outdated view and just like all things in life it will take time to change the view of people and for people to accept the idea that all human beings really are created equal.

References:

Martin, J.N., & Nakayama, T.K. (2012). Intercultural communication in contexts (6th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill. 

 

Hilgemann CAPS Blog #1: Whiteness

                The idea of whiteness can have far reaching consequences when applied to communicative behavior. Whiteness is something that flows across multiple lines including racial, class, and regional boundaries. Many people are unaware of ‘whiteness’ and of the effects that it has on everyday life. As such, whiteness is something that is difficult to objectify despite the efforts of some such as Ruth Frankenburg . Frankenburg argues that whiteness involves a set of three dimensions called normative race privilege, a standpoint from which to view society, and a set of cultural practices (Martin, 2012, p. 194). Due to the difficulty of defining whiteness, it can be useful to use a more satirical approach similar to what is presented on www.stuffwhitepeoplelike.com.

                The entries concerning (#47) arts degrees, (#81) graduate degrees, and (#134) TED talks are particularly relevant to this course considering their emphasis on education. These articles can certainly be related to the ‘normative race privilege’ dimension of Frankenburg’s classification. Higher education is something that could be considered a privilege of the wealthy, a class of people who are perceived to be significantly white. The online articles support this position. For example, the article on arts degrees states that, “… white people have it made… If the pay is low, no problem, their parents will happily help out with rent.” The article continues to parody the perception that whiteness indicates intelligence by stating, “But the real reason white people need these degrees is to sound smart at parties.” (Clander, 2008a). The article on TED talks extrapolates on the same point, “You see white people like the idea of getting smart quickily…” (Clander, 2010).The three aforementioned posts all deal with the perception that whites can easily acquire more knowledge and thus power, creating a race privilege. 

For those of you who are unfamiliar with TED talks, I would highly recommend them. See the following example of a talk on femto-photography, a new high speed photography technique able to capture the movement of light through objects. Never heard of femto-photography? Neither had I, but at least you now have something to talk about at parties.

                The arts degree post in particular accentuates the stereotype that white college students come from wealthy families are rarely earn their own way. The language of the post not only implies that white students are wealthy, but also have a tendency to pursue studies with limited potential for the future. The article even states that, “Unless [scientists of engineers] become doctors, they essentially lose white person status.” (Clander, 2008a). Overall, the concept of whiteness can be useful to help explain daily experiences, but one must be careful to avoid racially loaded conversations when discussing the topic. In addition, using a satirical context can be risky as some people may still take offense to certain jokes.

Clander. (2008a, February 01). Stuff White People Like: #47 Arts Degrees [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com.

Clander. (2008b, March 04). Stuff White People Like: #81 Graduate School [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com.

Clander. (2010, September 08). Stuff White People Like: #134 The TED Conference [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com.

Martin, J.N., & Nakayama, T.K. (2012). Intercultural communication in contexts (6th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.

Drew Freeman

Hey Everyone!!!

My name is Drew Freeman and I'm 23 years old and from Tulsa, Oklahoma.  I'm entering my final semester as a student at UNL, I graduate in December!! I played on the men's tennis team at the University for the past four years, and finished playing last season. I have really enjoyed the move to Nebraska and hope to stay for a long time!!

I do not have much experience with online classes as proven by how much trouble I have had trying to get this post done.  I'm taking this class because I think it is very interesting and I want to learn about communicating with people from different cultures, I also feel that using the tools that we are using in this class will be very useful tools in the future.

Overall I had a very busy summer working two different jobs, and taking a class.  I am VERY exicited to get back to school and start taking classes again!!!

Blog #1: Whiteness: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

Martin and Nakayama (2012) state that "identity is a core issue for most people" (p. 170). I agree with Martin and Nakayama's position on identity and have thus decided to begin our course and our blog with an in-depth discussion of identity. In particular, I am fascinated with discussions of social and cultural identities and how these group memberships come to influence who we are as individuals. I agree with the feminist mantra that the "personal is political." As such, I have been drawn to readings and discussions centered around the characteristics of whiteness as a socio/cultural identity. Whiteness has been defined as more than just a racial or ethnic marker. It is a set of linked dimensions that include normative race privilege, standpoints, and cultural practices (Frankenburg, 1993). 

This definition is brought to life through scholar Peggy McIntosh's (1988) articulation of the invisible knapsack. 

She compares the everyday privileges (normative race privilege) of being white in the United States to an "invisible, weightless knapsack" (Martin & Nakayama, 2012, p. 195). McIntosh describes the knapsack as something she is always carrying around with her and while she might not notice, it is full of assets that she can always count on. She complied a list of these assets and here's a sample of some of the items. The rest can be found on page 195 in your text. 

As a White person:

1. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.
2. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
3. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.
4. When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization," I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.
5. I can swear, dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to bad morals, the poverty, or the illiteracy of my race. 

For our first class blog, I would like you to visit the website http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/. 

This website parodies the stereotypes of while people, and by extension the stereotypes surrounding other social and cultural groups. Browse the website and choose the 3 entries you found most compelling. Briefly explain how  these entries relate to whiteness. Then connect one entry to the concepts of racism, stereotyping, and identity as a societal phenomenon. See pages 210-216 in your text for assistance. 

For more information, see scholar Tim Wise's discussion on white privilege:

References

Frankenburg, R. (1993). White women, race matters: The social construction of whiteness. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. 

McIntosh, P. (1988). White privilege and male privilege: A personal account of coming to see correspondences through work in women's studies. Wellesley, MA: The Wellesley College Center for Research on Women. 

Martin, J.N., & Nakayama, T.K. (2012). Intercultural communication in contexts (6th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill. 

Hello everyone! My name is LeRoy Ford ( pronounced Luh-Roy). I am 21 years old and a senior communication studies major from Kansas City, MO. I changed my major 4 times before deciding I wanted to do communication studies, so I'll end up being a super senior. This class is one of two online classes that I'm taking this semester. I'm really interested in cultures and how we all communicate so I'm really excited to be taking this class. I enjoy hanging out with my friends, meeting new people and being very spontaneous. I am a very laid back guy and I pretty much get along with anyone.

A few fun facts about me I have 15 siblings (the majority are half siblings). One of my goals in life is to travel to every state in the USA and to every continent. I've been to 24 of the 50 states but unfortunately I haven't left the country yet, but I'm working on it. Last summer I participated in the 50 year commemoration of the "Freedom Riders". We retraced the routes of the original 1961 Freedom Riders. Because of this I had about 5 seconds of airtime on The Oprah Winfrey Show (well, my picture did haha).

I like to say that I am the type of guy that lives day to day and try to live life to the fullest. I'm not the best at planning things in advance. However, I do have a plan for my life and what I want to do in the future. I plan on going to grad school to get my Masters and PhD in Higher Education/Student Affairs. I love college and never really want to stray away too far from it, hence the reason I want to go into higher education. Okay I'm starting to feel like I'm rambling so enough about me :). I look forward to having a great semester in this class!

Vanessa Languis

Hello! I'm Vanessa Languis, I am 27 years old, and I am from Waverly, NE. I've taken two online classes before, so I sort of know what I am doing when it comes to Blackboard. I am a Graduate student, trying for both my teaching certificate and Masters degree. I am in the process of being certified for secondary education language arts.

I took this class as an elective, to fill space in my schedule. But since I work with a lot of students from diverse backgrounds, I thought this class would be helpful to better help them with their education.

I am involved with Otaku Jinrui, the UNL anime club. I am also staff for several sci-fi and anime conventions in the area, including Anime NebrasKon, OSFest (Omaha Sci-fi Festival), ConStellation, and PON3 Con. I enjoy reading graphic novels, sci-fi, and fantasy. I love watching anime and sci-fi B movies.

Terran Petteway

What is up everybody my name is Terran Petteway. I am 19 and was born and raised in Galveston, Texas where I have three brothers and a god sister. Two of my brothers played college basketball and one went to London to play overseas. My other brother is at the university of Texas A&M where he is starting at WR look out for him #13 lol. I play basketball for UNL, I transferred from Texas Tech so I have to sit out this year and redshirt.

This is my first online class where I had to blog so I hope it goes well. I look forward to learning more about this class and my fellow classmates.

I love hanging out with my family, nieces and nephews. I LOVE BEING A HUSKER GBR!

Kelsey Fuehrer

Hey yall! My name is Kelsey Fuehrer. I am a 21 year old Senior Economics major with a minor in Communication Studies. I am from Lexington, NE. This will be the 5th online class that I have taken at the University and the 8th online class overall. I chose to minor in comm because I'm interested in how people's communication affects economics. I enjoy golfing, and I am an avid watcher of the Big Bang Theory. I love to travel and see new places, on my bucket list is to visit all 50 states as well as see as much of every continent as possible.

Mariah Gatson

Hello!! My name is Mariah Gatson I am from the oh so lovely Omaha Nebraska where I attended Millard North. I am, as of yesterday 19 years old and a  sophomore Communications major and loving it so far.  I have only taken one other online class which went pretty well, however the format, tools and process was a little different, but I think I'll manage.  This class is for my major but I also love looking into other cultures and seeing how the work.  I have an obsession with baking cupcakes.  I could do it all day long and never grow sick of it. 
The following picture is a moose cupcake...

I spent my summer nannying for an anchor for the MLB network.  We went to baseball games (Yankees) and traveled all over the country it was a great growing experience and I learned a lot.  I also love college football , like LOVE IT.  I am all about the Ducks and Huskers. My soon to be brother-in-law plays for Oregon as a wide receiver he is #16 feel free to cheer for him now lol.

                                                         This is from the Colorado vs. Oregon game last season
I look forward to this coming semester and this coming football season. 

Alex Pieper

Hello,

As my title says, my name is Alex Pieper and I am a 21 year old senior here at the University.  I am majoring in Biological Systems Engineering with 2 minors in Biomedical Engineering and English.  The English minor usually comes as a surprise to most people.  I grew up in the center of Omaha, Nebraska, (the Dundee area to anyone familiar with Omaha) and went to Creighton Prep Highschool.  I come from a family of 4, and my one sister is just starting college down here at UNL.  I have really enjoyed having her down here.  Its weird to I think back when the two of us were romping around our neighborhood as young kids and then fast forwarding to the present where we are both in college.  Though it is cliche, time really does fly.

I do not have much experience with online classes.  I took one computer programming class online last semester and also an online psychology class.  Frankly, I am more of a hands on, visual, classroom learner.  However, the online version of this class fit my schedule perfectly to open up some hours for my job that I am starting this semester.  With that said, I am excited about the topics of this class.  Analyzing not only our own culture but also diving into a few others interests me.

I spent 2 1/2 months of this past summer working in Dresden, Germany.  A large majority of Germans speak English.  However, conversations are certainly different with most German people than they are with my family and friends.  I bring this up because I think this experience has shown me first hand how people from different cultures learn to communicate with one an other.  Though their phrases and sayings were not what I was used to hearing, I was able to pick up on what they were trying to say.

Here is a nice panorama picture of the Dresden "skyline"

In my free time, I enjoy spending time with friends and listening to music.  My favorite band right now is the Black Keys.  It has been fun hearing their sound change over the past 5 years.  I also like listening to Classic Rock, Regge, Folk, Jazz, Rap, and even some Electronic.  I'm always looking for new music so if someone has any good suggestions, please don't hesitate to let me know.

Here is a picture of my sister and me at a Husker football game last year

Hi everyone my name is Mary Beth Rye.

I am a junior here at UNL majoring in Communication Studies and minoring in Business Administration.  I am very excited for this class!  I have not taken very many communications courses but have enjoyed the ones I have.  It will be neat to learn about intercultural communication because someday I hope to go to study abroad in Spain where I could become a fluent spanish speaker.  This will be a great course not just for that goal, but I woud also love to be involved with the international business industry.  More importantly, for my own personal pleasure I hope to be fortunate enough to travel around the world simply for enjoyment.  As you can see there are many reasons taking this course could be beneficial while furthering my degree.  With lots of effort and studying, I aspire to earn a masters in Communication Studies!

I have already had the opportunity to go to France and Rome.  These experiences were absolutely amazing.  It was very interesting to see how much geography makes a difference in behavior.

Below is a picture of me swinging on parts of the Eiffel Tower.  I don't think the French appreciated my American wild side.

As I work towards my undergraduate in Communications, I swim for the UNL swim team and it takes up a good chunk of my time!  It's a good thing this is an online class otherwise all of you would have to bare through my scent of chlorine, damaged undone hair, and the occasional nap.

This is a picture of my team from the Big 10 Championship meet last spring!

Most of my interests include watching crazy Lifetime Movie Network flicks, comedies, listening to all sorts of music, trying to sing--Karaoke is always a good/embarrassing time, trying to dance, and all sorts of shenanigans.

This is a picture of me chasing a chicken on the beach, just an example of some of the shenanigans I get into

As a side note:  I am technologically challenged so this class will be interesting.

This is me on the 4th of July!

Great to meet all of you!

Elizabeth Erikson

"She wasn't where she had been. She wasn't where she was going, but she was on her way." -Jodi Hills

Hello! My name is Elizabeth Erikson and I am currently a senior at UNL.  I am pursuing a major in Communication Studies and a minor in Education with plans to graduate next May - crossing my fingers!  I was born and raised in Omaha, NE where I attended Omaha Central High School.  At Central is where my initial love for different cultures began.  Attending a school with over 2,500 students really opened my eyes to different people and surroundings.  I have always been extremely intrigued with this topic; therefore, when I saw this class I immediately knew I would learn a lot and really enjoy it.  On the other hand, I have taken a few online classes previously so I knew I would really enjoy the flexibility and format.


I spent a lot of my summer at home with my family in Omaha, but in my free time I enjoy time with friends, the state of Maine, John Legend, the color grey, Viva La Juicy perfume, dark chocolate, MAC make-up, sending mail, Nineteen Minutes, chai tea, clean sheets, and playing with my new puppy, Gabby.

When I am getting to know people I often times ask them what their top three favorite movies are.  I think this is a playful ice breaker and great way to quickly learn someones personality.  Mine are: Gone with the Wind, You've Got Mail, and Sister Act. In that order. Judge accordingly. Ha! 

I look forward to getting to know all of you throughout the semester. 

Whitney Doering

Hey everyone! My name is Whitney Doering and I'm currently a senior here at UNL and planning to graduate this coming December. I'll be graduating with a major in Communication Studies and a minor in Sociology. I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and I'm looking forward to moving back home after graduation. In my free time I enjoy spending time with family and friends, traveling, watching movies, Mexican food, reading, attending concerts, and anything that involves the outdoors! I recently spent a semester abroad in Sevilla, Spain. I would have to say it was incredibly eye opening for me and I was able to experience not only the Spanish culture, but also many throughout Europe, which I'm so thankful for. I am interested to learn about the theoretical perspectives that deal with various cultures, languages, stereotypes, etc. and how I am able to relate to them in my everyday life. I’m looking forward to a successful final semester at UNL and working with everyone in the class! 

Mara Schwarting

Hello!

My name is Mara Schwarting.  I am a junior Business Administration major minoring in Communications, Psychology and Marketing.  I work at a bank as a part-time teller and I pretty much spent my whole summer there.  I really enjoy playing volleyball whether that be sand or court. I absolutely love my dog Izzy too.  We adopted her from the humane society in Kansas City and she always makes my day when I see her.  I am part of a club called SIFE in the business college where I dedicate most of my free time to.  It has changed the way I live and go about my life.  I just recently moved into a hundred year old house with four other girls so I believe this year will be a year I never forget, good or bad.

When trying to figure out what I want to get out of this class I have realized that I want to gain a lot of cultural knowledge and not be so naive about the world.  I am very interested about other cultures and learning the differences we have.  I can't wait to see what happens this year with my personal life and professional life.

Hello. welcome to my post.

My name is 

 Krista Mansfield

  I am 22 years of age and my hometown is Kansas City, Missouri.
 

GO CHIEFS! 

Here is me back home in KC at The Cashew!

I spent the summer working and doing a whole lot of nothing. I recently moved, got hired (and fired) from a serving position, and spent the last weekend before school at Ogallala Lake.

 

Sadly, the grass was a little crispy, nonetheless, a great time. 

I work part-time as an Associate Consultant for Clinique cosmetics. Makeup and skincare are big interests of mine.

MUSIC is a HUGE part of my life. 

Latest music obsession: Kreayshawn, Deathcab for Cutie, and Styles P.

 I also really enjoy painting... acrylic and watercolor.

I like the color PINK, among it.. just about anything GIRLY.

I chose interpersonal communication to:

 a. broaden my knowledge of the subject

 b. strengthen my ability to interact with different types of cultures if and when I study abroad

 c. fulfill my graduation requirement ;)

 I'm working towards a major in communications with a minor in history.

Oh and, meet Henry.

He is my kitten little.

The apple of my eye.

He's just like a son.

His nails are sharp.

He loves dog toys.

 I hope you enjoyed reading a little bit about me! I look forward to reading more posts and also working with everyone.

-Krista

An Introduction

Hey!

My name is Joe, and I'm starting my fifth year here at UNL. I am a triple major, studying journalism, English and nutrition. I'm from Omaha, and I actually just moved back here, so I'm trying to finish up college with mostly-online courses. I commute a few days per week for class and my job as the music director of Lincoln's indie music station, 90.3 KRNU. In addition to my work in radio, I'm the TA for a couple journalism classes, and I also work as a personal trainer. I don't really have much free time, so thankfully my jobs and hobbies go together. I love listening to music and going to concerts, and getting fit!

I've always found COMM classes interesting because they always seem to spark pretty good discussion - and that always makes class more fun. All of my jobs require me to interact with people, so learning how/why people react to certain situations has helped me become a better communicator. I'm really looking forward to working with everyone in this class!

Joe


Oh... I don't really take pictures. So here's on of my old roommate and I (I'm on the left) that I stole from Facebook.

Kaylee Sueverkruepp Introduction

My name is Kaylee Sueverkruepp, and I am 21 years old.  I was born and raised in Grand Island, Nebraska, where I attended Northwest High School.  I'm a second semester senior, and I'll be graduating this December!  I will have a Bachelor's degree in Child, Youth, and Family Studies, with two minors in Communication Studies and Psychology.  With my time at the University, I've taken a few different online classes within my fields of study, and I've enjoyed the online format immensely.  I work aout 30 hours a week, so the freedom to do my homework when I please is very convenient for me.

I would be lying if I said that I wasn't initially attracted to our Intercultural Communication class, because it would both satisfy an ethnic studies requirement, and it would finish off my minor in Communication Studies.  However though, I believe that with our ever-changing society, having a background in intercultural communication would be highly beneficial for working hands-on with people.  I hope to gain a better understanding of all kinds of people: black or white, heterosexual or homosexual, Buddhist or Christian.  Since I'll be entering the real world soon, I hope to undertand how to interact with others in a way that will challenge, motivate, and encourage them in a respectful and positive manner, so that in return, I'll learn more about my own abilities from their personal backgrounds.

Interests?  My first major interest is my husband Caleb.  (Go figure, right?)  We got married on June 25, 2011, and I love being married to him and learning more about each other and what makes us tick and laugh.  I'm a fairly outdoorsy person as well; some days I'd rather ride my bike than drive my car. I also enjoy working with children and youth.  I had an internship over the summer where I got to lead my own high school program at my old summer camp, and I work with babies at a daycare during the school year.  

Finally, here's a picture of me being cool and belaying on a high ropes course.  Haha.  I'm looking forward to the rest of this semester!  

Jordan Stiens

Hello!

My name is Jordan Stiens. I am 21 years old and am a Junior here at UNL. I was born in Maryville, Mo and was raised on a farm just outside of Maryville. My major is Communication Studies and I have not declared a minor yet but I would like to hopefully minor in French. I have never taken an online class before so this whole experience is very new and a little confusing to me. I decided to take Intercultural Communications because this course sounded very interesting to me. I enjoy learning about the ways people interact and communicate. By taking this course I hope to expand my knowledge beyond the things I experience on a regular basis with my close friends and family. I have many hobbies. I enjoy cooking. Mainly I like to cook desserts but recently I've started to enjoy cooking main dishes too. I like to try new recipies often. It doesn't always turn out good but its fun to experiement. I also enjoy just spending time outdoors. Being raised on a farm made it so I was always outside keeping busy doing something. It was quite an adjustment moving to the city of Lincoln. Although I haven't had much time to lately I enjoy traveling. I have traveled a lot in the States but hopefully after college I will be able to travel abroad more. I am a member of UNL's track team. This is the hobby that by far takes up the most of my time. I compete in the Heptathlon. I enjoy doing track and it keeps me super busy all year round.

Above is a picture of me competing at the Big 10 Outdoor Track Meet last year.

Other things about me, I love hanging out with friends and family. I have one older brother, a younger brother and sister who are twins, and a niece who is about to turn one in October. I don't have much free time but when I do I enjoy hanging out with friends and just being lazy and watching movies.

I am looking forward to working with everyone in this class! It should be a great semester! :)

Kiersten Haugen

Aloha! I'm Kiersten, in case you missed the title line. 

I am a 21 year old student of Political Science, Spanish and International Studies. I am a senior hoping to graduate this May, so I can run off and pursue a law degree! I'm a Lincoln native, but I'm setting my sights on states far from the midwest for post-grad work. Don't get me wrong-Nebraska is a lovely state. It's just time for me to stand on my own feet for a while; time to try something new, something radical.

This is my very first blog! I've taken a couple of online courses in the past ("summer reading" courses as they're called at UNL), though none of these has prompted students to work outside the Blackboard forum, which makes for a rather dull learning environment. I'm excited, therefore, to flex my creativity skills as afforded by the blogosphere.

Like Professor Baker, intercultural communication intrigues me. Languages, travel, and personal encounters are all things I treasure. I've studied abroad in Spain and Benin, Africa, and both of these experiences have fostered my appreciation for culture and communication. You really learn the value of cross-cultural communication when you're relying on hand gestures to explain to the nice African vendor that you do NOT want to purchase a goat, just pet it. Seriously, though, I'm hoping to learn the essentials about intercultural communication so that I can better understand how these exchanges work and even aid future interactions with people.

My interests and hobbies are as varied as Lady Gaga's wardrobe. Travel is a given, but I specifically enjoy the beach and nature-y adventures. I enjoy confronting my fears--the non-lethal ones, that is. For instance, while in Africa this summer I visited the Python Temple of Ouidah. Here's me crushing my fear of snakes...kinda. 

Be impressed.

Apart from exploring the world I love Mexican food, the Chili Peppers, good books, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, penguins, mojitos, swimming, and dancing badly in the privacy of my home. I also maintain that I am a Malagueña at heart after spending much time in beautiful Málaga, Spain. Check out the view from the top--The Alcazaba:

Breathtaking, right? This photo required a serious hike, so do enjoy it.

In any event, it's a pleasure to meet you. 

Nurul Hasanah Norman

Hi everyone! My name is Nurul Hasanah Norman and I am an international student from Malaysia. I am 22 years old. I'm in senior year and currently majoring in Psychology. I have taken several online courses such as Cultural Anthropology and Sociology of Crime during my previous semester. But, I definitely would experience different kind of online learning environment as COMM211X is a communication class.

I really love learning about other cultures. That's why I decided to take Intercultural Communication during this semester. I hope I will gain a lot of useful knowledge about other cultures from this course. Besides that, I hope this class could help me to improve my communication skills and language.

Because I am an observant, I love taking picture of natures especially flowers. But I'm not a professional photographer. I also like doing social works as I could meet a lot of new people and gain priceless experience.

This was during our Malaysian Night. We were wearing Malaysian traditional clothes for our cultural performance. And I was wearing red 'kebaya,' traditional dress for women (two from the left).

Besides performing during Malaysian Night, I also became a food volunteer together with my friends on that night.

Thank you for reading. Nice to meet you all :)

Welcome to Comm 211x

Greetings! My name is Sara Baker and I am your instructor for Comm 211x.

I have either been interested in the study of communication or working in comm jobs for practically my adult life. 


I got my B.A. in Communication Studies from Virginia Tech. 

GO HOKIES!

And my M.A. in Comm from San Diego State University















I have been teaching intercultural communication courses for the past few years beginning at San Diego State and continuing on at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I am thrilled to be participating in this online classroom and I hope that I can be of assistance to each of you as we explore the impact of culture and communication in our everyday lives and the world around us. 


I would like to welcome you to our class blog. You will post your CAPS (Communication Application Papers) blogs to this forum. This web site, Blogger.com, will serve as the site for our overall class discussions and will also be the site where you post your individual cultural reporter blogs. You will need to subscribe to this blog (comm211xspring2012.blogger.com) and also set up your own blog for the Cultural Reporter project (yourfirstnamelastnameculturalreporterblogspring2012.blogger.com). For additional information on both of these assignments please see the syllabus and also the assignment descriptions posted on our class Blackboard page. 

For this first blog, your post will be a little different. Instead take this opportunity to introduce yourself to your classmates. Please answer the following questions to get you started:1) Background information - name, age, major, hometown, experience with online learning; 2) Why intercultural communication? What do you hope to learn?; 3) What are your interests/hobbies?; 4) Post a picture or 2. You could even make a short video introduction. .