ENG 263 Studies in the US Culture, Spring 2010: Syllabus and Course Schedule

Course Name:	Studies in the American Culture
Course Instructor:	Erida Prifti, Lecturer
Email:	eprifti@univlora.edu.al
Textbook:	Lanier, Alison Raymond. (2005). Living in the U.S.A. Intercultural Press, Inc. Maine, USA. ISBN 1-931930-19-8
Semester:	Spring 2010
Total Workload:	45 class hours
Assessment:	Midterm Exam 1	15%
	Midterm Exam 2	15%
	Midterm Exam 3	15%
	Class participation	15%
	Final Exam	40%
Important dates:	Midterm Exam 1	Week 04: 24 March, 2010
	Midterm Exam 2	Week 08: 19 April, 2010
	Midterm Exam 3	Week 12: 17 May, 2010
	Class participation	Class discussion: throughout the course
	Final Exam	To be announced
Number of Credits:	8

Course Description

This course approaches aspects of American culture from a practical perspective. The contents of this course do not consist of a survey, nor a complete or global vision, or a summary, but rather a series of contemplations of specific topics of everyday life in the USA, measured against a theoretical background of generalizations. Topics like American values, cocultures, family life, social life, food, transportation, civic life, education and business life, are the subjects of this course. Special attention is also given to issues of the 21st century, with events like September 11, the impact of the War in Iraq, the rise of religious fundamentalism, world leadership, and other sensitive topics.

The course will start with considering the meaning and definition of culture and the different concepts associated with it, including layers of culture and ethnocentrism. The course will be based on Alison R. Lanier’s “Living in the USA” (revised by Jef C. Davis, Intercultural Press, Inc. 2005) which, according to the authors “lies somewhere in between, more practical than a cultural analysis and more general than a city relocation guide”. It will help students understand how cultural traits may affect daily interactions with Americans, and will provide them with the terminology and the concepts they need to understand and interact with American nationals. Moreover, the course will be rich in illustrations and supplementary material to help students ask the right questions and have a better understanding of the American culture.

Purpose and Objectives

The main aim of this course is to introduce students to key aspects of American culture, with an emphasis on practical features of American thought and attitude.

This course will encompass the following key objectives:

· to help students develop a practical perspective of American culture and society;

· to introduce students to basic cultural terms and concepts and apply them to American Culture;

· to help students develop critical thinking skills and the ability to analyze thoughts and ideas from several theoretical perspectives;

· to introduce students to a variety of social institutions (values, family, religion, education, etc.) and to compare and contrast them with Albanian social institutions;

· to introduce students to basic research process and methods;

· to introduce students to basic theoretical perspectives in order to analyze culture;

· to help students understand the major areas of social change in American culture;

· to help students develop an understanding that historical events, such as war, play a major role in understanding culture;

· to introduce students to current issues and concerns in American culture.

Course Outline

DATE		Assignment	Topic
Week 1	01 March, 2010	Assigned reading: Lanier, Alison Raymond. (2005). Living in the U.S.A. – Chapter 1	Introduction to the course - Defining Culture - Layers of Culture - Ethnocentrism First Impressions - Pace - People - Size - Climate
	03 March, 2010 Amy Fladeboe
	05 March, 2010
Week 2	08 March, 2010	Assigned reading: Lanier, Alison Raymond. (2005). Living in the U.S.A. – Chapter 2	Dominant U.S.American Values - Egalitarianism - Directness - Silence - Public and Private Selves - Social Distance and Touching - Americans in Motion - Controlling Nature - Personal Progress and Changing Jobs - Materialism - Parochialism
	10 March, 2010 Amy Fladeboe
	12 March, 2010
Week 3	15 March, 2010	Assigned reading: Lanier, Alison Raymond. (2005). Living in the U.S.A. – Chapter 3	American Cocultures - Ethnic Differences - African Americans - Latino Americans - Asian Americans - Native Americans - Other Groups - Class
	17 March, 2010 Amy Fladeboe
	19 March, 2010
Week 4	22 March, 2010 Holiday	Assigned reading: Lanier, Alison Raymond. (2005). Living in the U.S.A. – Chapter 7 Midterm Exam 1	American Family Life - What’s in a Name? - Gay and Lesbian Families - Single Parents and “Blended” Families - Americans and Their Pets
	24 March, 2010
	26 March, 2010
Week 5	29 March, 2010	Assigned reading: Lanier, Alison Raymond. (2005). Living in the U.S.A. – Chapter 4	American Social Life - Friendships - Parties - Invitations - Announcements - When to Arrive and Leave - Drinking Alcohol - Dinner in a Home - Relationships between Men and Women
	31 March, 2010 Panel of regional speakers: Rebecca Lipman, Allan Zaretsky, Brett Mons, Stephanie Doerning, Sarah Christansen
	02 April, 2010
Week 6	05 April, 2010	Assigned reading: Lanier, Alison Raymond. (2005). Living in the U.S.A. – Chapter 6	American Religious Life
	07 April, 2010 Molly Golden (Jewish), Amanda Doll (Catholic), 08 April, Embassy
	09 April, 2010
Week 7	12 April, 2010	Assigned reading: Lanier, Alison Raymond. (2005). Living in the U.S.A. – Chapter 13	Food and Food Customs - Hotels - Restaurants - Quick and Cheap - Bars and Pubs - Hours of Meals - American Food Habits - The Language of Food - Smoking - Obesity - Health Food
	14 April, 2010 Amy Fladeboe
	16 April, 2010 Lorry Swansen
Week 8	19 April, 2010	Assigned reading: Lanier, Alison Raymond. (2005). Living in the U.S.A. – Chapter 15 Midterm Exam 2	Transportation - On Foot - By Bus - By Subway (or Metro) - By Taxi - By Car
	21 April, 2010 Amy Fladeboe
	23 April, 2010
Week 9	26 April, 2010 Speaker’s Bureau	Assigned reading: Lanier, Alison Raymond. (2005). Living in the U.S.A. – Chapter 5	American Civic Life - The American Political System - Majority-Minority Politics - The American Way of Giving - Volunteerism
	28 April, 2010 Speaker’s Bureau
	30 April, 2010 Speaker’s Bureau
Week 10	03 May, 2010	Assigned reading: Lanier, Alison Raymond. (2005). Living in the U.S.A. – Chapter 8	American Business Life - Labor Unions - Women in the Working World - Job Sharing and Part-Time Work - Attitudes toward Foreign Investments in the U.S. - Risk Takers and Experimenters - Time - Letting Emotions Show - Directness and Confrontation - Competition and Decision Making
	05 May, 2010 Stephanie Sweet
	07 May, 2010
Week 11	10 May, 2010	Assigned reading: Lanier, Alison Raymond. (2005). Living in the U.S.A. – Chapter 19	Education - The School Year - Nursery Schools and Preschools - Public Schools - Private and Parochial Schools - Relationships between Parents and School - After-School or Extracurricular Activities - Higher Education - Summer Camps and Jobs
	12 May, 2010 Jan Droegenkamp
	14 May, 2010
Week 12	17 May, 2010	Midterm Exam 3	Oral presentations
	19 May, 2010
	21 May, 2010
Week 13	24 May, 2010		Oral presentations
	26 May, 2010
	28 May, 2010
Week 14	31 May, 2010	Assigned reading: Lanier, Alison Raymond. (2005). Living in the U.S.A. – Chapter 22	Twenty-First-Century Issues - The Effect of September 11, 2001 - The Impact of the War in Iraq - The Rise of Religious Fundamentalism - Segregation, Polarization, and “Pernicious”Dualism - Globalization and Corporate Power - Health Care and Retirement
	02 June, 2010
	04 June, 2010 Travis Sabrian
Week 15	07 June, 2010	Assigned reading: Lanier, Alison Raymond. (2005). Living in the U.S.A. – Chapter 22	Twenty-First-Century Issues (cont.) - World Leadership - Energy,Water, and the Environment - Privacy - The Wealth Gap - Conclusion
	09 June, 2010 Molly Golden
	11 June, 2010
		Final Exam