The goal of this report is to provide each student with an opportunity to develop a more "emic" awareness of another country and its culture. To that end, it is important that you explore significant areas of your country to be able to speculate about cultural features even if you cannot locate direct information. This means that you will interpret the data you find using the theories and concepts presented in class and in readings. It would be wise to look at Hofstedde's cultural dimensions, the cultural variables that affect communication, and other similar schemes for describing culture including art and literature. If you are in doubt--ask me!

Students often ask about length requirements. I believe that a person's legs should be long enough to reach the ground and that papers should be long enough to cover the subject. I don't think I could do that in a country report in less than 5-7 pages. If I wrote more than 10, I would probably begin re-stating myself or covering some areas in much more depth than the paper does in general. This is only advice.

Do print them but do NOT double space. I read single spaced type very well and I don't intend to sacrifice trees for my convenience. Don't put plastic covers on these; just staple them in the upper left corner. Be sure to use APA style for your references. If you are not familiar with that style method (taught in SCTA 201), see me for advice or permission to use some other appropriate style method like MLA.

I. History/political system:

Should include a brief review of important historical events which aid understanding of the contemporary situation. This should be in the nature of an introduction and comprise no more than 10% of this section. Indicate the type of government (e.g. parliamentary, republic, limited monarchy, etc.), the relationship of power between national agencies, relative balance of power between national and local/regional governing authorities, and major issues currently under discussion.

II. Educational System:

Identify the path of education from entry through graduate school. Pay special attention to the elements of the system which might "track" certain social classes into prescribed occupations or professions. Note how the educational system perpetuates cultural variables (if it does) because of its organization. If possible, try to include information on teaching methods and student-teacher relationships.

III. Economy and business:

A general overview of the current state of the economy should be brief. Of more interest is the reliance on other nations as trading partners, sources of capital ( and thus subject to influence), importance of multi-national companies, or membership in multi-national economic agencies such as the EEC (Common Market). If possible, information on labor-management relations would be even more important than strictly economic data. Are there jobs or occupations which are affected by social class, given great status, considered inappropriate for some (such as women)?

IV. Social Structure, Mass Media

Include statistical data from Broadcast Yearbooks on the number of stations etc. Who controls the media and what is the impact of that on the type of information the people get? Can they get information from outside their country? How easy is that?

Try to provide a review of social classes; who are the "in" and the "out" groups? If there are discoverable prejudices, note them. There may be information here form the business area to provide hints such as who does the menial work in the country. You may include recreation here as an indication of popular culture but be careful not to let sports be your focus. If you include sports, make it a general overview and address issues such as professionalism versus amateurism, competition, organized versus individually developed. Be sure to include other forms of recreation and indicate the relative significance (e.g. camping, sailing, amateur music groups, crafts.)

V. Religion and Family:

This may be a tough area. Certainly one should find out what are the dominant religious groups, whether there is discrimination against certain churches, if some are state sponsored, and what portion of the population is considered active. The goal here is to attempt to ascertain what part religion plays in daily and national life. Don't be afraid to hypothesize here; better to offer a well-reasoned opinion than to offer undigested data alone.

If you can, try to discover the role of the family in directing individuals. Are there "special" positions in the family? Are there special forms of address for family members? Is there a prescribed "pecking order" for input to decisions? Though information may be scarce here, do what you can because this is really the only area of each report which examines individuals and interpersonal communication outside of an organization.

VI. Art and Literature
You should attempt to discover what role the arts play in the culture. This includes both the visual and performing arts (literature, film, painting/sculpture, dance, theater) in addition to the coverage of mass media issues (radio, TV, film) as indicated above. The goal here is to understand something of the culture as experienced by its people. If you can view a film, listen to music, or read a representative work, it would be appropriate to record your responses in this segment. This may be difficult but the reference librarians can be of considerable assistance and I may be able to help you find something from your general region if you can’t obtain something from the specific country you have chosen.

References: (All are in the reference cases in the library)

Europa Yearbook, JN 1.E85

The Statesman Yearbook, JA 51.S7

World Press Encyclopedia, PN 4735.W6

World Communication, JA 61.W64

U.S. Dept. of State Background Notes 005.43 (Mhd Public Lib)

Culturegrams (see reference librarian)

Websites (e.g. CIA Facts pages)

You will, of course, use these suggestions only as a starting point!!

Group Presentation

You may add to or modify what is listed for each section as appropriate. Remember, the reason for these reports is for the class to understand the area so that we can develop insights about the effects each of these areas has on communication. Be sure that the some portion of each segment indicates how the factors mentioned might affect communication. This will probably mean that you conjecture and reason here rather than simply reporting from a source. I suggest that this part of each section be done in consultation with the whole group. Present your findings to each other and then brainstorm the conjectures as a group. Perhaps a group discussion at the end of the report would also work for you. This presentation is not graded unless a person does not participate. In that case, a reduction of one letter grade will be made on the report itself for lack of participation.