MA 260 / Week #9 Discussion: Watchdog Journalism vs. Consensus Journalism

    American journalists are proud of uphoding their long tradition of being an "adversary" and "watchdog" of those in power. True, our democracy needs robust journalism to hold those in power accountable; but, watchdog journalism is also good business because conflict sells. The negative effect of this adversarial journalism is that our society is engaged in endless debating, and in-fighting, causing us to become more and more polarized as a country. We cannot converse constructively in regard to how to solve our problems. At some point, we Americans really need to reach a consensus to move forward. Do you agree with my observation? Please elaborate on this issue. 

MA 260 / Week #9 Discussion: Journalism Faculty Position at EOU

      Recently, we, the faculty of the media arts and communication program at Eastern Oregon University, have had a hard time convincing the administrators to not cut the journalism faculty position in anticipation of the retirement of our only journalism faculty at the end of next June. We simply believe journalism is the vital organ for our democracy. Without journalism, how will we teach the younger generations to become engaged citizens of American democracy? Here, I want you to join us to argue for the continuation of journalism education at Eastern. What is your best argument to hit home the point?

COM 325 / Week #9 Discussion: Silence: Don't take it lightly

   In our culture, we are expected to talk. So we often make awkward small talk to fill in the silence. But in other cultures, silence is just fine. In fact, silence is golden. Native Americans can wait for years to answer your questions. In Eastern cultures, especially those that practice Buddhism, silence is linked to truth.   Silence facilitates telepathy, aka mind-to-mind communication, which is actually the highest level of human communication. What do you think about this?

COM 325 / Week #9 Discussion: Eye contact: Don't take it for granted

   In America, it is impolite to avoid eye contact. As an instructor, I constantly remind my students to make more eye contact during their presentations. The more eye contact, the better. But in other cultures, eye contact is not always welcomed. We Chinese view prolonged eye contact an act of effrontery. In Far Eastern societies, if you are a subordinate, you cannot look at your supervisor eye to eye. In South America, sustained eye contact is referred to as the "evil eye." What do you think?

COM 325 / Week #9 Discussion: Power imbalance in nonverbal communication

  Let's face it, there is always a power imbalance in our nonverbal interaction with others. Historically, people have made judgments based on nonverbal features such as skin color. Also, people express their discrimination by using nonverbal behavior.  Have you ever realized your supervisor or big boss's office has the furniture arranged in a way that disempowers you? If you are a subordinate, you are required to be more punctual than your supervisor?  Tell us your experience with power imbalance in nonverbal communication.

COM 325 / Week #9 Discussion: Nonverbal communication: Should we read deep into it?

    There are many gurus these days claiming they have the power to decipher any nonverbal message,  intended or not intended. Remember the TV show Lie to Me?  In Japan, there are some courses that teach people how to be "kawaii" (かわいい) nonverbally. I personally don't like to read deep into people's nonverbal behavior. Actually I am trying to be more oblivious toward nonverbal cues during interpersonal communication. There is a viral video called "Bitchy Resting Face" to mock the "science" of body movement, and face-reading. But before you finish reading and start responding to the post, read my disclaimer: I am strongly against using "B-" word. My question is, do we pay too much attention to nonverbal cues in our communication and should we put less effort in trying to "perform" during our communication with others?

 

COM 325 / Week #9 Discussion: Communicating identity nonverbally

    I heard the other day that tattoos and graffiti mean a great deal to the gang/mafia community.  Some gangs have had their pecking order based on members' tattoos. I cannot help pondering over the numerous nonverbal messages in our daily lives that signify who we are. Call me ridiculous if you want but I have the faux-hawk hairstyle even though I am considered way too old to have that kind of hairstyle. In the past 30 years, the 20 top leaders of the Chinese government have collectively dyed their hair jet black even though they were well over 60 or 70 years old. But here is my question:  How do we use nonverbal communication (appearance, body odor, skin color, body movement, vocal characteristics, personal space, seating, punctuality, furniture arrangement, etc. ) to signify our cultural identity? Have you ever been surprised by the nonverbal messages of people from other cultures?