Carpenter MISS/SOCI 3613

Spring 2014

CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE IN ACTION (CIA) PAPER

This sheet contains specific instructions for fulfilling your Cultural Intelligence in Action (CIA) assignment. The Cultural Intelligence in Action assignment is integrally related to this courses overall goal of fostering enhanced cultural intelligence on the part of its students. The basic idea is for each student to propose and explain a specific hypothetical short-term project (that is, two years or less in duration) that he or she theoretically could carry out, either alone or as part of a team. This project may be related either to your major or your future plans, but it does not have to be. For some of you, this may be a project that you are actually planning to be engaged in, perhaps as early as this summer. For others, the project could be something that you are considering doing in the future. For still others, this project will be completely imaginary but it still needs to be realistic, in the sense of being actually doable. Although this will not be a conventional research paper, it will still require some research on your part to complete it successfully. Regardless which of these circumstances fits your particular situation, the project must involve some aspect of engaging at least one culture (or subculture) that is distinct from your own, regardless whether that culture is local, national, or international in scope. The reason for this requirement is that you are required to properly apply at least three of the specific principles involving cultural differences that will be examined in this course in explaining how your proposed project would actually be carried out. In other words, this paper should demonstrate that you have not only mastered those specific principles but are also capable of explaining how to apply them in carrying out your project in a way that befits sound cultural intelligence. Let me put it this way: if your paper reads like something you might have written during the first week of the course, before having become acquainted with the course content, your grade will suffer accordingly. In the final version of your paper, which must be a minimum of 2000 words in length (show your word count), you should describe the nature of the proposed project and its goals. You may want to include what you hope the project would accomplish and even specific challenges to be overcome. In addition, given the nature of the assignment, a key section of the paper must describe the specific culture or subculture that your project will benefit and how the proposed project will address the circumstances of people living in that culture. (This is where the research comes in; a minimum of three authoritative sources pertaining to the specific culture or subculture that is the focus of your project must be properly cited in the paper; you are also required to include either a bibliography or a list of works cited.) Do not plagiarize the ideas or writings of other people. If you use someones ideas or information which is not general knowledge, you must give that author credit; downloading material from the internet directly into your text without acknowledging the source is unacceptable. Quotations should be used sparingly and properly cited. Either APA, MLA or Turabian is an acceptable citation system to use for citations, so long as consistency is maintained. As an indicator of student authorship, the paper must explicitly cite at least one of the assigned readings listed on the syllabus. This does not have to be one of the two main textbooks; it can be any reading that is included either on the original syllabus or on the revised course schedule.

Carpenter MISS/SOCI 3613

Spring 2014

As stated in the syllabus, you will be required to submit your topic for Dr. Carpenters approval as part of an in-class quiz on Tuesday, January 21st.

A hard-copy draft of the CIA paper (1000 words minimum; show your word count) will be due in class on Thursday, February 13th. Mere outlines are not acceptable, though a full draft is not required; the more material you submit, the more helpful the instructors feedback can be. The draft will be returned with comments but not detailed grammatical corrections; the grade on the CIA paper draft will count for 5% of the final course grade.
A hard copy of the final version of the paper will be due in class on Thursday, April 3rd; it will be worth 20% of the final grade. 5 points will be deducted for each school day after the deadline that the final version is late, up to a maximum of 20 points. (In other words, it is to the students advantage to turn a paper in late and take the penalty instead of receiving a zero.) The final version must be typed, double-spaced, using font size (10-, 11-, or 12-point) and margins allowing for at least 300 words per page. Pages must be numbered and a word count included. Proper grammar, clarity of expression, logic of organization, originality of insight, and the cogency of the argument will all factor into the grade. You are encouraged to avail yourself of the assistance that is available to you at the Writers Block writing center on the second floor of the Mabee Learning Center. Appointments for writing center assistance may be scheduled online; pertinent information regarding grammar, punctuation, etcetera, can be accessed at http://ed.oc.edu/writersblock/. If either your draft or your final version is accompanied by a sheet showing proof of consultation at the Writers Block, you will earn a five-point bonus on the corresponding grade.