Immersion Project

Students will conduct a research project which includes an immersion into a culture other than their own.  This will very likely involve some travel on your part and at your own risk.  Find a neighborhood, family, religious group, social club, or other association that is populated by a cultural group other than your own.  Once you are immersed in this new locale or group start observing.

What do you see, hear, smell, or taste that is different from your own culture and co-culture?  How are the values, beliefs, and worldview of this group different from your own?  How do you notice these concepts?

How do people in this cultural group communicate?  How are time and space defined?  Do they communicate in a high context way, with fewer words and less text?  What religion do they practice, if any, and how do they exemplify this to others?   How are Hall's Primary Messaging Systems present?  Note these carefully.

During your visit, photograph some of the places, buildings, foods, merchandise, or people you encounter (with their permission).  Once you have taken plenty of notes, both mental and otherwise, write up your experiences in a six to eight page paper (page count does NOT include title, abstract, or reference pages).  When you refer to one of your texts for a definition or concept cite it in proper APA format.  Include these citations in the body of your text and also in a references page.

As this project represents a significant portion of your course grade, DO NOT wait until the last week of the semester to begin your work.  Your encounter with another group or place will require some time to coordinate.

In addition to preparing and submitting their paper, students will be asked to present their findings and discuss their immersive experience with their peers a class  period.  Wise students will be well prepared for this important aspect of the project.

Just a matter of time... Chronemics

Time talks.  The use of time to communicate is called Chronemics.  This understanding varies between different cultural groups.  Broadly, two concepts determine a culture's use of time, Monochronic, one time; or Polychronic, multiple times.

Monochronic cultures understand time to be linear, ongoing, and universal.  It can be compartmentalized, segmented, and is easily measured.

Polychronic cultures stress that the involvement of people and the completion of work is as important as the rigid adherence to schedules.  Time is not necessarily measurable.


In class, we demonstrated that our perception of P-Time as being inefficient can be incorrect.  It's just that the focus is on human connection and interaction and not the clock.