International Technical Communication (HU433)

Creating information products that effectively address the needs of a worldwide audience requires an understanding of linguistic, cultural, and technical issues, as well as a heightened awareness of user, national, and corporate objectives. "Solutions" to the common problems facing technical communication departments today must consider these often complex, contradictory, and changing arenas of discourse.

Andrews, Deborah C., ed. International Dimensions of Technical Communication. Arlington: Society for Technical Communication, 1996.

del Galdo, Elisa M., and Jakob Nielsen, eds. International User Interfaces. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1996.

Hoft, Nancy L. International Technical Communication: How to Export Information about High Technology. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1995.

Horton, William. The Icon Book. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1994.

Kotler, Philip, Somkid Jatusripitak, and Suvit Maesincee. The Marketing of Nations: A Strategic Approach to Building National Wealth. New York: The Free Press, 1997.

Mander, Jerry and Edward Goldsmith, ed. The Case Against the Global Economy: And For a Turn Toward the Local. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1996.

Tomlinson, John. Cultural Imperialism. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991.

Newsletters and Magazines

LISA Newsletter, of the Localization Industry Standards Association

Global Talk, STC's International Technical Communication Special Interest Group Newsletter

Multilingual Communications and Technology, a magazine

TC Forum, sponsored by the International Council for Technical Communication (INTECOM)

Localisation Ireland, a newsletter

• It is likely that I will change the syllabus throughout the quarter, and I reserve the right to do so at any time. I will always give you reasonable notice. Announcements will be made in class and on our class email list, itc-l.
  
  
• I failed the mind reading test. If there's something you want to talk about, you need to let me know!
  
  
• Plagiarism is defined in the MTU Undergraduate Handbook (p. 15) as: "the use of another person's statements without giving proper credit or the use of somebody else's work is dishonest and constitutes cheating, which can lead to a failing grade in a course and eventually dismissal from the University."
  
  
• If you have a disability that could affect your performance in this class or that requires an accommodation under the American with Disabilities Act, please see me as soon as possible so that we can make appropriate arrangements.

MTU complies with all federal and state laws and regulations regarding discrimination, including the Americans with Disability Act of 1990 (ADA). If you have a disability and need reasonable accommodation for equal access to education or services at MTU, please call Dr. Gloria Melton, Associate Dean of Students, at 906.487.2212. For other concerns about discrimination, you may contact your advisor or department chair. You can also contact the Affirmative Action Office at 906.487.3310.

• Readings, as listed in the table of assignments, are assigned on the day you are expected to discuss them in class.
• Email access and its daily reading is required. I will use it to post changes to the syllabus, to make announcements, to clarify what you should do in case we have a snow day and school is cancelled, and so on.
• Any written hardcopy assignments must be developed using word processing software of some kind. Use margins no bigger than 1.25" and a type size for paragraph text that's no larger than 11 points.
• We have a class that is rich in cultural diversity, and one where some students are non-native speakers of English. This is a wonderful opportunity to apply everything you learn in this class. Be considerate of your classmates and make an effort to learn from them and from your experiences in this class.
• You are expected to pay attention to quality and professional standards in your assignments, behavior, and class participation.

40 % Attendance and Class Participation

1 point, Attendance

1 point, Class participation (includes being on-time for class)

40% Assignments

10% Class-preparation assignment.

I will either email you questions beforehand for the reading, ask you to generate your own questions for class discussion, or write a one-page summary of the reading. I will let you know this in class and via email.

10% Writing Exercises

20% International User Analysis

20% Final Exam (inclass, undergraduate students)

20% Final Paper (graduate students)

I've created an email list for this class and have subscribed you automatically. You are expected to check your email daily, since I will use this list frequently to send you updates to the syllabus, share information about international technical communication, and so on. I invite you all to use this list to extend class discussions, pose questions to me or to your classmates about the readings and homework, and to share any useful information you happen upon that is relevant to this course.

To send email to the list, address the email message to itc-l@mtu.edu. You will be unsubscribed from this list automatically when you drop the course or at the end of the Spring quarter, whichever comes first.

This is the official home page for this class. All assignments will be posted here. If you wish to expand the content of the Web site, please let me know!

I maintain an extensive listing of Web-based resources related to international technical communication at my Web site as well. I invite you to refer to this Web page frequently: http://www.world-ready.com/r_intl.htm. Please also check the extensive resources at Dr. Deneire's Web page: http://www.hu.mtu.edu/~mdeneire/ .

International User Analysis: You will work with a classmate and study a target country or target market, plus an industry within that country/market. Your profile will require performing an international user analysis, turning in a report of your findings, and giving a short presentation of your findings to the class. You will be expected to report on your progress in weekly status reports, as well as share your progress with the class on a weekly basis. In this way, we all benefit from your research. Assigned 12 March 1998. Due 14 April 1998.

Writing Exercises: You will complete writing exercises that will give you experience editing ambiguous writing and writing for translation and non-native speakers of English. Due as assigned.

Inclass Final Exam (undergraduate students only)

Final Paper (graduate students only): See Dr. Deneire to review your topic and paper requirements. Assigned Week 2. Due 14 May 1998. Oral presentation of topic Week 10.

WEEKS	TOPICS	READING
1	Introduction to International Technical Communication, Corporate Approaches to Going International, Global Issues	Hoft 1-2 Kotler 1 Mander 3
2-3	Intercultural Communication, Cultural Bias	Hoft 4-5, Appendices A-C Hoft 3 Assorted Newsletter, Magazine, and Email Reading
4-5	Translation and Page Design Guest Speaker: Ms. Magdalen Mayer	Hoft 6-8 del Galdo 10 DUE: International User Analysis (14 APRIL 1998)
6-7	Writing and Editing Guest Speaker: Dr. Marc Deneire	Hoft 9, 13
8	Graphics and Multimedia	Hoft 11-12 Horton 10 Andrews 4
9	Online Issues, Tools Issues	Hoft 10 Tomlinson 1
10	Presentations by Graduate Students Guest Speaker: Dr. Mehdi Semati	Tomlinson 2 News Analysis on the Web DUE: Take-Home Exam Final Paper