First Spring Meeting 2017

Plans are to meet at the TTU Barnes & Noble Starbuck's from 11-11:50 on Wednesday, Feb. 1 to discuss Managing Cultural Differences Chapter 9: Global Teams and Global Leadership.

Due to some schedule changes, we will need to find a new regular meeting time. (Our original plans of Tuesdays 12-1 won't work for me. I'm terribly sorry.) Perhaps when we meet this week, we can discuss a new meeting time.

I will also be presenting information about the Benjamin A. Gilman scholarship at the TTU Study Abroad Fair in the SUB Ballroom from 12-3 tomorrow. I hope you will find some time to swing by!

See you soon!
Brandy

Spring 2017 pre-discussion and schedule

Upcoming dates and pre-planning: We resume classes on January 19, 2017 (one day before the Presidential inauguration). Do you all have your spring course schedules? Do Tuesdays at 12:30 still work? Are we still interested in moving the discussion into digital humanities? I think it's an excellent extension of the topics we've covered in our reading group along with the elements of the presidential election. Are we covering too much or too little in this reading group? Let's discuss this on Tuesday!

A tentative schedule might look like this:
January 24: Managing Cultural Differences, Chapter 9 Global Teams
February 7: Managing Cultural Differences, Chapter 13 Doing Business with Asians & Chapter 16 Doing Business with Americans
February 14: Doing Digital Humanities, Introduction and Foundations
February 21: Doing Digital Humanities, Chapter 2 Global Outlooks in Digital Humanities
March 7: Doing Digital Humanities, Chapter 3 Problems with White Feminism
March 21: No meeting. Brandy and Rich will be at a conference out of town
April 4: Doing Digital Humanities, Chapter 4 Toward Best Practices in Collaborative Online Knowledge Production
April 18: Doing Digital Humanities, Chapter 5 Understanding the Pre-digital Book
May 2: Doing Digital Humanities, Chapter 7 Augmented Reality

Week of 10/16 schedule

Hello everyone! We had a really great time at The Humanities Center's reading group of 1984 last Monday. A quick reminder that we'll be at that reading group again this Monday. Please feel free to go even if you haven't done the readings. This is a bit of a cultural experience inside the academy that I think has a lot to offer. Library room 309 Monday 7-9 pm.

Additionally, please remember we're meeting this Tuesday for a special presentation from Dr. Don Lavigne from The Humanities Center. He's really excited to speak to us about The Humanities Center!

10/10 Reading of 1984 commencement

WHO: us!

WHAT: Reading George Orwell's 1984

WHEN: October 10, 17, & 24. 7-9pm

WHERE: TTU Library, Room 309 (take the East elevators to the 3rd floor)

I have emailed a copy of the 1984 reading schedule. I just spoke with Jack Becker from the TTU Library. He's very excited to host us for the reading of George Orwell's 1984. The reading begins tonight at 7 pm. We're all meeting in the TTU Library, room 309 from 7-9. Free copies of the book are available to the first 30 visitors, so please arrive early if you don't have a book. 

I can offer rides home after the event. I realize the buses may not run so late.

My daughter will also join us. Please feel free to invite friends and family! (The book may not be appropriate for readers under age 13.)

more: http://guides.library.ttu.edu/reading/1984 

Recap of meeting 9/20 and forecast of upcoming meetings

Thanks, everyone, for a really nice discussion this week! Though our discussion deviated from the readings, I felt the ideas we discussed held important connections to the readings. We talked quite a bit about censorship and cultural differences related to what different cultures censor and we speculated why.

We'll meet again on Tuesday, October 4th. I have sent a request to the TTU police department inviting them to speak at our meeting: to talk about guns on campus and the new Campus Carry laws. 

We also decided to join the Humanities Center in reading George Orwell's 1984, a classic story of censorship and dystopian society. Information on this is found near the bottom of the link here: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/provost/humanities-center/book-groups.php, and I have pasted that information below. You will not need to buy a copy of this book. I have ordered a few copies, and the Humanities Center is offering free copies to the first 30 people to arrive.

We may also have an opportunity to learn about the Humanities Center and its workings. Dr. Don Lavigne (TTU) may visit our reading/discussion group, and I have asked him if it is possible for us to tour the Humanities Center.

I'm looking forward to seeing you all on October 4th!

Fall Book Read

The Humanities Center along with the TTU Library will sponsor a three-part discussion series around George Orwell's classic, dystopian, future-focused novel, 1984. The series is open to everyone; it is free; and refreshments will be served. The dates are October 10th, 17th, and 24th—all Mondays, all at 7:00 p.m. in Library Room 309. Take the east elevators. The first thirty people to arrive will receive a free copy of the book.

Upcoming meeting September 21st

This is going to be a wonderful year at TTU. We're going to have so much fun and learn so much during this exchange! Thanks to all who met today for the reading group and shared such interesting perspectives on the readings!

Please enjoy the upcoming readings without pressure, as we are really here to enjoy the company and to discuss select elements of the reading that we might apply through new lenses of our academic partnerships.

In America, people often take personality tests which analyze which sorts of behaviors they exhibit. Are these tests popular in China? One popular test is the JUNG personality test, which is available to take free online. You can find one here: http://psychcentral.com/quizzes/personality/start.php. (These are just for fun. As the author of this website says, "This is not a diagnostic personality instrument, and you should not take these results as anything other than as entertainment or for one's own personal growth and education.") I find this quite amusing, and the results are related to Managing Cultural Differences Chapter 2. Please don't feel you must share your results if you take this test. I have posted my results below. (Results are explained at the end of the test.) I believe my results are the result of my cultural upbringing.

You are I-S-T-J

Introverted - Sensing - Thinking - Judging (ISTJ)

ExtroversionIntroversion

44

IntuitiveSensing

43

ThinkingFeeling

64

PerceivingJudging

29

The chart on page 116 relates to Sungbum's discussion about global, glocal, and local thinking. Maybe in our next meeting, we can discuss what we believe it means to be global leaders and which character attributes contribute to the most successful examples of global leadership. In other words, what character traits do we most want to teach our students to have as they enter the global workforce?

I'll see you all on the 21st!

Brandy

Framework for first meeting 9/7/16

This week, let's begin by introducing ourselves and establishing a framework for the upcoming year in The Devil's Tongue Book Club / Reading Group. If you're joining us online, please comment and contribute to the discussion in any way you feel fits!

Let's continue by discussing Managing Cultural Differences through Chapter 1, titled "Global leaders, culture, and a changing world."

• The authors call for "sophisticated global leadership skills" as they provide a need for managing cultural differences on the inside cover. Let's read it together.
• In Chapter 1 (p. 2), we find some shocking examples taken from an article in The Economist. Do you read The Economist? http://www.theeconomist.com 
• On page 6, the authors say, "We believe managing cultural differences skillfully for all individuals, organizations, NGOs, and governments from all countries is a human and business imperative." Why do you think this is true?
• Pages 7-11 provide several shocking stories of cultural experiences. Which did you find most shocking, and why?
• My favorite example from this chapter is found on p. 13. Are you more like Guillaume or Rebecca?
• On p. 11, the authors define culture. How might we define culture?
• On p. 12, the authors offer 10 categories for understanding macro or micro culture. Are there any more you'd add to the list? Would you omit some? Let's consider these 10 aspects as we continue through the reading group:
• Sense of smell and space
• Communication and language
• Dress and appearance
• Food and feeding habits
• Time and time consciousness
• Relationships
• Values and norms
• Beliefs and attitudes
• Mental process and learning
• Work habits and practices
• And the 10 concepts of cultural variables:
• Environment
• Time
• Action
• Communication
• Space
• Power
• Individualism
• Competitiveness
• Structure
• Thinking
• P. 19 introduces Geert Hofstede. Perhaps Dr. Rice can give us a 5-10 minute intro. to Hofstede's work.
• The image on p. 23 provides a continuum of cultural values (according to Confucian interpretation rather than a Western perspective). Perhaps our visiting scholars can provide insight into Confucian interpretations throughout the reading group meetings now and in the future.
• P. 29 provides the image summarizing qualities of interculturally competent leadership. I propose we maintain this as a guide as we continue our discussions.
• Question of the week for Dr. Rice: What does this have to do with what we do in TCR?

Next meeting, 9/20, let's discuss chapters 2 and 4.