Course Availability: 13 January 2014 - 24 February 2014 The course is now closed.

Welcome from your Instructors

If you can't view the above YouTube version, try this:

mooc-intro3.mp4

Instructors

Mary Lahman, PhD, Manchester University (Indiana)
Greg Thompson, PhD, Brigham Young University
Steve Stockdale, MA, New Mexico State University (Grants Community College)

Read about the instructors.

Course Description

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This course provides an introduction to General Semantics—the study of how we transform our life experiences into language and thought. Students will learn how language habits and behaviors, how they think about and share experiences, are what make them uniquely human. In other words, students will discover the critical, but sometimes subtle, distinctions between what happens in their lives and how they talk about what happens. The course will include readings from a wide array of disciplines, such as communication studies, neuroscience, and cultural anthropology, in addition to visual and auditory demonstrations, music and social media, and collaborative interactions with fellow learners. These types of learning experiences allow students to not only learn about more effective language behaviors, but also practice those new behaviors in order to communicate more effectively and appropriately in interpersonal and organizational contexts.

Learning Objectives

Participants will learn:

how language and thought shape, and are shaped by, our experiences;
the critical, but sometimes subtle, distinctions between what happens in our lives vs. how we talk about what happens;
the importance of distinguishing facts from inferences and opinions;
how to spot attempts to use language in manipulative ways;
the limitations and potential pitfalls of some language habits;
how to analyze unexamined assumptions and premises that contribute to many of our interpersonal and organizational communication difficulties;
and how to use simple, straightforward methodologies to more effectively and appropriately think, communicate, and behave as 21st century citizens of the world.

Course Organization

This six-week course is organized into weekly Modules that will open and be available to you each Monday morning at 08.00 Eastern Standard Time in the U.S. ( or UTC 13.00). Once opened, each Module will remain available throughout the duration of the course.

What do I do now?

New students should go directly to the Getting Started page and begin working your way through the Getting Started Module. Thereafter, you can pick up where you left off by going directly to the Modules List from the course navigation panel. And if you're joining us after the 13 January course opening, please review all of the course Announcements.