CO

TrE.ON UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES 

FACULTY OF INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES 

NEW

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?VRE 

NON-VERBAL EXPRESSION 

p.te1TIbe. . 

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Action undertaken by the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies 

at its meeting of September 14, 1982 gives rise to the following motion:- 

MOTION: 

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"That Senate approve an,fecommend approval to the Board 

of Governors, as set/6rth in S.82-94 , the proposed new 

course G.S. 210-3Non-Verbal Expression." 

Subject to the approval of the course by Senate and the Board of 

Governors the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies gave approval to 

waiver of the two semester time lag requirement in order that G.S. 210-3 

may be first offered in Spring 1983-1. 

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SENATE COMMITTEE ON UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES 

NEW COURSE PROPOSAL FORM 

Calendar Information 

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Department:General Studies 

Abbreviation Code: 

G.S. 

Course Number: 210 

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Credit Hours:3 Vector: 2-1-0 

Title of Course: Non-Verbal Expression 

Calendar Description of Course: Non-verbal expression plays a highly significant role in 

personal and social interactions. As such, it has been the subject of study and 

commentary in the social sciences, literature, the arts and the life sciences. Such 

behavior, however, is difficult to index and classify in a meaningful, parsimonious 

fashion. This course introduces the student to recent advances in this endeavour and 

their application to the study of non-verbal expression in an extensive range of 

social contexts. 

Nature of Course 

Prerequisites (or special instructions): 

None 

What course (courses), if any, is being dropped from the calendar If this course is 

approved: 

No course 

2.

Scheduling 

How frequently will the course be offered? Two semesters per academic year 

Semester in which the course will first be offered? 

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Spring '83 

Which of your present faculty would be available to make the proposed offering 

possible? ? 

Dr. R.J.C. Harper, course co-ordinator and guest lecturers. 

3.

Objectives of the Course 

1.

To document the significance and complexity of non-verbal expression 

2.

To promote the mastery of generic codes for classifying non-verbal expression 

at the human level 

3.

To contribute to the general cultural development of the student 

4.

Bud etary and Space Requirements (for information only) 

What additional resources will be required in the following areas: 

Faculty 

Staff 

Library 

Audio Visual 

Space 

Equipment 

5. Approval ? 

Date: 

None 

None 

Minor additions to the present book holdings. None in journals 

None 

None 

None 

Department Chairman 

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Dean 

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Chairman, SCUS 

SCUS 73-34b: (When completing this form, for instructions see Memorandum SCUS 73-34a. 

attach course outline). 

G.S. 210-3 

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COURSE 

OUTLINE ? 

SPRING 1983 

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NON-VERBAL 

EXPESSION 

INSTRUCTOR/CO-ORDINATOR: 

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VECTOR: 2-1-0 

R.J.C. Harper 

Ful weel she soong the service dyvyne, 

Entuned in her nose ful semely. 

Chaucer 

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I

have heard, 

That guilty creatures, sitting at a play 

Have by the very cunning of a scene 

Been struck to the soul, that presently 

They have proclaimed their malfactions, 

For murder, though it have no tongue, will 

speak 

With most miraculous organ. I'll have these 

players 

Play something like the murder of my father. 

Before mine uncle: I'll observe his looks; 

I'll tent him to the quick; if he do blench, 

I'll know my course. 

Shakespeare ? 

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Orientation 

Non-verbal expression is a term which covers a wider range 

of activity than any of the separate disciplines can encompass. 

Nevertheless, its role in the human condition is of 

unquestionable significance. From the study of those bodily 

aspects of personal and social interactions which accompany oral 

exchanges to the art of mime, such expressions add a complexity 

and richness to our lives which are surely worthy of 

interdisciplinary examination. For this reason, the subject 

lends itself readily to the purposes of general studies offerings 

in this faculty. 

The primary objectives of this course are to develop in the 

student a sensitivity to the importance of non-verbal expression 

and its role in personal and social interaction; provide a 

classificatory scheme that will permit accurate recording and 

communication of non-verbal components in such interactions; and 

finally enhance our appreciation and understanding of our own and 

other cultures. 

While primary emphasis in the lectures will be placed on the 

research literature, extensive use will be made of both 

documentary and feature films which, by virtue of their subjects, 

lend themselves to the objectives stated above. 

Text: Harrison, R.P., Beyond Words 

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Lecture Organization 

Part I 

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The Evolution of Emotional Expressions: 

(Two Weeks) ? 

The nature/nurture controversy - Darwin v. the 

learning theorists. Uncertainty and Instinct. 

Part II ? 

Non-Verbal Codes 

Linguistic and non-linguistic codes 

distinguished. 

2.

Research Methods: film, audio and VTR 

techniques 

3.

Taxonomics of non-verbal expression 

4.

Illustrative analyses. 

Part III 

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1.

2.

4.

3.

n-Verbal Expression in Social Contexts 

Social Perception: 

Comparative Studies in Non-Verbal 

Expression 

Non-Verbal Communication in Art forms 

The Writer and the Poet as observers 

Guest Lecturers: Professors Zaslove, Kim, Garland and Lyman. 

Course Requirements 

1.

2 short essays on topics selected in consultation with 

instructor - 1200 - 1500 words (50% of final grade). 

2.

Final exam, open-book 50% objective 50% short answer (50% of 

final grade). 