Spring 2023

Social scientific inquiry into human communication; core theories of message production and reception in interpersonal, group and organizational contexts.

Principles and practices of effective oral communication; analysis of the speaking-listening process; selection and organization of speech materials; use of new presentation technologies.

Examines cultural institutions, ideologies, artifacts, and productions; role of culture in everyday life; cultural studies as methodology; culture and power.

Economic and political economic principles for the analysis of communication and media industries including broadcasting, newspapers, motion pictures, music, video games, advertising and public relations.

Theoretical foundation for understanding the construction, consumption, and consequences of entertainment from classical to contemporary times; situates entertainment within the ecology of information and communication.

Experimental and survey methods for communication study; basic statistical concepts, procedures, and tests.

Theories and research in social influence; strategies and tactics of persuasive communications in such settings as politics, public relations, advertising, business.

Analysis of face-to-face interaction; role of communication in the development, maintenance and destruction of relationships; communication processes in managing interpersonal conflict.

Students learn to be consumers rather than creators of social science research. Examines the challenges and opportunities of communicating research through mass media.

Explorations of innovation in the entertainment business. The effects of digital mobile media on TV, movies, music, advertising, social networks and art.

Music as inter-cultural communication and method for exploring race and ethnicity in the constitution of American culture and American self; role of music industry.

Nature and functions of communication in human conflict; development of communication skills for managing conflict productively in interpersonal, organizational and intercultural contexts.

Cultural, social, political, and economic dynamics of communication technologies, including internet architecture, social media, participatory cultures, privacy, surveillance, networked journalism, big data, algorithms, online activism.

Interplay between media and society, including family and children's socialization, inter-group relations and community, pornography and violence, gender and race, media ethics, conduct of politics.

Forms of civic life; opportunities and obstacles in forming, participating in, and disrupting community; issues of knowledge, power, identity; theories/methods of rhetorical analysis and production.

Employs the concept of "celebrity" as an optic through which to view and assess some of the key aspects of the communication revolution.

Survey of mass communication research; history, content, effects, theories, and policy implications of various media.

Group process theories relevant to communicative behavior in small group/team settings, including information exchange, decision making, leadership, and meetings; student team projects testing theoretic propositions.

Social media within the broader social, political, and historical contexts; key themes include labor, Web 2.0, self-branding, celebrity, participation, privacy, online shaming, and activism.

Basic argumentation theory including analysis. Research and evidence, case construction, refutation; discursive and visual argument; diverse fields of advocacy including law, politics, organizations, interpersonal relations.

Cultural variables and social psychological processes that influence intercultural interaction; relationship between communication and culture in diverse settings including business, medicine, and education.

Cultural implications of computer-mediated communication and related media. Ideological responses to media innovation; debates over artificial intelligence, virtual communities, and virtual reality. Recommended preparation: COMM 339.

Introduction to the medium; history of video games; video games as aesthetic products, cultural products, economic outputs; policy issues, effects, and sites of community.

Advertising as a mode of communication; US advertising history and institutions; economic and policy contexts (domestic and global); critical analysis of advertising texts

Theoretical approaches to the study of media consumption and audiences; examines international media and consumption practices; explores new media's impact on consumption.

Examination of the modern city as a communicative text with London as the case study.

Students engage with a community partner, bridging classroom learning with "real world" experiences by working within the diverse community surrounding USC.

Introduces public diplomacy as a central feature of contemporary international relations and challenges students to locate themselves as both its target and practitioners.

Exploration of how freedom of speech has been adapted and applied to "new media" from film to computer algorithms and video games.

Oral and written communication skills demanded in the workplace including informative and persuasive speeches; interviewing; team communication; and training material preparation. Recommended preparation: COMM 204

Directed individual research studies of contemporary problems. Supervised laboratory experience. Open only to members of the University debate squad.

Explores social, political and ethical issues in elite sports and how issues are addressed through popular media; examination includes the relationship between sports and politics.

An inside look at the important stories, topical issues, trends and historical developments related to the growing influence of business and media on college and professional sports; identifying the key components and meeting the influencers in class that help shape the business side of sports, while recognizing the role the media plays in providing daily coverage across multiple platforms.

Rhetorical and critical approaches to sports and public discourse; application to sports organizations, the news and popular media; representations of gender and race in sports.

Popular culture as an indicator of cultural values, a producer and reflection of cultural meaning, and a means of communication; theory and case studies.

How communication processes both create organizations and are constrained by them. Theory and research into topics such as culture, technology, power, leadership and decision-making in a variety of organizational contexts.

Application of critical, sociological and rhetorical theories to sports events and sport media; examination of the role of sports in enacting social change.

Examines case studies on important Italian companies, ranging from the transportation to the luxury goods industries from both an economical and business point of view.

Investigates the implications of the perceptual process of mass media generated immigration discourse in Europe.

Examination of the modern city as a communicative text with Rome as the case study.

Issues of gender in communication, including: mediarepresentations of femininity and masculinity; and gender's rolein communication at the interpersonal, public, and cultural levels.

Advanced readings in communication theory and research (broadly defined); specialized interest areas of individual faculty on the frontiers of knowledge; seminar topics change each semester.

Provides an overview of 2,000 years of Italian-style communications, from Julius Caesar to Machiavelli, Mussolini and the Mafia.

A foundational understanding of the historic, cultural and theoretical underpinning of the podcast medium with an emphasis on critical listening.

Gender and news media evolving images of women and men in print and electronic media. Impact of gender in content and style of news, television and cinema. Open to non-majors.

Individual research and readings. Not available for graduatecredit. Available to juniors and seniors only.

Students gain research experience in the design, implementation, analysis, and reporting of communication research. Students serve as research assistants to faculty members. Not available for graduate credit.

Writing of the honors thesis. Not available for graduate credit.

Selected topics in communication.

Contemporary theoretical models; problems in determination and measurement of variables in small group communication environments; assessment of recent research. Not open to M.A. in Communication Management majors.

Overview of humanistic and social scientific approaches to the study of communication; emphasis on macro and micro social scientific, symbolic, and structural perspectives. Not open to M.A. in Communication Management majors,

Epistemological assumptions, design, and beginning methods of quantitative analysis in communication research.

Learn to harness the power of data science and computational techniques to study social and communication networks and extract value, knowledge and insights from big data.

Research leading to the master's degree. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the school. Graded CR/NC.

Classical and contemporary theories of persuasion, attitude formation and change; impact of cognition, affect and emotions; cultural and group influences; message strategies and framing.

Finding the right grant; how to develop theory, optimize funding, write critial components of grants, form collaborations with experts; how review panels work.

Examination of theoretical models and best practices of academic research and advocacy relationships; students conduct a community-based research project using a model of community-based participatory research.

Explores and analyzes the interaction between culture and economy by observing different types of economic practices.

Explores alternative genres of public-facing writing (blog posts, interviews, op-eds, policy statements, multimedia publishing); considers exemplars of academics engaging with the public.

A supervised course tailored to specific student interests. The professor and student develop a syllabus that permits exploration of advanced or specialized topics. Graded CR/NC.

Independent research designed to demonstrate the student's ability to conceptualize, conduct, and present scholarly research. Parallel to COMM 794. Graded CR/NC.

Research leading to the doctorate. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the department. Graded CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.