Spring 2024

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.

Students address communication issues in a field setting. They will evaluate communication practices using appropriate methodology. Projects are jointly evaluated by internship supervisor and professor. Sophomore standing. Graded: CR/NC. Not for major credit for Communication majors.

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.

Experiential learning and structured practice to build skills in communication effectiveness, problem solving, decision making and self-awareness. Not for major credit for Communication majors.

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.

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.

Theories of communication and persuasion in ancient Greece and Rome; cultural and social contexts of classical rhetorical theory; major historical figures and concepts.

Explores the role of the media in the LGBTQ revolution that transformed the lives of sexual and gender minorities in the United States.

This course examines philosophies and popular representations of technology from the origins of western culture to the present and identifies the complex attitudes toward technology.

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.

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 explore the theoretical and practical issues involved in designing effective media and communication projects for social change.

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

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.

Communicating with partners, friends, parents and health care professionals about sexual behavior; interpersonal and mediated contexts; understanding of sexual scripts; current theory and research.

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.

Explores blurring of entertainment, marketing and culture in advanced information economies; intersections of culture and media and their social ramifications.

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.

Overview of humanistic and social scientific approaches to the study of communication; emphasis on rhetorical/critical and macro social scientific perspectives. Not open to M.A. in Communication Management majors.

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

Explores cybersecurity, privacy, network neutrality and other critical issues in internet governance through the lenses of international political economy and media theories.

Addresses specific topics and issues in sociotechnical models of knowledge, power and society related to communication and media.

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.

Conduct research, design and produce a group-based research report and website to assess disruption within Global Media Industries over the past year or two.

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

Effectively changing health outcomes for target population using games, mobile and online interventions; formative and summative evaluation; virtual environments for fMRI studies.

Current problems in communication theory and research; advanced, specialized interest areas of individual faculty on the frontiers of knowledge.

Drawing on work in history, social theory and STS, explores contemporary examples of and concerns surrounding AI.

Interpretive, critical and cultural research in organizational communication; emphasis on narrative approaches to ethnographic studies, critical essays, and quantitative intercultural research in organizational communication.

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.

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.