| Communication |
CMN 402 - Communication and Social Order
Credits:
4.00
Introduction to human communication from a broad liberal
arts perspective; emphasizing the role of symbolic
interaction in the construction of social reality. Processes
of intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, public, and mass
communication. Freshman, sophomore priority.
CMN 402H - Honors/Communication and Social Order
Credits:
4.00
See description for CMN 402.
CMN 455 - Introduction to Mass Communication
Credits:
4.00
Nature, development, and the effects of mass media.
Overview of mass communication history and theory.
CMN 455H - Honors/Introduction to Mass Communication
Credits:
4.00
See description for CMN 455.
CMN 456 - Propaganda and Persuasion
Credits:
4.00
Introduction to theories of propaganda and persuasion.
Examination of symbolic strategies designed to secure or
resist social and institutional change. Attention given to
case studies of social, political, economic, and religious
reformation. Special consideration of the ethical
ramifications of such efforts.
CMN 456H - Honors/Propaganda and Persuasion
Credits:
4.00
See description for CMN 456.
CMN 457 - Introduction to Interpersonal Communication
Credits:
4.00
Research and theory that define the area of interpersonal
communication. Examination of the associations between
communication and such social phenomena as self-concept,
social attraction, relationship development, and health.
CMN 500 - Public Speaking
Credits:
4.00
Performance course buttressed by practical theories of
public discourse. Focus on analysis of speaking situations
and audiences, message construction, presentation, and
critical evaluation. Does not count towards the CMN major.
CMN 503 - Introduction to Group Process
Credits:
4.00
Focuses on a variety of concepts relevant to the study,
analysis, and understanding of communication in the small
group setting. Issues include leadership, group roles,
problem-solving and decision-making processes in
task-oriented groups. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, and 457, or by
permission.
CMN 504 - Introduction to Argumentation
Credits:
4.00
Persuasive discourse as inquiry and advocacy grounded in
practical inductive and deductive reasoning. Discovery,
analysis, and testing of practical arguments. The nature and
function of proof. Some emphasis on applied presentation.
Prereq: CMN 455, 456, and 457, or by permission.
CMN 505 - Analysis of Popular Culture
Credits:
4.00
Locates the development of popular cultural artifacts and
practices within the 20th-century social history of the U.S.
Examines the political-economic forces that underpinned the
commercialization of art, leisure, sports, and other
elements of culture in industrial and postindustrial
America. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, and 457, or by permission.
CMN #506 - Communication as Social Influence
Credits:
4.00
Examines cognitive and social bases of persuasion and social
influences from a variety of theoretical perspectives.
Focuses on processes of change as applied to face-to-face
interaction, group and family settings, and mediated
communication.Prereq: CMN 455, 456, and 457, or by
permission.
CMN 507 - Introduction to Rhetorical Theory and Analysis
Credits:
4.00
Major precepts of rhetorical theory. Application of those
precepts in analysis and understanding of a wide range of
human communication. Consideration of how precepts and
issues of rhetorical theory apply to contemporary issues and
problems. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, and 457, or by permission.
CMN 515 - Analysis of News
Credits:
4.00
Explores the psychological, social, economic, political, and
cultural factors that influence the definition and reporting
of news. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, and 457, or by permission.
CMN 519 - Advertising as Social Communication
Credits:
4.00
Social role of advertising, public policy debates concerning
advertising, influence of advertising on culture, and
methods of analyzing advertising messages. Prereq: CMN 455,
456, 457, or by permission.
CMN 530 - Family Communication
Credits:
4.00
Comparison and evaluation of theories of communication
developed for the analysis of family interaction. Focus on
pattern development and intervention, change, stability, and
coherence in family interaction. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, and
457, or by permission.
CMN 550 - Cinema and Society
Credits:
4.00
The art, history, technology, economics, and theory of
moving images from the silent period to the present. Focus
on film as a social practice. Examination of both classic
Hollywood film and alternative cinema. Prereq: CMN 455, 456,
and 457, or by permission. Special fee.
CMN 557 - Great Speakers and Speeches
Credits:
4.00
Historical survey of masterpieces of oratory from the period
of Demosthenes and Cicero through the golden age of
American oratory with Lincoln and Webster, to the time of
Martin Luther King, John Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan.
Critical attention to the circumstances, talents, and
rhetorical attributes that combine to make eloquent,
persuasive discourse and effective public communication.
Prereq: CMN 455, 456, and 457, or by permission.
CMN 567 - Images of Gender in the Media
Credits:
4.00
The symbolic construction of sexuality and gender in
specific social, historical, and cultural settings.
Examination of the power to define media images and the
media's function as one element in the preservation of
gender inequality. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, and 457, or by
permission.
CMN 572 - Language and Social Interaction
Credits:
4.00
This course introduces students to major works in the study
of language and social interaction. Topics covered explore
how discursive activities construct identity, gender and
ethnicity, race, culture and power. This course is devoted
to intensive reading of these central themes. Prereq:
CMN 455, 456, and 457, or by permission.
CMN 583 - Gender and Expression
Credits:
4.00
Analysis of the different ways people communicate about
gender, the different ways men and women communicate,
and the consequences of these differences. Prereq: CMN 455,
456, and 457, or by permission.
CMN 596 - Special Topics in Media Studies
Credits:
2.00 or 4.00
Selected topics not covered by existing courses in media
studies. Topics vary; course descriptions are available in
department office during preregistration. May be repeated
for credit if topics differ. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, and 457,
or by permission.
CMN 597 - Special Topics in Rhetorical Studies
Credits:
2.00 or 4.00
Selected topics not covered by existing courses in
rhetorical studies. Topics vary; course descriptions are
available in department office during registration. May be
repeated for credit if topics differ. Prereq: CMN 455, 456,
and 457, or by permission.
CMN 598 - Special Topics in Interpersonal Studies
Credits:
4.00
Selected topics not covered by existing courses in
interpersonal communication. Topics vary; course
descriptions are available in department office during
registration. May be repeated for credit if topics differ.
Prereq: CMN 455, 456, and 457, or by permission.
CMN 599 - Internship
Credits:
1.00 to 4.00
Internships are designed to integrate classroom study and
supervised practical experience in a work setting. Each
student is required to write a series of reports focusing on
aspects of the work experience that are related to
coursework in the Communications Department. These
assignments are designed to enhance a student's ability to
reflect critically on the internship experience and to merge
theory and practice. Assignments are available, depending
on the number of credits granted (1-4). Students are
expected to hold the common exam time (TR, 1240-2) open
for occasional meetings. Before starting the internship,
students must submit a written proposal to both the work
supervisor and the faculty sponsor. The proposal should
include detailed information on the duties and
responsibilities to be undertaken at the internship site and
on the goals and learning objectives as relevant to the
Communication Department curriculum . May be repeated for
a maximum of 8 credits. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, 457, or
permission. CR/F.
CMN 602 - Theories of Interpersonal Communication
Credits:
4.00
Analysis and criticism of contemporary perspectives on
interpersonal communication. Theories and concepts, issues,
and research models are examined as they contribute to our
understanding of social interaction. Prereq: CMN 455, 456,
457 and any CMN 500-level interpersonal studies course or
permission. Writing intensive.
CMN #604 - Public Argument in Contemporary Society
Credits:
4.00
Studies of inquiry and advocacy within such contemporary
fields as law, politics, science, ethics, business, and the
arts. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, 457 and any 500-level
rhetorical studies course or permission.
CMN #605 - Argumentation and Public Advocacy
Credits:
4.00
Ideas and methods of adversarial and consensual public
advocacy. Applied emphasis on public policy argumentation
and decision making. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, 457 and any
500-level rhetorical studies course; CMN 500 or 504
recommended.
CMN 607 - Persuasion in American Politics
Credits:
4.00
Study of the forms and strategies of persuasive discourse
employed by contemporary American political leaders.
Analysis of important political addresses of the 20th
century, with attention to theoretical and critical issues
in political communication and public address. Discussion of
the status of rhetoric in modern politics, and the impact of
persuasive discourse on campaigns, policy decisions, crisis
management, political scandal, and the national identity.
Prereq: CMN 455, 456, 457 and any 500-level rhetorical
studies course or permission. Writing intensive.
CMN 615 - Public Opinion and Mass Communication
Credits:
4.00
Examines the historical development of the 18th century
public sphere and its relationship to the press. Traces the
transformation of the press from an ideological grounding to
a commercial base. Analyzes the consequences of contemporary
mass consumer-oriented media on the public sphere and
democratic life. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, 457 and any 500-level
media studies course. Writing intensive.
CMN 630 - Psychology of Communication
Credits:
4.00
Exploration of differing world views in the study of the
individual in interaction, with emphasis on how they
generate very different conceptions of the human
communication process. Specific attention to such
notions as the construction of social meaning, the
construction of self, and the construction of interactive
patterns. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, 457 and any 500-level
interpersonal studies course or permission. Writing
intensive.
CMN 632 - Communication Theory
Credits:
4.00
Terminology, concepts, theoretical models, functions,
levels, modes and media, and role in taking human
communication. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, 457 and any
500-level CMN course (three500-level courses
recommended) or permission. Writing intensive.
CMN #638 - Media and Social Thought
Credits:
4.00
Situates the development of media, public attitudes toward
media, and academic study of media within late 19th- and
20th-century social theories, including mass society theory,
functionalism-pluralism, and European critical theories.
Traces the fragmentation of 19th-century social philosophy
into discrete specialized academic disciplines in the
20th-century, and discovers the roots of modern media
studies in such cognate fields as sociology, psychology,
anthropology, and linguistics. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, 457 and
any 500-level media studies course or permission. Writing
intensive.
CMN 640 - Media, Culture, and Society
Credits:
4.00
Focuses on the construction of meaning in the interplay
between social structure and cultural expression. theory and
analysis emphasize the ideological role of the media in the
social struggle for meaning. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, 457 and
any 500-level media studies course or permission. Writing
intensive.
CMN #642 - European Media and Culture
Credits:
4.00
Examination of the mass media in Europe as central sites
for the production of culture and the formation of identity.
Topics include the structural configurations of the media
and their particular political and economic contexts, and
policy debates over the issues including transborder
broadcasting, language preservation, the status of
minorities, and the globalization of culture. Prereq:
CMN 455, 456, 457 and any 500-level media studies course or
permission. Writing intensive.
CMN #647 - Rhetoric of Science
Credits:
4.00
Employs rhetorical analysis to examine how science is
socially constructed through communication. Investigates
persuasive strategies writers and speakers employ to gain
approval of ideas as "science" and of themselves as
"scientists" . Explores strategies used to construct images
and ideas about "science" and "scientists" in the popular
media, and the influence of these constructed images and
ideas on selected political and social issues within society
at large. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, 457 and any 500-level
rhetoric course or permission.
CMN 650 - Critical Perspectives on Film
Credits:
4.00
Advanced, focused study of film theory as cultural practice.
Topics vary from year to year and with instructor. May be
repeated for different topics. Focus may range from general
considerations of film theory, criticism, and history, to
specific analyses of selected genres, directors, national
cinemas, and periods. Course descriptions available in
department office during preregistration. Prereq: CMN 455,
456, 457, 550, ENGL 533, or permission. Special fee. Writing
intensive. May be repeated for credit.
CMN 656 - Principles of Rhetorical Criticism
Credits:
4.00
Application of critical principles to message evaluation.
Consideration of the varying roles, methods, and standards
of rhetorical critics. Special attention to major
perspectives on rhetorical criticism including
Neo-Aristotelian, historical, dramatistic, generic,
literary, and psychological. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, 457,
and any 500-level rhetorical studies course (CMN 507
recommended). Writing intensive.
CMN 657 - Public Address and the American Experience
Credits:
4.00
Study of persuasive texts set firmly in their historical and
social contexts. Discussion of the impact of popular
discourse on historically significant political and social
events. Analysis of how leading persuasive speakers and
writers responded to the fundamental questions confronting
their age and articulated ideas in a manner that provoked
or motivated their community, state, or nation. Historical
period studied will vary. May be repeated for credit when
topic varies. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, 457 and any 500-level
rhetorical studies course or permission. Special fee.
Writing intensive.
CMN 658 - Media Analysis and Criticism
Credits:
4.00
Approaches and methodologies for media criticism. Analysis
of sample studies. Students work on original media analysis
projects. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, 457 and any two 500-level
CMN (three 500-level courses recommended) or permission.
Writing intensive.
CMN 666 - Conversation Analysis
Credits:
4.00
Exploration in how participants in interpersonal
communication display their orientation to the
fundamental orderliness of conversational sequences
in everyday, institutional, and mass media settings. Basic
concepts covered include the interactional co-construction
of turn-taking, repair, overlap, openings, closings,
silences, adjacency, pairs, disagreement, preference, and
the role of various linguistic, paralinguistic, and
nonlinguistic features in the conversation process.
Prereq: CMN 455, 456, 457 and one 500-level
interpersonal CMN course or permission. Writing intensive.
CMN #667 - Ethnography of Communication
Credits:
4.00
Theoretical and hands-on consideration of interpersonal
communication and language use as culturally situated
practices of particular communities, through which human
beings reflect, construct, maintain, pass down, and
challenge the cultures of which they are a part. Students
will learn how to interpret culturally situated
interpersonal communication and language use by
employing various ethnographic and discourse analytic
methods of investigation. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, 457 and
one 500-level interpersonal course or permission. Writing
intensive.
CMN #670 - Systems and Theories of Rhetoric
Credits:
4.00
Critical interpretation of significant works in the history
of rhetorical theory and the major philosophical systems
underlying them. Selected contemporary theories of
rhetoric examined as they relate to classical perspectives.
Explores fundamental philosophical and theoretical questions
asked by rhetorical theorists and several responses to those
questions. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, 457 and any 500-level
rhetorical studies course (CMN 507 recommended).
CMN 672 - Theories of Language and Discourse
Credits:
4.00
Focus on different theoretical orientations to the study of
language and specific models for analyzing conversation.
Specific issues include conversational rules and coherence,
turn taking, narrative development and analysis, speech act
analysis, accounts analysis, and conversational analysis.
Prereq: CMN 455, 456, 457 and any 500-level interpersonal
studies course (CMN 572 recommended) or permission. Writing
intensive.
CMN 680 - Perspectives on Culture and Communication
Credits:
4.00
Theoretical and practical problems of intercultural
communication. Explores how communication transactions
create, maintain, and separate different cultures. Prereq:
CMN 455, 456, 457 and any 500-level interpersonal studies
course or permission. Writing intensive.
CMN 696 - Seminar in Media Studies
Credits:
4.00
Variable topics in media research, theory, and practice. May
be repeated for different topics. Topic descriptions
available in department office during preregistration.
Prereq: CMN 455, 456, 457 and any 500-level media studies
course or permission. Writing intensive.
CMN 697 - Seminar in Rhetorical Study
Credits:
4.00
Variable topics in rhetorical research, theory, and
practice. May be repeated for different topics. Topic
descriptions available in department office during
preregistration. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, 457 and any 500-level
rhetorical studies course or permission. Writing intensive.
CMN 697H - Honors/Seminar in Rhetorical Studies
Credits:
4.00
See description for CMN 697. Writing intensive.
CMN 698 - Seminar Interpersonal Studies
Credits:
4.00
Variable topics in interpersonal research, theory, and
practice. May be repeated for different topics. Topic
descriptions available in department office during
preregistration. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, 457 and any 500-level
interpersonal studies course or permission. Writing
intensive.
CMN #701 - Modes of Communication Inquiry
Credits:
4.00
Overview of selected philosophical orientations, issues,
and concepts central to communication research. Examination
of both qualitative and quantitative methods. Prereq:
CMN 455, 456, 457 and two 500-level CMN courses or
permission. Writing intensive.
CMN #702 - Seminar in Interpersonal Communication Theory
Credits:
4.00
In-depth concentration on a particular theoretical
orientation in interpersonal communication. Original
works are read. Theoretical orientation varies by semester.
Theories covered include rule theories, systems theories,
individual difference theories, symbolic interactionism,
constructivism, hermeneutics, phenomenology, cybernetics,
etc. Prereq: CMN 455, 456, 457 and three 500-level
CMN courses with at least one in interpersonal studies
or permission. Writing intensive.
CMN 703 - Seminar in Rhetorical Theory
Credits:
4.00
Focused study of problems in rhetorical theory construction
through examination and criticism of selected theoretical
frameworks used to explain or interpret rhetorical
phenomena. Prereq: permission. Writing intensive.
CMN #772 - Seminar in Media Theory
Credits:
4.00
Detailed analysis of major theories related to the
interaction of communication technologies and society.
Application to current examples in politics, advertising,
and entertainment. Prereq: at least one 600-level course or
permission. Writing intensive.
CMN 795 - Independent Study
Credits:
1.00 to 4.00
Advanced individual study in rhetoric, media, or
interpersonal communication. Project to be developed
with supervising instructor. May be repeated for credit.
Prereq: permission.
CMN 799H - Honors Thesis
Credits:
4.00
Written thesis based on substantial and original research
under the direction of a full-time member of the
communication faculty. Thesis must be in the form and
style of a publishable, scholarly work. Restricted to
seniors seeking honors in major.