Glossary
UW Bothell Course Descriptions
UW Tacoma Course Descriptions
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Course Descriptions |
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Detailed course offerings (Time Schedule) are available for
To see the detailed Instructor Class Description, click on the underlined instructor name following the course description.
COM 201 Introduction to Communication I (5) I&S
Introduces students to four core principles that undergird the study and practice of communication -- communication literacy, research inquiry, theories and concepts, and community engagement. Principles discussed and developed in the context of international communication, political communication, and communication technology and society.
Instructor Course Description:
Taso Lagos
COM 202 Introduction to Communication II (5) I&S/VLPA
Introduces students to four core principles that undergird the study and practice of communication -- communication literacy, research inquiry, theories and concepts, and community engagement. Principles discussed and developed in the context of social interaction, rhetoric and critical studies, and communication and culture.
Instructor Course Description:
Lisa Coutu
Crispin Thurlow Faber
COM 210 Introductory Communication Topics (5, max. 10)
Introduction to a specified area of communication scholarship.
COM 220 Introduction to Public Speaking (5) I&S/VLPA
Designed to increase competence in public speaking and the critique of public speaking. Emphasizes choice and organization of material, sound reasoning, audience analysis, and delivery.
Instructor Course Description:
Matthew K Mcgarrity
COM 222 Speech Communication in a Free Society (3) I&S/VLPA
Problems and arguments related to freedom of speech; early English writers on freedom of expression; background of freedom of speech in the United States; contemporary freedom of speech issues.
COM 233 Introduction to Language and Society (5) VLPA Evans, Wassink
Provides an introduction to they study of language in culture and society, and raises awareness of the role of language in the development and formation of society and the individual. Also engages in as systematic observation and critical discussion of linguistic phenomena. Offered: jointly with ANTH 233/LING 233; A.
COM 234 Public Debate (5) I&S/VLPA
Examines public debate in a democracy by developing a rhetorical perspective of public argument and skills to evaluate debates critically. Develops an understanding of rhetoric, values, audiences, tests of reasoning, and sources of information. Sharpens critical skills and applies them to contemporary controversies in the public sphere.
COM 270 Interpersonal Communication (5) I&S/VLPA
Emphasizes analyzing and understanding communication variables affecting human relationships, such as person perception, feedback, idea development, nonverbal cues. Focus on informal communication settings.
COM 273 Parliamentary Procedure (3) I&S/VLPA
Principles and practice: a study of the historical bases and contemporary uses of parliamentary procedure; methods and practice in organizing and conducting public meetings.
COM 300 Basic Concepts of New Media (5) I&S/VLPA
Provides a comprehensive examination of the effects of new, digital media on interpersonal communication, media industries, and media culture. Emphasis on economic, social, political, and aesthetic implications. Provides limited experience with computer-based media. No prior technical computer experience assumed.
Instructor Course Description:
Aaron A. Delwiche
Timothy J. Pasch
COM 301 Navigating Information Networks for Mass Media (5) I&S
Builds familiarity with computer-mediated information networks. Introduces and compares network search engines, agents, browsing/viewing tools and retrieval/transfer software for use by reporters and other media workers. Instruction and practice with searching/acquiring information, its analysis and interpretation, illustration, and write-up. No prior computer or network experience assumed.
Instructor Course Description:
Ted M Coopman
Margaret E Achterman
Aaron A. Delwiche
COM 302 The Cultural Impact of Information Technology (5) I&S/VLPA
Utilizing approaches from the history of technology, cultural studies, and literary theory, seeks to analyze the cultural and social impact of information technology. Considers how information technologies impact our relationships with others, our concept(s) of self, and the structure of the communities to which we belong. Offered: jointly with CHID 370.
COM 304 The Press and Politics in the United States (5) I&S
Journalist's role in elections and public policy. Relationship between news coverage and political campaigns. Study and analysis of local political newswriting, reporting, and response by local and state political figures. Offered: jointly with POL S 304.
Instructor Course Description:
David S. Domke
Taso Lagos
COM 305 The Politics of Mass Communication in America (5) I&S
Role of mass audiences in politics from the standpoint of the communication strategies used to shape their political involvement. Topics include: social structure and political participation, political propaganda and persuasion, the political uses of public opinion, and the mass media and politics. Offered: jointly with POL S 305.
Instructor Course Description:
Adam F. Simon
Misti L. Williams
Steven L Livingston
COM 306 Media, Society and Political Identity (5) I&S
Explores how society and culture are both represented in and shaped by communication technologies and media content. Media include film, advertising, news, entertainment television, talk shows, and the Internet. Explores how media represent and affect individual identity, values, and political engagement. Offered: jointly with POL S 306.
Instructor Course Description:
Misti L. Williams
COM 320 Public Speaking (5) I&S/VLPA
Practice in preparation and presentation of a variety of types of public speeches based on study of their structure and form; emphasis on organization and delivery. Prerequisite: COM 220.
COM 321 Communications in International Relations (5) I&S
Looks at communications in relations between international groups and states. Examines the range of functions and roles communication media play in international affairs, global issues, and intergroup relations. Also examines the strategic use of communications by various groups. Offered: jointly with POL S 330.
Instructor Course Description:
Louisa S Edgerly
Nancy Rivenburgh
COM 322 Global Communication (5) I&S
Introduction to the history, purpose, channels, content, technologies, policy, and regulation of international communications systems. Issues covered include disparities in media development between post-industrial and developing nations, imbalances in international news and information flow, and the emergence of global communications. Offered: jointly with POL S 329.
COM 329 Rhetoric of Social and Political Movements (5) I&S/VLPA
Inquiry into the rhetoric of social and political movements; emphasis on investigation of persuasive discourse; examination of the nonverbal symbols of persuasion.
COM 331 The Rhetorical Tradition in Western Thought (5) I&S/VLPA
Analysis of the major theories that prescribe and describe the use of symbols to change attitudes and behavior. Principal emphasis is placed upon defining the nature and scope of rhetoric and upon analyzing the art's underlying assumptions about human beings as symbol users. Some background in history, philosophy, and literature is desirable.
COM 334 Essentials of Argument (5) I&S/VLPA
Argument as a technique in the investigation of social problems; evidence, proof, refutation, persuasion; training in argumentative speaking.
COM 340 History of Mass Communication (5) I&S
History and development of communication from prehistoric times; rise of mass media; political and economic context of newspapers, radio, film, and television.
COM 342 Media Structure (5) I&S
Industrial organization and culture; consumer and producer decisions; public policy toward media; workforce and unions. Media role in culture and political economy.
COM 343 Effects of Mass Communication (5) I&S
Effects of mass communication on individuals and society. Relevant theories applied to research evidence, addressing such topics as effects of stereotypes, violent and sexual imagery, and persuasive messages on our knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.
COM 351 Interviewing Principles and Practices (5) I&S/VLPA
Interviewing principles and practices, with emphasis on information gathering, selection, and persuasive interviews. Purposes and types of interviews, structure of interviews, and influence of communication patterns on interview outcomes.
Instructor Course Description:
Kristin Louise Gustafson
COM 359 Writing for Mass Media (5) I&S
COM 360 Beginning Newswriting and Reporting (4) I&S
Introduction to newswriting and reporting for print media. Focus on defining news, general writing skills, constructing leads, preparing a variety of basic journalism news stories, interviewing techniques, covering beats, and journalistic style.
Instructor Course Description:
Paul Mcelroy
COM 361 Advanced Reporting and Newswriting (4) I&S
In-depth training in the development of advanced-level reporting and newswriting skills. Practice in information gathering, interviewing, use of sources, database analysis, and investigative reporting techniques. Recommended: COM 360.
COM 362 Community Journalism: News Lab (5) I&S
Newswriting-skills course. Students gain real-world experience by producing news and feature stories for client papers in the Puget Sound Region. Involves considerable one-on-one work with the lecturer/editor. Requires writing and reporting skills. Recommended: COM 361.
COM 373 Communication in Small Groups (5) I&S/VLPA
Discussion as an everyday community activity, with emphasis on the informal cooperative decision-making methods of committee, conference, and roundtable groups.
Instructor Course Description:
Ted M Coopman
COM 374 Perspectives on Language (5) I&S/VLPA
Study of language and meaning, and survey of several influential modern approaches, including the semantic, general semantic, behavioral, and analytic philosophical. Relates theories of language and meaning to the study of speech communication.
Instructor Course Description:
Laura Wilbur Mcgarrity
COM 375 Communication Ethics (5) I&S/VLPA
Ethical problems in interpersonal and public speech communication. Alternative ways of evaluating and responding to moral problems in a variety of communication situations.
COM 376 Nonverbal Communication (5) I&S/VLPA
Reviews the nature of nonverbal communication as part of the human message system. Discusses research on the types of cues that are part of the nonverbal system, reviews some communicative functions allowed by nonverbal cues (e.g., emotional expressions, relational messages, deception, coordination, or interaction), and ties nonverbal communication to language.
COM 378 Social Approaches to Interpersonal Communication (5) I&S/VLPA
Exploration of several social approaches to interpersonal communication, emphasizing the theorists' philosophical orientations and practical applications.
COM 382 Social Scientific Approaches to Communication Research (5) I&S
Comprehensive introduction to research methods employed in basic and applied communication research, including sample surveys, content analysis, experimentation, and elementary statistics.
COM 389 Race, Gender, and Sexuality in the Media (5) I&S
Introduction to media representations of gender, race, and sexuality. Offered: jointly with AES 389/WOMEN 389.
COM 395 Communication Internship (2-5, max. 5)
Faculty-supervised study of communication principles in internship contexts. Readings to aid students in observations of communication concepts combined with individualized reading structured around topics of interest for each student.
COM 401 Telecommunication Policy and Convergent Media (5) I&S
Examines contemporary media and telecommunications industries since 1980 and their accelerating convergence. Attention given to economic, policy, and mass use issues. Review of major industry leaders, promising technologies, and new services. Social issues, government initiatives, and new legislation covered for both North American and international markets. Recommended: COM 301.
COM 402 New Media as Virtual Communities (5) I&S
Technologically-mediated virtual communities considered through analysis of historical precedents and influences and through an exploration of the concept of community. Issues include a focus on social interactions; the social, political, economic, and technological contexts of virtual communities and the limits for their sustenance.
COM 405 New Media Criticism (5) I&S/VLPA
Examines critically the content of new media forms, contrasting them with traditional media. Stresses influences of social, economic, political, and technological forces on content and developing strategies for critical analysis.
COM 406 Public Discourse on the Internet (5) I&S/VLPA
Study of public advocacy and persuasion in internet environments, including public interest advocacy sites, political campaigns, advertisements, editorials, and essays. Various critical models applied to analyze narratives, style, argument structure, and credibility of internet discourse. Recommended: COM 331, COM 435, or COM 436.
COM 407 Communication Technology and Politics (5) I&S
Employs some core concepts of political communication and theories of democracy to examine the emerging role of information and communication technologies in candidate and issue campaigning; online voting; protest and advocacy movements; law-making and electronic governance in the United States and internationally. Offered: jointly with POL S 451.
Instructor Course Description:
Patrick W Howard
Philip Edward Howard
COM 411 Political Communication Seminar (5, max. 10) I&S
Contemporary topics studying how communication affects citizen engagement with public life. Offered: jointly with POL S 454.
COM 414 Mass Media and Public Opinion (5) I&S
Examines the foundations of the idea of public opinion in a democratic environment and the role of mass communication in the organization, implementation, and control of that opinion. Considers these relationships from the perspectives of societal elites, media, and citizens. Offered: jointly with POL S 452.
COM 417 Political Deliberation (5) I&S
Exploration of philosophical and empirical writings on political deliberation in small groups, campaigns, and other public settings. Contemporary deliberative theory. Participation in face-to-face discussions on current issues. Recommended: either COM 273 or COM 373. Offered jointly with POL S 455.
Instructor Course Description:
John W. Gastil
COM 418 Communications and the Environment (5) I&S
Examines the role of mass media in the resolution of environmental problems. Topics include strengths and weaknesses of media coverage, use of media by environmental groups and government agencies, media effects on public opinion, and mass communication and social movements. Offered: jointly with ENVIR 418.
COM 420 Comparative Media Systems (5) I&S
Provides students an understanding of policies that shape national communication processes and systems. Uses comparative analysis to identify both similarities and differences among media structures of nations at different levels of development. Primary emphasis on broadcast media. Offered: jointly with SIS 419/POL S 468.
COM 423 Communication and Social Change (5) I&S
Examines both theory and application involved in using communications media as a tool for addressing political, social, and economic development issues. Utilizes a case study approach to look at localized applications of traditional and new communications tools in the pursuit of sustainable development.
COM 425 European Media Systems (5) I&S
Examines media systems in selected countries in Europe and policy issues that link (or divide) members of the European Union and other major media producers. Media studied in context of the contemporary economic, social, political, and cultural milieu in which they operate. Offered: jointly with EURO 425.
COM 426 International Media Images (5) I&S
Ways in which media construct images of international peoples and events. Develops a set of critical tools for assessing media portrayals of international affairs and cultures.
COM 427 International Communications Law and Policy (5) I&S
Examines the international and comparative aspects of traditional press law, broadcast regulation, and telecommunications policy. Also examines freedom of the press in international reporting and the efforts of countries to limit foreign media influences within their borders.
COM 428 Asian Media Systems (5) I&S
Examines the media systems and communication policies in selected Asian countries. Identifies and analyzes the cultural, economic, historical, and political parameters that influence these media.
COM 429 Chinese Communications Systems (5) I&S
Analyzes the economic, historical, intellectual, social, and political foundations of communications systems in the region of Chinese Asia: China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. Focus primarily on print and broadcast journalism.
COM 430 Canadian Documentary Film Traditions (5) I&S/VLPA
History and development of non-fiction film documentary traditions, especially in Canada, the first institutionally defined area in which documentaries became prominent through the National Film Board and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Discussion of Flaherty, Greirson, and independent network producers who developed present-day style of documentaries. Offered: jointly with SISCA 430.
COM 431 Rhetorical Criticism (5) I&S/VLPA
Study of approaches to rhetorical inquiry that aid in the description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of discourse. Applies various critical models to a chosen artifact.
COM 433 Speech Composition (5) I&S/VLPA
Preparation and delivery of public speeches with emphasis on style, thought organization, and proof. Analysis of model speeches. Recommended: SP COM 220.
COM 434 Argumentation Theory (5) I&S/VLPA
Theory and research on the structure and properties of argument, argument fields, argument modeling, the influence of audience, argument criticism, and related topics. Prerequisite: either COM 220 or COM 334.
COM 435 Historic American Public Discourse (5) I&S/VLPA
Rhetorical criticism of historical public speeches, essays, and declarations. Includes readings of public texts in their historical and political context to increase understanding of those texts, their rhetorical construction, and the culture from which they arose. Covers the beginnings of the nation to the middle of the 20th century.
COM 436 Contemporary American Public Discourse (5) I&S/VLPA
Rhetorical criticism of contemporary public messages. Includes reading of public texts in their context to increase understanding of those texts, their rhetorical construction, and the culture from which they arose. Covers mid-20th century to the present.
COM 437 Rhetorical Perspectives in Intellectual Revolutions (5) I&S/VLPA
Rhetorical investigation of selected major writings. Examines the rhetorical dimension in the progress of ideas through analysis of documents of major intellectual revolutions as persuasive works. Relates principal revolutions in Western thought to contemporary controversy. Examines Rights of Man, Communist Manifesto, The Origin of Species.
COM 440 Mass Media Law (5) I&S
Survey of laws and regulations that affect the print and broadcast media. Includes material on First Amendment, libel, invasion of privacy, freedom of information, copyright, obscenity, advertising and broadcast regulation, and matters relating to press coverage of the judicial system. Offered: jointly with POL S 461.
Instructor Course Description:
Richard B Kielbowicz
COM 441 United States Media History (5) I&S
Development of mass communication in the United States with emphasis on role of mass media in politics, economics, gender, and race.
COM 442 History of Media Technology and Regulation (5) I&S
Impact of pre-1980s media technologies -- printing, telecommunications, broadcasting, photography, and more -- on individuals and institutions, especially government, business, and the mass media. How laws and policies have changed to govern new media forms.
COM 443 Indigenous Film, Sovereign Visions (5) VLPA/I&S Cote', Hart, Ross
Explores fiction, documentary, experimental film, and digital media from indigenous artists from around the world. Focuses on personal, political, and cultural expression. Issues include media and sovereignty movements, political economy, language revitalization, the politics of decolonization, and indigenous aesthetics. Offered jointly with AIS 443.
COM 444 Public Relations and Society (5) I&S
Overview of issues, strategies, and role of public relations professionals in various areas of American society, including media relations, government relations, community affairs, and consumer relations.
COM 445 Journalism and Literature (5) I&S/VLPA
Explores the relationship between journalism and fiction writing in the United States. Examines writers who began their careers as journalists and forged a fiction-writing philosophy related to what they learned in journalism. Readings in fiction and journalism.
COM 451 Mass Media and Culture (5) I&S/VLPA
Empirical and theoretical framework for analyzing role of mass media in cultural change. Historical and contemporary cases consider ethnic, gender, class, and urban-rural conflicts and cultural roles of sports, elections, and national rituals. Focus on visual electronic media.
COM 452 Crisis Communications (5) I&S
Study of the functions of communications professionals during crises. Covers public relations professionals as advocates for organizations and companies in crisis and the news media as advocates of the mass public. Discussion of cases.
COM 459 Narrative Journalism (5) VLPA/I&S Kaplan
Introduces the rigorous reporting and literary writing techniques involved in narrative journalism. Concentrates on producing three narrative articles for publication in the online, reader-interactive magazine, Narrative Journalist.
COM 460 Special Reporting Topics (4, max. 8) I&S
Topics vary. x
Instructor Course Description:
Kathy E Gill
Lisa B Cohen
COM 461 Computer-Assisted Journalism (5) I&S
Introduction to computer-assisted journalism and other advanced reporting techniques. Includes hands-on electronic data analysis, exploration of on-line investigative tools, and the fashioning of electronically-retrieved information into news stories. Students examine ethical and technical challenges these tools present to media and society.
COM 463 Copy Editing and Design (5) I&S
Focus on editing copy for publications, covering grammar and style, production methods, news criteria, use of wire services, headlines, make-up and design, pagination, and online publication.
COM 464 Opinion Writing (5) VLPA
Combines the teaching expertise of a Department of Communication faculty member with the professional expertise of an opinion-writing journalist. Students learn about and practice writing newspaper editorials, columns, and various forms of criticism in order to gain an understanding of the differences between news and opinion content in print journalism. Prerequisite: com 361.
COM 465 Legislative Reporting (12) I&S
Coverage of Washington legislature for a daily newspaper. Selected students live in Olympia, interview legislative delegations, report on committee and floor sessions, and attend and report on gubernatorial and other press conferences.
COM 466 Digital Journalism (5) I&S A. Chan
Introduction to digital journalism. Integrates Web design, video, still, and sound to develop an Internet Webcast called DIA (Digital Interactive) News. Students serve as sole initiator of DIA news, utilizing journalistic standard of storytelling, video production, and editing and design. Prerequisite: COM 300.
COM 467 Feature Writing (5) VLPA
Focuses on the many types of newspaper and magazine articles that do not fall into the category of hard news, including histories and backgrounders, how-to and explanatory, consumer information, statistical pieces, first-person, and participatory. Includes practice in writing these forms. How to market freelance manuscripts.
COM 468 Journalism Ethics (5) I&S Simpson
Provides a method and substantive context based on ethical theory, media history, and value systems analysis for analyzing and resolving dilemmas raised by journalistic practices.
COM 469 Intellectual Foundations of American Journalism (5) I&S
Examines the thinkers and philosophers who have influenced modern journalism. Studies the main ideas in the development of world thought and their impact on today's journalists. Explores the role communications systems have played in the creation of the world's cultures.
COM 470 Discourse: Analyzing Talk and Texts (5) I&S/VLPA
A critical and practical introduction to contemporary theories/methods in discourse analysis: how verbal communication (together with visual communication) is used in conversational talk and mediztized texts to construct identities and relationships; and how power and ideology are reproduced through these everyday social interactions. Offered: jointly with LING 470.
COM 471 Persuasion (5) I&S/VLPA
Analysis of the ways in which beliefs, values, attitudes, and behavior are deliberately influenced through communication.
COM 472 Empirical Approaches to Interpersonal Communication (5) I&S
Examination of theories and research on the development and deterioration of interpersonal relationships. Emphasis on the nature of interpersonal interaction, the role of language and nonverbal communication in relationships, functional and dysfunctional interaction patterns, and the dynamics of interpersonal networks.
COM 473 Problems of Discussion Leadership (3) I&S/VLPA
Critical analysis of leadership in committee and conference, with emphasis on the development of speech effectiveness in the cooperative achievement of goals. Prerequisite: COM 373.
COM 474 Communication, Conflict, and Cooperation (5) I&S/VLPA
Role of communication in resolving informal conflicts and in facilitating interpersonal and intergroup cooperation. Review of empirical literature. In-class simulations and exercises.
COM 475 Organizational Communication (5) I&S/VLPA
Role of communication in organizations, the types of problems arising, and approaches to their resolution. Communication in the human relations and productivity of organizations. Applying communication skills in various organization roles.
Instructor Course Description:
Gina S Neff
COM 476 Models and Theories in Communication (5) I&S
Examination of selected theories and models of speech communication as well as of criteria applicable to them. Emphasis on the nature and function of theories and models, especially as these relate to basic principles underlying the scientific, interpretive, and critical study of speech communication phenomena.
COM 478 Intercultural Communication (5) I&S
Investigates intercultural communication theory and its application for varying levels of human interaction: interpersonal, intergroup, and international. .
Instructor Course Description:
Crispin Simon Thurlow
COM 479 Communication in Children's Environments (5) I&S/VLPA
Study of the communication capacity of children with emphasis on the analysis of the communication process in formal and informal learning environments. Includes examination of communication-based educational approaches and instructional strategies.
COM 480 Communication in Adolescent Environments (5) I&S/VLPA
Study of the communication process in youth environments with a primary focus on formal and informal learning. Includes critical analysis of communication in contemporary instructional settings and the development of communication strategies for teaching and learning.
Instructor Course Description:
Aaron A. Delwiche
COM 482 Computer-Mediated Interpersonal Communication (5) I&S
Examination of relationships and groups formed through computer-mediated interpersonal communication. Focus on how people manage interactions and identities, develop interpersonal relationships, engage in collaboration and conflict, and develop communities in virtual environments. Involves both the study and use of network-based computer-mediated systems.
Instructor Course Description:
Malcolm R Parks
Crispin Simon Thurlow
COM 484 Cultural Codes in Communication (5) I&S/VLPA
Social and cultural codes in interpersonal communication, with special reference to contemporary American subcultural groups and their communication patterns.
COM 485 Fieldwork in Communication Studies (5) I&S/VLPA
Theory and practice of participant observation, intensive interviewing, and discourse analysis in the study of communicative practices. Prerequisite: COM 484.
COM 488 Race, Gender, and Power in Asian American Media (5) I&S
Examines the cultural, political, and social facets of Asian American media since 1915 within such key issues as racial and sexist stereotypes, white privilege and hegemony, identity, and agency and empowerment. Informed by critical theories of race and ethnicity.
COM 490 Representing Beyond the Binaries: Mixing Race, Gender, and Sexuality in the Media (5) I&S Joeseph
Cultural studies approach to examining the mixed formations that race, sexuality, and gender take in the contemporary United States media. Draws upon multi-disciplinary scholarship in examination of the media. Offered: jointly with AES 490/WOMEN 486.
COM 491 Publication Design (5) I&S Rathe
provides basic theories of design for newspapers, magazines, and their online counterparts. Introduces a computer layout program. Areas of study include typography, photo editing, print production, and the page design process, stresses journalistic standards of writing, reporting, and ethics.
COM 495 Special Topics in Communication (2-5, max. 15)
Lecture, seminar, and/or team study. Topics vary.
Instructor Course Description:
Gina S Neff
Kristin Louise Gustafson
Lisa B Cohen
Philip E Howard
COM 496 Honors Seminar (5) I&S/VLPA
Preparation for researching and writing senior honors thesis.
COM 497 Honors Thesis (5, max. 15) I&S/VLPA
Researching and writing honors thesis.
COM 498 Independent Research (1-5, max. 10)
Work on research projects designed and conducted by undergraduate students.
COM 499 Directed Research (1-5, max. 10)
Work on research projects designed by faculty members.
COM 500 Communication Theory Development (5)
Covers the philosophy behind theory development, discusses the basic components of theories, and reviews significant theoretical contributions in communication from social scientific and humanistic traditions. Introduces students to the process of conceptualization and theory design through reading and discussion of relevant bodies of communication scholarship.
COM 501 Methods of Inquiry (5)
Overviews some of the most important methods of inquiry used to investigate communication phenomena. Includes textual criticism, content analysis, ethnography, experimentation, survey research, and historical approaches. Explores the utility of different methods for investigating research topics, defining and measuring concepts, reading texts, and investigating theories.
COM 502 Communication Scholarship and Public Life (5)
Examines potential connections between communication scholarship and government, markets, civil society, and the general public.
COM 507 Interdisciplinary Communication Theory (5)
Introduces students to challenges, benefits, and processes of interdisciplinary research. Explores formation of disciplinary boundaries. Considers significant theories that have influenced communication research. Considers how synthetic theoretical arguments are made and how to integrate work from fields with different epistemologies.
COM 509 Collaboration and Scholarship (5)
Examines the collaborative research process. Students identify and conceptualize a group project, carry it out, and present findings. Topic varies. Prerequisite: COM 501 or equivalent.
COM 511 Content Analysis (5)
Content analysis as a technique for making inferences from texts. Includes quantitative, qualitative, and computer-assisted approaches to analysis.
COM 512 Critical, Social, and Practice-Based Approaches (5)
Explores approaches to communication research developed from understandings of human communication as inherently social, grounded in tool-mediated action, and interwoven with power relations. Covers a range of theories that are associated with these approaches, and the implications of these theories for methods of data collection and analysis.
COM 513 Fieldwork Research Methods (5-, max. 10)
Methods of fieldwork research in communication studies, with emphasis on participant observation, ethnography, and discourse analysis.
COM 514 Critical Discourse Analysis (5)
Introduction to systematic analysis of linguistic and visual discourse in face-to-face and mediatized talk and texts; critical examination of the reproduction of power, control, and ideology through linguistic and related semiotic practices of everyday life.
COM 515 Rhetorical Criticism (5)
History and method of rhetorical criticism. Application of critical standards to various rhetorical artifacts.
COM 516 Descriptive and Analytic Communication Research Methods (5)
Development of the historical approach to communications research. Study of historical methods, bibliography, and criticism.
COM 517 Survey Research (5)
Faculty-directed project in survey research in which basic principles of survey design, including sampling, observation, measurement, data analysis, and data interpretation, are all applied. Prerequisite: elementary statistics or permission of instructor.
COM 520 Statistical Methods in Communication (5)
Reviews the steps taken in social scientific research on communication, with emphasis on the conceptualization, operationalization, and analysis of quantifiable variables. Highlights understanding of computer application of univariate and bivariate statistics, focusing on both parametric and nonparametric tests.
COM 521 Advanced Statistical Methods in Communication (4)
Discusses complexities in quantitative research on communication. Focus on multivariate data design and analysis, including multiple and logistic regression, ANOVA and MANOVA, and factor analysis. Prerequisite: COM 520.
COM 527 International Communication Research Methods (5)
Methodological issues particular to the design or analysis of research that deals with data from different countries, cultures, or sub-cultures. Prerequisite: COM 501 or equivalent.
COM 528 Designing Internet Research (5)
Focuses on designing Internet research, assessing the adaptation of proven methods to Internet tools and environments, and developing new methods in view of particular capacities and characteristics of Internet applications. Legal and ethical aspects of Internet research receive ongoing consideration.
COM 529 Research Strategies and Methodologies in Digital Media (5)
Introduces and compares methods of inquiry into digital media industries, practitioners, and consumers. Develops theories and skills applicable in business decision-making processes, as well as in scholarly research.
COM 530 Philosophical Issues in Rhetorical and Communication Theory (5)
Survey of selected philosophical controversies among speech communication theorists, and analysis of one philosopher's approach to communication. Topics include paradigm descriptions of communication, rhetoric and knowledge, linguistic analysis and communication, hermeneutics and dialogue.
COM 531 Rhetoric in Society (5)
Selected works of major rhetorical theorists such as Aristotle, Cicero, Augustine, Campbell, Whately, Perelman, and Burke. Examines how rhetorical themes are responsive to and symptomatic of societal conditions and values.
COM 532 Classical Rhetoric (5)
Development of the classical tradition in rhetorical theory, criticism, and pedagogy from the sophists to Augustine; analysis of the contributions of major figures and works to that tradition.
COM 534 Studies in Contemporary Rhetoric (5)
Critical analysis of theories of twentieth-century rhetoric.
COM 535 Critical Theory Applications in Communication (5)
Major approaches in critical theory: Marxism, psychoanalysis, structuralism, and semiology. Synthesizes these approaches by viewing the "cultural studies'' tradition. Assesses critical theory through empirical study of network television in the United States and the United Kingdom.
COM 538 Theories and Criticism of Communication Technologies (5)
Potential of the computer for use in behavioral science. Prerequisite: elementary programming, elementary statistics.
COM 540 The Rhetoric of Science (5)
Examines selected topics in the rhetoric of science, underscoring the interplay of language, situation, culture, and prior tradition in the quest for exact knowledge of the natural world. Scrutinizes scientific communication in intradisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and extradisciplinary contexts.
COM 542 Readings in Communication History (5)
Selected readings on the history of communication.
Instructor Course Description:
Richard B Kielbowicz
COM 543 Research Seminar in Historic and Contemporary Communication (5)
Topical research seminar in historic and contemporary communication.
COM 545 Development of Mass Communication (5)
Institutions of mass communication. Political and social roles.
COM 546 Evolution and Trends in Digital Media (5)
Examines the past, present, and future of digital communication from diverse disciplinary and theoretical perspectives. Offered: A.
Instructor Course Description:
Kathy E Gill
COM 547 Telecommunications Policy and Convergent Media (5)
Structures and policies governing the functioning of communication technologies and data flow: United States and international perspectives. Interdisciplinary approach.
COM 548 Economics of Digital Communication (5)
Critically examines the impact of the Internet and digital technologies on the economy. Focus includes third world countries as well as the United States and other industrialized countries.
COM 549 Mass Communication Process and Effects (5)
Analytic approach to conceptualization and research in the field since 1900.
COM 550 European Union Information Society Policy (5) Giffard
Analysis of European Union policy and regulatory documents relating to cultural, economic, political, social, and technological aspect of the new information society, including efforts to promote transborder flows of television programs in Europe.
COM 551 Political Communication (5)
Surveys classic works and new directions in political communication, including functionalist, structuralist, constructivist, network, and comparative approaches, reflecting a range of methods. Examines political organizing, electoral and legislative processes, civic (dis)engagement, media and politics, public deliberation and opinion formation, political identify and discourse. Offered: jointly with POL S 551.
Instructor Course Description:
Kirsten A Foot
COM 553 Public Opinion and Communication (5)
Conceptual and methodological approaches to public opinion and communication as historical and behavioral phenomena. United States and international perspectives.
COM 554 Discourse and the Politics of Resistance (5)
Examines how disciplines theorize and empirically study discourse in the politics of resistance. Examines the discursive turn in U.S. and European "new" social movement theory. Ranges across disciplines, such as political sociology, cultural anthropology and human geography, to discover ways in which discourse is conceptualized and studied for its role in seeding social change. Offered: jointly with POL S 567.
COM 555 Political Deliberation (5) VLPA I&S Gastil
Exploration of deliberative theories of democracy and research on political discussion in campaigns, face-to-face meetings, on-line forums, and informal conversations. Presents different uses and understandings of deliberation and its role in democratic governance. Recommended: COM 577, POL S 551/COM 551. Offered jointly with POL S 558.
COM 556 Political Communication Research Practicum: Community, Communication, and Civic Engagement (5)
Overview of the research process, including literature review, hypothesis generation, data gathering, empirical analysis, and writing for publication Topics vary with instructor, but generally address questions of how communication affects democracy and citizen engagement in national or international contests. Offered: jointly with POL S 594.
COM 557 Government and Mass Communication (5)
Legal problems of mass communication, institutions, and media operations.
Instructor Course Description:
Richard B Kielbowicz
COM 558 U. S. Digital Media Law and Policy (5)
Examines the conceptual framework and social application of existing regulations and policies on digital media, with the aim of helping professionals address the changing legal and policy environments.
COM 559 Media and Foreign Policy (5)
The role of communications media in how nations interact. The media as source, actor, and catalyst in international affairs. Interdisciplinary focus.
COM 561 Regional Communication Systems (5)
Communication as a factor in economic, sociocultural, and political relations among nations of a region. Focus varies with specialization of instructor. Consult graduate secretary for details. Interdisciplinary focus.
COM 562 International Communication Systems (5)
International communications and contemporary issues that affect the functioning of global communication systems. Interdisciplinary focus.
COM 564 Media, Myth, and Ritual (5) Douglas
Examines the way media operate in a secular society with many of the characteristics that traditionally have been imputed to spirituality and religion. Analyzes media's mythological and ritualistic function in society by taking an interdisciplinary approach informed by religious studies, cultural studies, journalism, and communication theory.
COM 565 Mass Media Structure (5)
Research on the structural aspects of mass communication.
COM 566 Discourse and Sex/uality (5)
Seminar-based analysis of discourse and social construction of eroticism/desire in face-to-face/mediatized talk and texts; examination of the reproduction of power, control and ideology through the linguistic and semiotic realization of sex/uality. Offered: jointly with WOMEN 566.
COM 567 Gender, Race, and Communication (5)
Analysis of the role of media in the construction of reality, production processes, and their influence on media representation of women and people of color. Offered: jointly with WOMEN 589.
COM 570 Organizational Communication (5)
Examination of social scientific theory and research on communication in organizations. Topics include quantitative and qualitative approaches to process of organizational communication, function and structure of macro networks, superior-subordinate relationships, and the role of communication in organizational change, development, and effectiveness.
COM 576 Interpersonal Communication (5)
Social scientific research and theory on the role of communication in developing and maintaining interpersonal relationships. Nature of interpersonal communication, relationship change processes, interpersonal control through communication, and personal communication networks.
COM 577 Communication in Small Groups (5)
Reviews major small group communication theories and the history of research on small groups. Topics include structuration, democratic decision making, symbolic convergence, and the influence of personality, gender, and ethnicity on group communication. Involves students in original research projects on communication in small group settings.
COM 578 Intercultural Communications (5) Manusov, Rivenburgh
Focuses on the nature of communication between different cultures, including the processes as they occur on sojourns, immigration, negotiations, and conversations across national boundaries. Specific topics include identity formation and expression, intercultural relationships, stereotyping, prejudice, and group affiliation.
COM 580 Nonverbal Communication (5)
Reviews primary theories and research on nonverbal communication. Focus on developmental and social aspects of nonverbal cues, including review of communicative functions served by nonverbal channels. Topics include paralinguistic systems, relational messages, deception, acquisition of cue use, and emotional expression. Emphasizes research methods and influences of culture and context.
COM 581 Social Production and Distribution of Digital Content (5) Hosein
Explores theoretical and applied analysis of "user-generated" digital and distribution, as well as their economic cultural impact. Examines specific issues related to monetization and messaging, particularly in storytelling, advertising, campaigning, advocacy, and entertainment.
COM 582 Communication Education Research (5)
Communication in instructional environments. Nature of instructional communication, paradigms for instructional communication research, quantitative and qualitative approaches to instructional communication, verbal and nonverbal classroom interaction.
COM 584 Ways of Speaking (5)
Theory and literature of the ethnography of communication, with special emphasis on the descriptive-comparative approach to culturally patterned styles of communicative conduct. Offered: jointly with ANTH 584.
COM 585 Digital Media Message Design and Content Creation (5)
Applies communication theory to the identification, creation, and evaluation of digital media message design to meet needs of the target audience. Introduces the theory and practice of hypertext and project management techniques needed to organize digital assets, allocate resources, and meet deadlines.
COM 586 Writing and Presentation for Digital Media (5)
Applies communication theory and research tools to rhetorical and design choices in web page creation. Examines the emergence of digital media story-telling techniques, as well as ethical and technical challenges these tools present to media and society.
COM 587 Digital Media Economics and Management (5)
Emphasizes communication theory to analyze effective management of digital media enterprises, with practical application of economic theory to entreprenurial strategies. Topics include analysis of the total business process, patterns of ownership, merger and acquisitions, finance and accounting, human resources development, sales and marketing, and ethics.
COM 588 Digital Media Branding and Marketing (5)
Critically examines the role of advertising, marketing, and other promotional efforts in establishing the branding of digital media companies. By using communication theory to analyze successful cases of established and start-up digital media companies, participants identify practicable and effective strategies for brand building and enhancement.
COM 589 Global Digital Media Law, Policy, and Ethics (5)
Examines the legal, social, political, and policy environments of digital media laws, policies and ethics around the world. Offers a comparative perspective, which prepares digital media managers to expand into other markets outside their home bases.
COM 590 Selected Readings (1-5, max. 10)
Selected readings assigned by faculty.
COM 591 Independent Research (1-5, max. 10)
Research projects designed and led by students with faculty supervision.
COM 592 Directed Research (1-5, max. 10)
Student participation in faculty-directed research projects.
COM 593 Communication Internship (1-5, max 15)
Provides students an opportunity to connect their scholarship with communities outside academia by engaging in a project that uses communication theory to inform practical work.
COM 594 Professional Proseminar (1, max. 6)
Helps students develop a range of professional competencies. Focuses on a particular topic such as computer-assisted research, technology in the classroom, obtaining funding for research, writing for academic publication, career choices after graduate school, and ethics in research and teaching.
COM 595 Public Speaking Pedagogy (1, max. 5)
Content and effective teaching skills for public speaking course. Emphasizes the rhetorical tradition, grading speeches, and facilitating oral critiques. Required for all COM 220 TAs; recommended for those who want to teach COM 220. Only 3 credits count toward degree. Credit/no credit only.
COM 596 Communication Pedagogy (1, max. 3)
Development of effective teaching and professional skills. Emphasizes interactive teaching, leading discussions, lecturing, planning courses, evaluating resource materials, grading and evaluation, teaching philosophies, and effective classroom management and communications. Required of all graduate students who accept teaching assistantships. Credit/no credit only.
COM 597 Special Topics in Communication (5, max. 10)
Instructor Course Description:
Carolina F Mello-E-Souza
Gina S Neff
Hanson Riad Hosein
Kathy E Gill
Walter Lance Bennett
Philip Edward Howard
Randal A Beam
COM 600 Independent Study or Research Project (*)
Prerequisite: permission of supervisory committee chairperson. Credit/no credit only.
COM 700 Master's Thesis (*)
COM 800 Doctoral Dissertation (*)
