Communications and Media Studies (CMS)

Survey of theories and concepts across the range of communication contexts including: interpersonal, group, organization and public. Special attention is paid to how meaning is created socially.

In this course students will develop a critical understanding about the ways that media influences our culture and helps to shape society’s institutions. The course addresses the linkages between media, culture and society as they relate to technology, industry, government, representation, audiences, and discourses of democracy, ideology, and equality. Students will be introduced to a variety of conceptual themes and theoretical approaches to the critical study of media and focus on how media are powerfully situated in relation to our own lives.

Modern trends and changes in mass communication; news practices and influence in controversies and consideration of alternatives; persuasive impact; critique of mass media as a source of information and influence of all "new media".

Study of the process of symbolic interaction in organizations. The course discusses communication successes and failures in organizations from both practical and theoretical view points.

An advanced course in the theories and concepts of persuasion. Includes both interpersonal and public strategies and patterns.

Conference leadership and group problem-solving. Application of principles and methods of group dynamics as practiced in a democratic society.

This course will investigate how communication patterns in families serve to organize family functions such as cohesion, change, boundaries. communication preferences. socialization. relational culture. and communication competencies. In short, across the semester. we will examine the group nature of the family, how communication serves to construct as well as reflect family relationships, and how communication serves as the process by which family members crate and share their meanings with each other.

Theory and practice of communication between diverse domestic and international cultures. Emphasis on barriers and gateways to effective intercultural communication.

Interpersonal and intrapersonal aspects of the communication process from the points of view of communication theory and interpersonal dynamics; opportunity is provided for students to gain experience as communicators in a variety of work and social settings. The nature of the course varies according to the needs of the students.

An introduction to the theory and practice of writing for radio and television. The course includes a study of both theory and practice in writing commercials, public service announcements, and semi-scripted programs such as music, talk and interview shows. Restrictions/Requirements: Sophomore standing or permission of Instructor.

Writing for Convergent Media exists to provide students with hands on experience in the creation of web-based texts-including blogs, podcasts and other related texts. The course will cover creation, production and distribution of texts.

In this course we will examine the historical roots of consumer society, the institution of advertising and the impacts of advertising and consumerism on social, cultural and political life in America from the turn of the century to the present day. NY: Spring

A critical examination of the motivations, methodologies, and implications involved in the seminal studies of the mass media and their effects. Included are studies of film, radio, print, television, comics, leaflets, and the effects of media on the message. Violence, politics, persuasion, propaganda, agenda-setting, and erotica are among the subjects of the studies.

In the mainstream media and other public arenas, we commonly encounter stories about our "new" media environment and its harmful effects on sociality and cognition. Rather than treating our digital moment as a radical rupture with the past, this course situates the "digital revolution" within an extended history of technological and communications revolutions. Through a close examination of social panics about the effects of "old" media (books, film, television and even the written word itself), students will investigate both how the meaning of new technologies and media is socially shaped and how new media may influence social behavior. Finally, students will establish and explore social issues at the heart of debates about new media technologies including, but not limited to, issues of class, gender, youth, sex, violence, and the relationship between work and leisure.

Comics, Cartoons and The American Conversation is a course designed to give a historical perspective to comics and cartoons and how they have been integrated into our daily lives and national frame of reference.

This course explores the ways in which digital media and information technologies are impacting everyday life, culture, institutions and identities. We will address issues of representation, identity, policy, regulation, law, ethics, aesthetics and consumption in the digital era. We will ask: How does new media alter the ways in which we communicate? Play? Do business? Gather information? Entertain ourselves? Imagine our worlds? Participate in the democratic process? And engage in social change? What are the consequences of these innovations?

Students will study texts of popular culture (e.g. movies, television, music, etc.) as artifacts of the social, economic and political issues that shape them.

What does activism look like in the digital age? How are youth engaging with digital technologies in everyday life, and what are the political implications of these everyday practices? This course examines the myriad forms and mechanisms of digital activism that have been embraced by youth throughout the globe. We will consider how digital media can be a platform for both leisure and politics, and some of the ways in which each informs the other. Digital media—both its form and content, as well as its production and consumption—will serve as a lens onto issues of social inequality and national politics as they pertain to youth.

Students study and engage in communication practices as they relate to the political process, social issues and public policy. Special attention is paid to theories of discourse as they relate to these topics. The primary focus is on American political discourse, but international issues and dynamics will be addressed.

This is an entry-level journalism course. Students in this class will engage in basic journalistic writing and reporting including spot, feature, and interview news. Students will also gain basic understanding of the principles of journalism as well as the changing landscape in the journalism theory and practice.

This course will provide an overview of today’s media professions. Our inquiry will focus on guest lectures from media professionals and faculty who have direct knowledge of today’s media and communication landscape. All communications industries are going through enormous and exciting changes as they adapt to new technologies and engagement patterns. We will exchange ideas with guest speakers and attempt to define how these changes are revamping traditional workplace patterns and positions. Through lectures, reflections, research and engagement, students will learn how to network with professionals and prepare themselves for relevant career opportunities. This course is a place to broaden your knowledge of media industries, to develop professional values, and to begin to explore media industry careers.

Sport Communication and Culture examines the interrelationship between sports media and society to investigate how that interrelationship reinforces social values. sometimes challenges social norms. and draws on the cultural identification of class. race, and gender to identify sports values with cultural values. Drawing on theories of crisis. critical. and strategic communication. this course will analyze media's role In telling the story of sports and. in telling that story. shaping and reinforcing cultural values. Students will study several critical approaches to sports and public discourse and will apply those approaches to sports organizations. the news media. and popular media.

This course examines feminism, rap music, and hip-hop culture. We will explore the work of actual women in hip-hop, images of women, and feminist critiques of rap music and hip-hop culture. We will also work on locating a space of praxis - where theory meets practice - that uses hip-hop, rap and feminism to propose ways of addressing social inequalities. With this in mind, one goal of this course is to move beyond discussion to a space of critique linked to change. Taking current controversies and rap music's dominant presence in US media and memory into consideration, we will use rap as a springboard into a consideration of pressing social, cultural, and political issues such as sexism, misogyny, homophobia, racism, classism, and heterosexism. Given hip-hop's media influence both in the US and globally, and the current growth of Hip-Hop Studies as a field, this course will also examine knowledge-making and the role that gender plays in what constitutes knowledge in the field of Hip-Hop Studies.

This course is designed to acquaint students with language as a symbolic process, examining various uses of language in interpersonal and public contexts. Extending upon the foundational principles of communication, the course will help students to critically analyze communication activities. All the while, students will be given opportunities to evaluate their own use of language and discuss means of more effective communication.

This course will examine a recent trend in communication that has come about with the advent of the mobile device and Web 2.0 technologies, known as participatory communication. After providing an overview of the theoretical development, the course will examine several participatory media channels that have become “mainstream” within the past few years. In addition to analysis and criticism of the media, students will apply the concepts in practical exercises that utilize contemporary media channels.

This course examines conflict management strategies and styles in interpersonal relationships. We will explore conflict management theories and how to successfully manage conflict in a variety of settings and relationships.

This course is an introduction to podcast production and is designed for students to become better communicators and storytellers by learning about and producing work in the podcasting form. Students will study various types of audio podcast and will learn to produce their own broadcast-quality podcasts.

This course introduces students to the theories and practices of media production. Students will become familiar with pre-production, production, and post-production. In this hands-on course, topics include introduction to multimedia tools for camera, audio, lighting, and editing, as well story development, and the ethical principles behind producing media. This course focuses on non-fiction, journalism, or public relations/advocacy projects. Students will work independently and in groups to produce short media projects that emphasize storytelling, technical proficiency, problem solving, and creative authorship, while learning to critique their own and their peers work with a critical eye.

This course builds upon the fundamental skills learned in Introduction to Journalism by introducing multimedia components of news reporting and storytelling. Students will develop production skills and techniques for audio and visual storytelling, and the corresponding news writing formats for sound and screen. You will also develop more in-depth reporting experience by selecting one news beat to cover throughout the semester, and report on through web articles, audio, and visual news stories. Students will further shape their “digital voice” by contributing their news stories to the CMS Journalism WordPress News Page, and drawing upon online tools to enhance their work, including news links, graphics, and creative common use images. While the course emphasizes multimedia journalism, students will still be honing their foundational skills in reporting, including doing background research, developing sources, interviewing, and news writing across multiple platforms. The course will culminate in the production of a longform investigative news report that brings together all the elements of multimedia journalism.

Postfeminism is an ambiguous concept; its shifting nature speaks to the difficulties in understanding contemporary relationships between feminism, femininity, citizenship, and identity, as well as the impact of mass communication on all of the above. Positioned simultaneously as a backlash against earlier waves of feminism, a sign of gender equality 'success,' or even a reclamation of traditional feminine values, postfeminism's significance is widely felt even as its specific effects remain unclear. This class will use a postfeminist analytical lens to explore how memes, viral trends, and other forms of digital culture shape understandings and expectations of behavior, including topics like stan wars, trad wives and domesticity, body positivity and narratives of ideal physical traits. over/underconsumption and fast fashion, and more.

In this seminar we will explore how girls in the United States use, make meaning from, are impacted by, and create media. We will look at a wide array of media – including film, radio, song, advertisements, magazines, toys, television, and social media – to understand the ways in which diverse girlhoods have been constructed in media at different times in American history. We will explore how experiences of girlhood and its representations intersect with gender binaries, race, sexuality, disability, body consciousness and self-esteem, consumerism, and activism.

The purpose of this course is to help students gain a practical understanding of the field by independently conducting their own communication and media study. Students will learn how to conduct a systematic communication inquiry by: identifying an issue that needs to be investigated; proposing a design to study the issue: collecting and analyzing data; interpreting the results; and presenting the findings of their study to a lay audience. Students will be able to use this project as evidence for the hands-on, practical experience they will have gained in studying the field of communication and media or to bolster their application for graduate school , if they choose to pursue further education in this field of study.

An examination and evaluation of the performance and responsibilities of the various media with regard to ethical and moral standards and the constitutional protection given them. The course focuses on analysis and discussion of such issues as censorship, public access, pornography, privacy, advertising, and television programming.

Cultural Studies as an intellectual formation resists easy definition because it is considered as an interdisciplinary or even anti-disciplinary mode of inquiry into societies’ institutional, ideological, and communicative practices. As a discursive formation, it has no simple origins, it is seen to have multiple histories and yet, it refuses to be a master discourse or a meta-discourse. It does not possess a research methodology of its own but the choice of research practices depends upon the kind of questions one asks in a particular context. Given some of the historical tensions that constitute the body of cultural studies, this course will address the question of “what cultural studies really is”, the historical trajectories that underlie the formations of cultural studies in various nations, and what it means to study culture as a struggle over meaning and as field of cultural practices that reflect domination, subordination and negotiation.

This course examines modern abuses in communication which citizens today must learn to navigate, from the epidemic of Cyberbullying to the darker form of media and political expression that impact democracy. Students will explore issues, theories, and implications of destructive communications in a variety of contexts including interpersonal relationships, identity- politics, and media explorations. Among the issues that will be explored, the course will focus on the language bullying, verbal abuse: hate groups and bigotry, cult rhetoric and manipulation: radicalization through social media; Partisan vitrol; identity politics and conspiracy theorists. An emphasis will be placed not only on building an understanding of the many manifestations of the darker side of human communication, but also forms of advocacy and counter-efforts towards confronting these issues beyond the classroom.

This course examines the defining conflicts between media and government, the consequences of which have helped to shape our principles and practices of mass communication. We explore the historical cultural clashes and landmark legal cases that have tested the meanings and boundaries of a free press, the public interest, the right to privacy, freedom of information, and national security. Students will also learn about central debates in the practice of mass media through examining famous battles over defamation, copyright infringement, and indecent material. Some of these cases have positioned media producers against government agencies, arriving at dramatic decisions in the Supreme Court. Others have placed media figures against political figures in cultural collisions that played out on national television, or online, where the "court of public opinion" mattered most. From Edward Murrow's historical head-to-head with Joseph McCarthy in 1954, to President Trump's conflicts with news outlets and social networks in present day, students will immerse themselves in the cultural, political, and legal frameworks in which these rivalries occurred. Beyond American media, the course will examine the varying press systems around the globe, and the revolutionary role that certain media have assumed against authoritarian governments.

This course focuses on theories, case studies, and the crafting of strategic communication. Students will explore ethics, persuasion, brand management, audience analysis, crisis communication, risk management, and message framing for diverse audiences in various contexts. Strategic communication is a field of study that has assumed added importance in these troubled times in view of the crises in governance, national discourse, public diplomacy, and business.

This course is grounded in the theory and research on communication behaviors that serve to manage and create a desired impression in social and professional setting. It examines how social interaction constituted in and through communication and it gives attention to the development of a repertoire of strategies that can be employed in the service of identify management.

An introduction to the distinct but related fields of Persuasion and Compliance Gaining theories and concepts. Subject matter will focus on both interpersonal and public spheres. Emphasis will be placed on 20th century and later theories and concepts.

This course investigates the ways in which media constructs gender as well as how media producers and audiences interact with gendered media representations. Through analyses of various media forms, we will explore gender as it intersects with race, class, and sexuality, in mediated constructions and consider how such constructions impact social power dynamics and cultural perceptions of gender.

Propaganda is studied as a systematic technique of persuasion of large groups of people using the mass media. This course examines the nature and techniques of propaganda necessary for an understanding of mass communication, history, public opinion, and politics.

A survey of various past and contemporary aspects of control of media content including: sexually explicit material, blasphemy, portrayals of violence, school publications, tobacco and alcohol product and gambling casino advertisements, election night reports and voter surveys and early ballot counts, libel, etc. Constitutional, political, commercial implications are explored with special attention paid to landmark Supreme Court cases.

This course examines new developments in democratic theories and journalistic practices. Beyond classroom lecture, students in the course will take several different roles-news reporters, from moderator, and discussant, experiencing participatory democracy through the analysis and deliberation of vital issues facing their communities and school. Seminar/discussion.

One to one-and-a-half days per week for 14 weeks or equivalent number of hours. Internships in corporate communication, public agencies, public relations, and related fields. Restrictions/Requirements: Permission of Department Chair.

One to one-and-a-half days per week for 14 weeks or equivalent number of hours. Internships in corporate communication, public agencies, public relations, and related fields. Restrictions/Requirements:Permission of Department Chair.

With the approval of the appropriate faculty member, the department chairperson, and the academic dean, students may select a topic for guided research that is not included in the regular course offerings. The student meets regularly with the faculty member to review progress. A research project or paper must also be submitted. Restrictions/Requirements: Junior Standing, Minimum CQPA of 3.00

This course is an introduction to research methods used in media and communication studies, as well as the social sciences. Students will gain a foundational understanding of both quantitative and qualitative research processes, including the ability to read and interpret empirical studies, develop research questions, collect and analyze data, and report findings effectively.

The course explores a central theme operating across all forms of communication and media. This course prepares students with the skills to apply their knowledge of Communication and Media Studies through work on independent research projects. Restrictions/Requirements: Senior standing.