Courses

Reviews current theory and research on topics such as communication and organizational decision making, organizational culture, gender relations, communication technology, and power and control in organizations. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours on different topics. Prerequisites: Requires pre-requisite course of COMM 2600 & COMM 3210 with grade of C- or better. Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Junior or Senior) Communication (COMM) majors only.

Reviews current theory and research associated with science, technology, and medicine. Topics include new communication technologies in organizations and society, discourses of scientific theory and science policy, and interaction in clinical setting. May be taken twice for credit on different topics. Prereqs., COMM 3210 and 3300 or instructor consent. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Junior or Senior) Communication (COMM) majors only.

Note that the 14-hour limit in the major applies to any combination of independent study and internship credit. This course does not count toward the 33 credit hours required for the major. Recommended prereq., COMM 3210 and 3300. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Junior or Senior) Communication (COMM) majors only.

Studies are pursued in communication-related work experience projects that generally require 40 hours on the job per credit hour and evidence (e.g., journal, paper, and employer evaluation) of significant learning. Prereqs., COMM major status, 72 hours of overall course work, 18 hours of communication course work completed, 2.50 overall GPA, and a faculty sponsor. The 14-hour limit in the major applies to any combination of independent study and internship credit. This course does not count toward the 33 hours required for the major. Course is offered only for pass/fail credit. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Junior or Senior) Communication (COMM) majors only.

For exceptional communication majors who wish to graduate with department honors and receive credit for writing an honors thesis. Prereqs., COMM 4100, overall GPA of 3.35 or higher, and COMM GPA of 3.50 or higher.

Critical overview of leading theoretical traditions in communication studies. Gives attention to metatheoretical issues, including epistemological foundations, the structure of communication theory as a field, and reflexivity between communication theory and cultural practice. Required for doctoral students in COMM; optional for master's students. Restricted to graduate students or instructor consent.

Prereq., graduate standing or instructor consent. Same as Comm 4220.

Examines application of communication concepts, theories, methods, facilitations, and other practices to address real-world issues and problems. Discusses conceptual issues framing applied communication, examines purposes and methods informing such scholarship, and provides opportunity to evaluate and propose research. Prereq., graduate standing or instructor consent.

Prereq., graduate standing or instructor consent. Same as COMM 4300.

Advanced critical analysis of rhetorical texts in terms of how they shape issues and appeal for judgment, create identities for speakers and their audiences, and construct perceptions of time, space, and the human condition. Prereq., graduate standing or instructor consent.

Survey of classical and contemporary readings in rhetoric. Required for doctoral students in COMM; optional for master's students. Restricted to graduate students or instructor consent. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Reading course examining communicative problems, practices, and outcomes in groups. Definitions of group and interaction, meta-theoretical and theoretical orientations, methodological practices for studying group interactions, including boundary development and management, interpersonal symbolic practices, deliberation, dialogue, and decision making are examined. Prereq., graduate standing or instructor consent. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Examines the way communicators' discourse expressions (language, talk, interactional devices, semiotic practices, written texts) reflect and construct interpersonal exchanges, societal activities, and institutional scenes, as well as how discourse expression varies across different speech communities. Prereq., graduate standing. Recommended prereq., COMM 6010. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Prereq., graduate standing or instructor consent. Same as Comm 4600.

Focuses on relationship between ideological elements (e.g., norms, values, and beliefs) and symbolic practices (e.g., metaphor, ritual, and storytelling) of organizational culture. Analyzes topics from viewpoints of academic theory and managerial practice. Reviews interpretive methods of researching workplace culture and symbolism. Prereq., graduate standing or instructor consent.

Survey of traditional and contemporary readings in organizational communication. Treats theory, research, and application from a variety of perspectives. Prereq., graduate standing or instructor consent. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Survey of multidisciplinary research that examines various relationships between communication and technology. Students are encouraged to develop critical skills in perceiving assumptions and perspectives that motivate major theories in this area, and to examine how these have changed over time. Prereq., graduate standing or instructor consent. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Provides an integrative overview of approaches and areas of study in communication. Required for MA and PHD communication students. Prereq., graduate standing in COMM. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Introduces students to the practice of quantitative research in communication: conceptualization and critique of research projects, coding, experimental and survey approaches, reliability and validity, and statistical reasoning and methods of analysis. Restricted to graduate students or instructor consent required. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Introduction to the epistemology, methodology, and representational practices associated with qualitative studies in communication. Fieldwork methods emphasized include participant observation, interviewing, and document/artifact analysis. Restricted to graduate students or instructor consent required. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Facilitates understanding of current and past theory and research on a selected topic in communication and the ability to develop new theory and research on that topic. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours on different topics. Prereq., graduate standing or instructor consent. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Reviews current critical methods and issues related to rhetorical criticism, such as contemporary theory of rhetorical criticism, continental discourse theory, and critical theory. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours on different topics. Prereq., graduate standing or instructor consent. Recommended prereqs., COMM 5310 and 5320.

Reviews current theory and research on topics such as contemporary rhetorical theory, rhetoric and public life, rhetoric as an interpretive social science, and rhetoric of social movements and political campaigns. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours on different topics. Prereq., graduate standing or instructor consent. Recommended prereq., COMM 5320.

Surveys foundational texts and contemporary research in the rhetoric of inquiry. Focuses on the role of persuasion in the production of knowledge. Analysis of distinctions between philosophical and rhetorical approaches to argument. Critical analysis of major theoretical and methodological traditions and topics with an emphasis on social dimensions of inquiry. Emphasizes critical analysis of major theoretical and methodological traditions. Prereq., graduate standing or instructor consent. Recommended prereq., COMM 5320. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Considers performances of public life as rhetorical inducements of civitas. Topics include negotiation of self-regulation among interdependent partners, rhetorical exclusions and/or counterpublics, and dialectical tensions of public/private as these contribute to and have civic consequences for publicness, community, and social will. Prereq., graduate standing or instructor consent. Recommended prereq., COMM 5320.