Examines the concepts of children and childhood from the historical, social, cultural, economic and political perspectives, this course explores the interaction between mass media and the socialization and cultivation process of children and youth. Multiple theoretical traditions are used as a framework to study a variety of issues related to children and the media. Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Surveys foundational texts and contemporary research in argumentation. 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 argument. Recommended prereq., COMM 5320. Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Traces select traditions in social and/or cultural theory, emphasizing how those traditions affect and are affected by the field of rhetoric studies. Examines the origins and resolutions of major debates in social and/or cultural theory from a rhetorical perspective. Recommended prereq., COMM 5320. Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Introduces fundamental principles and practices from user-centered design disciplines and examines how those principles and practices intersect with contemporary issues in information science. Theory, research and exemplary practices from interaction, graphic, product, communication and experience design are introduced through readings, problems and case histories. Projects provide direct experience with common design tools and exposure to leading practitioners.
Acquaints students with the main types of discourse analysis: conversation analysis, critical discourse analysis, and rhetorically informed discourse approaches. Teaches how to conduct discourse analysis, including transcribing, selecting excerpts, documenting inferences, and linking findings to scholarly controversies. Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Educates students in one of a selected set of methodological specializations used in the study of human interaction. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours on different topics. Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Examines theory, method, and application of grounded practical theory, an approach to building normative theory through description, critique, and theoretical reconstruction of situated communicative practices. Semester project involves analysis of a sample of discourse from a public or field observation setting. Recommended prereq., COMM 5210. Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Focuses on cultural diversity in human communication, acquainting students with classic and contemporary readings that articulate relationships between communication and culture, and introducing them to methodologies used to develop a cultural approach toward a variety of observable forms and practices of communication. Recommended prereq., COMM 5425. Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Explores the history, routine communicative practices, common interactional troubles, cross-cultural differences, and expectations about "Ideal" communicative conduct for workplace and public meetings. Seminar project involves field study of a meeting group. Recommended prereq., COMM 6030. Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Explores advanced producing principles through the preproduction of the MFA thesis project, including the development of a professional project proposal. Requisites: Requires a prerequisite course of CMDP 5650 (minimum grade D-).
Enculturates graduate students in the discipline of Information Science through weekly seminar series that hosts guest speakers, internal faculty and graduate speakers and other community building and professional development activities.
Surveys historical and contemporary developments in media and communications policy, emphasizing social and cultural dimensions. Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Explores production of MFA thesis product. Focus is on production strategies, ethical challenges and other practical production issues. Requisites: Requires a prerequisite course of CMDP 6500 (minimum grade D-).
Explores editing and post-production of the MFA thesis project. Emphasizes aesthetic choices (structure, narration and music), distribution, contracts and audience. Requisites: Requires a prerequisite course of CMDP 6600 (minimum grade D-).
Develops a theoretical framework with which to recognize and analyze ethical issues as they arise in the media. Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Anthropological and interpretative exploration of cultural practices of media audiences. Addresses theoretical and methodological implications of studying audiences from a culturalist perspective,with particular focus on media audience practices. Students engage in field research projects related to course content. Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Introduces fundamental methods for understanding the construction of meaning in film, television, popular music and advertising. Traces the study of popular culture through film theory, mass media analysis and cultural studies. Surveys various strands of research that seek to understand popular culture and its effects. Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Explores theory and research on communication processes associated with collaboration and decision making in contemporary organizations, particularly as they are influenced by participation programs, technology, and team structures. Recommended prereqs., COMM 5620 and COMM 6010. Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Reviews theory and philosophy of organizations and organizing where communication processes are seen as constitutive. Focuses on discursive and material practices in the formation and change of organizational structure, culture, and operation. Recommended prereq., COMM 5620. Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Addresses the role of communication in cultural change efforts in organizations. Topics include the nature and function of organizational cultures, role of leadership, ethical issues, and member involvement in change processes. Specific organizational cases are highlighted throughout. Recommended prereq., COMM 5620. Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Examines history of communication, including the means (technologies) of communication, social practices (institutional, collective, individual) that intersect with the study of communication and media, and cultural forms (texts, products). Situates the study of media, technology, and culture within historical contexts, comparative historical research, media archaeology, genealogy and media history. Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Examines how social roles influence communicative practices, the development of relationships, and the impact of relationships on identity. Considers these processes in contexts, such as personal relationships and institutional settings. Topic varies. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours on different topics. Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
