Communication Undergraduate Course Descriptions

Undergraduate Core Courses

Comm 200
Principles of Communication
Introduces the skills and concepts students need for literacy in communication and provides a broad introduction to the perspectives on communication that will be encountered in upper-division Communication courses. Prerequisite for Comm 311, Comm 316 and Comm 326.

Comm 311
Research Methods in Communication
Introduction to the assumptions and methods of research in the study of human communication. Students will learn to design and conduct practical research projects and improve their ability to understand, evaluate, and use reports of research and scholarship encountered in future coursework and in everyday life. Prerequisites: Wr 222 or 333, and Comm 200.

Comm 316
Communication, Individuals and Discourse
Extends the discussion of empirical approaches to communication introduced in Comm 200. Introduces relevant social science theories of communication including theories based on cognitive, evolutionary, social psychological, constitutive and social cultural approaches. Students will study communication as a process through which individuals mutually shape and are shaped by culture through discourse. Comm 316 is a requirement for the communication major and is recommended as a prerequisite for all 400-level communication courses. Prerequisite: Comm 200

Comm 326
Communication, Society and Culture
Develops the idea that communicative action is theoretically driven; continues the discussion of constitutive and social-cultural theories; distinguishes between normative and social science theories of communication and introduces cultural and critical theories of communication. Comm 326 develops ideas of interpretation and critique that are introduced in Comm 200. The course extends ideas of normative theorizing including interpretive, critical and cultural theories of communication. Comm 326 is a requirement for the communication major and is recommended as a prerequisite for all 400-level communication courses. Prerequisite: Comm 200

Undergraduate Elective Courses

Comm 100
Introduction to Communication
Overview of major topic areas in communication, including models of communication, social uses of language, communication codes verbal/nonverbal, listening and communication in interpersonal, group, intercultural, public, and mass media contexts. Application of theory through skills development and community focused assessments.

Comm 212
Mass Communication and Society
A survey of the development of print, broadcast, film, and new communication technology as social, cultural, and economic forces in American society. Examination of news media and their relationship to American political institutions. Discussion of advertising as an economic and popular cultural force. Survey of major trends in media research. Class research project examines content of contemporary commercial media.

Comm 215
Introduction to Intercultural Communication
Designed to give a theoretical understanding of the process and role of communication (both mass and interpersonal) when faced with cultural differences and plurality. Provides a background of classical theories in intercultural communication, and in interdisciplinary areas (cultural studies, gender studies, cultural anthropology, political science, and international development) where culture and communication have been theorized. Discussions will focus on the changing cultural terrain in the United States and upon internationalization and globalization of mass or popular culture as it impacts other parts of the world.

Comm 218
Interpersonal Communication
Study of communication concepts, processes, and practices in interpersonal contexts with application of principles and concepts to actual interpersonal communication situations. Includes situational management and behavioral repertoire development, verbal/nonverbal code features structuring conversation and relationships, characteristics of functional relational systems, intercultural/inter-ethnic factors.

Comm 220
Public Speaking
Research, writing, delivery, and listening skills for oral presentation in a variety of settings, including multicultural. Equal consideration given to speech preparation and delivery with critical thinking, argument forms, and audience analysis emphasized. Issues of speech anxiety addressed.

Comm 299
Introduction to Health Communication
Introduces students to the breadth of health communication theory and research. Course topics include provider-patient communication, social support, uncertainty management, health advocacy, and health campaigns.

Comm 299
Introduction to Organizational Communication
The goal of this course is to introduce lower-division students to theories that examine how communication works in business contexts. Students will study organizational management and culture and examine applications to businesses.

Comm 299
Introduction to Political Communication

Comm 312 U
Media Literacy
Focuses on building critical skills for evaluating mass media, going beyond the ways that messages represent the world to the ways that messages and the institutions that produce them actually constitute the social world. Primary issues include cultural domination and empowerment; public opinion and the legitimizing role of the media; mass culture and ideology; cultural opposition; the political-economy of news media; and the general role of media in political socialization. Extensive in-class and small-group media analysis.

Comm 313 U
Communication in Groups
Focuses on communication processes in small, decision-making groups. Students examine the relation between actual communicative behaviors of group members and group structure, functions, and outcomes. Topics include leadership emergence and enactment, quality of problem solving strategies utilized, the impact of socio-cultural and institutional features on small group communicative practices. Theoretical application in the critical analysis of various group settings and effective communication in ongoing group projects.

Comm 314 U
Persuasion
A consideration of concepts, principles, and theories related to persuasion, and a consideration of the role of persuasive communication in public discourse. Opportunity for practical application of principles in student projects. Comm 100 or Comm 220 recommended.

Comm 318 U
Family Communication
Focuses on the study of families from a communication perspective; that is, how families create, maintain and reinforce patterns of interaction through daily living, story-telling and other habitual forms of communication. Course applies theoretical frameworks such as family systems theory, social construction theory and dialectical theory to issues of courtship and relational development, the changes in the life of families, and family roles.

Comm 336
Metaphor
This course provides an introduction to the study of metaphor in various forms of communication. No prior familiarity with the metaphor literature is assumed.

Comm 337 U
Communication and Gender
Study and practice of the skills involved in competent communication (primarily comprehensive listening and reading, and speaking and writing) in order to separate myths, assumptions and notions from the facts, realities and truths about communication and about women and men. Examination of communication and gender topics will include: the role of anger in communicating about gender issues; the impact of the type of information on discussions about gender; gender difference as a “catch all” explanation for gender problems; the facts of differences being confused with attitudes about differences; perception of women and men as speaking different languages and communicator behaviors as choices.

Comm 389
Ethics of Human Communication
Applies important ethical theories to communication settings and problems, including aspects of interpersonal, group, organization, public, Internet and mass communication, showing how ethics relate to all communication events. Reveals how communication can either validate or undermine the basic humanity, dignity and value of others in the communication setting. Prerequisite: junior standing, open to those outside of communication.

Comm 399
Bollywood: Communicating Contemporary South Asia through Cinema
For the purposes of this course, Bollywood refers to a spectrum of major media industries in India and South Asia that produce entertainment for an international community. Bollywood is a recent term that highlights the transnational character of the Industry, very much like Hollywood. Specifically we will examine transnational Indian Cinema with the following emphases: 1. Culture, globalization, and the politics of transnational film production, distribution, and reception; 2. local-regional-global cultural dynamics; 3. the construction and negotiation of gender, family, nation, religion/communalism, and emerging new media genres; 4. issues of filmic representation and diasporic identitites.

Comm 399
Communicating Contemporary South Asia

Comm 399
Science Literacy

Comm 410
Cybercultures
This course will examine cultures that transcend offline boundaries into the digital world. Specifically, we will examine the content, development and implications of cybercultures. We will focus on the cultural implications of new communication technologies such as video games, the Internet and email, personal communication technologies, and online chat spaces.

Comm 410
Health Communication Campaigns
In-depth examination of theory and research on health communication campaigns that promote behavior change. Students will learn determinants of health behavior and strategies for change at the individual, interpersonal, small group, community, and organizational levels. Students will have the opportunity to create their own persuasive health campaign.

Comm 410
New Media & Technology in Communication
This course will examine the role that communication and information technologies play in our social and communicative processes. Specifically, we will explore the development, examine the content, and explore the effects of new media technologies in communication. We will focus on the communicative implications of new communication technologies across a variety of contexts, including organizations, health, politics, consumerism, entertainment, education, and news media.

Comm 410
Political Campaigns

Comm 410
Provider-Patient Communication 

Comm 410
Public Opinion
This course explores research questions that relate to mass communication and American public opinion. Important normative and philosophical issues are identified and reviewed via early writings (ca. 1900) in social philosophy and social science. These issues are further investigated by examining relevant work from sociology, social psychology, and mass communication.

Comm 410
Social Support
People who are trying to maintain good health whether they are ill or well face many challenges. Communication scholars have found evidence that one way of managing those challenges is through the communication of social support. In this course, we will review the major topics and issues in social support literature. Our primary focus will be on theoretical issues; however, we will also describe and evaluate the potential for practical application of communication theory. Research project required.

Comm 412 U
Empirical Theories of Mass Communication
Surveys social scientific theories of mass communication. Prerequisite: Comm 212. Stat 243, Comm 314, or Psy 342 recommended. May be taken for honors with instructor permission.

Comm 415 U
Problems of Intercultural Communication
Builds upon the theories and issues discussed in the introductory course by including contemporary and classical literature on multicultural and intercultural communication. Identifies and analyzes politically constructed categories of race, age, class, gender in society against the backdrop of debates on multiculturalism in the United States. Examines these categorizations of race, class, etc. in their historical, social, and cultural context, and how those have influenced mass-mediated and interpersonal communication. Uses mass media (television, radio, daily print media, music) texts to provide examples of how we understand “difference” and “otherness” in our daily lives. Prerequisites: junior/senior standing or instructor permission. May be taken for honors with instructor permission.

Comm 417
Communication and Conflict
Examines assumptions underlying the selection of communicative behaviors in conflict situations, and the assessment of choices for expected or desired consequences. Interpersonal, group, organizational, intercultural and international settings are examined. Examination of traditional and nontraditional approaches to conflict management. Required development of case study applying concepts of the course, and class presentation. Comm 218, 313, or 314 recommended. May be taken for honors with instructor permission.

Comm 418
Advanced Interpersonal Communication
Theory course in which students analyze current concepts and theories related to inter-personal communication, comparing and contrasting various models and their relative adequacy in representing the complexity of communication processes. The impact on actual communicative practices is examined. The influence of particular historical perspectives and contemporary issues and trends on interpersonal communication is analyzed through evaluation of empirical data and general cultural texts. Research project required. May be taken for honors with instructor permission.

Comm 420 U
Political Communication
An analysis of the relationship of communication to the exercise of politics and political power. Topics may include the ethics and practices of electoral politics, political ideologies, political advertising, propaganda, public opinion formation, the role of mass media as a source and form of political communication, speech writing, public policy writing and analysis, political news writing, and political campaigning. The focus is on how communication strategies and media can be used to organize consent or dissent to ruling parties, representatives, and ideas. Comm 212 recommended. May be taken for honors with instructor permission.

Comm 422 U
Critical Theories in Mass Communication
Surveys critical and institutional theories of mass communication. Primary focus is analysis of the relationship between media and communication institutions and the state and other social institutions. Prerequisite: upper-division standing. May be taken for honors with instructor permission.

Comm 423 U
Organizational Communication
Application of communication theory to the study of human interaction in the organizational context. Examination of the relationships between structural variables in the organization and informal communication channels, including analysis of leadership style, decision-making, conflict management, and computer-mediated communication. Course requirements include completion and report of a personal research project. Prerequisite: upper-division standing. Comm 218 and Comm 313 recommended. May be taken for honors with instructor permission.

Comm 427 U
Issues in International Communication
A study of historical and contemporary theories and practices in the conduct of trans-border communication. Topics may include international communication issues of law, diplomacy, conflict, the Cold War, international organizations, mass media, information, advertising and news flows, and social-economic development, as well as discussions of specific cases of cultural and institutional communication, spoken, written and produced, in various industrial and developing societies. Prerequisite: upper-division standing or graduate standing. May be taken for honors with instructor permission.

Comm 436
Communication and Cognition
Exploration of human communication from a cognitive perspective. May be taken for honors with instructor permission.

Comm 437 U
Urban Communication
Course utilizes a cultural, contextual approach to the study of urban communication structures, processes and practices. Macro and micro features are examined with the goal of understanding the role of communication in structuring social life in urban environments. Relevant theories on urban life and multiple dimensions of verbal and nonverbal communication codes are examined as they apply in urban contexts. Theoretical and empirical approaches recognize urban centers as dynamic multicultural environments. Research project required. Prerequisites: senior-level or graduate standing. May be taken for honors with instructor permission.

Comm 438
Everyday Talk: Structure and Process
How humans organize talk, with a primary emphasis on face-to-face talk in an informal setting. Attention will be given to the structure of roles and turns, sequencing of stages and topics, issues of common ground and relevance, and cognitive processes of message origination and interpretation in particular contexts. Recommended prerequisites: Comm 311 or equivalent; upper division or graduate standing. May be taken for honors with instructor permission.

Comm 440
Metaphor, Play, and Humor
How metaphor, play, humor, and other forms of “non-serious” language and gesture contribute to the creation of meaning and sustaining of relationships in everyday social interactions. Topics vary from quarter to quarter, and may include: metaphor; playful communication; humor and irony; and narratives. May be repeated for undergraduate or graduate credit. Recommended prerequisites: Comm 311 or equivalent; upper-division or graduate standing. May be taken for honors with instructor permission.

Comm 447
Communication and Aging
Focuses on the intersecting areas of communication and gerontology. Ages of communicators as variables affecting the process and outcome of interaction. Students examine communication and aging through interaction (intrapersonal, interpersonal, intercultural) and through context (organizational, family, medical.) Student projects include interviews with elderly subjects and case studies. May be taken for honors with instructor permission.

Comm 452 U
Gender and Race in the Media
Primarily examines the representations of gender and race, including age, class and sexual orientation in various media (mainstream and alternative), and will examine theoretical and methodological approaches which may be used to interpret these representations. In addition, considers the potential impact that media institutions have on people’s lives, political decisions and social relations. The overall aim is for students to understand how their own cultural identities affect their media consumption and social positioning. This course is the same as WS 452; course may only be taken once for credit. May be taken for honors with instructor permission.

Comm 460
Framing and Mass Media
Examines how messages are constructed and the effects frames have on audiences. Framing theory is linked to propaganda, public relations, marketing, political communication and cognition, and has a rich theoretical and methodological tradition. Examines the conceptual definitions, and the underpinning theory and methodology used in framing scholarship. Agenda setting, bias and framing, public opinion formation, cultivation analysis, behavioral effects, and macrolevel and microlevel methods are also examined. May be taken for honors with instructor permission.

Comm 487
Propaganda, Public Relations, and Media
Introduction to how mass media, particularly film, are used to promote causes, influence opinion, sell products and promote stereotypes. Two streams of theory are pivotal to the course: theories of propaganda, public relations, persuasion and mass media, and film theory. Prerequisite: junior, senior or graduate standing. May be taken for honors with instructor permission.

U = Cluster courses are identified with a "U" for Undergraduates' University Studies requirement. A complete listing of Cluster sections, with their corresponding Sophomore Inquiry (SINQ) and Cluster course options, are listed here.

Please note that some courses are not offered every year.