Sophomore Inquiry and Cluster Courses in Communication

A wide variety of Sophomore Inquiry (SINQ) and Upper Division Cluster courses are offered every term, focusing on a variety of different subject areas. All students who began University Studies with Freshman Inquiry are required to take three SINQ courses. Transfer students are required to take one, two, or three SINQ courses, depending on the number of transfer credits they have the term they are admitted.

Once SINQ courses have been completed, students choose classes from among the Upper Division Cluster offerings that correspond to the SINQ the student found of most interest. Students will select three (3) classes from the same Upper Division Cluster to complete this portion of the University Studies requirement. Cluster courses are identified with a "U" in the Schedule of Classes.  These courses do not need to be taken in any specific order.

A listing of Cluster sections, with their corresponding SINQ and Cluster Communication course options, are listed here. However, not all courses are offered each term or each year, so refer to the online course schedule, or the course planning guide in the back of the Schedule of Classes, to find out which cluster courses will be offered during specific terms.

Community Studies

Comm 437
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.

Family Studies

Comm 318
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 337
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.

Freedom, Privacy, and Technology

Comm 312
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 420
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.

Leadership For Change

Comm 313
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 415
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 423
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.

Popular Culture

Comm 312
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 314
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 337
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 412
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 420
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
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 427
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 452
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.

Introduction to Women's Studies

Comm 337
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 452
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.

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.