Honors Project expectations are high. The intended end-product is a traditional project manuscript with accompanying artifact(s), all projects: - are 6 credits or more of sustained research on a single topic, typically conducted over two semesters. - begin with creative inquiry and systematic research. - include documentation of substantive scholarly endeavor. - culminate in an oral defense or other form of public presentation.

In this Honors capstone class, students will theorize and read about media influence on individuals as well as conceptualize and carry out an original research study on a specific topic of their choosing within the broad research tradition known as "media effects." The first semester of this two-semester, 6-credit experience will feature the introduction of theories and relevant research findings on the ways in which television, video games, the Internet and/or social media, print media and other media forms shape the thoughts, attitudes, emotions, values, and/or behavior of individuals of var

This class introduces students to actors, institutions and public interest battles fought nationally, regionally and globally for the control of the Internet. It considers the interaction between law and policy, technological design, industry, organized civil society and social movements in shaping infrastructure, code and content of the global web.

This course blends interdisciplinary theory, analysis, research, applied practice, and creative exploration of the interconnections between fashion and storytelling.

Algorithms and data increasingly power our private and civic life. Companies, nonprofits, and governments have invested heavily in data mining?the bulk collection of user behavior data from web platforms to understand public opinion and to forecast trends. A lot of fashionable terms, such as artificial intelligence and big data, are being thrown around these days. The public and regulators also become increasingly wary of the dark side of algorithms ?

Screen Studies is where film, television, media, and cultural studies come together to address a digital age. We?ll track the evolving forms of screens as specific mediums alongside the changing nature of our relationships with them. This means we can use film theory to talk about how TikTok turns memes into mini-movies. This course will survey the cultures that form around screens as para-social relationships with branded YouTube celebrities, pop-cultures, subcultures, fan-cultures, and cancel-cultures, with a focus on developing a research project throughout the semester.

This is a stand-alone independent study designed by the student and faculty sponsor that involves frequent interaction between instructor and student. Qualitative and quantitative enrichment must be evident on the proposed contract before consent is given to undertake the study.

What is Ethnography? What is Performance (auto) Ethnography? How can we think about Performing Ethnography? Drawing heavily on the works of Dwight Conquergood, Norman Denzin, and D. Soyini Madison, we give a rest to traditional forms of qualitative inquiry as we disrupt the notion of "business as usual" in the academic space. We will examine the interpenetrating relationships among performance, ethnography, and culture. The readings and assignments forefront localized critical pedagogy, critical personal narratives, decolonizing and interpretive inquiry as moral, political discourse.

This course examines the role of different kinds of nonverbal behaviors (i.e., body orientation and posture, gaze direction, gestures, space, etc.) in establishing a joint focus of attention, coordinating turn-taking, conveying meaning, sustaining institutional realities, telling stories, and navigating interpersonal relationships. We will investigate nonverbal behaviors both in ordinary face-to-face conversations and in a variety of professional settings, including courtrooms, doctors' offices, and the workplace. Satisfies the Integrative Experience requirement for BA-COMM majors.

Algorithmic systems are at the center of today's digital world, and mediate communication processes in areas as diverse as social media, journalism, healthcare, and governments. How do algorithmic systems capture, represent, and transmit information about everyday interactions? How do they shape, and are shaped by, social, cultural, and political life? What kind of new issues and concerns arise from their ubiquitous use? This course provides a critical introduction to algorithmic systems, and how they relate to issues of communication, power and inequalities in society.