This proseminar is designed for new graduate students (although all are welcome) has three broad foci: (1) teaching/instructional development; (2) professional development for graduate students; and (3) topics of scholarly expertise in the Department. A variety of speakers, workshops and panels will cover topics ranging from instructional techniques and pedagogical concerns, to building expertise and networks toward a professional career, to discussion of various approaches among faculty in the department to common topics (e.g., culture, media, power, identity/ies, publics/citizenships).

An exploration of the counter-cultural movements of the 1960s and 70s and later, hosted by someone who was there and lived to tell the tale. Through the medium of documentary and fiction films, we will delve into the musical, sexual, artistic, political and spiritual upheavals that rocked America and Europe back then and that continue to reverberate today. This course satisfies the Integrative Experience requirement for BA-Comm majors.

Semiotics is the study of meaning within society. It deepens our understanding of culture, communication and philosophy, and provides us with a theoretical and practical framework for analyzing the world. The course will introduce and develop the semiotic approach, using literature, politics, film, TV, music, and our everyday surroundings and conversations.

This course examines how language and culture (broadly defined) are implicated in our everyday communication. We will investigate how preconceived beliefs, taken for granted cultural norms, and the language we speak shape how we experience the world and thus shape our "reality." We will examine how a person communicatively accomplishes cultural identities as well as implications of divergent communicative norms and practices for interacting across cultural boundaries.

The way social groups are portrayed in the media is widely assumed to have consequences for levels of prejudice and stereotyping in the mass public. Moreover, the vast majority of speculations assume negative consequences, that is, exposure causing increases in levels of stereotyping and prejudice. We will critically evaluate both assumptions, with a particular emphasis on furthering understanding about the psychological processes through which media exposure may not only increase but also decrease stereotyping and prejudice.

This course draws together theory and research from the discipline of Communication, skills and interdisciplinary understandings developed through students' various general education courses, and their own insights as students, emerging leaders, and collaborators in the Peer Advising Program.

This course provides an introduction to the major ideas and concepts of rhetorical and performance studies and their contributions to social action. Students will be introduced to the thinkers and movements in rhetoric and performance most significant to how we understand ourselves: the ways we represent and remember our pasts, live our presents (presence), and imagine our futures. Theories of rhetoric and performance will be connected to each other and to our communication practices to examine how theories can be deployed as part of the art of living our lives.

Exploration of the types of writing associated with the discipline of communication. Development and improvement of the student's writing, research, and critical thinking skills. Fulfills Junior Year Writing requirement.

Not available at this time

Not available at this time