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.

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 offers an introduction to the study of film as a distinct medium. It introduces the ways in which film style, form, and genre contribute to the meaning and the experience of movies. Topics include film as industrial commodity, narrative and non-narrative form, aspects of style (e.g. composition, cinematography, editing, and sound), and the role of film as a cultural practice. Examples are drawn from new and classic films, from Hollywood and from around the world. This course is intended to serve as a basis for film studies courses you might take in the future.

This course takes the view that our experience of music is mediated by biology, society and culture. As such it tells us a lot about who we are in relation to our cultural and physical environment. Like other forms of communication, music can be studied in terms of its texts, institutions, and audiences. Unlike other forms of communication, music is best understood from an interdisciplinary perspective that deals with the physics of sound, human biology, and musicology.

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.

The entertainment industries are inordinately focused on young people as they represent tremendous market force. How do the imperatives of this market-driven media culture correspond with principles of democracy? Topics to be considered include commercialism & youth identity, culture jamming, global youth protests, race/class inequities, generation debt, urban youth, strategies for organizing youth resistance - all with an eye towards visioning a media system truly guided by principle of democracy.

This course applies a communication perspective to the study of health, disease and illness. The course will introduce, investigate and explore the nature of communication processes that influence and/are influenced by health and health care contexts. Communication theories and practices will be applied to a variety of health issues including the physician-patient relationship, the design of health media campaigns, the influence of health promotion on human behavior, health literacy, Western and cultural expressions of health and the use of interactive technology.

Not available at this time