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This course focuses on the concept of horror in contemporary public culture in the United States, reflecting on the nature of evil and human responsibility in the face of it. Topics for discussion include the rhetorical use of horror, the narrative creation of monstrosities, the responses to fear of the Other, the relationship between horror and terror, and the aesthetics of disturbing performances. Several weeks will be devoted to popular icons of monstrosity in order to examine the ethical and political ramifications of these metaphors lurking in contemporary culture.

The nature and several functions of film, including narrative and nonnarrative approaches to film communication. Topics include: the components of film expression (composition, movement, editing, sound, setting, and acting); designs in screen narrative; film's relationship to other arts and media; and its role as an instrument of social reflection and change.

The nature and several functions of film, including narrative and nonnarrative approaches to film communication. Topics include: the components of film expression (composition, movement, editing, sound, setting, and acting); designs in screen narrative; film's relationship to other arts and media; and its role as an instrument of social reflection and change.

This course is designed to welcome first years in to the major and inform them of opportunities for their advancement in the department and beyond. The course introduces students to the subject area clusters of courses offered in the major and the faculty members in the department who teach in each of the clusters. It provides a brief overview of the field of communication and the major issues and topics that motivate the inquiries conducted in courses and in research.

This course takes the view that our experience of music is mediated by the physical world, the mind, society and culture. Musical experience tells us a lot about who we are in relation to our cultural and physical environment. Thus the course allows the student to review the relevant Communication literature and integrate knowledge drawn from the physical sciences, social sciences and the humanities. Like other forms of communication, music can be studied in terms of its texts, institutions, and audiences.

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 a tremendous market force. Yet how do the imperatives of this market-driven media culture correspond with principles of democracy? As an action research course, the mapping of key features of this terrain --- youth socialization, advertising and consumption; media oligopoly and cross-market-ing; cultural appropriation and hip hop; cable, the internet and government regulation -- will guide applied research around particular sites of power we?ve identified.

This course addresses health issues from interpersonal, mass media and critical communication perspectives. Communication theories will be applied to a variety of health issues including the physician-patient relationship, the design of health media campaigns, the pharmaceutical industry, and the influence of health promotion on human behavior. Intercultural and organizational health communication will also be discussed.