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This courses focuses on the relationship between the rhetorical and the scientific, and will demonstrate the myriad ways in which they share investments, particularly in US American public culture.

Food matters. As the most material of substances, food literally matters for survival. While the need for food to satisfy hunger and strengthen the body is universally understood, what counts as food, its relative abundance or scarcity, and its relationship to the body, identity and culture are socially created and highly symbolic. Still for most people what we eat and why we choose to eat it seems the most common of ?common sense?. Meanings attached to what is edible or inedible, good or bad, nutritional or unhealthy, gourmet or junk food are highly subjective and deeply cultural.

This course combines critical analysis with a hands-on introduction to producing a documentary. Students will view, analyze, and critique a range of documentary films, to further their understanding of the documentarian's craft and art. Students will also do pre-production (research and scripting) on their own short documentary, along with shorter hands-on exercises in writing narration, interview techniques, use of archival sources, etc. Prerequisite: COMM 240 or COMM 297D or COMM 340 or COMM 342 or COMM 493E or consent of instructor.

Lecture, discussion. An examination of the art, craft, and business of screenwriting from theoretical and practical perspectives. Topics include screenplay format and structure, story, plot and character development, dialog and scene description, visual storytelling, pace and rhythm, analysis of professional and student scripts and films, and more. Written work includes three screenwriting projects. The focus is on writing for narrative films and, to a limited extent, TV programs. Prerequisite: COMM film course.

Lecture, discussion. An examination of the art, craft, and business of screenwriting from theoretical and practical perspectives. Topics include screenplay format and structure, story, plot and character development, dialog and scene description, visual storytelling, pace and rhythm, analysis of professional and student scripts and films, and more. Written work includes three screenwriting projects. The focus is on writing for narrative films and, to a limited extent, TV programs. Prerequisite: COMM film course.

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.

Hands-on introduction to single-camera filmmaking using 16mm film cameras and/or digital video camcorders (electronic field production) and non-linear (computer-based) editing. Students learn concepts of pre-production, shot composition, lighting, visual story telling, continuity editing, and production and post-production audio as they plan, shoot, and edit exercises and complete projects.

This course combines reading and discussion with application of theoretically informed methods in the study of everyday social interaction. We will: 1) Read and discuss representative studies of social interatction and communicative behavior in cultural context. 2) Do graduated classroom and field exercises to assemble methodological tools and accumulate data for your final paper. The final paper will be based on accumulated data - observations, transcripts, and interviews - and analyses from your field site/activity.