Communications

This is an introductory course that blends research and theory to help students build effective interpersonal communication skills. The course explores such basic topics as self-concept and self-disclosure, listening, verbal and non-verbal messages, perception, emotions, and conflict management. Other communications topics include sex and gender roles, cultural differences, power and relationships, and communication ethics.

Strategies and techniques for making informative and persuasive public presentations. Topics include audience analysis, issue framing, patterns of development, visual aids, and oral delivery. Classroom instruction emphasizes presentations based on simulated situations in public forums, panel discussions, symposia, briefings, and debates.

This course will familiarize students with the different artistic elements of cinema, including cinematography, editing, music and sound, and screenwriting. These elements of film will be discussed and viewed in a mix of clips and full-length films.

This course will explore the foundations of human communication in social and personal interactions and examine the ways in which digital channels influence both the sending and receiving of messages. Content will focus on the definition and analysis of rhetoric and presentation; media literacy; cultural orientations; small-group interaction; and interpersonal skills such as listening, language, and non-verbal communication. Assignments will utilize digital platforms, and are designed to encourage students to become more perceptive, aware, and confident communicators in any computer mediated setting.

This online course will introduce students to various forms of social media, and teach them how to use these platforms appropriately and strategically for commercial and professional applications. Subject matter will focus on writing and visual content, but will also include usability, organization, credibility, and other skills necessary to connect with a prospective user. Students will be expected to apply their knowledge through participation on different digital platforms and interactive class projects.

This is an introductory course that studies the nature of intercultural communication. Topics such as cultural communication contexts, cultural variables and values, and subcultures will all be discussed. By the end of the semester, students are expected to be more perceptive, aware, and confident communicators, both within their own culture and others.

This course explores the many relationships between media and contemporary society. Topics include the effects of media on human behavior, media ethics, media content, specific media industries operations, the convergence of media technologies, political uses and abuses of media, advertising practices, and media law.