The integrated conclusion of the departmental curriculum with emphasis on research methodology and writing. Prerequisite: permission of the department. Not open for pass/fail credit.
| Distribution Area | Prerequisites | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Permission of department | 1 course |
Fall Semester information
Jeffrey McCall450A: Sem:Communication Ethics
This course is intended to have the student identify, analyze, and assess the many ethical considerations that operate in various communication processes (e.g. news flow in society, advertising, political rhetoric, interpersonal contexts, etc.) Students will assess the current state of readings and research on the topic, and then proceed to execute a seminar style research project.
J. Nichols-Pethick
450B: Sem:Communication and Representation
This course is designed to help students identify and grapple with some of the major issues around the concept of representation in communication. The very act of communicating -- in even the most basic, seemingly direct form -- is, in many ways, the act of representation. Thus, representation is a loose term that can refer to actions in many different settings: interpersonal relationships, organizational communications, public debates, artistic practices, mass media, etc. To represent something is to engage in the production and reproduction of culture. As a cultural practice, then, representation is caught up in the "struggle over meaning," which is to say that the act of representation is a means of trying to assign meaning to actions, thoughts, etc. Representation is also a political act that helps us chart the play of cultural power in things like the formation of identities. All of this takes place in even the most benign-seeming cultural practices, from everyday conversation to the choice of what clothes to wear. In this course, we will examine acts of representation within a wide range of communication contexts through readings, discussions, debates, and presentations.
Spring Semester information
Kevin Howley450A: Sem:Podcasting: Technology and Culture
This seminar explores the origins, development and trajectory of podcasting. Employing multimodal approaches to teaching and learning, this course encourages students to realize the creative, collaborative and participatory potential of podcasting in humanistic and social scientific approaches to communication studies.
Dennis Sloan,
Jennifer Adams
450B: Sem:Performance on Stage, Performance in Life
Everything we do -- whether we're on stage or walking through our daily lives -- is a performance. At various moments, you may perform the role of student, sibling, employee, activist, or athlete -- among many others. It is through performing these roles that you accomplish your goals, form relationships, and effect change in the world around you. This senior seminar examines the principles of Performance Studies, a field that incorporates theories of communication, drama, film, philosophy, music, cultural studies, language studies, and more to understand how it is that we do the things we do in life. Performance Studies may focus on artistic performance or cultural performance; the goal is to explore performance as a way of knowing things and as a way of doing things.
Matthew Meier
450C: Sem:Communication & Sport
This course interrogates the cultural influence of sport on communication and culture. It explores how sport cultivates meaning and values systems that apply across cultural contexts. Topics range from youth to amateur to professional sports while engaging communication concepts such as mythology, community, and identity. Students will produce communication scholarship attending how sports produce, maintain, or resist cultural attitudes about race, gender, sexuality, class, and politics.
Susan Anthony