Southwestern University
 
 2003-2004 Catalog

Academic Calendar

Southwestern University: A Statement
The Academic Program
Degree Requirements
Academic Regulations

Course Descriptions

Brown College of Arts & Sciences
 Biology
 Chemistry
 Classics
 Communication
 Economics & Business
 Education
 English
 History
 Kinesiology
 Math & Computer Science
 Modern Languages & Literatures
 Physics
 Political Science
 Psychology
 Religion & Philosophy
 Sociology & Anthropology

Sarofim School of Fine Arts
 Art
 Music
 Theatre

Interdisciplinary Programs
Special Academic Programs

Admission & Financial Aid
Student Life
Cultural Activities
History & Governance
Endowments & Scholarships

University Directory
Board & Officers
Faculty
Administration
 

  COMMUNICATION STUDIES DEPARTMENT

COMMUNICATION STUDIES DEPARTMENT

Division of Social Sciences

Associate Professor Christine E. Kiesinger, PhD, Chair

Assistant Professor Robert Bednar, PhD

Assistant Professor David Olson, MA

Instructor Hector Amaya, MCS

Instructor W. Jay Baglia, MA

The Department of Communication Studies focuses on critical inquiry into the relational, performative, social, cultural, and ideological functions of language and other symbolic forms such as visual and aural media. The department offers a range of courses bound together by an interest in investigating the complex relationships among and between narrative, culture, and identity. Students learn a variety of methodologies for the analysis of communication: ethnographic approaches, critical media and cultural studies, feminist approaches, performance theory, and historical approaches. The Communication Studies department thus provides students with a strong theoretical understanding of the ways in which social reality is constructed and challenged in and through communication patterns and practices.

The Communication Studies major requires a total of 30 hours comprised of 21 core hours and 9 elective hours. The six core courses required of all majors expose students to distinct, yet interrelated areas of departmental focus. These areas are: Critical Media and Cultural Studies, Relational Theory, Gender Studies, and Performance Studies. Majors are also required to fulfill a 3-hour Capstone Experience.

Students interested in the Communication Studies major must complete the Prerequisite Courses before moving on to upper level courses in the major unless otherwise specified.

Required Prerequisite Courses:

Public Speaking (75-113)

Introduction to Communication Studies (75-133)

Required Core Courses:

Communication, Gender, and Identity (75-563)

Journalism (75-613)

Interpersonal Communication (75-623)

Mass Communication (75-683)

Capstone Experience

Academic Internships (75-943) in the field of Communication Studies are available and encouraged.

A minor in Communication Studies may be obtained by completing 18 semester hours of Communication Studies, 12 semester hours of which must be above the introductory level. The Communication Studies minor may be taken in conjunction with any other major program.

Students obtaining certification in the Communication Studies teaching field (to be completed in conjunction with the Department of Education) are required to complete the following courses:

Public Speaking (75-113) 3 hrs

Introduction to Communication Studies (75-133) 3 hrs

Introduction to Performance Studies (75-173) 3 hrs

Communication, Gender, and Identity (75-563) 3 hrs

Interpersonal Communication (75-623) 3 hrs

Journalism (75-613) 3 hrs

Mass Communication (75-683) 3 hrs

Narrative Communication (75-653) 3 hrs

Communication Studies (COM)

75-113 PUBLIC SPEAKING. Through a wide variety of speaking formats, students will become more comfortable with the inherently uncomfortable situation of speaking to persuade before a critical audience. This introductory course approaches the speech of advocacy as a means of social analysis.
75-133 INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION STUDIES. This course introduces theoretical and critical perspectives relevant to the study of human communication. A special focus on narrative theory, social constructionism, symbolic interactionism, and qualitative/interpretive research methods grants students an understanding of the role that communication plays in the construction and maintenance of culture and identity.
†75-173INTRODUCTION TO PERFORMANCE STUDIES. See Theatre 73-173 and Feminist Studies 04-173. (POK-Aesthetic Experience: Performance)
75-463ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION. An investigation of the communication patterns of a wide variety of organizations, both public and private. Organizing is viewed as a dynamic process of communication. Particular emphasis is placed on organizational culture and the analysis of case studies. Prerequisites: COM 75-113, COM 75-133. (Alternate years.)
75-483GENDER, RACE, AND CLASS IN MEDIA. This course introduces the major concepts of a cultural studies approach to critical media literacy by exploring a variety of perspectives on discourses of gender, race, and class in contemporary media and cultural studies. With attention to the three main areas of cultural studies inquiry—political economy, textual analysis, and audience reception—the course is organized around different genres of media where gender, race, and class are actively represented and contested: advertising, pornography, horror movies, romance novels, daytime TV shows, primetime TV shows, music videos, hip-hop music, etc. Prerequisites: COM 75-113, COM 75-133. Also Feminist Studies 04-483.
75-563 COMMUNICATION, GENDER, AND IDENTITY. This course explores the role communication plays in the construction of identity and gender. Issues of identity and gender are analyzed and discussed as they are played out in interpersonal, public, and mass media contexts. Prerequisites: COM 75-113 and 75-133. Also Feminist Studies 04-563.
75-613 JOURNALISM. This writing-intensive course considers the character, purposes, and subject matter of documentary nonfiction narrative, with a special emphasis on the processes of writing, critiquing, and revising student-produced feature articles for newspapers and magazines. Prerequisites: COM 75-113 and 133.
75-623 INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION. This course explores the nature of close relationships and the unique quality of communication we call interpersonal. Course materials and discussions are designed to stimulate thoughts about the role communication plays in establishing and maintaining identity, intimacy, and close relationships. There is a special focus on lived, emotional experience which invites students to thoughtfully analyze and reflect upon their own significant relationships. Prerequisites: COM 75-113, 133.
†75-653NARRATIVE COMMUNICATION. This course features the art of narration, particularly the genres of fiction, autobiography, and documentary. Primary emphasis will be placed on aesthetic issues. Prerequisites: COM 75-113, 133, 623. (POK-Aesthetic Experience: Lecture) (Alternate years)
75-663 RELATIONSHIPS ON FILM. This course explores interpersonal relationships as depicted in popular film. Films are treated as texts to be read, engaged, and critically analyzed as a means of exploring certain relational concepts, issues, and dilemmas. Additionally, this course investigates the way that popular film often constructs and impacts one’s relational experiences. (Summer)
75-673FILM STUDIES. This course introduces students to critical, analytical, and theoretical approaches to the study of film. To explore the complex role that cinema has played in American mass society since the early 20th century, special emphasis is placed on the study of institutional practices at all levels of the production, distribution, and exhibition of films as well as the “ways of seeing” and the “ways of doing” that guide both filmmakers and audiences who use film as a communication medium. Prerequisites: COM 75-113, 133.
†75-683MASS COMMUNICATION. This course provides an introduction to the critical cultural study of the political economy, history, and functions of the major institutions involved in the production of mass media communication. Special emphasis is placed on the standard production practices of mass media industries that produce the media texts that surround us in our everyday lives within contemporary mass society: newspapers, radio, sound recordings, television, film, books, advertisements, public relations, and Internet web sites. With a secondary emphasis on regulation, public policy, media ethics, and media effects research, we also will explore how these institutionalized communication practices and organizations interrelate with other social institutions such as the government, the judiciary, education, business, and public interest groups. Prerequisites: COM 75-113, 133. (POK-American and Western Cultural Heritage)
75-693ADVANCED RELATIONSHIP STUDIES. This course extends basic theories, concepts, and issues introduced in the Interpersonal Communication course and aims to deepen understandings of the complexities of close emotional relationships. Topic areas include, but are not limited to: communication and the negotiation of commitment, the social construction of marriage, relational dialectics, the communication of emotions, and managing conflict through dialogue. Prerequisites: COM 75-113, 133, 623.
75-713 ADVANCED PERFORMANCE STUDIES. Prerequisites: COM 75-113, 173. See Theatre 73-713 and Feminist Studies 04-713.
75-723 FEMINISM AND PERFORMANCE. Prerequisite: Feminist Studies 04-103. See Theatre 73-723 and Feminist Studies 04-723.
75-733 FAMILY COMMUNICATION STUDIES. Grounded in family structural and systems theory, this course examines communicative dynamics and patterns particular to families. Central to this course are the works of Virgina Satir, Salvadore Minuchin, and R.D. Laing. Students learn to examine family structures in order to see how internalized family patterns impact relationships beyond the family system. Prerequisites: COM 75-113, 133, 623.
75-743COMMUNICATION, TECHNOLOGY, AND CULTURE. This course explores the multi-layered historical and contemporary interplay of culture, communication, and technology. The course constructs a systematic picture of how and why oral, manuscript, print, electric, electronic, and digital media have been introduced, articulated, and maintained in specific cultural contexts, placing special emphasis on the ways that cultures shape their media and the ways that media shape their cultures. Prerequisites: COM 75-113, 133.
75-753INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION. This course examines the construction, enactment, and representation of intercultural relations within contemporary United States culture. We will explore such issues as identity and intercultural communication (ICC); history and ICC; language, discourse, and ICC; conflict and culture; and ICC and social justice. We will explore these topics through a critical examination of the role that popular culture plays in constructing and representing intercultural relationships and issues. Prerequisites: COM 75-113, 133.
75-783ADVANCED MASS COMMUNICATION. This course explores approaches to the production and analysis of visual media texts that have emerged in the fields of visual communication, media studies, visual culture, and cultural studies. Attention is directed to the major products of mass media industries—especially advertisements, film, fiction/nonfiction television programs, and web sites—but also to popular forms of photography, desktop publishing, multimedia, technical illustrations, and educational materials. Writing and production techniques are incorporated through individual and group projects and culminate in the collaborative production of a virtual exhibit of student web page projects. Prerequisites: COM 75-113, 133, 683.
75-793THE DARK SIDE OF CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS. This topically based course explores the dark side of close relationships and interpersonal dynamics. Developed in response to the often optimistic and skills based perspectives offered in many relationally based courses and text books, this course calls students to examine the ambiguities, complexities and at times, paradoxical nature of relational life. Additionally, this course takes an honest look at dynamics, behaviors, and experiences that are rarely given voice. Through the lens of theory, films, and narrative ethnographies, students bravely search for the lessons that are inherently part of the dark side of human behavior and relationships. Prerequisites: COM 75-113, 133, 623.

75-001, 002, 003, 004SELECTED TOPICS. May be repeated with change in content.
75-301, 302, 303, 304SELECTED TOPICS. May be repeated with change in content.
75-941, 942, 943, 944ACADEMIC INTERNSHIP. Must be taken on a Pass/D/F basis. In
normal circumstances, may be repeated only once for credit.
75-951, 952, 953, 954INDEPENDENT STUDY. May be repeated with change in content.
75-983 HONORS. By invitation only.