CMCL-C 122 Interpersonal Communication (3 cr)

Introduction to core communication concepts and processes of face-to-face interaction from the perspective of communication competence. Analyzes variability in the design, production, exchange, and interpretation of messages in relational, family, professional, and cultural contexts.

CMCL-C 205 Introduction to Communication and Culture (3 cr)

Critically examines communication as a cultural practice as it affects the beliefs, attitudes, values, and behaviors of individuals, groups, and publics.

CMCL-C 223 Business & Prof. Communication (3 cr)

Examines organizational communication, with emphasis on skills acquisition. Developed skills include interviewing, group discussion, parliamentary procedure, and public speaking.

CMCL-C 225 Discussion & Decision Making (3 cr)

Leadership, participation, and decision making in group settings, including committee, conference, public discussion, and social dimensions of group process.

CMCL-C 304 Communication & Social Conflict (3 cr)

Examination of sources and functions of symbolic influence in contemporary society. Emphasis upon developing rhetorical skills for critiquing social conflict.

CMCL-C 307 Health Communication (3 cr)

Health communication is a growing specialty in the field of communication. It is the area of study concerned with human communication in health promotion, disease prevention, and treatment process; specifically, the way we seek, process, and disseminate health information. This course is designed to provide a comprehensive introduction of the major issues, topics, and compelling areas of study in health communication research. Issues related to medical interaction, social and cultural issues, interpersonal relationships, and the media will be covered.The study of these areas helps us to understand the way that individuals construct, exchange, and evaluate health messages in a variety of healthcare contexts.

CMCL-C 309 Deception, Jealousy, & Secrets (3 cr)

This course is designed to familiarize students with theory and research that focuses on the darker side of human communication. In particular, this class explores those dysfunctional, distorted, distressing, and destructive elements of communication in both interpersonal and mass media contexts. Additionally, this course provides an orientation for understanding the dark side as inseparable from the brighter side in understanding human communication.

CMCL-C 310 Gender, Sexuality, and Sex in Health Communication (3 cr)

Gender, sexuality, and sex influence health outcomes and healthcare received as well as affect the attainment of mental, physical, and social well-being. This course is designed to provide an overview of the complex interconnected relationship between gender, sex, sexuality, and health from a communication perspective.

CMCL-C 315 Advertising and Consumer Culture (3 cr)

Critical examination of advertising’s role in modern societies. Focuses on marketing and consumption as central activities in shaping personal identity and social relations.

CMCL-C 328 Digital Responsibilities and Rights (3 cr)

The course considers responsible media use, consumption, and production by amateur users in media and information rich situations of everyday life.

CMCL-C 330 Communication and Pop Culture: Disney (3 cr)

Students will explore the various facets of communication as presented or included in various pop culture franchises including movies, TV, and more.

CMCL-C 334 Current Topics in Communication (3 cr)

Analysis of selected problems in communication and culture. Topics vary each semester. May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 12 credit hours.

CMCL-C 337 New Media (3 cr)

Develops frameworks for understanding new mediatechnologies in social contexts. Compares computing, networked digital media, and social media to prior eras of technological change, focusing on interactions among technological, industrial, regulatory, social, and cultural forces.

CMCL-C 340 Love & Romance in the Media (3 cr)

Examines how ideas related to love and romance are represented in the media and the individual and social consequences that result from those depictions.

CMCL-C 341 Sex & Violence in the Media (3 cr)

Examines issues related to depictions of violence and sex that are contained in media content.

CMCL-C 380 Nonverbal Communication (3 cr)

Provides a conceptual and theoretical foundation for understanding how nonverbal communication influences perceptions of others and the ways in which nonverbal communication reflects emotions, status, sex roles, etc. The course explores how nonverbal communication facilitates retention, comprehension, and persuasiveness of verbal information, including the ability to detect deceptive communication.

CMCL-C 405 Communication Theories (3 cr)

Survey of contemporary theories of human communication with emphasis on the nature of theory construction; contributions of allied disciplines to communication theory.
Offered spring semesters.

CMCL-C 424 Communication Research Methods (3 cr)

Focuses on the objective appraisal of behavioral data in the study of speech communication. Introduces the theoretical foundation of empirical social science and offers guidelines for conducting descriptive and experimental studies.
Offered fall semesters.

CMCL-C 427 Cross-Cultural Communication (3 cr)

A survey study of national, cultural, and cross-cultural persuasion in theory and practice.

CMCL-C 440 Organizational Communication (3 cr)

Examination of internal and external communication in business and other professional organizations, with emphasis on theory, techniques, practices, goals, and the social environment in which such communication exists.

CMCL-C 450 Gender and Communication (3 cr)

Examines the extent to which biological sex and gender role orientation and stereotypes influence the process of communication. Focuses on gender differences in decoding and encoding verbal and nonverbal behavior, development of sex roles, cultural assumptions, and stereotypes regarding gender differences in communication. Analyzes how the media present, influence, and reinforce gender stereotypes.

CMCL-C 490 Capstone Seminar in Communication and Culture (3 cr)

Original research project, culmination in honors thesis to be written under direction of faculty member.
Offered spring semesters.

  • Prerequisite: Senior standing

CMCL-C 500 Intro to Grad Studies & Research (3 cr)

Bibliographical resources, methods of research, and professional writing in Communication Studies.

CMCL-C 502: Introduction to Communication Theory (3 cr)

Introduction to various theories and methods of research in human communication studies. Includes theories of discourse and culture, message production and reception, symbol systems, social constructionism, relational communication, conversation analysis, social influence, communication competence, and other topics.

CMCL-C 545 Pedagogy in Communication and Culture (3 Cr)

Focuses on critical, theoretical, philosophical and strategic approaches to problems of pedagogy in communication and culture.

CMCL-C 550: Advanced Family Communication (3 cr)

This course explores how communication functions to develop, maintain, enrich, or hinder family relationships. We will examine family interaction through different theoretical lenses and critically assess what it means to be a "functional" family. Students will develop an understanding of family diversity and the changing and complex definition of family.

CMCL-C 592 Advanced Health Communication (3 cr)

A course designed to teach communication skills and practices related to health care, by examining health care communication theory. Topics covered range across communication levels (interpersonal, intrapersonal, group, organizational, mass media & mediated communication) within a variety of health care contexts.

CMCL-C 593 Topics in Communication (3 cr)

Topics in Communication is a revolving topics course. The changing nature of the topic allows graduate students to explore, synthesize, and integrate knowledge of the field of communication and the particular discipline of communication while focusing on a single topic not otherwise addressed in the course of study.

CMCL-C 594 Communication and Conflict Management in Organizations (3 cr)

This seminar-format course examines the communication exchanges that facilitate conflict management within organizational contexts. Specific attention is focused on negotiation and mediation; however the communication of alternative means of conflict and dispute resolution are also discussed. In addition, students are introduced to methods for assessing conflict interaction in organizations.

CMCL-C 602 Media, Terrorism, and Politics (3 cr)

Study of the main schools and methods of media criticism.

CMCL-C 606 Media Criticism (3 cr)

Study of the main schools and methods of media criticism.

CMCL-C 610 Identity and Difference (3 cr)

Political, social, and cultural dimensions of identity and difference. Interrogates the production of marginal and dominant identities (e.g. racial, sexual, colonial) and the emergence of new forms of identification.

CMCL-C 621 Social Media and Communication (3 cr)

Millions of people around the globe use social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and others. What are the implications of such participation from the point of communication practices? How do we communicate in, with, and because of social media? Drawing from a broad range of theories and research, the course critically evaluates the impact of social media on various aspects of everyday life (such as relationships, activism, branding, politics, news media, learning, labor, and identity).