Current Grad Classes - Spring 2013

Course Number: COMM 7012/8012
Title: Graduate Seminar in Health Communication:Bioethics and Health Communication: Fundamentals and Current Issues
Instructor: Dr. Gretchen Norling Holmes
Days/Times: M 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Course Description: This course will serve as an introductory course in bioethics as well as explore current issues relevant today. Subjects will include: the history of bioethics, cultural assumptions, methods of ethical analysis, and the practice of bioethics. Students will also explore bioethics from a literary standpoint. Current issues include: physician-assisted suicide, death and dying, advance directives, and distribution of scare resources. This is not an exclusive list.

Three Required Texts:
Jonsen, Albert R. (2005). Bioethics beyond the headlines: Who lives? Who dies? Who Decides?, Rowman & Littlefield.
Quill, Timothy E. (2001). Caring for patients at the end of life: Facing an uncertain future together. Oxford University Press.
Belkin, Lisa. (1993). First, do no harm. Ballantine Books (Fawcett).

Particulars: Students will write weekly reflection papers, analyze case studies, lead discussions, and write an 18-20 page paper. There is significant reading as well as a great deal of writing. There will be some online components to the course.

Course Number: COMM 7321/8321
Title: Communication Theory
Instructor: Dr. Katherine G. Hendrix
Days/Time: T 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Course Description: This course will survey ways of theorizing communication using Craig's (1999) meta-theoretical framework.

Course Number: COMM 7331/8331
Title: Communication Pedagogy
Instructor: Dr. Katherine G. Hendrix
Days/Time: W 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Course Description: Consistent with the three foci from Rhetorical Pedagogy (i.e., controversy, judgment, and performance), the Communication Pedagogy class will address questions relative to what we should teach, who decides, and who we should be in the classroom. In addition, I have added a fourth focal area – fundamentals – to distinguish instructional communication from communication education, familiarize us with the history behind the origins of the Communication Education Journal (formerly The Speech Teacher), and contrast pedagogy with critical pedagogy. Our focus will be on the communication of classroom professors and, to a lesser extent, students as we review the planning, presentation, and evaluation phases of postsecondary teaching.

Required Textbooks (tentative list):
Lama, D., & Cutler, H. C. (2003). The art of happiness at work. New York: Riverhead Books.
Palmer, P. (1998). The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher's life (1st ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Weimer, M. (2010). Inspired college teaching: A career-long resource for professional growth. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Course Number: COMM 7332/8332
Title: Seminar in Communication Research: Advanced Qualitative Research Methods
Instructor: Dr. Amanda Young
Days/Time: R 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Course Description: This course is a continuation of the introductory course in qualitative research methods in Fall 2012. Students must come with a research proposal that is ready to submit for IRB approval the 2nd week of class. Throughout the semester we will study phenomenology, ethnography, and case study, as well as carry out the IRB-approved research. This course is open only by permission from the instructor. Please contact Dr. Young at ajyoung@memphis.edu for more information.

Required Texts:
Yin, Robert K. (2008). Case Study Research: Design and Methods (Applied Social Research Methods). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Smith, J.A., Flowers, P., & Larkin, M. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Theory, Method and Research. Thousand Oaks. CA: Sage.

Recommended Texts:
Yin, Robert K. (2011). Applications of Case Study Research (Applied Social Research Methods). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Schwandt, T. The SAGE Dictionary of Qualitative Inquiry. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Denzin, N.K., & Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds.). (2008). Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Denzin, N.K., & Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds.). (2011). Sage handbook of qualitative research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Particulars: Pre-requisites: 1) An introductory course in qualitative research methods or a demonstrated knowledge of the concepts and methodologies of qualitative research. 2) A finished qualitative research proposal, approved by the instructor, ready to submit to the IRB by the second week of class.

Course Number: COMM 8804
Title: Media Theory
Instructor: Dr. Allison Graham
Days/Time: T 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Course Description: Major theoretical and critical approaches to media form and content. Emphasis on critical analysis of visual and aural patterns of representation.