Communication and Film Graduate Courses
Please click on the title for a SAMPLE syllabus
COMM 6011 – Communication in Organizations
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Communication systems and problems in contemporary organizations with
emphasis on the role of communication in corporate culture and in organizational change.
Demonstrate an understanding of the evolving theories of organizations. Analyze how
misunderstandings play a role in organizational communications. Engage in critical
thinking about organizational structure and communications. Demonstrate effective
means for anticipating and minimizing the inevitable misunderstandings in organizational
communications. Develop skills in analyzing of communications in recruiting and socializing
new organizational members. Explain key elements of systems theory and critical theory.
Recognize the effect of culture on organizational communication. Analyze key differences
in communications among peers, subordinates and superiors. Create framework to understand
the ethical demands on individuals in organizations. Analyze the characteristics of
successful teams. Recognize the changing role of leadership in different organizational
contexts.
COMM 6013 – Political Communication
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Investigation of various forms of political communication; texts drawn
primarily from current political disputes in the US; focus on improving basic skills
of critical thinking and writing about civic life. Want to learn about Memphis Politics?
Then this is the course for you. While Memphians frequently lament the drama and divisiveness
of our politics, this course dives headfirst into the messiness of it all. Using the
teachings of classical and contemporary rhetorical theory, and drawing from histories
of Memphis politics, we will explore how power circulates and becomes manifest in
the differing words and images that define lead up to the Memphis City council and
mayoral elections on October 3, 2019. By following the races closely in real time,
and then reviewing them once the results are in, the course seeks to develop 1) your
basic knowledge of the history and present of Memphis political communication and
2) your ability to make sound, independent judgements about matters of local civic
controversy. Grades of A-F, or IP will be given.
COMM 6014 – Communication in Internet
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Research and theories examining role of the Internet and new technologies
in everyday interaction; interpersonal and group communication, language, change,
online communities and social networks, identity and self-presentation online. In
this course, we narrow our focus to examine the ways that individuals use the Internet
and other related technologies in their everyday lives and social interactions. We
will do this by reading contemporary and foundational research on CMC and by using
and critically evaluating these technologies ourselves. Specific topics to be covered
include interpersonal and group communication, language, change, online communities
and social networks, identity and self-presentation online.
COMM 6015 – Health Literacy (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Development of health literacy as an area of concern in healthcare including
patient/provider interactions, public health campaigns, health education, healthcare
reform and health insurance. Will study the development of health literacy as an area
of concern in healthcare, including the affects of low health literacy in patient/provider
interactions, public health campaigns, health education, healthcare reform and health
insurance. The implications of health literacy for vulnerable population, like the
elderly, non-native English speakers, those with mental health challenges and others.
Health literacy in context of online health information. PREQUISITES(S): Permission
of the instructor.
COMM 6016 – Public Health Campaigns (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Examination of the fundamental of public health communication as well
as the latest public health communication innovations, tools, technologies, research
and strategies. PREREQUISITE: COMM 3012, or permission of instructor.
COMM 6340 – Listening
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Exploration of communication theory and practice from the perspective
of listening; emphasis on philosophical, practical and personal dimensions of listening
as an art of being as well as a mode of doing. Requires rigorous thought and openness
to reorienting one's perspective of communication. Study types, skills and functions
of listening on a practical level. Course emphasizes engaged communication through
cultivating receptivity, relationality and critical responsiveness. Research paper,
brief experiential reports and one reflective essay on the readings.
COMM 6341 – Interpersonal Communication
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Theory, research and practice regarding didactic communication. This
course in interpersonal communication emphasizes both communication theory and the
experiential application to the course content. The course content will be explored
through exercises and discussion designed to develop and/or enhance skills such as:
perception, the effective presentation of ideas and emotions and maintaining healthy
relationships. Practical application within the classroom should increase the likelihood
of retentions and use the concepts outside of the classroom as part of a life-long
process. This life-long process should include growth and movement toward quality-based,
confirming interaction with others as well as recognizing circumstances where interpersonal
behavior is inappropriate.
COMM 6342 – Small Group Communication
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Advanced study of group communication theory emphasizing group membership,
member perceptions, group development, group process and group outcomes. Focus on
small groups and team interaction with the primary purpose of increasing your understanding
of the principles of group communication for personal and professional settings. Grades
A-F, or IP will be given.
COMM 6360 – American Eloquence
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Examination of notable public discourse from founding of the republic
through the twentieth century; religious and secular foundations of American rhetoric;
tensions of inclusion in development of national self0-understanding. Study the history
of American public address by expanding factual knowledge of important speaker, speeches
and other rhetorical (persuasive) artifacts in American history.
COMM 6363 – Dialogue
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Theoretical, philosophical and practical exploration of dialogic communication
and relations. Course emphasizes contemplative engagement for dialogical praxis. One
reflective-critical essay applying dialogue to a conventional communication forms;
research paper that seeks ways to understand and intervene in closed dominating systems
via dialogical praxis.
COMM 6364 – Gender and Public Discourse
Credit Hours (3)
Description: History of gender topics in U.S. public discourse. The course covers
gender and rhetorical theory analyzing the social and cultural significance gendered
voices and topics have played and continue to play in US history. Focus is given to
various Is 19th, 20th and 21st century issues. Grades of A-F will be given.
COMM 6365 – Place/Community/Comm
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Explores interrelationships among human interaction, created places and
the natural world; emphasizes communication environment, broadly conceived and its
effects on community. Explores the nonverbal dimensions of place and how our communication
in and with places affects the nature of community.
COMM 6373 – Interracial Communication
Credit Hours (3)
Description: The social problems encountered in communication between blacks and whites;
reading, discussion and field study on how prejudice, stereotypes and self-concepts
can affect communication; exploration of rhetorical methods to minimize these problems.
A study of special problems encountered in the communication process between Africa
Americans and European Americans. Various rhetorical methods and strategies will be
examined and employed to minimize barriers in communication such as prejudices, stereotypes,
educational, economical and cultural differences.
COMM 6375 – Intercultural Communication (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Special problems encountered in communication between people of different
cultural backgrounds; focus on understanding communicative interaction between and
among people with different national/cultural backgrounds and functioning more effectively
in multicultural settings. This course provides an opportunity to explore the various
means by which we define what constitutes culture and how we acquire our cultural
identities. Self-perception and the perception of the "other" will be discussed as
factors that serve to problematize the communication that occurs between (and within)
groups. This course will focus on communication that occurs among the domestic populations
of the United States, however, international relationships will be discussed to a
limited degree. The main goal is to provide a practicum for developing the initial
stages of effective interpersonal and intercultural communication competence. A second
goal is to introduce you to various theories (from within as well as outside of the
Communication discipline) that attempt to explain intercultural interaction. Grades
of A-F or IP will be given.
COMM 6380 – Communication/Conflict (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Theories and methods of conflict management and resolution, focusing
on practical communication skills; emphasis on concepts of perception, listening and
peacemaking. Focus on interpersonal conflict emphasizing both communications theory
and the experiential application of the course content.
COMM 6400 – Contemplative Communication
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Non-analytical approach to communication theory and practice; holistic
communal perspective of relational experience; benefits of silence, stillness and
solitude are interrelated with the values of openness, receptiveness and responsiveness.
This course confronts the cultural phenomenon of social acceleration in regard to
an era of increasing relational exhaustion and disintegration. We will adopt a contemplative-critical
perspective in seeking to repair the relationship between contemplation and action
in order to strengthen capacities of moral agency, ethical care and the cultivation
of a more livable life on Earth. We will begin by facing the prospects of perpetrating
24/7 hyperactive forms of communication (Crary), then move to explore philosophical
mindfulness through the arts of lingering (Han.), all the while deepening insights
into creative ways to open paths of thinking and acting that could lead to greater
responsiveness (and less cognitive imperialism) by delving into the "lyric philosophy"
of Jan Zwicky. An encouraging rationale and challenge for this course might be found
in reflections on what poet Mary Oliver must have realized when she declared: "I am
slowly beginning to learn".
COMM 6802 – Internship (No preview available)
Credit Hours (1-6)
Description: Field studies in communication; supervised practical work with government
institutions, private business, film company or broadcast and electronic media firm;
written analysis of experience required. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 semester
hours. Grades of S, U or I will be given.
PREREQUISITE(S): Permission of instructor.
COMM 6811 – Media 2.0
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Examination of long tail phenomenon and other theories behind convergent
media; people and organizations producing and distributing their work on the Internet
and other alternative channels; exploration of how these new distribution forms challenges
and assumptions about how mass media should and does work. Grades of A-F or IP will
be given.
COMM 6822 - Audio for Film/Video
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Intermediate principles and practices of audio (recording, editing, mixing
and design) with emphasis on film and video production. Using state of the art recording
equipment and software, students will practice on location recording for narrative
and documentary films as well as post-production techniques. Grades of A-F or IP will
be given.
COMM 6824 – Cinema/Videography
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Art of visual interpretation with a strong concentration in the theory
and techniques of lighting. Experience with professional cameras and lighting equipment.
This course is designed to give the intermediate student a better understanding of
the tools and procedures necessary for solving the multitude of problems, aesthetic
and technical, that confront the cinematographer. We will cover cameras, lighting,
lenses, exposure, composition, color, grip equipment and set management. In-class
demonstrations and outside assignments give students ample opportunity to apply what
they learn.
PREREQUISITE(S): Minimum grade of "C" in COMM 3824 or permission of instructor.
COMM 6825 – Editing/Post Production
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Aesthetics of continuity development in variety of editing styles; editing
techniques and post-production procedures. Grades of A-F will be given.
PREREQUISITE(S): Minimum grade of "C" in COMM 3824 or permission of instructor.
COMM 6841 – Television Workshop
Credit Hours (4)
Description: Production of television programming for local cablecasting. May be repeated
for a maximum of 8 semester hours; repetition will not result in change of any grade
previously given.
COMM 6842 – TV Studio Production II
Credit Hours (4)
Description: Advanced training in TV studio/multiple camera techniques; extensive
production work.
COMM 6850 – Film History I
Credit Hours (3)
Description: History survey of motion pictures from medium's pre-history to 1940 with
emphasis on narrative film.
COMM 6851 – Film History II
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Historical survey of major movements, genres and themes in narrative
film from 1940 to 1980.
COMM 6853 – Documentary Form Film
Credit Hours (3) Development of non-fiction film as rhetorical and expressive form;
analysis of individual films, genres and filmmakers.
COMM 6854 – Documentary Form/Broadcasting
Credit Hours (3)
Description: History, theory and criticism of non-fiction broadcasting docudrama and
television documentaries.
COMM 6856 – Gender and Film
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Examines how gender, and consequently race and sexuality, are represented
in film. Specific attention is given to feminist approaches in film studies.
COMM 6858 – Contemporary Cinema
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Major themes and styles in international and American narrative film
from 1980 to present.
COMM 6859 – Monster Films (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Survey of classic and contemporary monster films exploring monstrosity
as a social and cultural category for organizing, classifying and managing change.
COMM 6861 – Science Fiction Film (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: This course will examine science fiction and styles of international
and U.S. narrative film from 1960s to present. The course will argue that science
fiction has become one of the most important genres of contemporary cinema. The course
will ask how contemporary cinema has dealt with uncertainties of modern day life,
including, but not limited to, human extinction, technological advances and robotic
and cyborg entities. We will argue that science fiction cinema is singularly important
to an understanding of contemporary cultural anxieties. Particulars: Graduate students
will be required to write a film analysis essay and answer advance level questions
on the exams. They might be required to do additional readings.
COMM 6891 – Produce/Direct Film/Video
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Research and script preparation; budgeting and production management;
working with actors and crew. Acquaints student with the overall film/video making
process.
PREREQUISITE(S): Minimum grade of "C" in CCOMM 3824 or permission of instructor.
COMM 6960 – Documentary Writing
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Writing for nonfiction media. The course will examine the theory, techniques
and ethics of documentary storytelling in film, television and audio. Student will
explore and practice the special planning and writing that distinguishes the documentary
from fictional programs. Students will be expected to develop the skills and standards
necessary to be effective creators and critical observer of documentaries. In the
process, students will create written analyses, outlines, treatments and proposals
for a variety of documentary content.
COMM 6970 – Screenwriting (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Writing for fiction film and television. Basic dramatic theory, narrative
structure, characterization, dialogue, adaptation and unique demands of audio/visual
media. An introduction to writing for the screen. The focus in on full length narrative
film. Lectures and/or readings will also introduce the student to: the unique storytelling
demands of writing the short film; visualization basic dramatic theory; narrative
structure; characterization/dialogue and pragmatic matters of format and the marketplace.
COMM 7010 – Writing/Communication Theory/Methodology (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Study of writing and communication center theory and methodology. Prepares
graduate students for professional work as writing and communication center consultants
and administrators. (same as ENGL 7010)
COMM 7012 – Seminar Health Communication
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Examines current issues in health communication research, including patient-provider
relationships, new technologies and health promotion and health organizations. May
be repeated for a maximum of 9 credit hours. (same as ENGL 7/8012)
COMM 7013 – Seminar in Political Communication
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Survey of critical and rhetorical theories of contemporary US political
discourse; examines relationships among rhetoric, culture, and state power; assignments
lead toward preparation of manuscript for eventual publication. May be repeated for
a maximum of 9 credit hours.
COMM 7014 – Public Health Communication
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Explores the communication processes and practices that can be used to
promote positive change in health behaviors, including the rhetorical exigencies inherent
in public health care communication, the various formats for disseminating medical
information, and the specific audience needs that health care communication must address.
Grades of A – F or IP will be given.
COMM 7017 - Intro To Grad Studies
Credit Hours (3)
Description: This course is designed as an introduction to the norms and expectations
of graduate training in communication.
Focusing on the major areas of academic assessment (teaching, research, and service),
the course will introduce
students to various communication sub-fields with a particular emphasis on the department
expertise; help them begin
to develop a teaching portfolio; teach fundamentals of research such as developing
research agenda/finding publication
venues; and begin preparations for the academic and non-academic job market. Students
will also be introduced to
some of the main methodological and theoretical approaches used in the discipline.
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Theories, models and approaches to study of communication.
COMM 7322 – Persuasion & Influence
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Topical seminar examining how people use communication to alter attitudes
and behaviors of others in public and face-to-face settings; covers various social-scientific
theories and research areas of persuasion and interpersonal influence. May be repeated
for maximum of 9 hours.
COMM 7331 – Seminar Communication Theory
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Specific topics, issues and research in communication theory. May be
repeated for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
COMM 7332 – Seminar Comm Research
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Examination of particular methodologies in communication research. Content
will vary in response to current issues in the field. Discourse analysis is a "systematic,
rigorous way of suggesting answers to research questions posed in and across disciplines
throughout the humanities and social sciences and beyond" (Johnstone, 2018, p. xi).
But the fundamental questions that all discourse analysts seek to answer are: "Why
is this stretch of discourse the way it is? Why is it no other way? Why these particular
words [and/or symbols] in this particular order?" (Johnstone, p. 7). This seminar
then will provide a site for graduate students across the department's research areas
to learn discourse theories and methods for investigating the linguistic, rhetorical,
cultural and/or social cognitive form and function of text and talk in a variety of
communication contexts, including rhetorical communication, health communication and
mediated communication. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
COMM 7345 – Health Literacy
Credit Hours (3)
Description: This course will introduce students to the issues of health literacy
from a public health perspective. We will explore the impact of health literacy on
access to care; vulnerable populations, management of chronic illness, mental health,
healthcare costs, and several other areas. Health literacy is a growing field of research
and application, as practitioners and researchers build on existing scholarship and
develop new understandings of this multi-disciplinary area. In this course we will
examine traditional views of health literacy (which start with an individual's ability
to find and use health information) and then move to a more complex view that situates
health literacy as a social construction that evolves from a relationship among patients,
family caregivers, healthcare providers, the public and healthcare systems. We will
also view health literacy as an important factor in addressing health disparities
and other issues of injustice. From a communication perspective, we will examine pathways
and barriers to creating a shared understanding among various stakeholders in a healthcare
encounter. From a public health perspective, we will examine the role of health literacy
in addressing a variety of community health issues. Throughout the semester, we will
examine the intersection of communication and public health, looking at both theory
and practice. Students will each develop a project that complements and furthers their
existing work and interests. (same as PUBH 7/8345)
COMM 7350 – Rhetorical Theory
Credit Hours (3)
Description: History of rhetoric from the sophists through the present; may include
reading from Isocrates, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Augustine, Erasmus, Rasmus, Campbell,
Blair, John Q. Adams and others. (same as ENGL 7/8350)
COMM 7362 – Seminar Public Address
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Intensive study of selected topics in the analysis and criticism of public
arguments; emphasis on cross-cultural comparison of arguments and appeal in common
rhetorical situations. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit hours.
COMM 7369 – Seminar Organizational Communications (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Selected variables of organizational communication with emphasis on methods
of analyzing and auditing communication within the organizational setting. May be
repeated for a maximum of 9 credit hours. Grades of S, U, or IP will be given.
COMM 7371 Rhetorical Criticism
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Examines principal modes of contemporary rhetorical analysis. (same as
ENGL 7/8371).
COMM 7374 Independent Studies Communication Arts (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Independent research in areas of special interest including rhetoric,
communication and film and video production. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credit
hours.
COMM 7434 Qualitative Research Methods (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Survey of qualitative research in communication. Practical experience
in collecting and analyzing qualitative information.
COMM 7450 – Seminar Interpersonal Communication (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Selected examination of theory about one-on-one interactions, related
research and application of that theory and research in diverse interpersonal contexts.
May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
COMM 7474 – Supervise Communication & Leadership (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Examination of the communication issues, strategies and concepts involved
in supervisory communication effectiveness. Review of current research regarding supervision,
leadership and teams.
COMM 7616 – Contemporary Rhetoric Theory
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Examines the relationship between rhetorical theory and contemporary
philosophy, especially poststructuralism, neo-pragmatism and hermeneutics.
COMM 7621 – Seminar Augmentation (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Examines historical and contemporary argumentation theories and how those
theories are incorporated into teaching oral argumentation and composition. (same
as ENGL 7/8621)
PREREQUISITE(S): AUSP 8003 or permission of instructor.
COMM 7632 – Seminar Rhetoric Criticism (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Examination of the principal modes of contemporary rhetorical analysis
such as Neoclassical, Burkean, Feminist, Cultural/Critical and Poststructuralist.
Repeatable for 9 credit hours.
COMM 7802 – Internship (No preview available)
Credit Hours (1 – 6)
Description: Field studies in communication; supervised practical work with government
institutions, private business, film company or broadcast and electric media firm;
written analysis of experience required. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 semester
hours.
PREREQUISITE(S): Permission of instructor.
COMM 7803 – Seminar Film Criticism (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Intensive study of selected periods, genres or filmmakers with emphasis
on independent research project. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 hours.
COMM 7804 – Seminar Media Theory/Criticism
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Major critical approaches to media form and content; emphasis on film
and television. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 hours. This course will put particular
emphasis on current topics in critical/cultural studies. We will start with a brief
history of cultural studies and review its contribution to communication discipline.
Then we will dive in the current topics in the sub-field, including, not limited to:
surveillance studies, visual culture, critical race theory, queer theory, critical
animal studies, border rhetoric(s), performance studies, body studies, and affect
theory. The aim of this course is to provide students with an overview of the current
critical/cultural intellectual trends and conversations.
COMM 7806 – Trends Mass Communication
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Critical issue or issues facing communications today. Topics will vary
each time offered. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits.
COMM 7808 – Mass Communication and Society
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Interrelationships between mass communications, the individual and society.
Topics will vary each time offered. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits.
COMM 7809 – Seminar Communication History (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Selected topics in history of communication, including public address,
film, broadcasting and electronic media. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 hours.
COMM 7815 – Seminar History Rhetoric (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Examines different periods and issues of rhetorical history each semester;
one semester will consider Greek rhetoric (beginnings through New Testament); another
will consider Latin rhetoric (Cicero through Renaissance); a third will cover Scottish,
British, and American rhetoric. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 hours when topic
varies. (same as ENGL 7/8815)
COMM 7819 – Rhetoric of Science (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: This course examines scientific and technical communication from a rhetorical
perspective, showing how scientific knowledge is shaped not only by data and method,
but also by persuasive purposes and sociocultural forces. (same as ENGL 7/8819)
COMM 7820 – Topics in Rhetoric
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Topical seminar devoted to an important aspect of the history, theory
or criticism of rhetoric. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 hours when topic varies.
(same as ENGL 7/8820)
COMM 7892 – Film/Video Production (No preview available)
Credit Hours (1-3)
Description: Workshop for film and video production. Students write, produce, direct
or assume crew responsibilities on productions. May be repeated for a maximum of 6
credit. See departmental guidelines for independent production requirements and procedures.
PREREQUISITE(S): COMM 3824 or permission of instructor. Grades of A-F will be given.
COMM 7991 – Seminar Comparative Media (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: To demonstrate through intensive analysis what happens to the form and
content of a creative work in its various adaptations: novel, condensation, stage,
movie and television. Open to all Theatre and Dance, Communication and English majors.
PREREQUISITE(S): AUSP 8003 and AUSP 8010 or permission of instructor.
COMM 7993 – Special Problems (No preview available)
Credit Hours (1-3)
Description: Directed individual investigation of special research projects not included
in thesis. Grades of A-F will be given.
COMM 7994 – Culminating Project (No preview available)
Credit hours (3-6)
Description: Culminating research project in lieu of a thesis. Course may be repeated
up to 6 hours. Grades of S, U or I will be given.
COMM 7995 – Production Practicum (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3-6)
Description: Creative performance or production project suitable for public presentation
and/or a practical application. Project to be determined in consultation with and
directed by the student's supervisory committee. Grades of S, U, or I will be given.
COMM 7996 – Thesis (No preview available)
Credit Hours (1-6)
Description: Grades of S, U or I will be given.
COMM 8010 – Writing/Communication Center Theory/Methodology (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Study of writing and communication center theory and methodology. Prepares
graduate students for professional work as writing and communication center consultants
and administrators. (same as ENGL 8010)
COMM 8012 – Seminar Health Communication
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Examines current issues in health communication research, including patient-provider
relationships, new technologies and health promotion, and health organizations. May
be repeated for a 9 maximum of 9 credit hours. Particular focus will be on how leading
figures in rhetoric define, contests and make teachable three central practices: controversy,
judgement and performance. (same as ENGL 7/8012)
COMM 8013 – Seminar Political Communication
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Survey of critical and rhetorical theories of contemporary US political
discourse; examines relationships among rhetoric, culture and state power; assignments
lead toward preparation of manuscript for eventual publication. May be repeated for
a maximum of 9 hours credit.
COMM 8014 – Public Health Communication
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Explores the communication processes and practices that can be used to
promote positive communication processes and practices that can be used to promote
positive change in health behaviors, including the rhetorical exigencies in herent
in public health care communication, the various formats for disseminating medical
information, and the specific audience needs that health care communication must address.
COMM 8017 - Intro To Grad Studies
Credit Hours (3)
Description: This course is designed as an introduction to the norms and expectations
of graduate training in communication.
Focusing on the major areas of academic assessment (teaching, research, and service),
the course will introduce
students to various communication sub-fields with a particular emphasis on the department
expertise; help them begin
to develop a teaching portfolio; teach fundamentals of research such as developing
research agenda/finding publication
venues; and begin preparations for the academic and non-academic job market. Students
will also be introduced to
some of the main methodological and theoretical approaches used in the discipline.
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Theories, models and approaches to study of communication.
COMM 8322 – Persuasion & Influence
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Topical seminar examining how people use communication to alter attitudes
and behaviors of others in public and face-to-face settings; covers various social-scientific
theories and research areas of persuasion and interpersonal influence. May be repeated
for maximum of 9 hours.
COMM 8331 – Communication Theory
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Specific topics, issues and research in communication theory. May be
repeated for a maximum of 9 hours.
COMM 8332 – Seminar Communication Research
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Examination of particular methodologies in communication research. Content
will vary in response to current issues in the field. Discourse analysis is a "systematic,
rigorous way of suggesting answers to research questions posed in and across disciplines
throughout the humanities and social sciences and beyond" (Johnstone, 2018, p. xi).
But the fundamental questions that all discourse analysts seek to answer are: "Why
is this stretch of discourse the way it is? Why is it no other way? Why these particular
words [and/or symbols] in this particular order?" (Johnstone, p. 7). This seminar
then will provide a site for graduate students across the department's research areas
to learn discourse theories and methods for investigating the linguistic, rhetorical,
cultural and/or social cognitive form and function of text and talk in a variety of
communication contexts, including rhetorical communication, health communication and
mediated communication. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
COMM 8345 – Health Literacy
Credit Hours (3)
Description: This course will introduce students to the issues of health literacy
from a public health perspective. We will explore the impact of health literacy on
access to care; vulnerable populations, management of chronic illness, mental health,
healthcare costs, and several other areas. Health literacy is a growing field of research
and application, as practitioners and researchers build on existing scholarship and
develop new understandings of this multi-disciplinary area. In this course we will
examine traditional views of health literacy (which start with an individual's ability
to find and use health information) and then move to a more complex view that situates
health literacy as a social construction that evolves from a relationship among patients,
family caregivers, healthcare providers, the public and healthcare systems. We will
also view health literacy as an important factor in addressing health disparities
and other issues of injustice. From a communication perspective, we will examine pathways
and barriers to creating a shared understanding among various stakeholders in a healthcare
encounter. From a public health perspective, we will examine the role of health literacy
in addressing a variety of community health issues. Throughout the semester, we will
examine the intersection of communication and public health, looking at both theory
and practice. Students will each develop a project that complements and furthers their
existing work and interests. (same as PUBH 7/8345)
COMM 8350 – Rhetorical Theory
Credit Hours (3)
Description: History of rhetoric from the sophists through the present; may include
reading from Isocrates, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Augustine, Erasmus, Rasmus, Campbell,
Blair, John Q. Adams and others. (same as ENGL 7/8350)
COMM 8362 – Seminar Public Address
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Intensive study of selected topics in the analysis and criticism of public
arguments; emphasis on cross-cultural comparison of arguments and appeal in common
rhetorical situations. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit hours.
COMM 8369 – Seminar Organizational Communications (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Selected variables of organizational communication with emphasis on methods
of analyzing and auditing communication within the organizational setting. May be
repeated for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
COMM 8371 – Rhetorical Criticism
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Examines principal modes of contemporary rhetorical analysis. Grades
of A-F will be given. (same as ENGL 7/8371).
COMM 8374 – Independent Studies Communication Arts (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Independent research in areas of special interest including rhetoric,
communication and film and video production. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credit
hours.
COMM 8434 – Qualitative Research Methods (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Survey of qualitative research in communication. Practical experience
in collecting and analyzing qualitative information.
COMM 8450 – Seminar Interpersonal Communication (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Selected examination of theory about one-on-one interactions, related
research and application of that theory and research in diverse interpersonal contexts.
May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
COMM 8474 – Supervisory Communication & Leadership (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Examination of the communication issues, strategies and concepts involved
in supervisory communication effectiveness. Review of current research regarding supervision,
leadership and teams.
COMM 8616 – Contemporary Rhetorical Theory
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Examines the relationship between rhetorical theory and contemporary
philosophy, especially poststructuralism, neo-pragmatism and hermeneutics. Understanding
challenges to classical and modern rhetoric study; becoming familiar with the work
of Kenneth Burke and Chaïm Perelman; making links between rhetoric, subjectivity and
ideology; situating rhetoric in the context of social and critical theory; and finally,
demonstrating a strong historical and conceptual grasp of the approaches to contemporary
rhetorical theory under consideration in the course.
COMM 8621 – Seminar Argumentation (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Examines historical and contemporary argumentation theories and how those
theories are incorporated into teaching oral argumentation and composition. (same
as ENGL 7/8621).
COMM 8632 – Seminar Rhetorical Criticism (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Examination of the principal modes of contemporary rhetorical analysis
such as Neoclassical, Burkean, Feminist, Cultural/Critical and Poststructuralist.
Repeatable for 9 credit hours. This course asks students to consider how memory is
created and explained within southern culture through commemorative sites and symbols.
Examining methods of rhetorical critique help explain how memories are "displayed"
and how such displays narrate cultural values.
COMM 8803 Seminar Film Criticism (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Intensive study of selected periods, genres or filmmakers with emphasis
on independent research project. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 hours.
COMM 8804 – Seminar Media Theory/Criticism
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Major critical approaches to media form and content; emphasis on film
and television. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 hours.
COMM 8806 – Trends Mass Communication
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Critical issue or issues facing communications today. Topics will vary
each time offered. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits.
COMM 8808 – Mass Communication & Society
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Interrelationships between mass communications, the individual and society.
Topics will vary each time offered. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits.
COMM 8809 – Seminar Communication History (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Selected topics in history of communication, including public address,
film, broadcasting and electronic media. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 hours.
COMM 8815 – Seminar History Rhetoric (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Examines different periods and issues of rhetorical history each semester;
one semester will consider Greek rhetoric (beginnings through New Testament); another
will consider Latin rhetoric (Cicero through Renaissance); a third will cover Scottish,
British and American rhetoric. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 hours when topic
varies. (same as ENGL 7/8815).
COMM 8819 – Rhetoric of Science (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: This course examines scientific and technical communication from a rhetorical
perspective, showing how scientific knowledge is shaped not only by data and method,
but also by persuasive purposes and sociocultural forces. (same as ENGL 7/8819)
COMM 8820 – Topics in Rhetoric
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Topical seminar devoted to an important aspect of the history, theory
or criticism of rhetoric. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 hours when topic varies.
(same as ENGL 7/8820)
COMM 8993 – Special Problems (No preview available)
Credit Hours (1-3)
Description: Directed individual investigation of special research projects not included
in thesis. Grades of A-F will be given.
COMM 8995 – Production Practicum (No preview available)
Credit Hours (3)
Description: Creative performance or production project suitable for public presentation
and/or a practical application. Project to be determined in consultation with and
directed by the student's supervisory committee. Grades of S, U or I will be given.
COMM 8996 – Reading for Comps (No preview available)
Credit Hours (1-9)
Description: Arranged on an individual basis for communication students only. May
be taken only at the end of coursework to fulfill the requirements for the PhD. Does
not count toward the 45 hours of academic coursework required for the degree. Grades
of S, U or I will be given.
COMM 9000 – Dissertation (No preview available)
Credit Hours (1-9)
Description: For students who have passed their comprehensive exam and have an approved
prospectus to write their dissertation under the direction of their advisor. Grades
of S, U or IP will be given.