Communication Studies Minor

TENURED AND TENURED-TRACK FACULTY:
Denise Bostdorff, Chair
Ahmet Atay
Joan Furey
Donald Goldberg
Michelle Johnson
Rohini Singh

Communication is the study of the innate human ability to use symbols and create meaning. The Department of Communication contains within it two tracks: Communication Studies and Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Communication Studies

Research and instruction in Communication Studies focus on the study of how messages in various media (spoken, written, printed, photographic, electronic, digital) are produced, used, and interpreted within and across different contexts, channels, and cultures. Communication Studies focuses on how people arrive at shared meanings through an interchange of messages or, in other words, the symbolic processes through which meanings and social realities are created and performed. The origin of Communication Studies goes back to the ancient Greeks and, in its infancy, the discipline emphasized public speaking alone. Today the discipline studies symbolic processes - whether oral, written, nonverbal, or mediated/visual - in a variety of contexts: interpersonal communication, group communication, organizational communication, public address, intercultural communication, media, digital communication, and globalization. The department encourages students to engage in the complex relations between communication and culture. Majors in the track of Communication Studies learn how to be more effective communicators and how to be critical analysts of communication, thereby preparing them for life as enlightened citizens and professionals in a variety of career paths in business, politics, media, education, law, healthcare, religion, and the nonprofit sector.

Minor in Communication Studies

Consists of six courses:

COMM 11100 - Introduction to Communication Studies
One of the following courses in human dynamics:
COMM 22100 - Interpersonal Communication
COMM 22500 - Group & Organizational Communication
COMM 22700 - Intercultural Communication
One of the following courses in rhetorical studies:
COMM 25000 - Principles of Rhetoric
COMM 25200 - Argumentation & Persuasion
COMM 25400 - Political Rhetoric
One of the following courses in media studies:
COMM 23300 - Mediated Gender, Race, and Sexuality
COMM 23500 - Media, Culture and Society
COMM 33200 - Visual Communication
Two course credits of COMM electives (cannot be the same courses as taken for the above requirements)
Minors may take one of the following cross-listed courses as part of the elective requirement:
AFST 24200 - Martin, Malcolm & Mandela
AFST 24600 - Africana Popular Culture
ENGL 29901 - Serials and Social Justice/Digital Age
HIST 20101 - History of the News
PSCI 21200 - Presidential Leadership in Am Politics
PSCI 21501 - Constitutional Law & Appellate Advocacy
PSCI 21800 - Political Psychology of Mass Behavior
PSCI 21900 - Voice of the People?/Pbl Opn & Voting
PSYC 21500 - Psychology of Women & Gender
PSYC 22000 - Stereotypes & Prejudice
SOCI 20700 - Sociology of Gender
SOCI 20900 - Inequality in America
SOCI 21400 - Racial & Ethnic Groups in Amer Society
WGSS 20400 - Transnational Feminisms
WGSS 20600 - Queer Lives
ENGL 29901 - Serials and Social Justice/ Digital Age

Special Notes

Majors in the Communication Studies track must complete their methods course (COMM 35200 or COMM 35300 ) no later than the spring of their junior year. Majors should also complete the theory course (COMM 31100 ) prior to the first semester of Senior Independent Study (COMM 45100 ); normally, this will entail registration in COMM 31100 in the fall of the junior year.
In addition to demonstrating proficiency in research and writing through Independent Study, a major in the Communication Studies track must demonstrate proficiency in public speaking, as certified by all faculty members in the Department of Communication, based upon the student’s oral presentation of their Senior Independent Study proposal. These public presentations will typically be scheduled for the early spring semester, and students will be provided with specific guidelines to follow. The faculty also encourages majors to seek the help of their advisers in preparing their presentations.
No more than two Communication Studies and/or Communication Sciences and Disorders courses can be applied toward the general education requirements.
No courses may be taken for the major on a S/NC basis.
Only grades of C- or better are accepted for the major or minor.

Cross-listed Courses Accepted for Communication Studies Credit

Africana Studies

AFST 24200. Martin, Malcolm & Mandela [C, HSS, AH, D, SJ]

AFST 24600. Africana Popular Culture [AH, C, D]

English

ENGL 29901. Serials and Social Justice/ Digital Age [AH, C]

History

HIST 20101. History of the News [HSS, W]

Political Science

PSCI 21200. Presidential Leadership in Am Politics [HSS]

PSCI 21501. Topics in Constitutional Law andAppellate Advocacy [W]

PSCI 21900. Voice of the People?/Pbl Opn & Voting [HSS, QL]

Psychology

PSYC 11000. Child & Adolescent Development [HSS]

PSYC 21200. Abnormal Psychology [HSS]

PSYC 21500. Psychology of Women & Gender [HSS]

PSYC 22000. Stereotypes & Prejudice [C, HSS, D]

PSYC 23000. Human Neuropsychology [HSS]

PSYC 32200. Memory & Cognition [W]

PSYC 32200L. Memory & Cognition Lab

PSYC 33500. Perception and Action [W]

PSYC 33500L. Perception & Action Lab

Sociology and Anthropology

SOCI 20900. Inequality in America [HSS]