Communication Studies Courses
Communication Studies: CMS
Lower-Division Courses
CMS 301. Topics in Communication Studies.
Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary.
CMS 306M (TCCN: SPCH 1321). Professional Communication Skills.
Designed to help students develop skills in one-on-one interactions, small group communication, and presentation skills. Basic communication theories as they relate to skill development are explored. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Only one of the following may be counted: Communication Studies 305, 306M, 319, Speech 305, 319.
CMS 307K. Internship.
Internship to be arranged by student and approved by instructor. Focuses on career goals of students in communication positions with public and private organizations. The equivalent of ten hours a week for one semester, for a minimum of 150 hours a semester or summer session. Communication Studies 301 (Topic: Internship) and 307K may not both be counted. Offered on the pass/fail basis only. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
CMS 210. Forensics Workshop.
Open to all University students. Training for participation in extracurricular speech activities, including intercollegiate debate. Two lecture hours and eight laboratory hours a week for one semester. May be taken three times for credit. May be repeated for credit.
CMS 310K (TCCN: SPCH 2333). Team-Based Communication.
Analysis of small-group communication: cohesiveness, social climate, role structure, leadership, conformity, dynamics of interaction; participation in small-group communication situations. Three lecture hours a week for one semester.
CMS 313M. Organizational Communication.
Communication processes within government, private, and volunteer organizations. Three lecture hours a week for one semester.
CMS 314L. Language, Communication, and Culture.
The role of language in communication. Analysis of the complexity of human languages, languages in contact, language modality, and communication interaction. Three lecture hours a week for one semester.
CMS 315M (TCCN: SPCH 1318). Interpersonal Communication Theory.
Introduction to the study of communication in relationships; topics include self-disclosure, conflict, long-distance relationships, stereotyping, and persuasion. Three lecture hours a week for one semester.
CMS 316L. Interviewing Principles and Practices.
Introduction to interviewing theory, emphasizing the acquisition and application of interviewing skills. Three lecture hours a week for one semester.
CMS 317C. Speech in American Culture.
The impact of public discourse on the ideas and issues of culture and history in the United States. Three lecture hours a week for one semester.
CMS 119S, 219S, 319S, 419S, 519S, 619S, 719S, 819S, 919S. Topics in Communication Studies.
This course is used to record credit the student earns while enrolled at another institution in a program administered by the University's Study Abroad Office. Credit is recorded as assigned by the study abroad adviser in the appropriate College of Communication department. University credit is awarded for work in an exchange program; it may be counted as coursework taken in residence. Transfer credit is awarded for work in an affiliated studies program. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary.
Upper-Division Courses
CMS 320. Advanced Presentation Skills.
Designed to help students develop skills in delivering informative and persuasive presentations and speeches. Study of major theories related to oral presentations. Focus on audience analysis and adaptation, building strong arguments, speech organization, and use of new technologies. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 320 and 367 (Topic: Advanced Presentation Skills) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and Communication Studies 306M with a grade of at least C-.
CMS 321D. Communicating for Development and Philanthropy.
An exploration of the special communicative dimensions of the development and philanthropy fields, including how to apply theories of building relationships and persuasion to the context of development and philanthropy for nonprofit organizations. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 322E. Communication Ethics.
Examination of the ethical issues involved in communication. Subjects addressed include our role in interactions we are party to; media coverage of issues of a sensitive or potentially harmful nature; and how our interactions with others reflect and shape who we are. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 323R. Rhetoric: East and West.
Examination of the ways people from different cultures communicate and argue, and how cultures use logic, stories, myth, images, and the spoken word to make their points. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 323R and 367 (Topic: Rhetoric East and West) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 327. Urban Communication.
Restricted to students admitted to the Semester in New York Program. Examines communication between and within cultures in urban communities, especially immigrants and marginalized groups. Special focus on understanding the role cross-cultural relations play in shaping the identity of community members. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 129S, 229S, 329S, 429S, 529S, 629S, 729S, 829S, 929S. Topics in Communication Studies.
This course is used to record credit the student earns while enrolled at another institution in a program administered by the University's Study Abroad Office. Credit is recorded as assigned by the study abroad adviser in the Department of Communication Studies. University credit is awarded for work in an exchange program; it may be counted as coursework taken in residence. Transfer credit is awarded for work in an affiliated studies program. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary.
CMS 330. Interpersonal Health Communication.
The fundamental interpersonal communication processes that are involved in managing physical and mental health. Includes stigma and illness identity, social support, patient-provider communication, end-of-life care, and health education. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 330 and 367 (Topic: Interpersonal Health Communication) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 330D. Health Decision Making.
Explore the connection between evidence-based health communication practices and evidence-based health decision making. Practice making sense of complicated and ambiguous health information, and examine theoretical concepts that describe and explain how people interact with such health information. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 330D and 367 (Topic: Health Decision Making) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 330P. Communicating with Patients.
Analyze the communicative work done by healthcare providers. Examine the provider-patient encounter and the ecology of related communication processes. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 331K. Speech Writing and Criticism.
Composition and analysis of oral messages; emphasis on creating and arranging ideas, style, delivery, critical method. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 332. Argumentation and Advocacy.
Nature of argumentative controversy; variables of form, method, and ethics; analysis of argumentative rhetorical works. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 332D. Digital Ethics.
Explores the ethical issues inherent in the use of digital and online media. Discusses a range of current issues and subjects through the application of important moral theories, attending to how new technologies often challenge knowledge of morality, virtue, and the good life. Analyze case studies to encourage reflection and discussion over contemporary issues in digital ethics. Subjects include the ethics of hacking, Anonymous operations, online privacy, blogging ethics, online shaming and activism, revenge pornography, online free speech, social media and virtue, as well as other contemporary topics. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 332K. Theories of Persuasion.
A study of motivational factors involved in persuasive speaking to secure belief and action. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 333. Case Studies in Argumentation.
Study of argumentation theories. Includes analysis of case studies taken from areas of law, public policy, popular culture, and history. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 333 and 367 (Topic: Case Studies in Argumentation) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 334F. Fake News.
Examine the interplay of journalism, satire, and propaganda in their current and historic forms - from comedians on late-night television to active measures in international espionage. Consider the social and political forces that draw us to this type of information, how to deal with it when we encounter it, and what its implications are for geopolitics in the twenty-first century and within our own participatory democracy. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 334F and Communication Studies 367 (Topic: Fake News) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 334K. Nonverbal Communication.
Survey of the effects of space, physical appearance, movement, eye behavior, and vocal behavior on interpersonal communication. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 335. Strategic Sales and Event Planning.
Theory and practice related to the preparation of large-scale sales events and conferences. Designed to develop communication skills and planning techniques. May include client research, investigation of potential venues, telephone-based information interviews, individual or group sales presentations, and event overviews. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 335 and 367 (Topic: Strategic Sales and Event Planning) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and Communication Studies 306M.
CMS 337. Building Sales Relationships.
Explores the theoretical and practical role of communication in the development of long-term client relationships. Explores the consultative sales process, including prospecting, assessing needs, handling objections, presenting, closing, and following up with clients. Focuses on how technology can help or hinder communication. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 337 and 367 (Topic: Communication to Build Sales Relationships) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 137C. Selling in Healthcare Industries.
Examine opportunities related to professional sales and business development in the healthcare industry. Explore the theoretical and practical role of communication in the development of long-term client relationships. Investigate the consultative sales process, including prospecting, assessing needs, handling objections, presenting, closing, and following up with clients. One lecture hour a week for one semester.
CMS 338. Leadership Stories.
Uses fictional and nonfictional stories, as well as examples taken from virtual reality, to explore the meaning of leadership. Designed to help students develop a conceptual, practical, and personal understanding of the meaning of leadership. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 338 and 367 (Topic: Stories of Leadership) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 338L. Leadership and Public Memory.
Examines how public memory is created, shaped, and shared through processes and forms like commemorations, museum exhibits, historic sites, and monuments. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 339K. Working Virtually.
Explore the dynamics of new work arrangements and the factors that shape communication when working in dispersed work arrangements. Examine important skills for navigating these new ways of working. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 339L. Social Interaction in Virtual Environments.
Examines fundamental principles connected to the uses and effects of new technologies. Covers social networking sites, online dating, and virtual group collaboration. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 339L and Communication Studies 367 (Topic: Social Interaction in Virtual Environments) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 340D. Expertise and Power in the Digital Commons.
Explore what it means to produce and/or possess knowledge in the digital era. Examine how the World Wide Web functions as an archive of information; how science enters public conversations in digital forums; how networked infrastructure facilitates the production of digital information; and how big data may be the future of expertise. Approach digital culture through the idea of the commons, assuming an interdisciplinary perspective, drawing insight from various literatures and methodologies. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 340D and 367 (Topic: Digital Commons) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 340K. Communication and Social Change.
Analysis of how persuasion is used in mass movements: civil rights, consumerism, feminism, pacifism, religious sects. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 340M. Social Media and Social Movement: Then and Now.
Explores the role media plays in documenting and shaping the successes and failures of contemporary causes. Considers how these movements use social media to their advantage and the responses from government and other institutions. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 340M and Communication Studies 367 (Topic: Social Media/Social Movement: Then/Now) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 341. Digital Communications.
Uses communication and interdisciplinary perspectives to explore interactions involving technology. May include the study of impression formation, identity, surveillance, privacy, distributed teams, trust and deception, online gaming, social support, and uses and impacts of new information and communication technology. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 341 and 367 (Topic: Computer-Mediated Communication) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 342C. Communication and Civic Participation.
An exploration of the status of American democracy, particularly as it pertains to those born between 1960 and 1990. Subjects include the meaning of citizenship and democratic participation, and the strengths and limitations of marketing efforts targeted at getting youth involved in the democratic system. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 342C and 367 (Topic: Communication and Civic Participation) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 342K. Political Communication.
A study of the role of symbols in political communication and the techniques and strategies employed by politicians; special attention is given to recent election campaigns. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 344K. Lying and Deception.
Examines lying and deception as civil, strategic, and manipulative behavior. Secrets, privacy, disclosures, and confidentiality are examined in a variety of familiar contexts. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 344K and 367 (Topic: Lying and Deception) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 345. Media Effects and Politics.
The theoretical models and research methods used to study media effects. Emphasis on the political implications of media-effects research and on how media-effects theories can help clarify political issues. May include television violence, the political impact of the news, and the use of media for educational purposes. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 345 and 367 (Topic: Media Effects and Politics) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 345G. Communicating to Government.
Analyze confident, effective, and ethical communication in regards to policy makers, elected officials, legislative and governmental agencies. Discussion of legal and ethical considerations introduced by governmental communications, as well as strategies and materials for effective communication. Includes guest speakers, and interactive opportunities around the Texas legislature and/or local governmental bodies. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 345G and 367 (Topic: Communicating to Government) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 345K. Perspectives on Rhetoric.
Four different meanings of rhetoric; how these meanings contribute to the current understanding of communication studies. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 345N. Political Narratives.
Examines stories and how they are told during political rituals, under campaign pressures, on the nightly news, and in the daily newspaper: visually, verbally, online, and in person. Three lecture hours a week for one semester Communication Studies 345N and Communication Studies 367 (Topic: Political Narratives) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 345P. Communication and Public Opinion.
An investigation of the definition and measurement of public opinion. Explores the relationship between communication and public opinion, how changes to public opinion are affected, and the influence of perception of public opinion on personal opinion. Communication Studies 345P and 367 (Topic: Communication and Public Opinion) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 345V. American Voices.
Examines what is most distinctive about American speech, American film, American advertising, American politics, the American press. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication 370 (Topic: American Voices) and Communication Studies 345V may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 346. Using Communication Technology at Work.
Examines how communication technologies affect workplace communication. Considers case studies involving the use of social networking, handheld devices, and e-mail by for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 346 and 367 (Topic: Using Communication Technology at Work) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 346C. The Cutural Impact of Innovation.
Examine the fundamentals of humanistic thought for both critiquing and creating innovation. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 347E. Arguing the End of the World.
Discussion of apocalyptic, millenarian, or millenialism way of thinking and how it affects religious, social, and other personal beliefs. The equivalent of three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 347E and 367 (Topic: Arguing the End of the World) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 347K. Rhetoric of Popular Culture.
The ways that film, television, music, fashion, the Internet, and other discourses of popular culture influence public attitudes, perceptions, and social relations. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 347K and 367 (Topic: Rhetoric of Popular Culture) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 347S. Communicating with Stuff.
Examine how we use material objects and actions as a means of communication, especially objects found in popular culture. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 347S and 367 (Topic: Communicating with Stuff) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 348. Communication Research Methods.
A practical introduction to research methods, focusing on designing a study, conducting research, analyzing data, and presenting results. Studies survey design, interviews, focus groups, and experiments. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 348 and 367 (Topic: Communication Research Methods) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 348K. Visual Media and Interaction.
The role of visual resources and symbols in social interaction and public life; the representation of interaction and human relationships in visual media (photography, advertising, fine arts, and film). Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 349M. Advanced Analysis of Popular Culture.
Advanced critique and analysis of rhetorical dimensions in texts of popular culture. Readings in theory and methods for understanding persuasive influence in television, film, music videos, and the Internet. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 350C. Crowds, Clouds, and Community.
Explores the use of social network theory and analysis to understand the connectivity and complexity of teams, families, organizations, and communities. Consider examples of network analytic approaches to theorize, visualize, analyze, and understand, for example, criminal networks, professional service firms, government contracting, social media platforms, virtual worlds, interorganizational dynamics, post disaster recovery, and ad hoc organizational forms. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 350C and 367 (Topic: Crowds/Clouds/Community) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 350M. Field Study in Organizational Communication.
Students acquire information through interviews and observation, devise appropriate coding schemes, and compose synoptic reports of their findings and recommendations. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 351. Communication for Cooperation and Competition.
Theoretical perspectives and experiential learning on the ways people reconcile the need to be individualistic (competitive) with the need to be community members (cooperative). Individual aggression and submission; the rewards of competition and cooperation; and organizational structures that lead to cooperation and competition. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 352. Organizational Leadership.
Theories, styles, and components of organizational leadership; communication behaviors of leaders in organizations. History of the study of leadership; new theories and concepts related to leaders as managers of organizational culture and change. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 352D. The Dark Side of Organizational Communication.
Examine key organizational processes that often operate in the shadows through a communication-based approach. Assess how individuals and organizations respond ethically to these processes. Survey hidden organizations and the ethical response to dark collectives in society. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 353C. Communication for Innovation.
Examines the critical role that communication and communicative processes play in developing innovative ideas, products, and ways of approaching problems. Analyze behavioral theories and empirical studies to understand the challenges associated with facilitating innovation in organizations and learn strategies for improving work effectiveness. Subjects include motivation, decision making, organizational culture, information sharing, and idea generation. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 353S. Social Media and Organizations.
Explores the relationship between social media use and organizational communication. Subjects include how organizations use social media for communication with external stakeholders and to facilitate internal communications processes. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 353S and 367 (Topic: Social Media and Organizations) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 354. Conflict Resolution.
Systematic analysis of conflict and communication to examine some of the effects of communication on conflict and of conflict on communication. Readings, analysis of conflicts, and practice with and evaluation of communication behaviors thought to be effective in conflict talk. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 355K. Intercultural Communication.
Theories of speech and language that concern interaction between persons from different cultures who speak different languages or dialects. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 355S. Communicating with Animals.
Introduction to research and writing about communication among animals and between animals and their human caretakers. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 355T. Communication and Thought.
Integrates the emergence of collaborative thought from human communication. Analysis of language and communicative development, conversational pragmatics, perspective-taking, and social network analysis. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 355T and 367 (Topic: Communication and Thought) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 356C. Collective Action.
Examine how globalization and technology have impacted how people organize and communicate to achieve better collective outcomes about public good. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Only one of the following may be counted: Communication 370H (Topic: Collective Action), Communication Studies 356C, 367 (Topic: Collective Action). Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 356T. Organizational Transparency.
Examine fundamental dynamics of transparency as a form of communication. Explore a range of problems related to organizational transparency and critically assess organizational transparency as an ethical practice. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 356T and 367 (Topic: Organizational Transparency) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 357. Family Communication.
Some of the common issues that face those who live in, counsel, and conduct research with families. The development of traditional families in the United States, different family structures that make up modern society, current issues that affect families, and the impact of communication on family experiences. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 358. Communication and Personal Relationships.
The nature of human interaction in various types of relationships (friends, dates, spouses, roommates), the nature of communication at different stages in a relationship, and the nature of communication at different life stages. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 358C. Identity In Relationships.
Examine the influence of the unique combination of gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, education, income, ability, and more as they relate to relationships with friends, families, partners, and selves. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 358C and 367 (Topic: Identity in Relationships) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 359. Language, Culture, and Communication of Hip-Hop.
Uses hip-hop music as a model for understanding a speech community. Focuses on language innovation and the creation of new social networks, forms of communication, and cultural meaning and values. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 359 and 367 (Topic: Language, Culture, and Communication in the Hip-Hop Nation) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 359C. Inside the American Conversation.
A look at a handful of conversations in America, from phone calls between family members and dating couples in the 1980s, contemporary 'hybrid' face-to-face/cell-phone conversations to interviews with Donald Trump and 'The Wire'. Explores what these conversations tell us about social life and how it changes, about people's concerns, cultural difference, and the diversity of ways of using language that is a hallmark of American society. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 359C and 367 (Topic: Inside the American Conversation) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 359H. Honors Tutorial Course: Reading.
Intensive reading and research as planned by the departmental honors committee. Individual instruction. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and admission to the Communication Studies Honors Program.
CMS 359T. How People Talk.
Explore how people creatively use, manipulate, and re-invent language when they talk to each other. Examine qualitative research methods, including conversation and discourse analysis, interactional sociolinguistics, ethnography of speaking, and microethnography. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 360. Analyzing Social Interaction.
Introduction to concepts and research methods related to the study of how verbal and nonverbal communication is used in everyday situations. Includes collecting and analyzing sound and video data. Designed to help students develop skills in interpreting human social interactions. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 360 and 367 (Topic: Language and the Body in Social Interaction) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 360P. Expertise and Public Culture.
Introduction to the various functions that scientists and other experts serve in public discourse. Explore how scientists and experts influence public opinion, policy, and cultural attitudes. Examine how new media habits and digital networks offer platforms for experts and laypersons to communicate. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 360R. Virtual Rhetoric.
Examine how the universal presence of visual imagery makes it difficult to critically evaluate the images we see. Practice evaluating visual arguments to become a more critical consumer of visual communication. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 362D. Decolonizing Communication Studies.
Examine the intersections of race, ethnicity, nationality, language, gender, and other aspects of identity marginalization related to communication theories and practices. Survey theories of decolonization and how to apply those in communication studies. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 362E. Environmental Communication.
Explore various environmental philosophies as they relate to communication contexts. Assess how communication plays a role in environmental issues such as journalism and news reporting, sustainability, consumerism, politics, environmental organizations, and ecotourism. Examine how environmental theories and communication contexts play out in local, national, and international debates and contexts. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 363C. Communication and Sports.
Explore interpersonal, mediated, organizational, and public communication in sports. Examine foundational myths and metaphors that demonstrate the various ways in which sport is used to communicate in public life. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 363C and 367 (Topic: Communication and Sports) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 363P. Politics and Protest in Sports.
Examine history to understand how and why sports can be powerful for contemporary political communication and symbolism. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 363P and 367 (Topic: Politics/Protest in Sports) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 364K. Gender and Communication.
Focuses on how communication influences ideas about sex, gender, and identity, from interpersonal relationships to the mass media, and from legislative debates to social movements. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 364K and 367 (Topic: Gender and Communication) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 164M, 264M, 364M. Pre-Graduate School Mentorship.
Introduction for undergraduates to graduate study in a discipline of their choosing. For each semester hour of credit earned, the equivalent of one lecture hour a week for one semester. With consent of the department chair, may be repeated for credit, but no more than three hours may be taken. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
CMS 365K. Male-Female Communication.
Same as Women's and Gender Studies 345 (Topic 21: Male-Female Communication). Studies of speech patterns related to the concepts of male and female, including sexism in speaking, patterns of male and female speaking, patterns of listening to males and females, speech in courtship and family, speech and sexual discrimination in careers. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 365L. Communication, Controversy, and Citizenship.
Designed to help students develop the listening, speaking, and argumentation skills used to deliberate over controversial and sensitive subjects. Deliberations focus primarily on the meaning of citizenship. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 365L and 367 (Topic: Communication, Controversy, and Citizenship) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 366. Rhetoric, Love, and Democracy.
Covers ideas about human symbolism and discourse; focuses on the effects of rhetorical perspectives on how people make meaning of the world. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 366 and 367 (Topic: Love, Democracy, and Rhetoric) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 366C. Celebrity Culture.
Examines the importance of fame and celebrity throughout the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries, in relation to education, entertainment, and politics. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 366C and 367 (Topic: Celebrity Culture) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 366D. Rhetoric of Horror.
A survey of horror studies keyed specifically to rhetorical issues, or the ways in which horror literature, cinema, and television influence people by rehearsing social problems in disguise. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 366F. Rhetoric of Film.
Film theory and history taught from a rhetorical perspective. Covers the film industry, technology, and the elements of narrative, image, and sound. Emphasis on theory about film and film criticism. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 366F and 367 (Topic: Rhetoric of Film) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 366M. Rhetoric and Popular Music.
Explores music and its relation to identity; how gender, race, and sexual identity are constructed with and within musical texts; meanings and importance of authenticity; and the effectiveness of music as a political tool. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 366M and 367 (Topic: Rhetoric and Popular Music) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 366R. Religious Communication and Paranormalism.
Explores secular and religious instances of ambivalence, and its uses and effects. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 366R and 367 (Topic: Rhetoric and Religion) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 366S. Science Fiction and Communication.
Examine major concepts in science fiction, with an emphasis on science fiction film adaptation (from novel to screen). Explore theories of communication implied by science fiction. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 366S and 367 (Topic: Comm & Science Fiction) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 367. Topics in Communication Studies.
Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing; additional prerequisites vary with the topic.
Topic 1: Applied Interpersonal Communication.
Topic 2: Campaign Communication.
Topic 3: Communication and Thought. Investigates the emergence of collaborative thought from human communication.
Topic 5: Ethnography of Live Music in Austin. Explores music and musicians in Austin, with a focus on ethnographic research through observation, interviews, analysis, and writing.
Topic 6: Pragmatism and Group Dynamics. Explores how individual beliefs and expectations determine the quality of group communication.
CMS 367C. Topics in Corporate Communication.
Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 367I. Topics in Interpersonal Communication.
Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 367P. Topics in Political Communication.
Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 370K, 670K. Internship in Communication Studies.
Restricted to communication studies majors. Internships to be arranged by student and approved by instructor. Focuses on career goals of students in communication positions with public and private organizations. For 370K, an average of 10 hours of work a week, for a total of at least 150 hours a semester or summer session; for 670K, an average of 20 hours of work a week, for a total of at least 300 hours a semester or summer session. Offered on the pass/fail basis only. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing; twelve semester hours of communication studies with a grade of at least C-; and a University grade point average of at least 2.25.
CMS 371D. Difficult Conversations.
Explores the interpersonal, social, and language factors that impact difficult conversations. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 367 (Topic: Difficult Conversations) and 371D may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 371K. Practicum in Conflict Mediation.
Provides hand on training and practice in conflict intervention techniques, including various forms of mediation, facilitation and dialogue. Two lecture hours and three discussion hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 171M. Communication Studies Internship.
Internship and discussion hours to be arranged. Offered on the pass/fail basis only. Prerequisite: Communication Studies 370K; consent of departmental internship coordinator; and completion of departmental requirements for enrollment in an internship course.
CMS 372D. The Politics of National Memory.
Explores issues of power in our nation's capital. Students study Washington, DC via visits to sites around the city. One three-hour field trip a week for one semester. Taught in Washington, DC. Communication Studies 372D and 374D may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Consent of the department.
CMS 372K. Advanced Organizational Communication.
In-depth discussion and treatment of advanced organizational communication topics, including socialization and role development, workplace attachments, organizational culture, ethics, structure, conflict, power, decision making and empowerment, technology, and various forms of external communication with relevant organizational stakeholders. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and Communication Studies 313M with a grade of at least C-.
CMS 372T. Time Matters.
An exploration of twentieth and twenty-first century time management issues resulting from the development of communication technologies. Subjects include the concept of twenty-four-hour, seven-day-a-week availability; information overload; increased work hours; sleep deprivation; hurry sickness; multitasking; the human experience of time across diverse social, cultural, and historical contexts; and other time-related issues that shape, and are shaped by, communication behaviors. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 367 (Topic: Time Matters) and 372T may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
CMS 373D. Advocacy and Politics.
An introduction to the issues faced when advocating for an issue, idea, or one's self. The course aims to have students grasp concepts they will see and experience during their internship in Washington, DC. Eight conference hours a day for six days, for the equivalent of three lecture hours a week for one semester. Taught in Washington, DC. Prerequisite: Consent of the department.
CMS 177K, 377K, 477K. Faculty-Initiated Research.
Supervised research on a project designed by a faculty member. Individual instruction. No more than six semester hours in the following courses may be counted: Communication Studies 177K, 377K, 477K, 178K, 278K, 378K, 478K, 578K, 678K. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing, twelve semester hours of coursework in communication studies, a University grade point average of at least 2.50, and consent of instructor and the department.
CMS 178K, 278K, 378K, 478K, 578K, 678K. Student-Initiated Research.
Supervised independent research on a project initiated, designed, and implemented by the student. Student secures consent of a faculty member willing to supervise the project prior to registering. Individual instruction. No more than six semester hours in the following courses may be counted: Communication Studies 177K, 377K, 477K, 178K, 278K, 378K, 478K, 578K, 678K. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing, twelve semester hours of coursework in communication studies, a University grade point average of at least 2.50, and consent of instructor and the department; Communication Studies 177K, 377K, 477K is recommended.
CMS 379H. Honors Tutorial Course: Special Project.
The writing of a thesis or the presentation of a creative project; final comprehensive examination. Individual instruction. Prerequisite: Communication Studies 359H.
Graduate Courses
CMS 180E, 280E, 380E, 480E. Conference Course in Communication Studies.
Readings in the literature of communication studies designed to expand the graduate student's opportunity for individual consultation both in research and in informational aspects of the work. One, two, three, or four conference hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
CMS 081M. Introduction to Graduate Studies in Human Communication.
Discussion of communication research, theory, and professional development. One lecture hour a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Admission to the graduate program in communication studies.
CMS 383K. Communication Theory.
Survey of philosophical and language-based approaches to communication; theory construction, research practices, scholarly writing. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Graduate standing. Some sections also require consent of instructor or the graduate adviser; these are identified in the Course Schedule.
CMS 384K. Communication and Ethnography.
Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Topic 3: Microethnography of Interaction. Introduction to the study of details of human interaction: the moment-by-moment organization of speech and embodied communication; the roles of different media of communication, such as language, gesture, and space; the construction of context; uses of the material environment; and the distribution of information in collaborative work settings.
Topic 4: Communication and Ethnography. Studies the use of language and communication in ethnographic methods, data collected, and in final reports in a broad range of approaches such as observation and participant-observation, field notes, surveys, interviews of various kinds, textual analysis, and experimental interventions.
CMS 386H. Seminar in Health Communication.
Theory and research in health communication. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing. Some sections may also require consent of instructor or the graduate adviser.
Topic 1: Managing Health Information. Introduction to research and theories that examine why and how people exchange, conceal, and otherwise interact with health-related information. Explores the antecedents, processes, and outcomes of communicating about matters of health and illness, with a focus on implications for personal well-being, relational quality, and public health. Communication Studies 386H (Topic 1) and 386P (Topic: Managing Health Information) may not both be counted.
Topic 2: Interdisciplinary Seminar in Health Communication. Exploration of the interdisciplinary nature of health communication from an ecological perspective, ranging from intra-personal and interpersonal factors through the roles of populations and policies. Examination of the contributions to health communication from diverse disciplines including healthcare, public health, communication, and psychology. Explores issues related to research, practice, leadership, and partnerships. Additional prerequisite: For masters students, consent of instructor.
Topic 3: Communicating with Patients. Examine communication research, theory, and skill development relevant to health provider and patient encounters of all kinds. Additional prerequisite: Graduate standing.
CMS 386K. Theories of Interpersonal Communication.
Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing. Some sections also require consent of instructor or the graduate adviser; these are identified in the Course Schedule.
Topic 1: Interpersonal Communication Theory. Exploration of theoretical perspectives such as general systems theory; symbolic interactionism; rules theory; theories of language and nonverbal coding; theories of meaning; theories of information processing; and theories of persuasion. Theories pertinent to interpersonal, group, and mass interaction.
Topic 4: Discourse Analysis. Examines similarities and differences in the main kinds of discourse analysis and their basic assumptions and typical questions. Designed to develop skills at examining a piece of text or lecture to produce persuasive scholarly analysis.
CMS 386L. Group Communication.
Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing. Some sections also require consent of instructor or the graduate adviser; these are identified in the Course Schedule.
Topic 1: Group Communication Processes. Study of theory and research in the dynamics of small groups, with emphasis on the interaction of message variables with other variables such as leadership, affiliation, cohesiveness, and social power.
Topic 3: Communicating in Groups and Teams. Focuses on the concepts and theories of communicative processes in task-oriented groups and work teams. Readings cover theory and research related to communication problems, dynamics, and practices in group and team settings. May also include the study of team development, decision making, and trends in group communication research.
CMS 386N. Research in Communication Studies.
Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Topic 1: Quantitative Research Methods. Broad coverage of social scientific techniques for collecting and analyzing communication data; includes measurement, design, and other areas. Some sections focus on organizational research.
Topic 2: Qualitative Research Methods. The use of observational and interviewing research techniques for studying human communication.
CMS 386P. Issues in Interpersonal Communication.
Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing. Some sections also require consent of instructor or the graduate adviser.
Topic 1: Nonverbal Communication. Current theory and research in such areas as involvement and intimacy, gender, touch, space, environment, nonverbal behavior in children, appearance, and lying. Various methods and measurement techniques for assessing eye gaze, body motion, facial actions, vocal signals, and multichannel events.
Topic 5: Negative Interpersonal Communication. An overview of negative features of communication in interpersonal relationships. Examines avoidance, secrets, conflict, relational transgressions, negative emotions, and aggression and abuse.
Topic 6: Dark Side of Interpersonal Communication. Provides an overview of issues related to the "dark side" of communication in interpersonal relationships. Subjects include undesired features of interpersonal relationships, seemingly productive communication patterns that are dysfunctional, as well as seemingly destructive patterns that are functional. Communication Studies 386P (Topic: Dark Side of Interpersonal Communication) and 386P (Topic 6) may not both be counted.
Topic 7: Stereotyping and Prejudice in Interpersonal Communication. Examines problems posed by stereotyping and prejudice in interpersonal communication, and the research and theory aimed at reducing their impact. Designed to provide opportunities to seek constructive ways of defining and addressing stereotyping and prejudice; emphasis on recent research in the formation, maintenance, and application of stereotypes.
Topic 8: Metaphor in Communication. Examines the conceptual structure and expressive forms of the metaphor. Includes the study of classical and contemporary treatment of metaphor in linguistics, philosophy, and rhetoric. Also includes recent social scientific research on the use of figurative devices, such as metaphor, analogy, idiom, hyperbole, and euphemism, in strategic communication, specifically in managerial communication, political speeches, and religious discourse.
Topic 9: Perspective Taking. Examines social scientific research and theories that illuminate human ability to understand or adopt the perspective of others.
Topic 10: Stress and Coping. Exploration of how people interact with each other and with their environments during times of change and stress, including the emotions, cognitions, and behaviors that occur when people talk about upsetting or traumatic events and circumstances. Communication Studies 386P (Topic: Stress & Coping) and 386P (Topic 10) may not both be counted.
Topic 11: Advocacy. Communication Studies 386P (Topic: Advocacy) and 386P (Topic 11) may not both be counted.
Topic 12: Language, Persuasion, and Social Influence. Examine how people employ and exploit linguistic precision, flexibility, and creativity in the service of influencing the beliefs and attitudes of others. Communication Studies 386P (Topic: Lang Persuasion/Soc Influence) and 386P (Topic 12) may not be both counted.
CMS 386R. Issues in Relational Communication.
Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Topic 1: Communication in Relationships. Theories of development and change; research methods; relationship types; gender and roles; emotion; self-disclosure; secrets; lying; compliments; conflict; complaints; persuasion; dissolution processes; rejuvenating, repairing, and maintaining relationships.
Topic 2: Family Communication. Communication and attraction, courtship, marriage, the role of children in the marital relationship, sibling relationships, the effect of spouses' occupations on the family, and dysfunctional families.
CMS 386S. Communication, Cognition, and Emotion.
The cognitive elements involved in social interaction, such as memory, comprehension, plans, decision making, and schemas. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Graduate standing. Some sections also require consent of instructor or the graduate adviser; these are identified in the Course Schedule.
CMS 388C, 688C, 988C. Doctoral Comprehensive Examination Preparation.
Restricted enrollment; contact the department for permission to register. Research and reading in preparation for doctoral comprehensive examinations in communication studies. May be repeated for credit. Offered on the credit/no credit basis only. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
CMS 389C. Seminar in Peace and Conflict.
A survey of the literature and research in the communication of peace and conflict. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing. Some topics also require consent of instructor or the graduate adviser.
Topic 1: Conflict and Communication. Focus on the relationships between social structures and communication as they relate to conflict. Explores research on interpersonal conflict, theory and research on intercultural/-social communication, identity, and language. Analyze how gender, race, culture, region, age, class & sexual orientation, national identities, and so on are developed & reflected in communication. Only one of the following may be counted: Communication Studies 386P (Topic: Conflict and Communication), 389C (Topic: Communication & Conflict), 389C (Topic 1).
CMS 090F. Research Internship.
Participation in faculty-supervised research during the second full year of doctoral study. The equivalent of one lecture hour a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Graduate standing and eighteen semester hours of graduate credit at the doctoral level.
CMS 390M. Seminar in Language, Culture, and Interaction.
Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing; some sections also require consent of instructor or the graduate adviser.
Topic 2: Intercultural Communication. A selective and critical overview of current approaches to intercultural communication in disciplines such as communication studies, sociology, sociolinguistics, conversation analysis, and anthropology. Only one of the following may be counted: Communication Studies 383L (Topic: Intercultural Communication), 390M (Topic: Intercultural Communication), 390M (Topic 2).
Topic 3: The Body in Communication. Exploration of embodied interaction as 'intercorporeality' and provides students with a methodology for research on bodily practices of communication and social action. Communication Studies 390M (Topic: Body in Communication) and 390M (Topic 3) may not both be counted.
Topic 4: Conversation Analysis. The foundations of an interaction-based understanding of language. Texts reflect the evolution of the conversation-analytic paradigm of interaction and language study, and students explore the core organizations that conversation analysts have investigated: turn-taking, repair, turn-construction/action-design, recipient-design, and others. Only one of the following may be counted: Communication Studies 390M (Topic: Conversation Analysis), 390M (Topic 1), 390M (Topic 4).
Topic 5: Language. Introduction to the evolution, structure, and cultural foundations of human language, grounded in advanced contemporary work in anthropology, communication studies, and linguistics.
Topic 6: Analyzing Embodied Communication. Exploration of embodied interaction as 'intercorporeality' and provides students with a methodology for research on bodily practices of communication and social action. Communication Studies 390M (Topic: Analyzing Embodied Communication) and 390M (Topic 6) may not both be counted.
CMS 390N. Political Discourse.
Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Topic 2: Rhetoric of Social Movements. Philosophies, strategies, and effects of modern sociopolitical and religious movements designed to produce change.
Topic 3: Campaign Communication. An introduction to research surrounding the actors and texts of political campaigns. Covers voters, candidates, consultants, new constituencies, advertisements, debates, speeches, news coverage, party conventions, and new media environments. Focuses on how political discourse affects political life in the United States.
Topic 4: Politics, Media, and Society. Examines political life in the United States in relation to television and new media.
Topic 5: Politics, Media, and the Individual. Current research and theory in the area of media and politics with particular emphasis on individual-level effects.
Topic 6: Communication and Public Opinion. Explores questions concerning communication, the media, and public opinion. Theoretical and empirical research from sociology, political science, social psychology, and mass communication may be discussed. Communication Studies 390N (Topic: Communication & Public Opinion) and 390N (Topic 6) may not both be counted.
Topic 7: Political Language. Explore an overview of political language, including questions such as: What makes political language "political?" Has such language changed in character over time? Do political styles differ from culture to culture? Do the mass media change how politicians talk? How are social media affecting citizens' patterns of political engagement? Communication Studies 390N (Topic: Political Language) and 390N (Topic 7) may not both be counted.
Topic 8: Social Media Effects. Examine the effects of social media on society, with a particular emphasis on social media's political effects, the empirical evidence, newer methodologies, and what we know and do not know.
CMS 390P. Rhetorical Theory.
Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Topic 1: Contemporary Rhetorical Theory. Investigation of recent definitions, issues, and trends in rhetorical theory, with emphasis on the philosophical bases of rhetoric and the relationship of rhetoric to other disciplines.
Topic 4: Burke and Symbolic Form. Covers a selection of books by rhetorical theorist Kenneth Burke, as well as books and articles by recent scholars that use his ideas.
Topic 5: Foundations of Rhetorical Theory. Examines historical writings about rhetoric in the Western tradition, up through the Enlightenment. Covers various important figures in the history of rhetoric, including Plato, the sophists, Aristotle, Cicero, Quintilian, Augustine, Christine de Pizan, Vico, and Ramus.
Topic 6: Rhetoric of Style. A consideration of social style, including dress, entertainment, vehicles, and living arrangements as a system of communication. Special emphasis on the expressive and practical functions of such symbolic displays.
Topic 7: Rhetoric and Ideology. Explores Marxist contributions to rhetorical theory and criticism, with emphasis on ideology and hegemony.
Topic 8: Rhetoric of Publics and Counterpublics. Investigation of the role of rhetoric in public life in capitalism in history and today. Covers the roles of rhetoric and rhetorical criticism in the production and maintenance of publics, and discusses the formation and activities of social movements.
Topic 9: Narrative, Myth, and Rhetoric. Engages two important and interrelated areas of study in rhetoric: narrative and myth. Explores the psychological foundations of myths, how mythic criticism might proceed, as well as critiques of mythic criticism from a variety of disciplines.
Topic 10: History of Communicative Inquiry. Explore the conceptual and disciplinary history of "the object" of a given academic field and the various ways in which subjects have conceived of the object, from the "reason" of philosophers to what counts as knowledge in the humanities and social sciences. Communication Studies 390P (Topic: History of Comm Inquiry) and 390P (Topic 10) may not both be counted.
CMS 390R. Seminar in Rhetorical Criticism.
Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Topic 1: Basic Rhetorical Criticism. Elementary methods of analyzing public discourse, including the ways and the reasons that rhetorical analysis is attempted.
Topic 2: Advanced Rhetorical Criticism. Survey of six popular schools of thought, including dramatism, Marxism, and structuralism, and their implications for textual analysis.
Topic 3: Feminist Theory and Rhetorical Criticism. In-depth consideration of the premises underlying American and European feminism and the effects of such premises on critical experience. Special attention to the ways contemporary texts become gendered.
Topic 4: Rhetoric and Popular Culture. Survey of the ways film, television, popular literature, and consumer culture influence our attitudes and values. Consideration of a wide variety of contemporary theorists as well as experience in analyzing contemporary textual artifacts.
Topic 6: The Object. Investigation of conceptual and disciplinary anxieties about the object of speech in relation to the history of communication studies, and the deliberate jettisoning of the object in relationship to the history of cultural studies.
Topic 7: The Subject. Survey of contemporary theory with attention to subjectivity. Authors may include Alain Badiou, Judith Butler, Jodi Dean, Gilles Deleuze, Rene Descartes, Michel Foucault, Immanuel Levinas, Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Slavoj Zizek.
Topic 8: Idiom of Haunting. Examines haunting as a central experience of modern subjectivity rooted in the ontotheological concept of communication. Explores, through the idiom of haunting and ghosts, how the arrival of postmodernity (particularly in respect to mass media technology) has altered how we think about communication and subjectivity in both popular and scholarly ways.
Topic 9: Rhetoric and Psychoanalysis. A survey of the various schools of psychoanalysis, and the ways scholars have related psychoanalysis to the object of rhetoric.
Topic 10: Theories of Subjectivity. Survey of contemporary theory with attention to subjectivity. Authors may include Alain Badiou, Judith Butler, Jodi Dean, Gilles Deleuze, Rene Descartes, Michel Foucault, Immanuel Levinas, Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Slavoj Zizek. Only one of the following may be counted: Communication Studies 390R (Topic: The Subject), 390R (Topic 7), 390R (Topic 10).
CMS 390S. Seminar in Organizational Communication.
Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing; additional prerequisites vary with the topic.
Topic 1: Narrative Communication in Organizations. Current theories of narrative and their applications to organizations. Topics include gossip, day-to-day news, and dramatic enactments of organizational communication.
Topic 2: Power and Politics in Organizational Communication. The communication implications of sociological and managerial approaches to the study of power and politics, with emphasis on ideas about structure, culture, ideology, information, conformity, voice, and dissent.
Topic 6: Social Network Analysis. Focus on quantitatively and qualitatively mapping and measuring the connections, relationships, and flows between entities, such as individuals, teams, groups, organizations, and other information sources. Communication Studies 390S (Topic: Social Network Analysis) and 390S (Topic 6) may not both be counted.
Topic 7: On Time. Introduction to the field of chronemics, the study of time as it is bound with communication, via a broad survey of literature across several disciplines. A range of contemporary communication challenges, as well as opportunities for positive communication and organizational scholarship will be interrogated. Communication Studies 390S (Topic: Time Matters) and 390S (Topic 7) may not both be counted.
Topic 8: Communicating Knowledge. A broad range of theoretical approaches and empirical research related to the communication of knowledge, including the study of both organizations and processes of organizing among workers. Subjects include: communities of practice, boundary objects, innovation, knowledge management, transactive memory, expertise, and ICT use. Communication Studies 390S (Topic: Communicating Knowledge) and 390S (Topic 8) may not both be counted.
Topic 9: Health, Safety, and Technology in Organizations. Examination of the theoretical and empirical research that bridges between organizational, health, and emergency communication with a focus on the role technology plays in these contexts. Communication Studies 390S (Topic 9) and 392P (Topic: Health, Safety, and Technology in Organizations) may not both be counted.
Topic 10: Survey of Organizational Communication. Explores contemporary issues and processes in organizational communication. Graduate students summarize research and conduct original research in an organization. Communication Studies 390S (Topic: Survey of Organizational Communication) and 390S (Topic 10) may not both be counted.
Topic 11: Measurement Workshop: Scale Development and Instrument Design. Provides in-depth instruction on issues related to scale development and questionnaire design, ranging from establishing validity to increasing response rate.
Topic 12: Engaged Communication Scholarship. Explore the theories and methods helpful during engaged research projects. Includes practical theory (e.g., action research, communication design, grounded practical theory) and research methods common to consulting and engaged scholarship (e.g., ethnographic interviewing, survey design, organizational shadowing, and natural experiments). Communication Studies 390S (Topic: Engaged Commnictn Scholrshp) and 390S (Topic 12) may not both be counted.
CMS 390T. Organizational Communication Theory.
Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing; some topics may require consent of instructor or the graduate adviser.
Topic 2: Organizational Communication: Macro. An introduction to selected macro-level or systemic variables in organizations, such as structure, technology, and environments, and to the ways these variables relate to organizational communication processes.
Topic 3: Postmodern Organizational Communication Theory. An attempt to integrate the concern in cultural studies for structure with the stream of organizational theory that focuses on chaos. Readings include Clifford and Markus, Clifford, Deleuze and Guattari, March and Olsen, Weick.
Topic 4: Foundations of Organizational Communication Theory. Introduction to the major approaches of understanding organizational communication. Examines the theoretical background and analytic skills to navigate tensions among varied approaches at micro-and-macro-levels; explores contemporary scholarship in organizational communication research in a historical context. Communication Studies 390T (Topic: Foundations of Organizational Communication Theory) and 390T (Topic 4) may not both be counted.
Topic 5: Careers: Theory and Practice. Examination of the current interdisciplinary definitions, theories, and practices regarding careers and work in contemporary society. Addresses subjects such as employability and/or entrepreneurship, the effect of contemporary technologies, internal/subjective v external/objective success, and work/life balance. Communication Studies 390T (Topic: Careers: Theory and Practice) and 390T (Topic 5) may not both be counted.
CMS 390U. Consultation in Organizations.
A review of social science literature and its application to problem solving and organizational development in field settings. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Graduate standing. Some sections also require consent of instructor or the graduate adviser; these are identified in the Course Schedule.
CMS 392P. Seminar in Communication Technology.
Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing. Some sections also require consent of instructor or the graduate adviser; these are identified in the Course Schedule.
Topic 3: Communication in Virtual Groups. Examines how people think, feel, and communicate in geographically distributed groups using new technologies. Covers impression formation, impression management, anonymity and social identity, group norms, liking, conformity, trust, conflict, building common ground, and social influence processes.
Topic 4: Communication Technology Use in Organizations. Examines the theoretical and empirical work on the communicative functions of technology in the workplace.
Topic 5: Computer-Mediated Communication Models and Methods. Examines the theoretical and methodological assumptions of computer-mediated communication research. Topics include online impression formation and impression management, online romantic relationships, digital deception, online identity shift effects, and the effects of perceived anonymity when using new communication technologies.
Topic 6: Grant Writing in Communication. Discussion of the grant writing process, including reviewing actual grant proposals for analysis and critique.
CMS 395C. Topics in Strategic Communication.
Analyze strategic communication issues. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Topic 1: Persuasion, Advocacy, and Social Influence. Examine research and theory on interpersonal influence--what it takes to successfully persuade others in personal and organizational environments. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Additional prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Topic 2: The Art and Science of Social Media. Examine how to effectively engage with social media as both a consumer and an individual producer or creator. Explore personal brand identity, theories of human behavior and media consumption, and the rapidly changing media environment. Offered on the letter-grade basis only.
Topic 3: Communicating for Careers. Examine the current theories and practices regarding careers in communication. Create content for a portfolio in areas of interest as a resource for future employment. Offered on the letter-grade basis only.
Topic 4: Team Building. Explore how to foster effective teams through communication interventions. Offered on the letter-grade basis only.
Topic 5: Resisting Stereotyping and Prejudice. Examine problems posed by stereotyping and prejudice in communication and evidence-based research aimed at reducing their impact. Explore opportunities to seek constructive ways of identifying, defining, and addressing stereotyping and prejudice while engaging in communities. Offered on the letter-grade basis only.
Topic 6: Personal Identity Branding. Examine the skills and content involved in positioning individuals as experts or leaders in their field, increasing their credibility, distinguishing them from others, and expanding their circle of influence. Offered on the letter-grade basis only.
Topic 7: Social Media Strategies. Examine content creation, management of followers, and critical consumption of messages on social networks. Offered on the letter-grade basis only.
Topic 8: Managing Change through Communication. Explore strategies for creating, controlling, and adapting to change in organizations and groups. Examine how to deal with transformations in an organization's or group's goals, processes, or members. Offered on the letter-grade basis only.
Topic 9: Communication and Leadership. Examine leadership styles, predictors of effective leadership, and outcomes related to leadership in different contexts. Explore how to generate clear, persuasive messages and connect with audiences. Offered on the letter-grade basis only.
Topic 10: Crisis Communication. Examine frameworks through which crises may be addressed by leaders and members of groups, organizations, and communities by using past crises as case studies. Offered on the letter-grade basis only.
Topic 11: Conflict and Negotiation. Explore conflict, negotiation, and mediation with respect to interpersonal, group, organizational, and community contexts. Offered on the letter-grade basis only.
CMS 395M. Capstone in Strategic Communication.
Pursue the research interests and skills developed in other communication classes in-depth. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Graduate standing and at least 15 hours of graduate coursework.
CMS 395S. Topics in Sport Communication.
Analyze issues in sports communication. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Topic 1: Sports Audio and Video Storytelling. Examine the skills needed to produce audio and video packages used on radio, long-form podcasting, and broadcast and digital sports journalism. Explore techniques used to tell a story with an audio or video narrative. Offered on the letter-grade basis only.
Topic 2: Political and Crisis Communication in Sports Media. Examine frameworks through which crises may be addressed by athletes, coaches, teams, and leagues by using past crises as case studies. Explore the role of athlete activism. Offered on the letter-grade basis only.
Topic 3: Negotiation in Sports. Explore negotiation and mediation with respect to sports media, personnel contracts, and intergroup conflict. Offered on the letter-grade basis only.
CMS 698. Thesis.
The equivalent of three lecture hours a week for two semesters. Offered on the credit/no credit basis only. Prerequisite: For 698A, graduate standing in communication studies and consent of the graduate adviser; for 698B, Communication Studies 698A.
CMS 398R. Master's Report.
Preparation of a report to fulfill the requirement for the master's degree under the report option. The equivalent of three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the credit/no credit basis only. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in communication studies and consent of the graduate adviser.
CMS 398T. Supervised Teaching in Communication Studies.
Teaching communication studies under supervision. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
CMS 399W, 699W, 999W. Dissertation.
May be repeated for credit. Offered on the credit/no credit basis only. Prerequisite: Admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree.