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COM ARTS 100 Introduction to Speech Composition

3 cr (aEC)

Teaches students to give effective oral presentations in a variety of public speaking situations and to become better consumers of written and oral discourse. Students will also learn basic composition and outlining skills as well as library research techniques.

Prerequisites: Students who are required to take the MSN ESLAT cannot enroll unless they have satisfied the ESL 118 requirement. Not open to students who have credit for COM ARTS 105 or 181.


COM ARTS 105 Public Speaking

2 cr (EC)

Development of fundamental skills in the preparation, delivery, and evaluation of the common forms of public address.

Prerequisites: Not open to students who have credit for COM ARTS 100 or 181.


COM ARTS 155 Introduction to Digital Media Production

4 cr (EC)

Teaches students the skills they need to produce, engage with, and understand new and emerging technologies within the context of communication and creative expression. Students will become more critical consumers and producers of digital media.

Prerequisites: Undergraduate students only (excludes Grad, Pharm, Law, Med, Vet Med, Guest, Special students).


COM ARTS 181 Elements of Speech-Honors Course

3 cr (aEC) Honors Only

The process of oral communication; principles of effective speaking; application of principles in selected speaking and reading projects.

Prerequisites: Students who are required to take the MSN ESLAT cannot enroll unless they have satisfied the ESL 118 requirement. Not open to students who have credit for COM ARTS 100 or 105.


COM ARTS 198 Directed Study

1-3 cr (EC)

Graded on a Cr/N basis

Prerequisites: Open to Fr & So only. Requires written cons inst.


COM ARTS 199 Directed Study

1-3 cr (EC)

Graded on a lettered basis

Prerequisites: Open to Fr & So only. Requires written cons inst.


COM ARTS 200 Introduction to Digital Communication

3 cr (HSEC)

An introduction to digital communication and how it shapes our everyday lives. Students will develop digital communication skills, explore digital media tools and trends, and examine expressions of power online.

Prerequisites: None.


COM ARTS 210 Topics in Communication Arts

3 cr (EC)

Introductory exploration of a current topic in Communication Arts.

Prerequisites: Varies with topic.


COM ARTS 236 Bascom Course

3 cr (bEC)

A low-enrollment course developing skills in critical reading, logical thinking, use of evidence, and use of library resources. Emphasis on writing in the conventions of specific fields.

Prerequisites: Successful completion of or exemption from Com A requirement. Open to Fr.


COM ARTS 250 Survey of Contemporary Media

3 cr (HEC)

Key concepts for the critical analysis of television, film, radio, and digital media. Focusing primarily on meanings, aesthetics, technology, media industries, representations, and audiences.

Prerequisites: None.


COM ARTS 260 Communication and Human Behavior

3 cr (HSEC)

Concepts and processes relevant to the study of communication and human behavior including approaches to communication inquiry, the dynamics of face-to-face interaction, and the pragmatic and artistic functions of public communication.

Prerequisites: None.


COM ARTS 262 Theory and Practice of Argumentation and Debate

3 cr (bHIC)

Practice in preparation and delivery of various types of argumentative speeches and debates.

Prerequisites: None.


COM ARTS 263 Speech Composition

3 cr (bIC)

Application of rhetorical theory to composition, study of model speeches, and writing of speeches.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 100 or 181 or cons inst.


COM ARTS 266 Theory and Practice of Group Discussion

3 cr (bSEC)

Structure and dynamics of small group decision-making. Critical and creative problems in group interaction processes.

Prerequisites: Not open to students who have taken COM ARTS 276.


COM ARTS 272 Introduction to Interpersonal Communication

3 cr (bSEC)

Survey of concepts, theories, and research concerning communication across all phases of interpersonal relationships, focusing on both theoretical and practical applications.

Prerequisites: Not open to students who have taken COM ARTS 273 or 276.


COM ARTS 273 Theory and Practice of Interpersonal Communication

3 cr (SEC)

Survey of concepts, theories, and research concerning communication across all phases of interpersonal relationships, focusing on both theoretical and practical applications. Does not satisfy the Com B requirement.

Prerequisites: Students who have taken Communication Arts 272 or 276 may not enroll in this course.


COM ARTS 288 Honors Seminar in Communication Arts

3 cr (EC) Honors Only

Freshmen/Sophomore Honors seminar. Topic varies.

Prerequisites: Fr & So only.


COM ARTS 298 Directed Study

1-3 cr (IC)

Graded on a Cr/N basis.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 198 or Jr st. Requires cons inst.


COM ARTS 299 Directed Study

1-3 cr (IC)

Graded on a lettered basis.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 199 or Jr st. Requires cons inst.


COM ARTS 300 Film Comedy

3 cr (HIC)

An exploration of the comedy genre, examining theories of humor in film; introducing conceptual tools for critical appreciation and analysis; and investigating different subgenres and tendencies prominent in various phases and traditions of popular film comedy.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.


COM ARTS 310 Topics in Rhetoric and Communication Science

3 cr (IC)

Students explore a topic in rhetoric or communication science; the topic varies from semester to semester.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.


COM ARTS 313 Topics in Film and Media Studies

3 cr (HIC)

Students explore a topic in film and media studies, history, and theory; the topic varies from semester to semester.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.


COM ARTS 316 Gender and Communication

3 cr (HIC)

Effective communication requires awareness of how gender influences communication and our capacity to build lasting and meaningful relationships. Learn about theories and concepts to understand how gender influences our interpersonal, professional, and social lives. Topics include terms and concepts relevant to the study of how we communicate about gender, sex and sexuality, including identity, language and nonverbal behavior, socialization, close personal relationships, education, work, violence, media and social movements.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.


COM ARTS 317 Rhetoric and Health

3 cr (HIC)

Investigate how the concept of health is rhetorically constructed and deployed in a number of different contexts. Explore how language and argument shape our understanding of health, how health is positioned in opposition to illness and disability, and how the meaning of health has become a site of argument and controversy.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.


COM ARTS 325 Media and Human Behavior

3 cr (SIC)

Investigate the ways in which individuals use, create, and respond to media content in the context of increasingly blurred boundaries between “mass” and “interpersonal” media. We will consider social scientific theories and research on a wide array of topics, including media uses and effects with regard to social connection, learning, judgments, perceptions, stereotypes, violence, consumption, and political participation.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.


COM ARTS 345 Online Communication and Personal Relationships

3 cr (SIC)

Examines how personal relationships unfold in online communication contexts (social network sites, online dating, video games). Topics include impression formation and management, deception and trust, self-perception and identity, social support and relationship maintenance.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.


COM ARTS 346 Critical Internet Studies

3 cr (HIC)

Traces the Internet’s history, reception, audience, industries, rhetorics, fictional and filmic narratives, and potential as a purveyor and transmitter of culture and values.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.


COM ARTS 347 Race, Ethnicity, and Media

3 cr (eHIC)

Introduction to the changing images of race and ethnicity in U.S. entertainment media and popular culture. Surveys history, key concepts and contemporary debates regarding mediated representation of ethnic minorities. Critical and cultural studies approaches are emphasized.

Prerequisites: None.


COM ARTS 350 Introduction to Film

3 cr (HIC)

Explains how films work using classics such as CITIZEN KANE, VERTIGO, BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN, THE MATRIX, and DO THE RIGHT THING (all shown during the “lab” screenings). Students study film as an art form and a medium, cover all the major film types (silent, classical, and contemporary narrative cinema, art cinema, animation, documentary, and experimental film), and get introduced to two basic approaches to film criticism: authorship criticism and genre criticism. They learn to recognize film techniques–mise-en-scène, cinematography, editing, and sound–and to analyze how filmmakers make us watch, think, and feel.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing or COM ARTS 250.


COM ARTS 351 Television Industries

3 cr (HIC)

Critical overview of the cultural industries driving television in the United States, from broadcast networks and cable to downloading and streaming, focusing on economic and regulatory structures, programming practices, labor, globalization,audiences, and adaptations to changing conditions in the digital age.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing or COM ARTS 250.


COM ARTS 352 Film History to 1960

3 cr (HIC)

Development of cinema as a communication medium and art form from its origins to the 1960s. Attention given to national cinemas and international trends through the study of landmark films.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 350 or cons inst.


COM ARTS 354 Film Genres

3 cr (HIC)

Explores six major film genres — musical; thriller; comedy; horror; drama; and melodrama — investigating their narrative and stylistic conventions and the principles underlying them. Critical, historical, and theoretical approaches examine definitional criteria and ambiguities; key elements, functions, goals, and effects; and significant subgenres, cycles, and trends.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 350.


COM ARTS 355 Introduction to Media Production

4 cr (IC)

Theory and practice of media production and screenwriting.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing or COM ARTS 155.


COM ARTS 357 History of the Animated Film

3 cr (HIC)

Survey of the development of animation as a motion picture production technique, as a film genre, a part of the Hollywood classical cinema, and an independent art form.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.


COM ARTS 358 History of Documentary Film

3 cr (HIC)

Development and history of documentary film and video from Lumiere to the present.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 350 or declared in Communication Arts MA or PhD.


COM ARTS 359 Sports Media

3 cr (HIC)

Examines sports media using the frameworks of media and cultural studies. The relationship between sports and popular culture provides an important site for understanding and critiquing the media’s relationships to social, cultural, economic, and political structures. Topics for discussion will include sports media industries and technologies; representations of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, and other identities; and the intersection of sports media cultures with such issues as activism and social change, ethics and morality, gambling and fantasy sports, celebrity athletes, and fandom.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 250 or 351.


COM ARTS 360 Introduction to Rhetoric in Politics and Culture

3 cr (HIC)

An introduction to the study of rhetoric in politics and culture. Explores the interrelationship of theory, criticism, and practice. Students gain an understanding of rhetoric as a social force emerging from political and cultural contexts and as an influence on those contexts.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing or COM ARTS 260.


COM ARTS 361 Introduction to Quantitative Research in Communication

3 cr (rSIC)

An introduction to social science research methods and statistical analyses applicable to the study of communication research and mass media effects.

Prerequisites: Enrollment limited to students with at least sophomore standing and completion of QRA requirement.


COM ARTS 368 Theory and Practice of Persuasion

3 cr (SIC)

A theory-based examination of the role of communication in attitude formation and planned social change. Analysis and creation of persuasive messages.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.


COM ARTS 370 Great Speakers and Speeches

3 cr (HIC)

Significant speeches from throughout history, generally from the United States. Speakers studied include Pericles, Abraham Lincoln, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Frederick Douglass, Emma Watson, John F. Kennedy, Barbara Jordan, Nelson Mandela.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing or COM ARTS 260.


COM ARTS 371 Communication and Conflict Resolution

3 cr (SIC)

Examines intra- and interpersonal theories of the causes and functions of conflict. Focuses on message strategies for conflict resolution and/or management. Both theoretical and applied issues.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.


COM ARTS 372 Rhetoric of Campaigns and Revolutions

3 cr (eHIC)

Public discourse as it affects and reflects the process of dynamic social change. Historical and contemporary instances of rhetorical processes.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.


COM ARTS 373 Intercultural Communication & Rhetoric

3 cr (eHSIC)

The transnational movement of people, goods, and discourses blurs the boundaries between the local and global, making intercultural communication and rhetoric essential to our personal and public lives. We explore how rhetoric and communication function between and across cultures and examine how culture, history, and power constitute our cultural identities, our modes of communication, and how we engage with others.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.


COM ARTS 374 The Rhetoric of Religion

3 cr (HIC)

Rhetorical character of religious controversy and sectarian persuasion in Western religion.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.


COM ARTS 375 Ethics of Entertainment Media

3 cr (HIC)

Students develop skills for viewing and interrogating entertainment media through the lens of ethical theory and to articulate their own ethical stance on a diverse range of media, including documentary film, sports entertainment, reality television, and digital media. By approaching ethics from a media studies perspective, we will ask questions about how media are produced, how audiences are created and engaged, how communities and cultures are represented, and how we should respond to these different forms of media and the ethical questions that they raise.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.


COM ARTS 376 Topics in Digital Studies (Radio, Television, & Film)

3 cr (IC)

Students explore topics in film and media studies, with a digital focus.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.


COM ARTS 377 Topics in Digital Studies (Communication Science & Rhetoric)

3 cr (IC)

Explore topics in communication science and rhetoric, with a digital focus.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.


COM ARTS 400 The Films of Alfred Hitchcock

3 cr (HIC)

Studies the major films of Alfred Hitchcock. Investigates the enduring power of his movies; contributions to genre and popular cinema; storytelling techniques; stylistic mastery; approach to romance, suspense, and action; status as an American auteur; and control over the audience’s thoughts and feelings.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 350 or declared in Communication Arts MA or PhD.


COM ARTS 402 Psychology of Communication

3 cr (SIC)

The role and function of information processing in human communication behavior.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.


COM ARTS 418 Gender, Sexuality, and the Media

3 cr (HSIC)

Examines images of gender and sexuality in the media, with a focus on contemporary media in the U.S. Using theories from cultural studies, film and media studies, gender studies, and communication we will explore different processes and practices of gender and sexuality. Look at the way that gender and sexuality are constructed through social, cultural, and economic forces, and the way that these identities intersect with other social identities such as race, ethnicity, and class. Consider the way that media impact our understanding of feminism and post-feminism, violence, celebrity, consumer culture, subcultures and activism.

Prerequisites: Must have grad standing or have taken one of the following courses: Gender & Women's Studies 101, 102, or 103, or Gender & Women's Sociology 200, or Communication Arts 250.


COM ARTS 419 Latino/as and Media

3 cr (HIC)

Critical and historical survey of the participation and representation of Latino/as in U.S. film, television, and popular culture, with a primary focus on Hispanic representation in Hollywood-produced imagery. The counter-images of Latino and Latina media producers also will be explored.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.


COM ARTS 420 Asian Americans and Media

3 cr (eHIC)

Examines representations of Asian American in American media using historical, analytical, and critical approaches. Issues of cultural production, identity, race, politics, and gender are linked to examinations of specific media forms.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 347 or So st.


COM ARTS 448 Media and National Identity

3 cr (IC)

Examination of the various roles that film, television, and other media play in creating, challenging, and negotiating national and global identities.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 250 is a prereq for the course..


COM ARTS 449 Sound Cultures: Podcasting and Music

3 cr (HIC)

Sound plays a crucial but understudied role in experiences of media and cultural life. From the mundane sounds of our daily routines to the irresistible refrains of our favorite songs, sound (in its various guises as noise, music, echo, vibration, etc.) is fundamental to communications media and, more broadly, to our perceptions of the world around us. This class will introduce you to the emerging field of sound studies and encourage you to investigate the role sound and music (or lack thereof) play in various communications media. Through audio assignments such as the creation of podcasts, we will learn the basics of digital audio recording and editing software and how to present and distribute audio content via the Internet, specifically as podcasts. By the end of this class, you will have both practical skills for creating digital audio projects and a deeper appreciation for how paying attention to sound leads to unique understandings of history, culture, and media technologies.

Prerequisites: Junior standing.


COM ARTS 450 Cultural History of Broadcasting

3 cr (HIC)

Traces the development of broadcasting as a cultural institution, examining the emergence of radio and television within the context of national identity and globalization.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 250 is a prereq for the course.


COM ARTS 451 Television Criticism

3 cr (IC)

Analysis of selected television programming, interpretation of contemporary television programs, and survey of existing critical approaches.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 351.


COM ARTS 454 Critical Film Analysis

3 cr (HAC)

Intensive analysis of selected films, using contemporary critical theories and methods.

Prerequisites: Communication Arts 350 & Junior Standing or Communication Arts Graduate Student.


COM ARTS 455 French Film

3 cr (HAC)

Survey of French cinema from 1895 to the present. Emphasis on aesthetic trends, film movements, film industry, and cultural context.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 350 or declared in Communication Arts MA or PhD.


COM ARTS 456 Russian and Soviet Film

3 cr (HIC)

Survey of Russian and Soviet cinema from the pre-Revolutionary era to the present. Works by major filmmakers will be viewed and discussed in the context of cultural politics.

Prerequisites: Enroll Info: COM ARTS 350 or coursework in Russian area studies.


COM ARTS 458 Global Media Cultures

3 cr (HIC)

Analysis of media systems, practices and uses from a global perspective.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 351.


COM ARTS 459 New Media and Society

3 cr (HIC)

Explores political, economic and cultural relationships between new media of communication and society, including issues of history, race, gender, class, globalization, national identity and everyday life.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 346.


COM ARTS 460 Italian Film

3 cr (HAC)

General survey of Italian film and of the relationship between film and the other arts. Consideration of film theory and of the Italian and European socio-political situation in the context of film production.

Prerequisites: Enroll Info: Students taking course for credit toward Italian major must have Ital 204 or equiv; all other students must have COM ARTS 350 or cons inst.


COM ARTS 461 Global Art Cinema

3 cr (HIC)

In the wake of World War Two, European directors began making films that employed location shooting, ambiguity, psychological realism, and unfamiliar stylistic flourishes. Such films drew on literary modernism, experimenting with time shifting, extreme duration, subjectivity, and reflexivity. “Art cinema,” as it came to be called, is now the dominant storytelling mode of the contemporary film festival circuit and constitutes a robust alternative to mainstream genre cinema. This course explores art cinema from a variety of national and transnational contexts, analyzing its narratives, styles, and cultural contexts. It investigates the work of directors from the first generation of art cinema, including Michelangelo Antonioni, Robert Bresson, Ingmar Bergman, and Agnès Varda, and more recent work by Aki Kaurismäki, Abbas Kiarostami, Wong Kar-wai, and Claire Denis.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 350.


COM ARTS 462 American Independent Cinema

3 cr (AC)

History of American independent narrative cinema with particular attention to the impact various art movements and subcultures have had on its development over the past 60 years.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 350.


COM ARTS 463 Avant-Garde Film

3 cr (HAC)

This course examines the history and aesthetics of avant-garde/experimental film from its beginnings in the early 1920s to the present. Key aesthetic programs are studied with attention to their relation to adjacent movements in art and critical theory.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 350 & 354.


COM ARTS 465 Editing and Post-Production for Video and Film

4 cr (AC)

Focus on the theory and practice of video editing and post-production. Gain a thorough understanding of narrative editing techniques, color correction, audio post-production and the requisite software. Discusses the art of post-production and how post-production affects narrative function in moving picture media (including films, music videos, and television). Assignments include editing a short film, color correction, sound editing/mixing and editing half of an assigned feature-length film. Enroll Info: When offered during the fall or spring semester, students need to submit an advanced production application to be considered for the course. When offered during the summer, no application is required.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 355.


COM ARTS 466 Writing for Television and Film

3 cr (AC)

Basic introduction to the elements of a successful dramatic screenplay. Particular emphasis placed on story concept, dramatic structure, character development, dialogue, and visual storytelling.

Prerequisites: Enroll Info: COM ARTS 355 and cons inst.


COM ARTS 467 Cinematography and Sound Recording

4 cr (AC)

Learn the fundamentals of sync-sound moving image production, including cinematography, lighting, sound recording, and production logistics. With an emphasis on dramatic visual storytelling, students will produce scenes from existing scripts, rotating the positions of director of photography, assistant camera, gaffer, mixer, and boom operator for each script. Additionally, directing, editing, and color grading will be covered, and students will be responsible for casting, location scouting, and set-building in order to successfully produce each scene. Students will leave the course knowing the interworkings of a film crew, the operation of digital cinema technologies, and have a better understanding of visual and aural storytelling aesthetics and techniques. Enroll Info: When offered during the fall or spring semester, students need to submit an advanced production application to be considered for the course. When offered during the summer, no application is required.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 355.


COM ARTS 468 Producing for Internet TV and Video

3 cr (AC)

Producing Internet television and video (which encompasses a wide range of media content, from expensive Netflix and Amazon shows to low-budget YouTube channels). With its focus on “producing” and the role of the producer, combines the hands-on production work of writing, shooting, and editing videos with an emphasis on entrepreneurship and the innovation of sustainable business models. Work in groups to produce videos across three Internet video genres-music video, comedy short, and commercial. All will occupy the role of the producer for one of the assignments. Additionally, complete a final project that is a business plan for a new Internet TV program or venture. Enroll Info: When offered during the fall or spring semester, students need to submit an advanced production application to be considered for the course. When offered during the summer, no application is required.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 155 or 355.


COM ARTS 469 Interdisciplinary Studies in the Arts

1-4 cr (IC)

Guest artists will offer interdisciplinary courses on topics appropriate to their specializations.

Prerequisites: None.


COM ARTS 470 Contemporary Political Discourse

3 cr (HIC)

Examines themes, genres, and significant instances of contemporary political discourse, as well as issues and concerns that arise in public discussions of political discourse. Case studies and theoretical analyses are considered.

Prerequisites: Junior standing.


COM ARTS 472 Rhetoric and Technology

3 cr (HAC)

Explore the technologies of rhetoric and the rhetoric of technology’s impact on the culture from which it emerges. Collect and apply a number of perspectives on the relationship between technology and society; explore the effect of various technologies on rhetorical practices; investigate the way that technology extends the body’s capacity; think through collective affective reactions – such as optimism, panic, and wonder – in response to new technologies; and consider carefully why and how controversies about technology take shape in the public sphere.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.


COM ARTS 476 Nature of Criticism-The Public Arts of Communication

3 cr (HIC)

A survey of rhetorical criticism methods. Students apply these methods to landmark historical and contemporary texts – from presidential war discourse to women’s suffrage rhetoric to timely political debates.

Prerequisites: Junior standing.


COM ARTS 478 Rhetoric and Power on the Internet

3 cr (HIC)

Explores and analyzes Internet communication as a magnifier, transmitter, and limiter of power for both individual people and institutions with special attention to the roles of politics, social issues, and justice. Students use rhetorical analysis to engage in the critical assessment of Internet media content that exerts power in their lives.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.


COM ARTS 509 Digital Media and Political Communication

3 cr (SAC)

Course examines core questions related to the impacts of digital media (including but not limited to the Internet) on processes of political communication and the health of democratic governance in advanced industrialized democracies.

Prerequisites: Junior standing.


COM ARTS 513 Topics in Communication Arts: Study Abroad

1-6 cr (IC)

A course carried with a UW-Madison study abroad program, which has no equivalent on this campus.

Prerequisites: Enroll info: Current registration in a UW-Madison study abroad program.


COM ARTS 522 Digitally Documenting Everyday Communication

3 cr (HSAC)

Teaches the use of digital recording technologies, archiving, and analysis of everyday communication and culture. Surveys scholarly approaches to everyday expressive communication.

Prerequisites: Junior standing.


COM ARTS 525 Media, Deliberation, and Public Issues

3 cr (SAC)

In our contemporary media environment, more news about politics is created and consumed than ever before, but by smaller and smaller numbers of people than in previous decades. In this class we explore how political issues are communicated and debated in the media, and how they are understood (or not) by individual media users, with an eye toward how these dynamics impact the health of communication processes in democratic systems.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 260.


COM ARTS 540 Television Genres

3 cr (AC)

An examination of a specific television genre, analyzing it as a narrative, economic, cultural, and political entity and exploring its role in perpetuating and/or challenging ideas of what society is or could be.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 250 and 351.


COM ARTS 547 Digital Game Cultures

3 cr (AC)

An examination of the forms, practices, economies, institutions, politics, and modes of engagement that make digital games an important site of culture and power.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 250 and (COM ARTS 351 or 346) and junior standing.


COM ARTS 552 Contemporary Hollywood Cinema

3 cr (AC)

An examination of contemporary Hollywood films focusing on the interrelations of cinematic narrative, style, technology, and institutions. It surveys the work of major directors and considers the box office impact of key genres and film cycles. Among the films screened in the course are DIE HARD, TOY STORY, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS and INCEPTION.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 350.


COM ARTS 556 The American Film Industry in the Era of the Studio System

3 cr (AC)

Influences of industrial structure, trade policies, foreign markets and censorship on Hollywood’s production practices up to 1948.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 350 or declared in Communication Arts MA or PhD.


COM ARTS 557 Contemporary Media Industries

3 cr (AC)

Analysis of major trends in media industries since the 1970s with special emphasis on conglomeration, globalization, new technologies, and changing modes of production and distribution.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 350 or COM ARTS 351.


COM ARTS 560 Communication Theory

3 cr (HSAC)

Introduction and survey of contributions of behavioral science and philosophy to a unified theory of communication.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 260.


COM ARTS 562 Theories of Deliberation and Controversy

3 cr (HAC)

Examination of theories of deliberation and controversy. Application of theories to public controversies.

Prerequisites: Com Arts 262.


COM ARTS 565 Communication and Interethnic Behavior

3 cr (eSAC)

The relation of communication processes to interethnic and interracial attitudes and behavior. Social and psychological foundations of interethnic communication and conflict, group identification and communication processes, interpersonal communication and culture, communication about race and ethnicity, mass media content and effects.

Prerequisites: Junior standing.


COM ARTS 570 Classical Rhetorical Theory

3 cr (HAC)

Study of major theories of rhetoric from their origins in ancient Greece to Bacon, including theories of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Quintilian, Longinus, St. Augustine, and others.

Prerequisites: Students must have completed two of the following courses: COM ARTS 262, 360, 370, 372, 374, 470, 472, or 562.


COM ARTS 571 Contemporary Rhetorical Theory

3 cr (HAC)

Study of contemporary theories of rhetoric and significant conceptual issues in contemporary rhetorical inquiry. Attention to theorists within field of rhetoric as well as others who have influenced rhetorical theory.

Prerequisites: Students must have completed two of the following courses: COM ARTS 262, 360, 370, 372, 374, 470, 472, or 562.


COM ARTS 573 Rhetoric of Globalization and Transnationalism

3 cr (HSAC)

Students are introduced to basic concepts in global and transnational rhetorical studies and provided with the analytic tools to examine discourses about globalization and transnationalism produced by key global actors including transnational corporations, states, global institutions such as the World Bank, media producers, human rights advocates, and activists.

Prerequisites: Junior standing.


COM ARTS 574 Rhetoric of U.S. Immigration and Naturalization

3 cr (eHIC)

Students explore U.S. immigration and naturalization rhetoric across various spheres: federal, state, and grassroots. Patterns of immigration and naturalization rhetoric, the tactics different actors use, and the transformations that have taken place since the founding of the U.S. republic are examined.

Prerequisites: Enroll infor: Junior Standing.


COM ARTS 575 Communication in Complex Organizations

3 cr (SAC)

Examine problem solving within complex organizations. Study communication pitfalls, decision-making biases, and problem-solving blind spots that negatively affect one’s ability to communicate. Learn to innovate in teams and make high- quality decisions.

Prerequisites: Junior standing.


COM ARTS 577 Dynamics of Online Relationships

3 cr (AC)

Examines how people form their identities and manage their personal relationships using new communication technologies (social network sites, online dating, video games). Emphasis will be placed on how humans adapt to technology and use it for social purposes.

Prerequisites: A research methods course in the social sciences, specifically COM ARTS 361, PSYCH 210, SOC/​C&E SOC 360 or Stats 301. Instructor approval required for other methods courses..


COM ARTS 605 Digital Studies Capstone

1 cr (AC)

Students synthesize the material they have learned throughout the Digital Studies certificate program and explore opportunities for professional and personal growth based on their experience. To enroll, students must be in the Digital Studies Certificate student and be seniors.

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.


COM ARTS 608 Special Topics in Media and Cultural Studies

3 cr (AC)

Specialized topics and issues in media and cultural studies.

Prerequisites: Enroll Info: Varies with topic.


COM ARTS 609 Lecture 1 Essential Digital Media Production for Graduate Students

3 cr (AC)

The integration of digital technologies into our daily lives is changing the landscapes of media, communication, and education. Scholars are increasingly expected to be able to use digital media tools to build, extend, and share scholarship, rather than simply treating digital media as an object of study to be written about. Teachers are expected to use digital technology to extend and expand their instruction. The course will offer training in practical skills and broad concepts integral to the production of digital media projects, with particular emphasis on the manipulation and synthesis of moving images, sound, text, and databases. Topics covered include:
– Web design using HTML and CSS.
– Graphic design using Photoshop.
– Podcasting: recording, sound editing, distribution, and preservation.
– Digital video: cinematography, lighting, sound, editing, and compression.
– Data mark-up and visualization using XML, XSLT, R, and other tools.
– Fundamentals of computing and basic database structures.
– The challenges of digital preservation, as well as the greatest challenge of all: creating valuable digital projects that are worth preserving.

This course welcomes inter-disciplinarity; some of the best digital humanities projects have borrowed methods of data-intensive analysis from the sciences and social sciences. No pre-existing video production, podcasting, web development, or computer programming knowledge is required. Patience and curiosity, on the other hand, are mandatory.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 355 and cons inst.


COM ARTS 609 Screen Directing

3 cr (AC)

Screen Directing is a course designed to further a student’s fiction filmmaking skills by exploring the directorial work of interpreting and pre-visualizing narrative scripts, staging them for the camera, blocking and directing actors, and producing impactful scenes for the screen.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 355 and cons inst.


COM ARTS 610 Special Topics In Rhetoric And Public Address

3 cr (AC)

Specialized subject matter of current interest in rhetoric and public address.

Prerequisites: Enroll Info: Varies with topic.


COM ARTS 612 Special Topics In Communication Science

3 cr (AC)

Specialized subject matter of current interest in communication theory and research.

Prerequisites: Enroll Info: Varies with topic.


COM ARTS 613 Special Topics in Film

3 cr (AC)

Specialized topics and issues in film history, theory, and criticism.

Prerequisites: Enroll Info: Varies with topic.


COM ARTS 614 Field Experience in Communication

1 cr (AC)

Application of communication concepts to problems in such professional field settings as business organizations, media firms, political offices and organizations, and governmental agencies. (Does not count toward the 30-credit requirement for undergrad majors in Communication Arts).

Prerequisites: Enroll Info: Undergrad COM ARTS majors only; approval of specific internship design by COM ARTS undergrad advisor.


COM ARTS 615 Second Field Experience in Communication

1 cr (AC)

Application of communication concepts to problems in such field settings as business organizations, media firms, political offices and organizations, and governmental agencies. (Does not count toward the 30-credit requirement for undergrad majors in Communication Arts.)

Prerequisites: Enroll info: COM ARTS 614; Undergrad Comm Arts majors only; approval of specific internship design by Comm Arts undergrad advisor.


COM ARTS 616 Mass Media and Youth

3 cr (SAC)

Children’s and adolescents’ use of mass media and mass media effects on them. Particular attention is given to changes in comprehension and other cognitive activities that give insights into media use and effects.

Prerequisites: JOURN 202, COM ARTS 325, ED PSYCH 320, HDFS 362, PSYCH 460 OR LSC 251(or Psych 560 prior to Fall 2017).


COM ARTS 617 Health Communication in the Information Age

3 cr (SAC)

This course will examine the role of communication in health, how the revolution in information technology has affected health communication, and the assumptions about health information and communication that drive current efforts to use technologies.

Prerequisites: Junior standing.


COM ARTS 626 Youth Development And Social Media: Interdisciplinary Training Seminar

1 cr (C)

Advanced level seminar that involves critical analysis of conceptual and methodological issues underlying empirical research on how social media affect and are affected by adolescent development, provides a venue for feedback on design of research studies involving youth and social media, and fosters interdisciplinary approaches to studying connections between youth development and social media use.

Prerequisites: Graduate/professional standing.


COM ARTS 651 Advanced Video Production and Direction

3 cr (AC)

Remote video production in both documentary and narrative genres.

Prerequisites: Enroll Info: COM ARTS 355 and written cons inst.


COM ARTS 655 German Film

3 cr (HAC)

Important filmmakers from 1910 to the present; their relation to German cultural and social history of the period.

Prerequisites: Enroll Info: For German credit: one 300 level course or above; or cons inst. For COM ARTS credit: COM ARTS 350.


COM ARTS 659 Advanced Motion Picture Production Workshop

4 cr (AC)

A capstone course in digital cinema. Provides students with an immersive experience in the art of visual and aural storytelling. This workshop is structured around the creation of a half-hour finished film, planned and completed as a group, with roles matching those of a professional crew: director, production manager, cinematographer, camera assistant, gaffer, sound designer, art director, and editor. Working with an existing script and using state-of-the-art digital tools, students will gain knowledge in a wide variety of motion-picture production skills. Most importantly, students explore the meanings and nuances of a script, making the artistic choices necessary to bring the story to the screen. Students learn to collaborate as a group, balancing the responsibilities of their role with the needs of their fellow crew and the finished film. At the conclusion of the semester, the class present their completed film in a public, campus screening. Meets with CA 609 – Advanced Motion Picture Techniques. The combination of CA659 and CA609 is 7 credits.

Prerequisites: Consent of Instructor.


COM ARTS 667 History of American Public Address

3 cr (HAC)

Public discourse of selected movements and periods in American history.

Prerequisites: Two of the following: COM ARTS 360, 370, 372, 374, 470, 472, 570, 571, 576, or 675; or cons inst.


COM ARTS 669 Film Theory

3 cr (HAC)

Survey of significant trends within both classical and contemporary film theory. Designed for serious students interested in reading, analyzing, and evaluating the central concepts and intellectual history of writings about film, particularly with respect to film as a medium presenting an array of aesthetic, psychological, and social potentialities. Whereas classical film theory attempts to treat cinema as a unique art form, contemporary film theory addresses issues related to cinema as a mode of communication, a source of visual pleasure, and as an ideological tool. Much contemporary theory attempts to incorporate the insights of other critical and analytical paradigms, such as semiotics, psychoanalysis, feminism, queer theory, critical race theory, postmodernism, and cognitive science. Questions regarding the ontology of cinema, its relation to existing theories of art, its effects on spectators, and the various ways in which its formal properties create meaning are considered.

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 350 or graduate/professional standing.


COM ARTS 671 Communication and Social Conflict

3 cr (AC)

Survey of current theory and research on conflict in face-to-face interaction.

Prerequisites: Enroll Info: COM ARTS 572 or 560 or cons inst.


COM ARTS 681 Senior Honors Thesis

3 cr (AC) Honors Only

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor. Enroll Info: Sr st. Member of the honors program & cons inst.


COM ARTS 682 Senior Honors Thesis

3 cr (AC) Honors Only

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor. Enroll Info: Sr st. Member of the honors program & cons inst.


COM ARTS 691 Senior Thesis

2-3 cr (AC)

Prerequisites: Sr st and 3.25 GPA and written cons inst.


COM ARTS 692 Senior Thesis

2-3 cr (AC)

Prerequisites: COM ARTS 691 and written cons inst.


COM ARTS 698 Directed Study

1-3 cr (AC)

Graded on a Cr/N basis.

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor. Enroll Info: Jr or Sr st. Requires written cons inst.


COM ARTS 699 Directed Study

1-3 cr (AC)

Graded on a lettered basis.

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor. Enroll Info: Jr or Sr st. Requires written cons inst.


COM ARTS 704 Intellectual Sources of Contemporary Composition Theory I - Classical

3 cr ()

Selected issues in the history of rhetoric, concentrating on classical theories of invention, and their importance for contemporary issues in composition theory.

Prerequisites: Graduate/professional standing.


COM ARTS 705 Introductory Analytics For Decision Making

3 cr ()

Introduces key stages in the processes of gathering and analyzing data for decision making, including tasks, methods, and tools used at each stage. Topics include developing the research question from organizational goals, choosing appropriate data collection methods, sampling, basics of measurement and question design, managing and visualizing data, descriptive statistics and basic inferential statistics such as correlations, regressions, and ANOVA.

Prerequisites: Graduate/professional standing or Declared in Analytics for Decision Making capstone certificate.


COM ARTS 760 Advances in Communication Theories

3 cr ()

In-depth review and evaluation of behavioral and social scientific theories of human communication.

Prerequisites: Graduate/professional standing.


COM ARTS 762 Communication Research Methods

3 cr ()

Epistemological and methodological pinciples of behavioral and social scientific research of particular relevance to communication research, including various research designs and modes of observation, casual inferences, and basic hands-on experiences in empirical research.

Prerequisites: Graduate/professional standing.


COM ARTS 799 Independent Study

1-3 cr ()

Devised by a staff member in collaboration with students.

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.


COM ARTS 817 Couple Relationships: Theory, Research, and Application

3 cr ()

This course will review current research on the nature, dynamics, and developmental course of couple relationships and explore the implications of this scientific knowledge for prevention/intervention programs and policy. Contemporary theories and empirical research will be examined.

Prerequisites: Graduate/professional standing.


Com Arts 831 PSYCHOLOGY OF ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA

3 cr ()

Provides an an in-depth look into entertainment media, including its effects on individuals, social groups, and society. The focus on entertainment content is across platforms – from “mass” to social media. Emphasis will be paid to psychological, individual-level effects.

Prerequisites: Graduate/professional standing.


COM ARTS 902 Film Colloquium

1 cr (C)

Studies in advanced research in film history, theory and criticism.

Prerequisites: Grad st in Comm Arts.


COM ARTS 903 Media and Cultural Studies Colloquium

1 cr (C)

Current research in cultural studies, audience effects, broadcast regulation, history of broadcasting and comparative national systems.

Prerequisites: Grad st in Comm Arts.


COM ARTS 904 Communication Science Colloquium

1 cr (C)

Social scientific approaches to the study of interpersonal communication and media effects.

Prerequisites: Grad st in Comm Arts.


COM ARTS 905 Rhetoric, Politics, and Culture Colloquium

1 cr (C)

Advanced research in rhetorical theory and criticism, and in the history of public address.

Prerequisites: Grad st in Comm Arts.


COM ARTS 940 Seminar: Media, Culture, and the Public Sphere

2-3 cr (C)

Analysis and critique of public sphere theories of the media, pre- and post-Habermas, including concepts of citizenship and nation, media and democracy, globalization and culural hierarchies. Implications for media policy and structures.

Prerequisites: Grad St.


COM ARTS 950 Seminar: Radio Television Film

2-3 cr ()

Prerequisites: Graduate/professional standing.


COM ARTS 955 Media History And Historiography

3 cr ()

A seminar on post-structuralist historical theory, historiographical methods, and issues in historiography for students of media history. Introduction to archival research.

Prerequisites: Graduate/professional standing.


COM ARTS 958 Seminar: Film History

2-3 cr ()

Prerequisites: Graduate/professional standing.


COM ARTS 966 Seminar: Modern Rhetorical Theory

2-3 cr (C)

Prerequisites: Graduate/professional standing; Enroll Info: Grad st; COM ARTS 570 or cons inst.


COM ARTS 967 Seminar: Problems in Communication and Public Address

2-3 cr ()

Prerequisites: Graduate/professional standing.


COM ARTS 969 Seminar: Contemporary Rhetorical Theory

2-3 cr (C)

Prerequisites: Grad St.


COM ARTS 970 Seminar in Communication Science

3 cr (C)

Description forthcoming.

Prerequisites: Grad St.


COM ARTS 972 Communication in Personal Relationships

3 cr (C)

This course surveys theoretical articles and empirical research to both exempligy a variety of approaches to the study of communication in personal relationships and to familiarize the student with the current state of the discipline.

Prerequisites: Grad st or cons inst.


COM ARTS 976 Seminar: Rhetorical Criticism

2-3 cr (C)

Prerequisites: Grad St.


COM ARTS 990 Research And Thesis

1-9 cr (C)

Independent research and writing under the supervision of a staff member.

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.


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