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Undergraduate Courses

A broad approach to oral communication skills, including intrapersonal, interpersonal, small group, organizational, and public speaking.

A broad approach to oral communication skills, including intrapersonal, interpersonal, small group, organizational, and public speaking.

The fundamental principles and practices of public speaking, including systematic library research, creative analysis and synthesis of topics, organization, language, delivery, audience adaptation, reasoning, arguments, and supporting materials.

Introduction to the concepts of academic public policy debate. Students will work on skills including: argumentation, delivery, organization, refutation, and research. Students will be trained to participate in classroom debates and may engage in novice debate tournaments held at other…

Communication as it occurs in two-person and small group settings. Primary concern is given to understanding how an individual can use verbal and nonverbal communication to improve relationships and derive maximum social rewards. This course will be taught 95% or more online.

Communication as it occurs in two-person and small group settings. Primary concern is given to understanding how an individual can use verbal and nonverbal communication to improve relationships and derive maximum social rewards.

Patterns of public and interpersonal communication among and between ethnic groups, especially North American minority cultures, strategies for fostering group identity, difficulties in inter-group communication, and skills for improving the quality of those interactions.

Practice in delivery and criticism of speeches, employing models from great speakers and speeches in history.

The course will survey the various roles played by rhetoric in human communities. A variety of cases and theories will be employed to illuminate the operations of rhetoric in a variety of contexts and applications.

Survey of the various roles played by rhetoric in human communities. A variety of cases and theories will be employed to illuminate the operations of rhetoric in a variety of contexts and applications. This course will be taught 95% or more online.

This course investigates the intersections between rhetoric and popular culture. It explores a variety of rhetorical approaches including structuralism, post-structuralism, Marxism, and feminism. Governing questions include: In what ways does popular culture shape and address political life? How…

The theory and practice of democratic decision making, from researching a topic systematically in specialized library sources to reaching a workable solution through group discussion. Second phase will involve theory and practice of debating and implementing decisions through parliamentary…

Information gathering, problem solving, and persuasive communication skills in dyadic settings. Survey, journalistic, job seeking, and employee appraisal interview forms. Students gain experience conducting interviews across a variety of situations.

Information gathering, problem solving, and persuasive communication skills in dyadic settings. Survey, journalistic, job seeking, and employee appraisal interview forms. Students gain experience conducting and participating in interviews across a variety of situations.

Through lectures and class discussion, students will critically examine theory and research in interpersonal communication. Emphasis is placed both on learning about the communication process and on becoming a more effective participant in it.

An examination of communication research on close relationships with an emphasis on college relationships.

Skills of developing and delivering oral presentations, interviews, and meetings in digitally mediated environments.

Designed to help students who would like to further develop and practice the skills they have learned in the basic course in public speaking. It emphasizes the same skills and concepts treated in the basic course but explores them in greater depth and with the expectation that students will…

Students will learn to manage communication in a variety of professional and organizational contexts and will be introduced to the research basis of recommended principles. Emphasis is on clarity and persuasiveness in communicating with clients, associates, and other decision-makers.

Students will learn to manage communication in a variety of professional and organizational contexts and will be introduced to the research basis of recommended principles. Emphasis is on clarity and persuasiveness in communicating with clients, associates, and other decision-makers.

Rhetorical approaches to the criticism of public communication. Intensive practice in writing rhetorical analyses will be provided.

Rhetorical approaches to the criticism of public communication. Intensive practice in writing rhetorical analyses will be provided.

Rhetorical approaches to the criticism of public communication. Intensive practice in writing rhetorical analyses will be provided.

Application of rhetorical theory and criticism to one or more case studies, ranging from recurring persuasive strategies in the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, to the role, function, and impact of public discourse in the Montgomery boycott of the 1950s.

Human actions that affect the environment are dependent on how we think and communicate about nature and the environment. This class analyzes communication patterns about nature and humanity's relation to nature. In particular, it examines messages of activists, scientists, governmental agencies…

Human actions that affect the environment are dependent on how we think and communicate about nature and the environment. This class analyzes communication patterns about nature and humanity's relation to nature. In particular, it examines messages of activists, scientists, governmental agencies…

Approaches the African American civil rights movement from the perspective of rhetoric. Students will study the rhetorical artifacts: slogans, speeches, letters, news articles, songs, photographs, etc., produced by movement members in their attempts to instigate race-based changes to the “…

This course explores the rhetorical power of visual and material culture.

Application of theories and processes of interpersonal and health communication to topics ranging from social support to communication challenges in relationships.

Students will engage in the study of sustainability through the prism of rhetorical criticism and theory. Students will apply rhetorical concepts to local sustainability concerns and social movements.

Major theories of human communication, with special emphasis upon interpersonal communication. The role, function, and assumptions of theoretical approaches will be discussed.

An examination of nonverbal cues used to communicate, with specific focus given to the context of personal relationships, especially the role of nonverbal communication in relational processes (e.g., conflict, deception, attraction).

The impact of persuasive communication is studied with emphasis on source, message, medium of presentation, and audience effects. Theoretical approaches to persuasion and persuasive communication.

Theory and techniques of small group discussion, with an emphasis on current experimentation and research. Emphasizes student involvement in groups working on socially significant projects of their own choice. Course content includes the factors which affect quality of communication and group…

Theory and techniques of small group discussion, with an emphasis on current experimentation and research. Emphasizes student involvement in groups working on socially significant projects of their own choice. Course content includes the factors which affect quality of communication and group…

Social science research methods in interpersonal communication. Covers formalizing research questions, conceptual and operational definitions, hypothesis testing, measurement, sampling, research design, data collection, computer analysis of survey and observational data, interpretation, and…

Social science research methods in interpersonal communication. Covers formalizing research questions, conceptual and operational definitions, hypothesis testing, measurement, sampling, research design, and computer analysis.

An applied approach to understanding the significance of ethnicity-race in communication in Western Society. The societal influences of history, language, and mass media in shaping our knowledge and understanding of race and ethnicity, as well as positive interracial relationships.

An applied approach to understanding the significance of ethnicity-race in communication in Western Society. The societal influences of history, language, and mass media in shaping our knowledge and understanding of race and ethnicity, as well as positive interracial relationships.

Advanced study of public speaking, with an emphasis upon speaking from fully developed written manuscripts. The course focuses upon the topics of style, invention, argumentation, disposition, and oral delivery. Students also learn techniques of revision and how to develop a written style…

Rhetorical theory in classical, modern, and contemporary times.

Engages the practices by which people give reason to justify their acts, beliefs, attitudes, and values in order to influence the thought and action of others. Employs both traditional and contemporary theories of argumentation.

Communication strategies and activities in the executive and legislative branches of local, state, and national government. Case study approach incorporated into the class.

Communication strategies and activities in the executive and legislative branches of local, state, and national government. Case study approach incorporated into the class.

The role communication plays in deciding which candidate will run for office, the nomination of candidates, and the election of candidates to office.

How verbal communication skills and strategies of persuasion are used in a variety of legal settings. Includes interviewing, courtroom speeches, witness examination, jury selection and deliberation, as well as issues of judicial argumentation and reasoning and effects of media on litigation…

The nature and practice of communication in a variety of religious traditions. Notions of sacred symbolism, myth, revelation, hermeneutics, and apologetics are especially emphasized.

The practice of communicating scientific learning within disciplines, across disciplines, and to lay audiences. The course is designed to equip students in the natural and social sciences with the skills necessary to bring scientific information to professional audiences and to the general…

The practice of communicating scientific learning within disciplines, across disciplines, and to lay audiences. The course is designed to equip students in the natural and social sciences with the skills necessary to bring scientific information to professional audiences and to the general…

The rhetorical nature, function, development, and impact of social movements on society as applied to one or more case studies and the role of the media in social change.

The rhetorical nature, function, development, and impact of social movements on society as applied to one or more case studies and the role of the media in social change.

History and criticism of speeches by United States women in nineteenth- and twentieth-century social reform movements, especially woman's rights and feminism.

Explores social discourse about war, conflict, and violence through studies of public address, propaganda, media representations, and social movements.

The role of communication and rhetoric in the (re)formation of the common good in collective life. Students will be required to think critically about and advocate persuasively on behalf of the common good at the local, state, regional, national, and global levels.

Examination of the role of rhetoric in the political systems of democratic Athens and republican Rome through readings from ancient speeches and ancient rhetorical theory. It especially considers the relationship between rhetoric and civic engagement and the influence of ancient rhetoric on…

Explores how sociocultural influences (e.g., media, family, and peers) communicate about and socially construct weight/appearance standards and the effects of these messages on individuals’ affective, cognitive, perceptual, and behavioral (i.e., body image) outcomes.

Major issues of rhetorical theory and practice in ancient Greece and Rome. Particular focus on the distinction between rhetoric and philosophy, methods in ancient argumentation, and ethical issues in persuasion.

Communication in personal relationships from periods of relational development through relational disengagement. Emphasis on understanding and applying social scientific theories of communication.

In-depth examination of the functional potential of each type of nonverbal communication. Primary emphasis is given to demonstrating the value of specific kinds of nonverbal cues in communicating successfully in such real world settings as the job interview, male-female interaction, and the…

Theory and techniques of small group discussion, with emphasis on current experimentation and research. Course content includes the ways in which communication influences and is influenced by group formation, development of group norms, group performance, and other topics.

An examination of the precursors, dynamics, and implications of interpersonal conflict in a variety of formal and informal relational contexts.

An examination of the precursors, dynamics, and implications of interpersonal conflict in a variety of formal and informal relational contexts.

The relationship between communicating and organizing within complex organizations. Course content includes the ways in which communication creates organizational cultures, identities, networks, leadership, conflict, and other topics.

Communication about health with physicians and other providers, within support groups and health care organizations, and by public figures, groups, and organizations.

Communication about health with physicians and other providers, within support groups and health care organizations, and by public figures, groups, and organizations.

Theories and research that guide public communication campaigns, with particular attention to message design principles. Provides students with opportunities to apply the concepts and theories learned in class in practical settings of their choosing.

Why are some people healthy and others not? How can health communication make a difference? Students in this course will learn how to use research, theory, and evidence-based planning to confidently design a health communication intervention to address health disparities at the group/community…

Why are some people healthy and others not? How can health communication make a difference? Students in this course will learn how to use research, theory, and evidence-based planning to confidently design a health communication intervention to address health disparities at the group/community…

Why are some people healthy and others not? How can health communication make a difference? Students in this course will be introduced to foundational concepts related to health disparities in order to confidently contribute to a health communication intervention in a community setting in…

Why are some people healthy and others not? How can health communication make a difference? Students in this course will be introduced to foundational concepts related to health disparities in order to confidently contribute to a health communication intervention in a community setting in…

How the Enlightenment and the Romantic movements shaped and reshaped the human identity. Explores this subject through various works of French thinkers and artists of these two periods. The course will only be taught in Paris as a study abroad course.

How the Enlightenment and the Romantic movements shaped and reshaped the human identity. Explores this subject through various works of French thinkers and artists of these two periods. The course will only be taught in Paris as a study abroad course.

Navigating interpersonal conflict is especially challenging when reconciling what we “know” with what we experience in a different country. Focusing on French and American cultures, this course explores what makes conflict challenging and develops a repertoire of skills for thinking about and…

Factors that facilitate or impede effective communication between members of different cultural groups. Considers interactions between people from different nations as well as co-cultures within the same nation. Effects of differing world-views, value systems, language varieties, nonverbal codes…

Factors that facilitate or impede effective communication between members of different cultural groups. Considers interactions between people from different nations as well as co-cultures within the same nation. Effects of differing world views, value systems, language varieties, nonverbal codes…

Exploration of communication’s role in shaping understandings of race, ethnicity, and culture in Costa Rica. Experiential learning occurs via readings, discussions, panels, group presentations, and in-depth interviews with local residents. Students are challenged to engage critically and…

Interpersonal communication and how ethnicity-race impacts our understanding of race, discrimination, and racism in close relationships. Historical, sociological, and psychological factors that affect individual relationships, including interracial relationships, homogamy, and friendships.

Interpersonal communication and how ethnicity-race impacts our understanding of race, discrimination, and racism in close relationships. Historical, sociological, and psychological factors that affect individual relationships, including interracial relationships, homogamy, and friendships.

Perspectives on race, ethnicity, and the family. Focuses on how these three areas function as social institutions, how people are socialized to think and communicate about race and ethnicity, as well as how to engage in communication as a way to enact social change and overcome difference,…

Perspectives on race, ethnicity, and the family. Focuses on how these three areas function as social institutions, how people are socialized to think and communicate about race and ethnicity, as well as how to engage in communication as a way to enact social change and overcome difference,…

Students are challenged to think critically about how racially, culturally, and ethnically different people communicate with and influence each other’s worldviews. This course involves intense introspection on in-country experiences and how one’s racial identity as a U.S. citizen transforms…

Selected and rotating topics such as humor and communication, visual communication, or communication training in business and industry.

Communication theory and research to public or private sector enterprise. Emphasis on observation and analysis of communication behaviors in workplace contexts.

Concentration on the practice of intercollegiate debate. Open to students who travel to debate tournaments.

Independent, intensive, and extended research conducted under the supervision of a faculty member.

Independent, intensive, lab-based research with community-based participants under the supervision of a faculty member. Students will gain experience working with research protocols, data collection, and the analysis of communication behaviors.

Faculty-supervised independent or collaborative inquiry into fundamental and applied problems within a discipline that requires students to gather, analyze, and synthesize and interpret data and to present results in writing and other relevant communication formats.

Faculty-supervised independent or collaborative inquiry into fundamental and applied problems within a discipline that requires students to gather, analyze, and synthesize and interpret data and to present results in writing and other relevant communication formats.

Faculty-supervised independent or collaborative inquiry into fundamental and applied problems within a discipline that requires students to gather, analyze, and synthesize and interpret data and to present results in writing and other relevant communication formats.

Faculty-supervised independent or collaborative inquiry into fundamental and applied problems within a discipline that requires students to gather, analyze, and synthesize and interpret data. Students will write or produce a thesis or other professional capstone product, such as a report or…

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