Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An introduction to selected theories about human communication. This course is required for a major, honours or minor in communication. Breadth-Social Sciences.

COURSE DETAILS:

The aim of this course is to provide a general introduction to a range of theories that seek to explain why we communicate as we do. The first part of the course establishes a general overview of communication theory, from both theoretical and historical points of view. We will examine the relationship between communication and social consciousness, identity development, and communication as a symbolic and performative act. The second part of the course will focus on specific fields within the area of communication, including: the study of popular culture, media analysis, advertising, journalism, and the political economy of communication.

Throughout the course we will also examine the rise of technology studies in communication and consider the ways in which electronic media (including social media) have refashioned both human consciousness and culture. In this context, we will discuss issues of privacy and democracy in the emerging digital culture.

Broad Course Themes:   (Detailed weekly topics will be distributed on Canvas in the first week of classes.)

·    Socialization, media and identity formation: “Performative aspect of communication”.
·    Mass/consumer culture and mass communication: “The rise of popular culture”.
·    Media, technology and society: “We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us”. 
·    Mediation and issues with representations of race, gender, and sexuality: “The danger of a single story”.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

Learning Goals:  

Our main goal is to critically assess the images and messages of contemporary media.  How do they create meaning? 
Do they enlarge our understanding of the world, or influence us to think about it in increasingly narrow ways?  
                                                                                                                                         
By the end of this course students should be able to:

·    Critically assess media environments and communication strategies, in order to better understand how they might influence us to think about issues.
·    Identify and summarize major theories in communication.
·    Demonstrate critical thinking in their media analysis and writing assignments in order to challenge their own assumptions, and question social norms and what appears as  “common sense” in media and society.
·    Demonstrate understanding of what types of questions are asked in communication studies when undertaking research in the discipline.
·    Create materials, such as papers, assignments, presentations, or other artifacts, that incorporate communication theory and history.

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING: