This course introduces students to the academic discipline of communication studies. To explore the roles and functions of the foundational basics of the significant human capacity to communicate, we will examine the essential concepts of communication, including essential communication models and mechanisms for feedback and interpretation, and then we explore those concepts in a variety of contexts, which are the main subfields of communication studies as a discipline today. Communication research, anchored in various theoretical frameworks, is woven throughout the course material and our overarching goal is to bridge the theoretical and the pragmatic as we explore many different topics. One of our primary goals is to make connections between our lived realities and various communication phenomena. The course takes on a survey organization covering the major subfields of communication such as interpersonal, small group, organizational, intercultural, health, mass communication, and rhetorical studies. Ultimately, this course aims to help students think analytically about the dynamics of communication to enhance our mutually reinforcing roles as critics and creators of communication.
- Teacher: Amanda Martinez