C O M M U N I C A T I O N

Patrick J. Sutherland. Associate Professor of Communication; General Manager of WVBC; Chair
Russell J. Cook. Professor of Communication; General Manager of TV3
Michael D. King, Jr. Assistant Professor of Communication
Theodore N. Pauls. Associate Professor of Communication
Beverly A. Simas. Assistant Professor of Communication

To prepare students for careers in a broad range of communication or media areas, particularly advertising, electronic media, graphic design, print journalism, and public relations. Courses emphasize relevant skills and organizational structures and their effects on individuals, groups, and cultures. Essential to the teaching and learning process is the development of an understanding of ethical and legal responsibilities.

All majors must also complete one of the following Specialization Tracks:

Advertising: COMM 203, 205, 407.

Documentary Studies: COMM 211, 308, 411.

Electronic Media: COMM 208, 308, 318.

Graphics: COMM 205, 315, 408.

Print: COMM 202, 305, 309.

Public Relations: COMM 202, 204, 405.
 

COMM 102 Human Communication 3 credits
This course is an introduction to the analyses of human relationships. The processes by which perceptions are created, expressed, and influence interpersonal relationships are examined. Emphasis is on identifying and controlling the use of language and non-verbal modes of communication within a wide range of communication contexts.

COMM 103 Information Gathering 3 credits
This course provides students with the insights, suggestions, and practical techniques needed to gather and understand information in todayís society. Students learn to conduct searches for information, to evaluate a variety of sources, to take effective notes, to prepare and conduct interviews, and to convey the meaning of verbal and written forms appropriately. Time-management and organizational skills are studied.

COMM 104 Visual Communication 3 credits
This course develops understanding of the aesthetic, ethical, and creative principles inherent in visual communication. Films, animation, TV productions, printed and computer graphics, and photography are the sources for the analysis of perception and meaning in the visual image.

COMM 201 Media Writing 3 credits
Media Writing is an intensive course in the study and practice of writing for the various media, including print, electronic, public relations, graphic design, and advertising. Students explore the ethical and legal concerns of media writing, learn basic writing, editing, and copy formats, learn to select and structure copy, develop information-gathering skills, and examine contemporary issues and concerns facing the media. Prerequisite: COMM 103.

COMM 202 Copy Editing 3 credits
The course focuses on the principles and practice of editing for publications. Emphasis is on editing for correct grammar, punctuation, and style. Students also learn the basics of proofreading, headline writing, and caption writing. Prerequisite: COMM 201.

COMM 203 Principles of Advertising 3 credits
This course is a study of advertising history, principles, processes, rules, and effects. Also included is an overview of advertisingís place in integrated marketing communication and the analysis of advertising agency structures, tasks, and responsibilities. Emphasis is on media planning and buying, promotions, regulatory aspects, and copywriting for the print and broadcast media.

COMM 204 Principles of Public Relations 3 credits
This course provides students with a practical understanding of public relations and the role it plays in everyday society. Students are introduced to various types of public relations opportunities in industry and in non-profit organizations. The course centers on public relations as a process and involves fact-finding and research, planning and programming, communication and action, and evaluation. Included are examinations of public relations case studies through group interaction and problem solving.

COMM 205 Principles of Graphic Design 3 credits
This course introduces basic graphic design principles and their applications. Visual perception, visual illusion, and communication impact are explored through examples and practical exercises. A range of basic graphic design techniques is introduced.

COMM 206 Public Speaking 3 credits
This course is an introduction to the dynamics of speaking in front of large audiences, and includes the uses of vocal qualities, non-verbal signals, language, logical and emotional arguments, and the delivery of short speeches.

COMM 208 Principles of Broadcasting and News Media 3 credits
This course provides the student with basic knowledge of broadcasting and news mediaís histories, structures, processes, and practices and its effects on both individuals and society. Included is an overview of seminal theories such as cultivation, diffusion of innovations, and uses and gratifications. The course also provides an overview of sales and advertising aspects of the media business, including ratings and promotional activities, governmental controls and self-regulation, ethical considerations, global aspects, and technological advances.

Comm 211 The Documentary Tradition 3 credit hours
This course examines the documentary film tradition of Europe and North America, including the works of Robert Flaherty, Leni Riefenstahl, Pare Lorentz, Alain Resnais, Richard Leacock, Robert Gardner, Frederick Wiseman, Peter Davis And Michael Moore. Students analyze and write about essential theory and issues of the documentary, including objectivity, audience, social activism, and characteristics that distinguish documentaries from photography, journalism, and history.

COMM 218 Audio-Video Performance and Production 3 credits
This course provides the student with basic concepts and practical instruction in electronic media performance and production strategies and techniques. Specific topics include the study of and practice in speech and performance personality variables, such as vocal variety, microphone and camera consciousness, and basic reading and interviewing techniques. Intensive instruction is provided in basic audio and video analog and digital production techniques, with emphasis on the studentís achieving an introductory level proficiency. Previous experience in performance and production is not required.

COMM 228 Video Animation
In this course students study video animation with computer tools employed by video professionals. Emphasis is on the basic aspects of video animation and the application of graphic design principles. Each student in the course produces a video animation project.

COMM 303 Organizational Communication 3 credits
An examination of the principles of communication in an information society, especially in the context of business, service, and media organizations. Major organizational theories are explored from a communication perspective and linked to the roles played by the skills needed by individuals within organizations. Examples are drawn mainly from media organizations, but the principles are applicable to all types of organizations and individuals.

COMM 304 Media Law 3 credits
A study of the law as it pertains to the mass media. Specific topics include the First Amendment, libel and slander, privacy, and prior restraint. Prerequisite: Junior or Senior status or permission of the instructor.

COMM 305 Feature Writing 3 credits
This course encourages excellence in journalism writing by examining award-winning writing, writing newspaper and magazine features, and critiquing articles. Prerequisite: COMM 202.

COMM 306 Communication Theory and Research 3 credits
This course examines the relationship between communication theories and the research methods used to test them. Emphasis is on understanding theoretical tenets, their connection to the communication process and to modern media, thesis development, and research design. An examination of current communication research is conducted. Prerequisite: Junior or Senior status or permission of the instructor.

COMM 307 Computer Graphics and Applied Design 3 credits
This courses is an examination of practical applications of graphics and communication design techniques as related to the computer and other technological aids. An additional course fee is required. (This course may be taken for credit as VISA 307.)

COMM 308 Sight, Sound, and Motion 3 credits
This course examines media aesthetics as used to examine how pictures, sounds, and motions communicate sense and meaning in contemporary electronic media, including radio, sound recordings, television, motion pictures, video games, and computer applications. Learning activities include spoken and written analysis and interpretations of sample works.

COMM 309 Newspaper Reporting 3 credits
This is a practical course designed to sharpen studentsí skills in writing print news. Emphasis is on the development and use of news sources and various reporting techniques. Prerequisite: COMM 202.

COMM 310 Broadcast News 3 credits
This is a lecture-laboratory course focusing on the complexities of gathering news for the electronic media. Emphasis is on the use of technology and its effects on news content and organization. Field trips to local stations and guest speakers from the media are included. Students are required to gather and report news using the technology associated with radio, television, and cable. Prerequisite: COMM 201.

COMM 314 Public Opinion 3 credits
This course explores the complexity of issues of concern to individuals or groups which influence our daily lives and how information sources, styles, and channels help formulate public opinion on those issues. The influence of mass media and social relationships on how opinions change is also explored. Prerequisite: Junior or Senior status or permission of the instructor.

COMM 315 Design Application 3 credits
This course emphasizes problem-solving experiences as related to visual communication. The mechanics and psychology of two-dimensional and three-dimensional design are explored as a foundation for graphic designs. An additional course fee is required. (This course may be taken for credit as VISA 315.) Prerequisite: COMM 207.

COMM 318 Telemedia Programming and Management 3 credits
This course prepares students for a leadership career in the telemedia, including radio and television broadcasting, cable, corporate communications, computer applications, and the Internet. Topics include technological change, economics and ownership issues, programming and marketing strategies, organization and management, industry self-governance, government regulation, and ethics. Students undertake a project that pursues individual professional interests. Prerequisites: COMM 208, 218, 308, and PHIL 124.

COMM 338 Surrealism and Cinema
This course is an examination of original texts of the surrealist movement, including the manifestoes of its self-proclaimed leader, André Breton. Surrealist concepts of mechanisms to promote creativity are investigated, such as dreams, automatic writing, the “exquisite corpse,” the Freudian slip, and eroticism. Emphasis is on the surrealist influence on films, such as “Andalusian Dog,” “Mechanical Ballet,” “Blood of the Poet,” “Beauty and the Beast,” Fellini’s “Satyricon,” “Repulsion,” “Eraserhead,” “Brazil,” “Barton Fink,” and “Naked Lunch.”

COMM 344 Sports Information Directing 3 credits
This course examines the multi-faceted activities and qualities of sports information directing, also known as sports public relations. Areas covered include image building, determining sports news, understanding various sports and the terminology used in writing sports copy, developing relationships with the media, using statistics in sports writing, understanding the importance of photography, and designing and writing sports media guides.

COMM 345 Intercultural Communication 3 credits
This course focuses on communication among individuals from divergent cultures. The processes by which perceptions are created, expressed, and influence interpersonal relationships are examined. Emphasis is on identifying and controlling the role that culture plays within a wide range of communication contexts.

COMM 346 Gender Communication
This course introduces the major concepts of communication and gender. Emphasis is on issues of gender in language and nonverbal behavior. Communication and gender in friendships, courtship, marriage, family, education, media, and organizations are considered through the examination of real-life communication situations.

COMM388 Electronic Media Skills for the Liberal Arts Student 1 credit
This course is intended for students seeking technical training in electronic media skills for non-professional applications. Students choose from a variety of skills, including mixing and editing audio, making video movies, and creating audio and video resources for World Wide Web sites on the Internet. The course is open to all students, except those following the Electronic Media track of the Communication major. (This is an activity course with letter grades required for Communication majors and CR/NCR required for others.) Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

COMM 390 Campus Media Management 1 credit
This course assists the student working as a manager for a campus media organization to develop leadership skills under the supervision of the mediumís faculty advisor. Open only to managers of the campus media as determined by the faculty advisors. This course may be repeated once in the same organization and for a maximum of four credits. (This is an activity course with letter grades required for Communication majors and CR/NCR required for others.) Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

COMM 402 Semiotics 3 credits
This course is a study of semiotics (the science of signs), which focuses on how meaning is communicated by cultural artifacts.  After studying its history and principle techniques, students apply semiotics to the interpretation of literature, art, and the mass media of their own cultures as well as other cultures. Useful to all persons seeking understanding of communication in the modern world, especially writers, artists, dramatists, musicians, philosophers, historians, political scientists, and scholars of language, religion, and media. Prerequisite: Junior or Senior status or permission of the instructor.

COMM 403 International Communication 3 credits
This course is a comparative study of media systems, including theory and practices in print and electronic media and advertising, public relations, and journalism education in Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.

COMM 405 Public Relations Campaigns 3 credits
This course emphasizes the handling of an organizationís public relations. Students implement a public relations program using the four-step process of fact-finding and research, planning and programming, communication, and action and evaluation. Emphasis is on analyzing the public relations situation, coordinating and implementing research tools, developing the various strategies and tactics needed, and working as a group with peers. Prerequisite: COMM 350.

COMM 407 Advertising Campaign Practice 3 credits
This is a practical course emphasizing interpreting research data and implementing an integrated marketing communication plan. It includes the completion of media planning and buying and the entire plans book for the client, creative campaign execution, and presentation of the campaign to the client in written and audio-video form. Prerequisite: COMM 350.

COMM 408 Graphic Design Practice 3 credits
This course is a study of professional procedures, structures, communication functions, and processes as applied to areas of graphic design. An additional course fee is required. (This course may be taken for credit as VISA 408.) Prerequisite: COMM 315.

COMM 409 Publications Photography 3 credits
This course introduces the knowledge and skills needed to produce high quality black and white photographs. Assignments include news, features, sports, portrait, and still-life photography. Emphasis is on working within strict deadlines and creating images suitable for publication. An additional course fee is required. (This course may be taken for credit as VISA 409.) Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

COMM 410 Desktop Publishing 3 credits
This course provides students with the practical experience of learning and using a variety of computer desktop publishing programs. Students develop and produce various publications and presentations integrating text, art, and other graphic elements using layout and design software. (This course may be taken for credit as CPSC 410.)

Comm 411 Documenting Human Experience 3 credit hours
In this course, students produce their own major documentary and share their experiences in seminar style-discussion.”

COMM 420 Professional Internship 3 credits
This course is a professionally supervised experience with an off-campus media organization or a communications agency. Assignments allow for application of classroom materials and campus media experiences and are similar to those experienced by new communication professionals. A minimum of 160 hours in the experience is required. Students generally take the course during the senior year. Prerequisite: Three on-campus media experiences, at least one in Print and one in Electronic Media. Details about prerequisites are available from the Department of Communication.

COMM 441 Advanced Photography 3 credits
This course enables students to expand basic photographic skills by investigating image control and artistic expression. The use of varying grades of paper, film, and camera formats assists students to enhance technical abilities. Artistic expression is examined through image manipulation, e.g., toning, coloring, and multiple imaging and through the examination of the visual elements and emotional attitudes which go into making a photograph. An additional course fee is required. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

COMM 487-488 Independent Study 3 credits

COMM 490 Senior Project 3 credits
This course requires a research paper demonstrating the ability to describe, analyze, synthesize, and draw significant conclusions on a contemporary communication issue. Detailed guidelines for the senior project are available from the Department of Communication. Prerequisite: COMM 306.