Theory This course introduces students to basic topics in communication theory, including interpersonal, small group, organizational, and mass communication. Students 472 COURSE DESCRIPTIONS will study a variety of theories related to these topics and will also study the cultural impact of new communication technologies and contemporary media systems. Spring term annually. 4 credit hours

Information Technology Introduces the terms, theories, and issues associated with the use of the Internet in personal and social contexts. The lectures and labs focus on helping students understand how computer-mediated communication (CMC) is used in contemporary society, providing different ways to understand how CMC is used to build interpersonal relationships, develop group communication, and support public communication while exploring social issues facing those who communicate via the computer. Fall and spring terms annually. 4 credit hours

Students create an electronic portfolio that displays examples of their work to track their development and eventually to show others for advising, employment, co-op placement, or graduate school admission. In this portfolio-building process, students do guided self- assessment of their knowledge, abilities, and skills. Based on availability of instructor. 2 credit hours

This course introduces the fundamentals for creating dynamic web page content generated using relational data- bases. This course is structured around Microsoft Visual Studio .NET and modern object-oriented programming languages like C#. Fundamental technologies like ADO.NET database connectivity, ASP.NET active page technology, XML, SOAP, and Web Services are examined. Students will construct actual non-trivial working web sites that employ databases from which dynamic content is generated. Fall and spring terms annually. 4 credit hours

This course helps students understand the meaning and emotional complexity of visual images in our culture. Students examine photographic imagery through three perspectives. The first--formal--addresses the design components of the image, such as vantage point and contrast. The second--psychodynamic--concerns the emotional dynamics of viewing. The third--social political-- explores photographs as instruments for preserving or challenging cultural values. No technical knowledge of photography is needed. Offered annually. 4 credit hours

Communication This course is an introduction to basic principles of visual communication and an exploration of the graphic design process. The study approach is through laboratory work utilizing software applications currently used in the field. Topics include type and image; logo design and application; foundation statement creation; and print production methods. Fall and spring terms annually. 4 credit hours

Color -- the most relative of all visual attributes-is explored in this studio course through a series of exercises and graphic design problems. Investigations will include: recollection (i.e. visual memory), reading and contexture, relativity and subjectivity, color and light, color and com- munication, and "cultural" color. An emphasis on the work and theories of Joseph Albers will be examined. Prerequisite: COMM-2610. Fall term odd years. 4 credit hours

Readings and projects adapted to the needs of individual students. 4 credit hours

Experimental courses tried out in one or two terms. 4 credit hours

This course is based on theoretical work in cognition and motor behavior and on applied research in computing, sports, and arts. This course analyzes how designers think about human performance systems. Support systems analyzed include online tutorials, wizards, agents, and Web-based systems. Prerequisite: COMM-4750 or another LL&C 4000-level graphics or document design course, or graduate standing. Spring term annually. 4 credit hours

Interaction In this course, students work on collaborative projects to design human-computer interactions (HCIs) aimed at transforming people's everyday practices. Students work with activity analysis, object-oriented modeling, and UI prototyping. Cross-listed with COMM-6810; students cannot obtain credit for both courses. Additional assignments required for students at the 6000 level. Prerequisite: COMM-4170, COMM-4420, COMM- 4770, or COMM-4710. Spring term annually. 4 credit hours

This course is designed for communication majors who wish to incorporate field experience in their educational programs. Students work with local business, industrial, civic, or educational organizations in positions where they can observe communication processes and apply written, interpersonal, and public communication skills to the solution of real problems. Prerequisite: undergraduate major in communication at junior or senior level. Cross 473 COMMUNICATION listed with COMM-4310 and COMM-6300. Fall and spring terms annually. 4 credit hours

This course is designed for communication majors who wish to incorporate field experience in their educational programs. Students work with local business, industrial, civic or educational organizations in positions where they can observe communication processes and apply written, interpersonal, and public communication skills to the solution of real problems. Prerequisite: Senior status. Cross listed with COMM-4300 and COMM-6300. Fall and spring terms annually. 4 credit hours

This course examines user research in visual communica- tion. Discussions analyze how culture affects the interpretation of visual aesthetics and how reasoning informs intuition. Students use a research method to design a term-long project. Systematically, they derive a visual communication problem, determine user-require- ments, and create aesthetics based upon audience input. Prerequisite: COMM-4570. Cross listed with COMM- 6400. Students cannot obtain credit for both courses. Fall term annually. 4 credit hours

In this course, students will consider methods of gathering users' requirements for product functions and information, ways to test products and information for usability and suitability, and procedures for incorporating the results learned through testing. Students will design and conduct usability tests on products, documents, and interfaces of interest. Cross-listed with COMM-6420; an additional assignment is required for COMM-6420. Students cannot obtain credit for both courses. Prerequisite: one H&SS course. Fall term annually. 4 credit hours

Application This course introduces students to the theoretical and prac- tical use of graphics as a form of visual communication. Discussions include topics such as the psychology of visual perception, design theory, creative process, formatted text, and graphics. Students have an opportunity to put theory into practice using computer graphics. Prerequisite: COMM-2610 or permission of instructor. (Cross listed with COMM-6560. Students cannot obtain credit for both courses.) Fall term annually. 4 credit hours

This course examines methods of graphic representation of data. Course work requires graphing of information derived from researched databases. Visual presentations of historic data will be examined to determine the most efficient way to represent complex information without distorting the data within. Information designers clarify these displays and enrich our understanding of our modern world. Prerequisite: COMM-2610. Fall term annually. 4 credit hours

How are religious fundamentalists using new media? Can religious conversion take place in a theme park? How are religious "crossover" films transforming political and popular cultural landscapes? This course maps the complex intersections of religion, culture and media in the global transformations of religious traditions and explores, through a media frame, the "the return of religion" within the secular consensus of modernity. Prerequisite: COMM 1510 or permission of instructor. Fall term annually. 4 credit hours

A survey of the historical origins and cultural impact of several mass media, including television, film, radio, the Internet, and print media. The course aims to increase media literacy through analysis of specific media products as well as discussion of broad topics such as: advertising and commercialization; politics and censorship; gender, race, and social identity. Prerequisites: any COMM or LITR course, graduate standing, or permission of instructor. Spring term annually. 4 credit hours

This course examines typography--the design of text. Students learn the fundamentals of how to choose appro- priate fonts, design with type, and integrate text with graphics in print and screen-based compositions. Discussion topics include type anatomy, classification, measurement, readability, and legibility; typographic grids; type and technology; copy fitting and editing type. Prerequisite: COMM-2610. Cross listed with COMM- 6570. Students cannot obtain credit for both courses. Spring term annually. 4 credit hours

An examination of the cultural impact of advertising in various media: TV, radio, print, and the Web. How does advertising inform our experience and identity? How has it shaped our culture? Who pays for it and why? These are the types of questions this course will address. Prerequisite: any COMM or LITR course or permission of instructor. Fall term annually. 4 credit hours

New Media A practicum in research focusing on methodology for assessing Web usage and computer-mediated behavior. Topics include research design issues, data gathering, sample frames, recruitment and treatment of subjects and quantitative analysis of online surveys, server bits, and other forms of direct and unobtrusive data. Prerequisite: at least one previous 4000-level research course; one course in statistics is advisable. Offered upon availability of instructor. 4 credit hours

A study of the persuasive use of language. Some basic theories of argument and style are explored as a means of improving the students' ability to both analyze and create rhetorical discourse. Prerequisite: WRIT-2110 or permission of instructor. Offered on availability of instructor. 4 credit hours

This course examines communication design for market- ing purposes. It evaluates the effectiveness of designs for information, persuasion, education, and administration. Discussions on denotation and connotation, gestalt theo- ry, and semiotics aim to investigate how theory influences design and the political, social, and cultural dimensions of visual language. In a term-long project, students analyze how design from an entrepreneurial perspective can pro- vide marketable solutions to communication problems. Prerequisites: COMM-2610 and COMM-4570. Spring term annually. 4 credit hours

This course examines the notion of visual literacy--the ability to create effective visual layouts and analyze visual language for meaning. Through readings, discussions, and praxis exercises, students learn the lexicon of visual com- munication, how to critically evaluate a visual argument, and how to apply visual literacy theory to practice. Prerequisite: COMM-2610. Cross listed with COMM- 6660. Students cannot obtain credit for both courses. Fall term annually. 4 credit hours

This advanced design studio course will explore individ- ual approaches to typographic problems in both print and digital mediums. Projects will investigate typographic metaphor and illustration, designing typography for texts, and typography in-motion. Emphasis will be on commu- nication and typographic hierarchy while encouraging experimentation to create your own typographic voice. This is an advanced course and students will be expected to work independently. Prerequisite: COMM-4570. Offered even years. 4 credit hours

Theory and Application This course focuses on the design theory and research behind effective interface design for hypermedia programs (multimedia computer programs with interactive inks). These interactive programs are the standard form of communication on the WWW, CDs, and DVDs. Students apply theory and research by designing and developing an interactive multimedia program (for WWW or CD). Prerequisites: 1) an introductory course in communication or another social science course or permission of the instructor; and 2) knowledge of authoring software for multimedia or Web development. Spring term annually. 4 credit hours

WWW In this course students will examine the design and use of web sites from initial gathering of user requirement, through design, development, and evaluation of a site's graphic and textual content and the assessment of customer satisfaction with the site. Cross listed with COMM-6750. Students cannot obtain credit for both courses. Prerequisite: COMM-4420. Fall term annually. 4 credit hours

Identity This course examines historical and modern visual communication symbols in relationship to a company's overall industry and marketplace identity. The course focuses on design processes relative to the dissemination of consistent visual information. Projects will include an identity program for a fictitious company. The course study is structured as a design studio and is aimed at exploring unique methodologies of ever-changing media marketing tools. Prerequisite: COMM-2610 or permission of instructor. Spring term annually. 4 credit hours

This course covers fundamental economic and communi- cation issues in advertising, economics, measurement of audience demographics and psychographics, advertising effectiveness, applied persuasion techniques. Technical issues in Web advertising are outlined, and unique char- acteristics of Web advertising are addressed. Design of cost-effective Web advertising, privacy vs. personalization issues, control of content by advertisers, junk Web adver- tising and information clutter, and other relevant topics are discussed. Prerequisite: COMM-2610 and permission of instructor. Fall term annually. 4 credit hours

Application of research on computer usability to the design of Web sites, graphic user interfaces (GUIs), personal digital assistants (PDAs), persuasive computing, and electronic performance support systems. Prerequisite: an introductory course in communication or another social science. Fall term annually. 4 credit hours

Teaches the practices of developing instructions for people performing mental and physical tasks. This course covers evaluating task performance, choosing instructional media, developing instructional objectives, and producing procedural information. Attention is given to graphic media and to nonverbal tasks and skills. Prerequisite: an introductory course in communication or another social science. Spring term, alternate years. 4 credit hours

Explore how users get involved in design: as specifiers of requirements, as evaluators, as sounding boards, and as collaborators. We will gather requirements, design to meet those requirements, and evaluate our success. Cross listed with COMM-6770; students taking COMM-6770 will be assigned an additional project. Students cannot obtain credit for both courses. Prerequisites: COMM-4420 or permission of instructor. Spring term annually. 4 credit hours

Lectures and class discussions will analyze narrative theory and interactive narratives in a variety of genres such as oral storytelling, literature, poetry, film, radio programs, artists' books, historical narrative, hypertext fiction, Net Art, and computer games. Students will have the opportunity to apply theory by designing and developing an interactive electronic program OR completing a research paper on interactive narrative. Cross listed with COMM-6780. Students may not receive credit for both courses. Extra assignments are required in the graduate course. Prerequisites: Knowledge of interactive authoring software and either COMM-2610 or COMM-4460. Fall term annually. 4 credit hours

An exploration of the effects of electronic media such as the Internet, multimedia, computers, pop music, and television. The effects examined include changes in social and work relationships, time displacement, audience aggression, child socialization, education, and consumer behavior. Prerequisite: any communication course or permission of the instructor. Offered on availability of instructor. 4 credit hours

Most memories of the past are stories that circulate in the present through a variety of media. To probe the rhetori- cal mechanism of collective memory, this course combines exploration of several visual media with case studies that interpret the rhetorical potential of specific photographs, films, museums, and monuments. Cross listed with COMM-6800. Students cannot obtain credit for both courses. Prerequisites: COMM-2610 or WRIT-1110. Fall term annually. 4 credit hours

Electronic media such as the Internet, cable television, movies, and pop music are both producers of information and large organizational structures. The course analyzes the interplay between media organizations and society at large. Offered on availability of instructor. 4 credit hours

In this course, students will examine and practice several methods of formal usability testing. Classes will consist of classroom discussion of scenario-based testing methods and statistical analysis of data collected and of laboratory sessions in which students develop, conduct, record, and analyze usability tests. Cross listed with COMM-6820. For COMM-6820, additional statistical analysis and a literature-based paper on a usability topic are required. Prerequisite: COMM-4420, COMM-4770 or ITEC-2210. Spring term annually. 4 credit hours

Focuses on the central role of communication in organizations by exploring the way that communication is used in exercising authority, power, and control. Organizations with hierarchical and nontraditional structures are considered. The course also examines the role of communication in the social construction of organizational life. Prerequisite: an introductory course in the social sciences or management or permission of instructor. Spring term annually. 4 credit hours

Honors Capstone Design is a two-semester sequence offered in Fall and Spring and is an option for fulfilling the Culminating Experience/Capstone requirement for graduating seniors majoring in EMAC. Through a series of production and writing assignments, breakout seminars, group critiques, and public exhibition, the goal is to develop a work-in-progress in the Fall semester and a final version in the spring semester of the capstone project and senior thesis paper. Students must submit proposals for their project in the spring semester of the previous academic year. Permission of instructor is required. Students cannot receive credit for both this course and ARTS-4910. Fall and spring terms annually. 4 credit hours

Readings and projects adapted to the needs of individual students. 1 to 6 credit hours

Experimental courses tried out in one or two terms. 4 credit hours

Introduces classical rhetoric and emphasizes the use of language as a means of winning the assent, sympathy, or cooperation of an audience. It examines the rhetorical theories of figures such as Gorgias, Isocrates, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Quintilian, and Saint Augustine. Spring term annually. 3 credit hours

An introduction to modern rhetoric, with an emphasis upon the use of language as a means of generating knowledge and understanding and establishing and maintaining human communities. A study of the thetorical theories of figures such as Francis Bacon, George 476 COURSE DESCRIPTIONS Campbell, Richard Whately, Kenneth Burke, C. Perelman, L. Olbrechts-Tyteca, and Michel Foucault. Fall term annually. 3 credit hours

The application of rhetorical concepts in the analysis and appraisal of discourse. Students pursue projects under the direction of the instructor; weekly seminar meetings are devoted principally to discussions of ongoing projects. Prerequisite: COMM-6240. Offered on availability of instructor. 3 credit hours

This course is designed for communication majors who wish to incorporate field experience in their educational programs. Students work with local business, industrial, civic or educational organizations in positions where they can observe communication processes and apply written, interpersonal, and public communication skills to the solution of real problems. Prerequisite: graduate status. Cross listed with COMM-4300 and COMM-4310. Fall and spring terms annually. 3 credit hours

This course introduces students to techniques for seeing the underlying patterns in verbal data, including conversations, texts, interviews, and protocols. Topics include: conversation analysis; content analysis; activity analysis; narrative analysis; protocol analysis; theme analysis; and discourse analysis. Students will have a chance to read a range of studies, discuss issues relevant to research in the field, practice analytic techniques, and conduct preliminary field research. Spring term alternate years. 3 credit hours

In this seminar, we examine new communication technologies that depend upon reading and writing in counterpoint to four concepts in literacy studies: literacy as practice, literacy as control, literacy as mediation, and vernacular literacy. Our goal is to understand the scope and limits of these concepts for new technologically mediated environments -- to see, in what sense, literate technologies challenge, extend or modulate the ways we use texts. Fall term alternate years. 3 credit hours

This course examines user research in visual communica- tion. Discussions analyze how culture affects the inter- pretation of visual aesthetics and how reasoning informs intuition. Students use a research method to design a term-long project. Systematically, they derive a visual com- munication problem, determine user-requirements, and create aesthetics based upon audience input. Cross listed with COMM-4400. Students cannot obtain credit for both courses. Fall term annually. 3 credit hours

Interaction Usability In this course, we will consider methods for gathering users' requirements for product functions and information, ways to test products and information for usability and suitability, and procedures for incorporating the results learned through testing. We will design and conduct usability tests on products, documents, and interfaces of interest. Cross listed with COMM-4420. Students cannot obtain credit for both courses. Additional assignments at higher level required for graduate students. Fall term annually. 3 credit hours

Communication and Human-Computer Interaction This seminar course examines theories that have shaped, and continue to drive, the fields of technical communica- tion and human-computer interaction with an emphasis upon the ways each field makes new knowledge. Connections between theoretical findings, research results, and the evolution of both fields as they are practiced in industry, government, and academia are important themes. Course work includes lectures, discussions, student presentations, and written projects. Prerequisite: COMM- 1510 or equivalent. Spring term annually. 3 credit hours

Introduces students to a range of theories from across the humanities and social sciences: theories of meaning, discourse, persuasion, interpersonal communication, and mass communication. Also introduces students to how theories are constructed and how knowledge is generated in communication studies. Fall term annually. 3 credit hours

Research I, II This course is designed to give training in field and experimental research methods, especially in scientific and technological communication. The student designs and conducts preliminary research projects as time permits. A fall-spring sequence annually. 3 credit hours

Application This course introduces students to the theoretical and practical use of graphics as a form of visual communication. Discussions include such topics as visual perception, design theory, formatted text, and graphics. Students have an opportunity to put theory into practice using computer graphics software. (Cross listed with COMM-4460. Students cannot obtain credit for both courses. For graduate students, one additional assignment will be required and their work will be evaluated at a higher level.) Fall term annually. 3 credit hours

This course examines typography--the design of text. Students learn the fundamentals of how to choose appro- priate fonts, design with type, and integrate text with graphics in print and screen-based compositions. Discussion topics include type anatomy, classification, measurement, readability, and legibility; typographic grids; type and technology; copy fitting and editing type. Cross listed with COMM-4570. Students cannot obtain credit for both courses. Additional assignments at 6000-level. Spring term annually. 3 credit hours

New Media A practicum in research focusing on methodology for assessing Web usage and computer-mediated behavior. Topics include research design issues, data gathering, sample frames, recruitment and treatment of subjects, and quantitative analysis of online surveys, server bits, and other forms of direct and unobtrusive data. Prerequisite: at least one previous 4000-level research course; one course in statistics is advisable. Offered upon availability of instructor. 3 credit hours

This course examines the notion of visual literacy--the ability to create effective visual layouts and analyze visual language for meaning. Through readings, discussions, and praxis exercises, students learn the lexicon of visual com- munication, how to critically evaluate a visual argument, and how to apply visual literacy theory to practice. Cross listed with COMM-4660. Students cannot obtain credit for both courses. Fall term annually. 3 credit hours

This is a theoretical course exploring three aspects of photography that have a rhetorical component. These aspects are the formal "aesthetic" elements of the photographic image; the psychological, psychoanalytical relationship between viewer, model, camera, and photographer; and the social/political effects of photography in our culture. Prerequisite: graduate standing or permission of instructor. Offered on availability of instructor. 3 credit hours

This seminar examines the social uses and impacts of computer-mediated communication in contexts such as education, industry, and informal social interaction. Students may examine traditionally important variables such as self-disclosure, rules, status, power, message sequencing, etc., as well as processes such as reality construction, learning, decision making, and group development. The course introduces analytic procedures that are as useful for spoken or written discourse as for computer-mediated discourse. Fall term alternate years. 3 credit hours

Development This seminar course will investigate issues in hypermedia design and development. Class discussions will include topics such as designing the structure of a hypermedia program and designing the user interface. Students will have an opportunity to put theory into practice by designing and developing an interactive program. Prerequisite: COMM-4750, COMM-6400, COMM- 6560, or permission of the instructor. 3 credit hours

World Wide Web This course introduces hypermedia interface design and communication issues involved in designing interactive programs for the World Wide Web. Students will design and develop an interactive Web site or experience and explore related rhetorical, social, cultural, and legal issues. Prerequisites: 1) completion of Web development or hypermedia development course and 2) knowledge of basics of Web or hypermedia development, or 3) permission of the instructor. Fall term annually. 3 credit hours

This course is based on theoretical work in cognition and motor behavior and on applied research in computing, sports, and arts. This course analyzes how designers think about human performance systems. Support systems analyzed include online tutorials, wizards, agents, and Web- based systems. Prerequisite: COMM-4750 or another LL&C 4000-level graphics or document design course, or graduate standing. Spring term annually. 3 credit hours

Explore how users get involved in design: as specifiers of requirements, as evaluators, as sounding boards, and as collaborators. Students will gather requirements, design to meet those requirements, and evaluate their success. Cross listed with COMM-4770; students taking COMM-6770 will be assigned an additional project. Students cannot obtain credit for both courses. Prerequisites: COMM-4420 or permission of instructor. Spring term annually. 3 credit hours

Lectures and class discussions will analyze narrative theory and interactive narratives in a variety of genres such as oral storytelling, literature, poetry, film, radio programs, artists' books, historical narrative, hypertext fiction, Net Art, and computer games. Students will have the opportunity to apply theory by designing and developing an interactive elec- tronic program OR completing a research paper on inter- active narrative. Cross listed with COMM-4780. Students may not receive credit for both courses. Extra assignments are required in the graduate course. Prerequisites: Knowledge of interactive authoring software or permission of instructor. Fall term annually. 3 credit hours

Most memories of the past are stories that circulate in the present through a variety of media. To probe the mechanism of collective memory, this course combines exploration of several visual media with case studies that interpret the rhetorical potential of specific photographs, films, museums, and monuments. Cross listed with COMM-4800. Students cannot obtain credit for both courses. Graduate students are required to complete additional assignments. Fall term annually. 3 credit hours

Interaction In this course, students work on collaborative projects to design human-computer interactions (HCIs) aimed at transforming people's everyday practices. Students work with activity analysis, object-oriented modeling, and UI prototyping. The course serves as the capstone in the HCI MS Certificate. Cross-listed with COMM-4180; students cannot obtain credit for both courses. Additional assignments required for students at the 6000 level. Prerequisites: COMM-6420, COMM-6750, COMM-6760 or COMM-6770. Spring term annually. 3 credit hours

In this course, students will examine and practice several methods of formal usability testing. Classes will consist of classroom discussion of scenario-based testing methods and statistical analysis of data collected and of laboratory sessions in which students develop, conduct, record, and analyze usability tests. Cross-listed with COMM-4820. For COMM-6820, additional statistical analysis as part of each assignment and a literature-based paper on a usability topic are required. Spring term annually. 3 credit hours

Readings and projects adapted to the needs of individual students. 1 to 6 credit hours

Experimental courses tried out in one or two terms. 3 credit hours

Active participation in research, under the supervision of a faculty adviser, leading to a master's thesis. Grades of IP are assigned until the thesis has been approved by the faculty adviser and accepted by the Office of Graduate Education to be archived in a standard format in the library. Grades will then be listed as S. 1 to 6 credit hours

Active participation in research, under the supervision of a faculty adviser, leading to a doctoral dissertation. Grades of IP are assigned until the dissertation has been publicly defended, approved by the doctoral committee, and accepted by the Office of Graduate Education to be archived in a standard format in the library. Grades will then be listed as S. Variable credit hours