Communication Theory

201 Theoretical Perspectives on Strategic Communication (4)

Seminar—4 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing; consent of instructor. Explores the intentional use of discourse and nonverbal behavior to reach goals. Explores theories and models that elucidate the processes that enable the realization of intentions in message plans and discourse.—I. (I.) Berger

202 Theory Development in Communication Inquiry (4)

Seminar—4 hours. Prerequisite: consent of instructor; graduate standing. Alternative meta-theoretical perspectives for theory generation in communication inquiry. Processes of construct explication, operationalization and theory construction. Emphasis on the critique of extant communication theories and the development of theory construction skills. Not offered every year.—III. Berger

Research Methods

210 Evaluation of Communication Effects (4)

Lecture—4 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing; one course in Inferential Statistics; consent of instructor. Research methods for understanding communication effects, including the outcomes of communication interventions. Issues to be examined include measurement, experimental and quasi-experimental design, and evaluation research.—I. (I.) Motley, Palomares

211 Audience Assessment and Analysis (4)

Seminar—4 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing; one course in Inferential Statistics; consent of instructor. Interdisciplinary perspectives on the “audience” concept. Methodological approaches to audience segmentation based on demographics and geodemographics, psychographics, audience needs and assessments, and values/lifestyles. Formative and summative research methods for assessing audience attitudes, values, beliefs and behaviors.—I. (I.) Cho, Taylor

Communication Processes

220 Persuasion Theories and Message Design (4)

Seminar—4 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing; consent of instructor. Major social scientific theories and perspectives on attitude change and persuasion. Application of persuasion theories and principles to persuasive message design in applied contexts.—III. (III.) Hughes

221 Communication and Cognition (4)

Seminar—4 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing; consent of instructor. Explores the cognitive structures and processes that enable the production, comprehension and interpretation of messages in face-to-face and mediated communication contexts. Explores the communication outcomes associated with these processes. Offered in alternate years.—(II.) Berger, Yegiyan

222 Risk Communication (4)

Seminar—4 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing; consent of instructor. Theories and models of individual risk information processing. Media depictions of threats and risk-related information and their potential effects on audiences. Implications for the design and implementation of messages concerning threat and risk. Not offered every year. Berger

Social Interaction

230 Social Interaction Theory and Research (4)

Seminar—4 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing; consent of instructor. Survey of theories and research on social interaction and interpersonal communication. Covers communication codes, individual differences in communication, communication and relationship development, family communication, conflict, cognitive and emotional processes underlying social interaction, social influence, intercultural communication, and nonverbal behavior.—II. (II.) Berger, Feng, Hughes, Motley, Palomares
231 Tactics of Interpersonal Influence (4)

Seminar—4 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing; consent of instructor. Achievement of interpersonal goals in social interaction. Topics include message production; tactics, strategies and planning; anticipating potential obstacles; resisting and thwarting goals; plan recognition; and goal detection. Examined goals include compliance gaining, attitude change, ingratiation, information seeking, comforting, and deception. Offered in alternate years.—(III.) Palomares

244 Organizational Communication (4)

Seminar—4 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing and consent of instructor. Theory and research on communication processes in organizations.

253 Negotiation (4)

Seminar—4 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing and consent of instructor. Theory and research on negotiating.

Mediated Communication

250 Mediated Communication Theory and Research (4)

Seminar—4 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing; consent of instructor. Survey of major theories on the intended and unintended effects of mediated communication. Topics include media's effects on learning, political behavior, interpersonal violence, sexual socialization, consumer behavior, race relations, gender socialization, and cultural processes.—II. (II.) Cho, Taylor

251 Communication, Technology and Society (4)

Seminar—4 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing; consent of instructor. Transformation of life at the individual and societal levels by communication technologies. Topics include the digital divide, media convergence in news and entertainment, human-computer interaction, distance learning, electronic commerce, distributed work and e-democracy. Offered in alternate years.—(II.) Taylor

252 Computer-Mediated Communication (4)

Seminar—4 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing; consent of instructor. The effects of computer-mediated communication on the ways in which people express themselves, form impressions about strangers, develop and maintain relationships, collaborate on group work, and expand social network, especially in comparison to face-to-face communication. Offered in alternate years.—(III.)

254 Communication Campaigns (4)

Seminar—4 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing; consent of instructor. Strategic uses of media and interpersonal channels to promote social change through social marketing, information, and media advocacy campaigns. Focus on theory-based interventions in a variety of applied contexts. Offered in alternate years.—(II.) Bell

260 Communication Applications (2-4)

Discussion—1 hour; supervised field work—3-9 hours. Prerequisite: course 220. Fieldwork in communication. Organization and implementation of a research project for a specific application of a communication program. May be repeated once for credit. (S/U grading only.)

Special Topic Seminars

280 Special Topics in Social Interaction (4)

Seminar—4 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing; consent of instructor. Reading, discussion, research, and writing on a selected topic in the specialty of social interaction. May be repeated for credit when topic differs. Not offered every year.—Berger, Feng, Motley, Hughes, Palomares

281 Special Topics in Mediated Communication (4)

Seminar—4 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing; consent of instructor. Reading, discussion, research, and writing on a selected topic in the speciality of mediated communication. May be repeated for credit when topic differs. Not offered every year.—Cho, Hwang, Taylor, Yegiyan

282 Special Topics in Health Communication (4)

Seminar—4 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing; consent of instructor. Reading, discussion, research and writing on a focused topic in health communication. May be repeated for credit when topic differs. (Same course as Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine 282). Not offered every year.—III. Bell

283 Special Topics in Organizational Communication (4)

Seminar—4 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing; consent of instructor. Reading, discussion, research, and writing on a selected topic in the specialty of organizational communication. May be repeated for credit when topic differs. Not offered every year.

Directed Research and Writing

298 Group Study (1-5 units)

Lecture—3 hours. (S/U grading only.)

Other Courses