2013-2014 Catalog - Virginia Wesleyan College

84 COMMUNICATIONCOMMUNICATION85COMMUNICATIONDR. KATHY MERLOCK JACKSON,Program CoordinatorDR. TERRENCE LINDVALLDR. STUART C. MINNISDR. LISA LYON PAYNEThe Communication Department offers coursesand opportunities for individual work in the areas offilm, journalism, and digital media. The departmentstresses the artistic and humanistic bases of itsdisciplines, as well as professional and career interests.The communications industry is one of the fastestgrowing industries in today’s world. Students whomajor in communication might expect to find careeropportunities in radio, television, film, newspapers,magazines, digital media, advertising, publicrelations, teaching, and related fields. Courses injournalism are designed to introduce students to thefield and offer opportunities to gain experience inreporting, writing, design, and editing. There is astrong emphasis on the ethical aspects of gatheringand reporting news. A wide variety of internshipopportunities are available to communication majors.Major Requirements: CommunicationCOURSE NUMBER AND TITLECOMM 101Introduction to Media StudiesJOUR 201Introduction to JournalismCOMM 221Understanding FilmCOMM 321Theories of Mass CommunicationCOMM 331Mass Communication Research MethodsCOMM 411Senior Seminar in Communication StudiesCOMM 481Internship in CommunicationFive of the following:COMM 250, 300, 312, 320, 325, 326,327, 333, 335, 336, 350; JOUR 210,328, 333, 397, 435SEM.HRS.444444420TOTAL 48Minor Requirements: CommunicationCOURSE NUMBER AND TITLECOMM 101Introduction to Media StudiesJOUR 201Introduction to JournalismOne course in communication orjournalism at any levelThree courses in communication orjournalism at the 300/400 levelSEM.HRS.44412TOTAL 24COMMUNICATION COURSES(COMM)101 Introduction to Media Studies (4) SIntroduces students to the role played by massmedia in culture. Media institutions and technologiesare examined in terms of their histories, economicand legal characteristics, and contemporary socialinfluence. Offered each semester.210 Audio Production Workshop (1)Introduces students to fundamental aspects of avariety of audio applications, including fieldrecording, studio recording, and multitrackproduction. Offered each spring.221 Understanding Film (4) AA survey of film as an artistic and culturalmedium. The course explores film historically andaesthetically, considering aspects of film technology,style, narrative, genre, and ideology. Emphasis isplaced on historically important films, filmmakers,and film movements, but contemporary trends arealso addressed. Offered each semester.222 Public Speaking (4)An individualized introduction to the theory andpractice of informative and persuasive speechcommunication. Extemporaneous speaking isexplored in depth while impromptu and groupcommunication are also examined. Thecommunication model is stressed, including sender,receiver, message (verbal and non-verbal) channel,noise, and feedback. Offered each semester.250 Digital Filmmaking I (4)Introduces students to the techniques andtraditions of fictional narrative filmmaking. Emphasisis placed on principles of visual storytelling andconventions of continuity and composition,videography, lighting, editing, and productionmanagement. Students also learn the fundamentals ofscreenwriting. Offered each semester.300 Media Law and Ethics (4)Examines the legal principles and regulatorystructures, primarily in the areas of First Amendmentlaw and copyright, governing print and electronicmedia. Additional discussion concerns ethicalstandards and potential ethical dilemmas faced byworking media professionals. Prerequisites: COMM101 and junior/senior status. Offered spring of evennumberedyears.312 The Art of Animation (4)An in-depth look at the history of animation as adeveloping art form. The course also looks atanimation as a reflection of culture and as a business.Prerequisite: COMM 101 or consent. Offeredintermittently.320 Experimental Film and Video (4)Explores the history and theory of experimentalfilm and video through lecture, discussion, reading,and screenings and through creative action. Studentsproduce their own avant-garde videos as they learnthe form’s aesthetic heritage and contemporarydevelopments. Offered in selected Winter Sessions.321 Theories of Mass Communication (4)An overview of the major theories thatcharacterize the study of mass communication.Addresses both humanities and social sciencesapproaches and explores theory as a lens forconducting research. Students majoring incommunication will typically take COMM 321(Theories) in the fall and COMM 331 (MassCommunication Research Methods) in the spring oftheir junior or senior year. Prerequisites: COMM 101and junior/senior status. Offered each fall.325 Organizational Communication (4)Examines all forms of communication in anyprofit or non-profit organization. Combines theoryand practice to understand intended and unintendedmessages. Topics include culture, networking, impactof technology, medium and channel, and rhetoricalpurpose. Offered each spring.326 Persuasion and the Media (4)An examination of the methods and techniquesthat advertisers use to persuade audiences.Prerequisite: junior or senior status. Offered each fall.327 Children and the Media (4)A study of children as a media audience with aparticular focus on contemporary televisual media.Attention is given to both prosocial and antisocialeffects of the media. Prerequisite: COMM 101 orconsent. Offered each spring.328 Public Relations (4)An introduction to the public relations andadvertising profession with an emphasis on writing.Students examine the role of public relations andadvertising in a free society and the demands andconstraints, including ethical ones, placed uponthem. They write background or briefing papers,press releases, informational and persuasive copy, andfind promotable elements in products and services.Identical to JOUR 328. Offered each fall.331 Mass CommunicationResearch Methods (4)Introduces mass communication researchmethods and includes field, survey, and experimentalmethods as well as content analysis. Prerequisite:junior/senior status. Offered each spring.333 Special Topics in Media Studies (4)An investigation of selected themes, genres,directors, periods, or topics in mass media andcultural studies. Sample topics include “AmericanSilent Film,” “The Movies of 1939,” “The Films ofthe Coen Brothers,” “Women and Film,” “TheDocumentary Tradition,” and “The Western.”Prerequisite: COMM 101 or consent. May berepeated if the topic is different.335 Christian Theology and Film (4) V,WExplores how the fields of theology and filmstudies cross-fertilize each other, with specialattention given to the ways in which film functions asreligious discourse. Students investigate the historicalevolution of film as a means of communicatingtheological doctrines or themes through its narrativepatterns and analyze how religious and secular filmscan be constructed as cultural texts that advise notonly how one should live, but what one shouldbelieve. Emphasizes the sermonic nature of film,various hermeneutics of film, and how audiencesreceive and appropriate both manifest and latentreligious meanings. Prerequisite: 3 semester hours incommunication, English, history, philosophy, orreligious studies. Identical to RELST 335. Offeredfall of odd-numbered years.