Catalog 73 - National University

Course Descriptionses employed in the study of communication. Focuseson theories relevant to many levels of interactionfrom interpersonal to mass and mediated communication.Also explores how and why theories aredeveloped and how they can be evaluated.COM 315: Communication Research Methods(Prerequisites: ENG 101 and COM 100, COM 103, or220)Introduces students to quantitative and qualitativecommunication research methods to enable them tobecome competent evaluators, designers, andauthors of research. Teaches the fundamental principlesof communication research, providing learnerswith the knowledge base and experience to answermany questions in the practice of communicating.COM 324: Critical Thinking and Ethics(Prerequisites: ENG 101 and COM 100, COM 103, or220)Examines critical thinking and ethics and theirapplication to academic, personal, and professionalsituations. Covers systems of logical reasoning, criticalanalysis, and evaluation of message content,including supporting evidence, and logical fallacies.Discusses the morality and ramifications of decisionmakingin media industries.COM 334: Persuasion(Prerequisites: ENG 101 and COM 100, COM 103, or220)Introduces learners to the principles, functions, andpractices of social influence. Examines how to influenceothers’ attitudes, beliefs, opinions, values, andbehaviors through communication. Explores scientificallyestablished principles of persuasion that areused in contemporary media.COM 344: Organizational Communication(Prerequisites: ENG 101 and COM 100, COM 103, or220)Provides for the study and application of currenttheories and research on communication within andamong organizations. Includes the study of theinfluence of management styles on organizationalcommunication. Discussion of communication structure,functions, contexts in organizations, and communicationethics in organizations.COM 354: Professional Presentations(Prerequisites: ENG 101 and COM 100, COM 103, or220)Explores professional speaking and presentations.Identifies and provides practice of theory and skillsused in advanced speaking. Teaches creation andintegration of text, graphics, audio, and video intopresentations. Offers hands-on experience applyingtheory and methods to create professional presentations.COM 360: Representation in the Media(Prerequisites: ENG 100/101)Explores how popular media represent our diverseand dynamic culture. Focuses on images and narrativesof race and gender portrayed in popular culture.Examines cultural forces that influence howsuch representations are produced and perceived,their political and behavioral consequences, andmethods for analyzing and critiquing popularmedia.COM 364: Communication Technologies(Prerequisites: ENG 101 and COM 100, COM 103, or220)Examines communication technologies and theireffects on society. Looks at the history of such systems:how they emerged, diffused, and evolved.Covers current systems, with an emphasis on howthe Internet and other new platforms are changingmedia, education, business, and politics around theworld.COM 380: Democracy in the Information Age(Prerequisites: ENG 100/101)A critical examination of the media and power inmodern democracies. Covers theories of democraticparticipation and media responsibility, as measuredagainst contemporary practices around the world.Explores effects of television news, popular access tovideo and electronic technologies, and global electronicnetworks on contemporary political and culturaldiscourse.COM 385: Tale, Text and Hypertext(Prerequisites: ENG 100/101)Introduces the evolution of storytelling from oraldelivery, to written and interactive texts. Examinesthe consequences of this adaptation for culture, literature,science, politics, pedagogy and identity. Offershands-on creation of online identities and textsusing blogs, vlogs, chats, wikis, IM, and texting topublish their work on the Internet.COM 394: Strategic Writing(Prerequisites: ENG 101 and COM 100, COM 103, or220)Teaches strategic writing and presentation for traditionaland new media platforms. Exposes studentsto creating content that meets organizational objectives,applying communication theory, and persuasiontechniques. Learners develop content for advertising,PR, and corporate communications, based onformative evaluation research to prepare effectivecommunications.COM 400: Mediated Messaging(Prerequisites: COM 354, COM 385, and COM 394)Course examines 21st Century mediated communicationsystems and technology. Theory and methodsused in creating, shaping, encoding, and transmittingmediated messages for personal and professionalcommunications will be examined. Software andskills for encoding mediated messages into text,graphics, audio, and video will be learned and practiced.COM 410A: Advertising Strategies(Prerequisites: COM 334 and COM 394)Presents advertising strategies for the successfuldevelopment of integrated ad messages. Focuses oncreative copywriting and art direction, analyzingclients, products, and audiences. Considers the challengesand rewards provided by advertising campaignsdirected to increasingly diverse consumersand markets.COM 411A: Advertising Campaigns(Prerequisites: COM 400 and COM 410A)Students create and present a complete advertisingcampaign and produce materials for multiple mediaplatforms including print, broadcast, and digitalmedia for interactive and Web 2.0 platforms.Provides hands-on experience presenting a creativeplan to an interested audience, similar to workingwith clients.COM 420A: Public Relations Strategies(Prerequisites: COM 334 and COM 394)Introduces the principles and strategies used by PRpractitioners to plan and implement communicationcampaigns. Provides training in how to identify andreach audiences and to develop campaign plans, intraditional media and Internet and Web 2.0 venues,such as blogs, wikis, content sharing, and social networkingsites.COM 421A: Public Relations Campaigns(Prerequisites: COM 400 and COM 420A)Teaches learners how to create and produce publicrelations campaign materials across media platforms.Covers all forms of hands-on production,including news releases, public service announcements,media alerts, newsletters, backgrounders,brochures, audio, video, and interactive content.COM 422: Technical Writing and Presentation(Prerequisite: ENG 334A)Advanced workshop that applies the principles coveredin COM 103 and ENG 334A to technical presentationsfor non-technical audiences. Focuses on writingstyles appropriate for user manuals and oral presentations.Offers training in platform skills, audiovisualtechniques and strategies to present technicalinformation to business managers, end-users and thepublic.COM 430A: Interactive Strategies(Prerequisites: COM 334 and COM 394)Examines the fundamental principles of communicatingover the Internet to implement organizationalobjectives. Teaches use of the Internet as a marketingand persuasive medium. Students develop a newmedia communication campaign that includes traditionalweb sites, blogs, social networking sites,wikis, podcasts, videocasts, RSS, and widgets.COM 431A: Interactive Campaigns(Prerequisites: COM 400 and 430A)Learners apply new tools and techniques to design,create, and implement interactive communicationprograms and campaigns. Offers hands-on productionof content for Internet and Web 2.0 platforms,including blogs, wikis, sites, virtual identities, andobjects, and incorporates user-generated content,and “word-of-web.”COM 444: Current Issues in Communication(Prerequisites: Completion of seven 300-level core courses)Course examines the rhetoric and communicationsystems associated with current issues in communication.Analyzes the contextual, rhetorical, and communicationsystems that make an issue salient andcontribute to its impact on society. Explores implicationsof technological changes on social, political,technological, economic, and global systems.COM 490: Independent Study (1.5-4.5 quarterunits)(Prerequisite: Approval of Instructor and DepartmentChair)Individual study under direction of instructor.Requires prior approval of appropriate academicdepartment.COM 499: Communication Program Capstone(Prerequisites: Completion of sixteen core courses)Students assemble and create materials necessary toproduce an ePortfolio that demonstrates theirresearch, analysis, strategic thinking, content productionand campaign evaluation skills. The digital,web-based ePortfolio will demonstrate the student’sexperience and capabilities. The ePortfolio will be anasset in the search for post-graduation positions.COM 600: Comm in Global EnvironmentExplores theory and practice of interpersonal communicationin the workplace, focusing on the abilityto communicate with others in professional interactions.Covers the development of interpersonal andprofessional relationships between people with differentcharacteristics and backgrounds to providelearners with tools for encoding and decoding verbal,nonverbal, and mediated messages.COM 605: Content DistributionExamines how organizations use different mediachannels – mass media, social media (blogs, socialnetworks), personal media (cell phones, PDAs), anddirect media (mail, email, telemarketing) – to disseminatemessages. Covers selection of specificmedia to distribute messages, including costs,processes, content management, formatting, andmass personalization of messages.CourseDescriptions369