2014-15-Undergraduate-Catalog

Course Descriptions • 414MCOM 320 Organizational CommunicationThis course examines the internal and external systems of communication, including small group, interpersonal andpublic communication. It provides opportunities for developing organizational skills, identifying problems, analyzingoutcomes and taking appropriate corrective action. Three credits.MCOM 321 Advertising and the MediaThis course examines the social, cultural and economic roles of advertising in capitalistic society with a focus onhow commercial messages and images help construct social perceptions and consumptive behavior. Three credits.MCOM 322 History of Gender in Advertising (same as WST 322)This course uses advertising to examine the construction of gender from the late 19th century to the present,particularly how advertising has contributed to the meanings we attach to being a man and being a woman inAmerican culture. We take a historical look at how consumer culture has represented and defined the male, thefemale, the masculine, and the feminine by focusing on the development of significant advertising campaigns andconsumption items. We will examine the relationship between major shifts for men and women in the private andpublic sphere and the depiction of those shifts in advertisements. Throughout the semester, we will relate the oldto the new by focusing on persistent patterns of meanings that reoccur in advertisements and what these patternstell us about the development of particular gendered meanings and gendered norms. Three credits.MCOM 323 Children and the Media (same as PSY 323)This course examines the relationship between children and the media. It will look at media consumption andcontent as they relate to child development, as well as how gender, culture, self-concept, attitudes and behaviorinfluence and are influenced by media exposure. Prerequisite: PSY 101 or MCOM 101. Three credits.MCOM 325 Computer-Assisted ReportingStudents will learn the basic tools of computer-assisted reporting (CAR). They will learn to organize informationand develop story ideas using computer spreadsheets and databases. They will learn to research stories usingelectronically sorted public documents and the Internet. Three credits.MCOM 330 Principles of Digital DesignA project-oriented course utilizing computer-based graphic design and publishing applications. Students will write,edit, design and publish several projects. Prerequisite: MCOM 201. Three credits.MCOM 335 Media WritingThis course focuses on the process of writing news stories using standard news values, basic news gatheringtechniques, the inverted pyramid and Associated Press style. Students will also be introduced to other types ofmedia writing, including feature, broadcast, Web and public relations writing. Three credits.MCOM 342 Video JournalismThis course introduces students to the techniques of broadcast field reporting and working as a reporting team.Emphasis is placed on the basic skills involved in gathering, reporting, editing and delivering the news. Prerequisite:MCOM 101. Three credits.MCOM 345 Sports WritingThis course focuses on sports writing, reporting and editorial practice for print, broadcast and online media. Threecredits.MCOM 350 Business and Professional CommunicationThis course is designed to familiarize students with the kinds of oral and written communications needed tosucceed in business and professional contexts, and to develop in them the skills needed for effectivecommunication in a variety of organizational settings. The course also explores theories of persuasion, groupdynamics and management to increase student awareness and understanding of underlying communicationprocess. Three credits.MCOM 351 Politics and the Media (same as PSCI 351)An interdisciplinary introduction to the complex interrelationship between politics and the media. This course willpresent principles of politics and the media and train the students to analyze political life, issues, trends, and eventsas they are covered, or not covered, by the news media. Three credits.