Currently Offered Courses - Fall 2024
Preparation and presentation of short informative and persuasive speeches; emphasis on the selection and organization of material, methods of securing interest and attention, and the elements of delivery. Credit is not given for both CMN 101 and either CMN 111 or CMN 112. Day1Access course materials information is available at https://go.illinois.edu/Day1Access.
Provides students with an overview of the major areas of study across the diverse field of Communication. Attention is given to the study of argumentation, persuasion, mediated communication effects, rhetoric, face-to-face communication with family, friends, and romantic partners, social support, nonverbal and verbal communication, group communication, health communication, organizational communication, race and communication, sports and communication, and common research methods in the field.
Principles and practice in communication; stress on fundamentals of critical thinking in writing and speaking. The campus Composition I general education requirement is fulfilled by this course in conjunction with CMN 112. Credit is not given for both CMN 111 + CMN 112, and other courses that fulfill the Composition I requirement (such as RHET 101+RHET 102, RHET 105, ESL 115); Credit is also not given for both CMN 111+ CMN 112, and CMN 101. CMN 111+ CMN 112 cannot be taken by students who have completed the campus Composition I general education requirement.
Supervised experience in assisting in the teaching of an undergraduate course in communication; practice in preparing and presenting brief lectures, conducting activities within class, and assisting students outside of class. Prerequisite: Junior standing, cumulative 3.0 grade-point average, 3.5 grade-point average in Communication coursework, recommendation from an instructor, and approval by application.
Focus on relevant theory and research on communication strategies and skills vital to diverse business and professional contexts. Topics include personal branding and self-marketing; job interviewing basics; business ethics; business writing; networking; professional etiquette and behaviors; and business presentations. Activities include presentations, written assignments, and practice interviews. Prerequisite: CMN 101.
Considers major theories, research questions, and approaches to organizational communication.
Considers major theories, processes, and practical measures contributing to effective communication in small group and team contexts.
A focus on the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for students to understand and address various components of diversity in organizations. This class is designed to give students an environment to discuss diverse perspectives related to organizations. Thus, this course will explore such areas as power, gender, race, social class, sexuality, ability and age. The relationship between these areas to organizational communication concepts such as, assimilation & socialization, power, culture, employee conflict and relationships will be explored. Students do not need to have any prior knowledge of organizational communication in order to benefit from this course. Students will draw from their personal and familial organizational socialization experiences to learn about the role of culture in organizations.
Questioning is fundamental to human communication. The process for questioning in a structured, purposeful way is called interviewing, which is both an art and a social science. Students will learn theoretical principles related to major types of interviews and apply this knowledge through practice as both interviewer and interviewee, leading to competency in employment and informational interviews. Additionally, they will learn to be a critical observer of interviews taking place in the public sphere. Credit is not given for both CMN 115 and CMN 215. Prerequisite: CMN 101 or CMN 111 and CMN 112.
Study of the nature of policy-oriented communication; analysis and formulation of positions on issues of professional, personal, or public interest; design and presentation of public policy messages addressed to varying tasks and audiences, with special emphasis on advanced writing skills. Prerequisite: Completion of campus Composition I general education requirement.
Refine your communication skills in one-on-one conversations. Learn active listening, small talk, how to give good advice and emotional support, and conflict resolution. Students complete a semester-long skills project in which they reflect on and improve their own communication skills related to impression management, communication with family and friends, listening, small talk, and more. Course concepts apply to academic, professional, and personal interactions.
Introduction to the study of intercultural communication in a variety of contexts, including domestic and international; examines theory and research to explain what happens when people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds interact. Requires students to think critically about the ways in which "taken-for-granted" ways of thinking, acting, and interacting are culturally specific.
Examines the communication strategies of social movements, concentrating on the types of messages that social movements create (including rhetorical messaging, social protest, grassroots organizing, fundraising, and media outreach). Focuses on the communication of major 19th, 20th, and 21st century social protest movements, including movements for civil rights, environmentalism, women's rights, and others. Emphasizes the functions of communication for identity formation, promulgation, and social change. Provides knowledge and tools for the analysis and production of messages.
Introduces theory and research on communication in health and illness contexts. Explores how messages from media, interpersonal, and organizational sources affect health beliefs and behaviors.
Survey of the history, structure, forms, and social effects of the American mass media, with significant focus on study of how media shape perceptions of people of color and other stigmatized groups.
Introduction to theory and research on both old and new communication technologies; focus will be on how these technological systems develop and are used, and what implications of these systems have for culture and society.
Directed internship experience for Communication majors. Students must have consent of the Internship Coordinator. May be repeated in separate terms to a maximum of 6 hours.
Presents the role of organizational communication in response to various community issues from local to global. The course concentrates on the impacts of organizations in response to socio-political, economic, and cultural issues (such as civil unrest and disasters) and explores how organizations can leverage their internal and external communication processes (networks, advocacy) to promote positive community change, offering theoretical and practical knowledge for developing organizational communication strategies for maximum community impact.
Designed for students who are interested in learning about risk communication in areas such as health, science, and technology. The course will draw on theory and research from a variety of perspectives and cover topics including risk assessment, risk perception, message design, media options, and barriers to effective communication.
Studies of powerful instances of public persuasion; students examine key means of public influence.
Study of the theory of argument, e.g., evidence, reasoning, and construction of briefs; practice in formal and informal forms of debate and public discourse on current public questions. Prerequisite: CMN 101.
Presents information on how to conceptualize audiences, mass media use, and reception of media messages. Also examines the character of the audience experience, uses and gratifications of mass media, social cognition, and studies of audiences as interpretive communities.
Study of what public opinion is, how it is measured, how it is communicated, and how it affects politics and society. Examination of public opinion polling, the use of public opinion by politicians, political campaigns, and the news media, and the way that individuals do or do not contribute to public opinion in their everyday lives.
Explores communication behaviors that are relevant in families. Topics include family diversity, family development, and family stress. Students will learn how to apply family communication theory and research to address challenges that modern families face. Students considering careers in fields like human relations (HR), public relations, education, law, counseling, and social work will be able to apply the information in this course to their potential job aspirations.
Examines the uses, functions, and effects of communication technologies in personal relationships (e.g., friendships, dating relationships, families). Emphasis on contemporary and emerging modes of communication with some consideration of historical and enduring modes of interaction.
Explores the role of visual images in U.S. culture, paying special attention to the ways that images function persuasively as political communication. Provides tools for analyzing historical and contemporary images and artifacts, such as photographs, prints, paintings, advertisements, and memorials. Emphasis on how visual images are used for remembering and memorializing; confronting and resisting; consuming and commodifying; governing and authorizing; and visualizing and informing.
Describes sex as a fundamental activity in the development and maintenance of human relationships. Communication about sex happens in a variety of interpersonal, group, organizational, and mediated contexts. Explores the many ways in which sexual communication intersects our personal, relational, cultural, and institutional norms and values. Topics will include social norms about sexual communication, sexual harassment, family communication about sex, sexual health education, doctor-patient communication about sex, and sex in the media and in advertising. Theory and research on communication processes will be used to elaborate how talk about sex can achieve multiple goals.
Using the critical lens of theories on race, class, gender, and sexuality, this class will investigate the complicated relations among popular media and culture, including how our everyday life and attitudes are thought to be shaped by the media, and how cultural systems can be said to inform the media. By exploring a wide range of media (e.g., film, television, music, the internet, and computer games), students will investigate the national, political, and personal dimensions of popular media and the varied ways in which media construct, reflect and intersect with specific cultural systems, identities, and classifications. May be repeated in separate terms to a maximum of 6 hours.
Individual investigation of special problems. May be repeated to a maximum of 6 hours. Prerequisite: Twelve hours of communication coursework; a grade-point average of 3.25; and consent of head of department.
Special topics in communication not treated in regularly scheduled courses. See Class Schedule for current topics. May be repeated as topics vary.
Organizational communication theory applied to the assessment of communication practices in organizations; systematic procedures for diagnosing communication problems and facilitating effective communication in organizations. Extensive use of case studies. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: CMN 212.
Survey of major theories of persuasion, research on factors influencing persuasive effectiveness, and application to problems of persuasive discourse. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.
How and why are people sometimes entertained by news and politics? This course explores the political implications of entertainment media, from satire programming, fiction, music, and video games to politics itself as entertainment. Drawing insight from political communication, media psychology, and media studies, students will apply theories of entertainment and politics to understand how media shapes attitudes and behaviors. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.
Presents an overview of racial stereotypes in the mass media and the effects of stereotypical imagery on viewers. Discussion of the structural and social origins of stereotypic media from multiple perspectives focusing on published scholarship that systematically assesses the content and effects of racial representations from a social scientific perspective. Intersections between race, ethnicity, class, and gender also will be explored. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.
Study of interactive relationships between gender and communication in contemporary American society. Examines how gender identity and expression are influenced by race, ethnicity, culture, age, ability, class, faith and other social characteristics. Explores how communication in social contexts creates and perpetuates gender roles. Same as GWS 432. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.
Studies theories and methods for identifying culture and identities in everyday talk. Addresses cultural variability in ways of speaking that depend on and produce context; negotiating interactions; and displaying, evaluating, and inferring identities (e.g., gender, ethnic, national, class, generational, peer group, regional, political). Same as ANTH 433. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.
Students will reflect on and improve communication skills when communicating one-on-one, using research-based processes. Grounded in theory, students will create a self-assessment portfolio that includes practicing and reflecting on their ability to: actively listen when disagreeing, eliminate distractions/make someone feel important, improve relationships, handle disagreements, and improve a skill of their choice. Students will learn to reflect on, critique, and improve their interpersonal skills, while helping classmates do the same. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: CMN 230 or consent of instructor.
Focuses on the theoretical principles behind designing, implementing, and evaluating a health communication campaign. Students will be exposed to campaigns pertaining to alcohol abuse, illicit drug use, organ donation, safe sex, tobacco use, among others. The first part of the course reviews theories used in health communication campaigns, derived from the disciplines of communication, social psychology, and public health. The second part of the course focuses on designing campaigns and creating messages as well as evaluating the effects of those campaigns and messages. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.
Social marketing offers a revolutionary approach to solving a wide range of societal problems. Social marketing applies traditional marketing principles and techniques to the challenges and rewards of influencing positive public behavior. This course is designed to give students a thorough orientation to key marketing concepts and their application to a range of communication issues with an emphasis on promoting community engagement, environmental conservation, financial literacy, health promotion, and injury prevention. Throughout the semester, attention is given to several behavior change models employed to guide current social marketing campaigns as well as a focus on the ten steps for developing, implementing, and evaluating a campaign. Students will acquire practical skills in designing a campaign as well as an appreciation for the role of behavior change models in social marketing. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.
Individual investigation of special problems. 2 undergraduate hours. No graduate credit. May be repeated to a maximum of 4 undergraduate hours. Prerequisite: Twelve hours of communication; a grade-point average of 3.50; and consent of head of department.
Individual study leading to a thesis for honors in the Department of Communication. 2 undergraduate hours. No graduate credit. May be repeated to a maximum of 4 undergraduate hours. Prerequisite: Senior standing; a grade-point average of 3.50; and consent of head of department.
Advanced topics in communication not treated in regularly scheduled courses; see Class Schedule for current topics. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated as topics vary.
Introduction to theory and research on communication in health and illness contexts, focusing on how messages from interpersonal, organizational, cultural and media sources affect health beliefs and behaviors. Some topics to be explored include: the theoretical foundations underlying differences in the ways individuals communicate about health, health campaign strategies and organizational influences on health and strategies for generating successful or beneficial health-related communication (as well as recognize problematic communicative trends).
Study of the organizational features of the U.S. health care systems, generating a comprehensive image of the context in which communication between patients and providers, health care consumers and organizations, and public health care messages are sent, received, exchanged, interpreted, and circulated. Offered Fall terms only. Prerequisite: Only for students enrolled in the MS in Health Communications degree program.
Special topics in communication theory and research. May be repeated to a maximum of 16 hours. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
Study of special topics in the history of rhetorical theory. May be repeated to a maximum of 16 hours.
Introduction to content analysis, survey, and experimental research designs and quantitative and qualitative analysis in communication research.
Provides capstone experience for students in the MS in Health Communication degree program.
Individual investigation of special projects not included in theses. May be repeated in separate terms. Open to master's candidates for a maximum of 4 graduate hours and to doctoral candidates for a maximum of 12 graduate hours. Prerequisite: Consent from head of department.