Courses in Communication Studies (Division 352)

Spring Half-Term Courses

Take me to the Spring Half-Term '99 Time Schedule for Communication Studies.

Comm. 101. The Mass Media.

Section 101.

Instructor(s): James Brentar (brentar@umich.edu)

Prerequisites & Distribution: (4). (SS).

Credits: (4).

Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.

This course is designed to provide an introductory overview of contemporary mass media systems and an examination of the various factors – historical, economic, political, and cultural – that have shaped their development. The course begins with a description of present print and electronic media and examines their evolution. Attention is given throughout to the legal and ethical implications of mass communication systems and to comparisons between American media systems and those elsewhere in the world. Finally, it considers the probable future course of the media and examines possible alternatives.

Comm. 102. Media Processes and Effects.

Section 101.

Prerequisites & Distribution: (4). (SS).

No Description Provided.

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Sections 101 and 103 are Windows Labs.

Prerequisites & Distribution: (1). (Excl).

Credits: (1).

Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.

Hands-on workshop intended to develop student mastery of the rapidly developing and expanding electronic information environment. Skills developed include the use of electronic communication systems, database searching, word processing, data management, and various research uses of public computer networks and the information superhighway. The course introduces students to a range of campus computing resources, including local area networks and available software, and remote access to the Internet and the World Wide Web. Problem-solving assignments are designed to teach strategies used in finding information and evaluating its validity and utility.

Prerequisites & Distribution: Junior standing, concentration in communication studies, and permission of instructor. Internship credit is not retroactive and must be prearranged. No more than six credits combined of Comm. Studies 321 and 322 may be elected. (1-3). (Excl). Offered mandatory credit/no credit. May not be used to satisfy communication studies electives in a communication studies concentration plan. (EXPERIENTIAL). May be repeated for a total of six credits.

Credits: (1-3).

Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.

Communication Studies concentrators who have reached junior standing may receive some amount of experiential course credit for an internship. Student assessment will be based on the academic merit of the work and evaluation of the final paper. Internship credit is not retroactive and must be pre-arranged. Internship credit cannot be used to satisfy Communication Studies electives in the concentration plan. No more than 3 credits can be earned in a single term, and no more than 6 credits total can be received through any combination of internships (CS 321) or practica (CS 322). Registration is by permission of instructor only.

Section 101.

Prerequisites & Distribution: Comm. Studies 101 or 102 strongly recommended. (4). (SS).

Credits: (4).

Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.

This course examines research and scholarship focused on existing media institutions, their genesis and current lines of development, institutional arrangements, organization and operation, economic structure, and characteristic communications "output." Course topics may include: the history of media systems; media and government, including legal, regulatory, and free-expression issues; media economics; international media systems; technologies; media organizational routines; and the values and behavior of media professionals. The course investigates the ways in which institutional, economic, and organizational arrangements affect professional behavior and media content, with attention to media system changes over time and in comparative contexts.

Section 101 – Section 102 only may be elected ECB.

Instructor(s): Jill Edy (jaedy@umich.edu)

Prerequisites & Distribution: Comm. Studies 101 or 102 strongly recommended. (4). (SS).

Credits: (4).

Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.

This course examines general phenomena involved with the creation, dissemination, and reception of mediated information. Course topics may include: information processing, including message encoding and decoding; media priming and framing of evaluations and decisions; influences of message structure and communication modalities on processing; media use and reception, including interpretive processes; information flow and control, focusing on influences of communication networks, message diffusion, and information gatekeeping; and communicative processes of learning, persuasion, and social influence. The emphasis is on the development and testing of general theories explaining how mediated communication works, even though research examined will center on particular cases (e.g., studies of priming in political communication).

Section 101 – Section 102 only may be elected ECB.

Instructor(s): James Castonguay (jcast@umich.edu)

Prerequisites & Distribution: Comm. Studies 101 or 102 strongly recommended. (4). (SS).

Credits: (4).

Course Homepage: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jcast/S371/

This course explores social and cultural approaches to the study of mass communication. Course topics studied may include: communication and social identity, including race, ethnicity, and gender; media's role in defining and reflecting culture; the equity of community, state, and worldwide information systems, including debates over the "new world communication order," postcolonialism, and globalization; media audiences as interpretive communities; media and social movements; and the role of media in altering and maintaining political and social order. Research on mass communication is examined in connection with broader questions about the relations between cultural systems and social formations, and about the dynamics of social and cultural change and contestation.

Section 101 – Supreme Court News Coverage. (3 credits)

Instructor(s): Anthony Collings (collings@umich.edu)

Prerequisites & Distribution: (1-4). (Excl). May be repeated for a total of eight credits.

Credits: (1-4).

Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.

This course will evaluate media coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court, in the context of long-range factors affecting the ability of news media to function in a democracy. This seminar will examine the scope and content of news reporting on major cases before the court. How accurately, fairly, and adequately do news organizations cover the cases as they proceed through the legal system? Do the media help the American public gain a broad public impact of each case? In addition to an overview of media coverage of the major current and recent cases, each student will select one new case under consideration by the court this term and study in detail how well it is being covered by the different media.

Prerequisites & Distribution: Permission of department. (1-8). (Excl). No more than four credits may be included in a Communication concentration. (INDEPENDENT). Comm. 441 and 442 may be repeated for a combined total of eight credits.

Credits: (1-8).

Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.

Comm. 441 and 442 may be repeated for a combined total of eight credits. Intended for individualized instruction in subject areas not covered by scheduled courses. Must be arranged with the faculty member.

Prerequisites & Distribution: Permission of department. (1-8). (Excl). No more than four credits may be included in a Communication concentration. (INDEPENDENT). Comm. Studies 441 and 442 may be repeated for a combined total of eight credits.

Credits: (1-8).

Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.

Comm. 441 and 442 may be repeated for a combined total of eight credits. Intended for individualized instruction in subject areas not covered by scheduled courses. Must be arranged with the faculty member.

Section 001.

Instructor(s): Kevin Hoyes (hoyes@umich.edu)

Prerequisites & Distribution: Comm. Studies 351 or 371 strongly recommended. (3). (Excl).

Credits: (3).

Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.

This course explores the role of mass communication in shaping personal and social identity. Special attention is given to the ways in which the mass media can create, sustain, or alter ethnic culture and subcultures. Topics include: the ethnic media in contemporary America, including the role of the media in immigrant communities; and the complex interplay of "mainstream" and minority cultural life.

Spring/Summer Term Courses

Take me to the Spring/Summer Term '99 Time Schedule for Communication Studies.

Summer Half-Term Courses

Take me to the Summer Half-Term '99 Time Schedule for Communication Studies.

Comm. 321(450). Undergraduate Internship.

Prerequisites & Distribution: Junior standing, concentration in communication studies, and permission of instructor. Internship credit is not retroactive and must be prearranged. No more than six credits combined of Comm. Studies 321 and 322 may be elected. (1-3). (Excl). Offered mandatory credit/no credit. May not be used to satisfy communication studies electives in a communication studies concentration plan. (EXPERIENTIAL). May be repeated for a total of six credits.

No Description Provided.

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Comm. 441. Independent Reading.

Prerequisites & Distribution: Permission of department. (1-8). (Excl). No more than four credits may be included in a Communication concentration. (INDEPENDENT). Comm. 441 and 442 may be repeated for a combined total of eight credits.

No Description Provided.

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Comm. 442. Independent Research.

Prerequisites & Distribution: Permission of department. (1-8). (Excl). No more than four credits may be included in a Communication concentration. (INDEPENDENT). Comm. Studies 441 and 442 may be repeated for a combined total of eight credits.

No Description Provided.

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Section 201 – Foreign News Coverage

Instructor(s): Anthony Collings (collings@umich.edu)

Prerequisites & Distribution: Comm. Studies 351 or 371 strongly recommended. (3). (Excl). May be repeated for a total of six credits.

Credits: (3).

Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.

This course will investigate coverage of foreign news as a reflection of the structure and function of media systems. What factors influence decisions as to how much coverage to give to developments overseas, at the UN, and at the State Department? What criteria do the media use for deciding which events to cover and at what length, and how valid are these criteria? What value systems do they reflect? How successfully do the media make foreign news relevant to American readers and viewers? What special problems do foreign correspondents face?

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