Information found in this online edition of the 2008-09 catalog is unofficial and for informational purposes only. By authority of the dean of the College, some factual corrections to the printed version may appear here. The official document of record is the printed edition of the 2008-09 Catalog. For more information, please contact the Office of the Registrar.
Communication
Chair: Stuart J. Kaplan
From its humanistic roots in ancient Greece to its social science applications in modern technology and media, communication is a dynamic and unique field of study--one of the oldest and one of the newest disciplines. Grounded in the classical liberal arts tradition of rhetoric and public discourse, the communication discipline addresses contemporary concerns about organizational, interpersonal, and intercultural communication; information technologies; and electronic media messages. While communication touches us daily and is part of every human interaction, no other discipline takes these messages and their consequences as its unique focus.
The Department of Communication offers a challenging and integrated study of theory and practice in historical and contemporary communication. The discipline of communication, which is rooted in the classical study of rhetoric, combines both humanistic and social science perspectives, and the curriculum focuses on the content, transmission, and consequences of oral, print, and electronic messages. An understanding of the communication process, including the social construction of meaning, is central to the life of a liberally educated person and to the development of critical and creative thinking, speaking, listening, and writing.
The Major Program
The major in communication combines core requirements with the flexibility of electives. Requirements involve the historical and contemporary study of persuasion; the critical evaluation of communication theories and practices related to interpersonal interactions, organizations, public discourse, and the mass media; engagement with both quantitative and qualitative research methods; and the satisfactory completion and presentation of senior research. These requirements are essential for the student who intends to pursue graduate study or enter a communication-related field.
Students should declare the communication major by the end of the sophomore year to provide maximum flexibility in planning for core requirements and electives. Students are also encouraged to consult with their department advisors about coursework from other departments that can be appropriately integrated into their study of communication. Each communication major is expected to complete a research project during the senior year. Students who are working on their projects should enroll in Communication 480 (Senior Seminar).
Major Requirements
A minimum of 40 semester credits, distributed as follows:
- Six communication core courses: 100, 203, 260, 301, either 302 or 303, and 480.
- Sixteen semester credits of communication electives. Students may apply a maximum of 4 semester credits, total, in practicum and independent study to the major. At least 12 semester credits of electives must be at the 300 or 400 level.
- Successful completion and presentation of the senior project (4 semester credits, attained through Communication 480).
Minor Requirements
A minimum of 24 semester credits, distributed as follows:
- Three communication core courses: 100, 203, and 260.
- Twelve semester credits of communication electives. Practicum and independent study coursework is not counted toward the minor. Eight semester credits of electives for the minor must be at the 300 or 400 level.
Activities
Public Advocacy. Competitive forensics and noncompetitive public forum activities. Students may compete in policy or parliamentary debate, extemporaneous speaking, oratory, expository, after-dinner speaking, and oral interpretation in intercollegiate tournaments. Students may qualify for Pi Kappa Delta, a national speech honorary. The forensics squad has earned national recognition. Credit is available for qualified students through the practicum program.
KLC Radio. One of the largest campus activities, with a station staff of 40 to 60 students each semester. Staff members participate in all aspects of broadcasting, station management, and operations, including programming, production, news, and promotions. The station broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at www.lclark.edu/~klc. KLC is a cocurricular activity sponsored by the Department of Communication. Credit is available to qualified students through the practicum program.
KLC-TV. A student-directed and -managed organization devoted to the production of film and video. KLC-TV produces a weekly video magazine. Any student may submit work for possible inclusion in broadcasts. KLC-TV also sponsors film festivals and one or two filmmaking efforts during the academic year. Credit is available to qualified students through the practicum program.
Pioneer Log. The weekly student newspaper of Lewis & Clark. Students work in all phases of newspaper production: reporting, editing, photography, electronic publishing, advertising, and layout. Credit is available for qualified students through the practicum program.
Practicum Program
A variety of practica and internships are available to qualified students. The practicum program provides an opportunity to explore the relationship between theoretical concepts and skills learned in the classroom and the work done in various organizations, including community service agencies, government offices, advertising companies, and the media. Practicum credit is also available for participation in the Public Advocacy, KLC Radio, KLC-TV, and Pioneer Log organizations at Lewis & Clark. The practicum experience is supervised by communication department faculty and involves additional readings and written assignments beyond the time spent in the organization. Credit is offered on a credit-no credit basis through Communication 244 and 444, Practicum. A detailed written description of the practicum program and its requirements is available in the department.
Honors
Communication majors with a grade point average of 3.500 or higher overall and in the major are invited by the department to prepare their senior projects as honors projects. Senior projects submitted for consideration for honors normally require more extensive preparation than other senior projects. Two faculty members assist the student and evaluate the project on completion. Students whose projects are deemed worthy are granted honors on graduation.
Resources For Nonmajors
With the exception of the senior project, most courses in communication are open to nonmajors who have completed the prerequisites. The introductory course (Communication 100) is useful to the general student. Advanced courses such as Communication and Conflict (310), Ethical and Legal Issues in the Mass Media (322), and Legal Communication (354) serve students with more specialized interests. Applied laboratory experiences in forensics, KLC Radio, KLC-TV, and the Pioneer Log student newspaper are also appropriate to a variety of majors. Department sponsorship of practicum experiences is usually available only to majors.
Facilities
Radio facilities. Located in Templeton Campus Center, KLC Radio includes two fully equipped stereo studios, a newsroom, and offices. The station webcasts on and off campus.
Print facilities. Pioneer Log offices are located in Templeton Campus Center. Students have use of electronic publishing technology and digital cameras.
Video facilities. Lewis & Clark's video production facility includes digital editing capabilities, computer graphics, portable cameras and recording equipment, and a multiple-camera production studio. Additional video recording systems are available on campus.
Faculty
Peter G. Christenson, professor. Media and society, quantitative research methods, media and socialization, popular music as communication.
Daena J. Goldsmith, professor. Relational communication, health communication, role of communication in culture and gender.
Steven B. Hunt, professor. Argumentation and advocacy; political, persuasive, rhetorical, and legal communication.
Stuart J. Kaplan, associate professor. Communication technology and society, video and audio aesthetic theory and methods, research methods.
G. Mitchell Reyes, assistant professor. Rhetoric, public memory, public discourse, rhetoric of science.
COMM 100 Introduction To Communication
Staff
Content: Introduction to the conceptual and philosophical foundations of the communication discipline, from classical rhetorical theory through contemporary perspectives, including critical theories of human interaction. How humans construct and negotiate meaning in different contexts, including interpersonal relationships, public address, small groups and organizations, mass media. Moral, ethical, and policy issues.
Prerequisite: None.
Taught: Each semester, 4 semester credits.
COMM 200 Mass Media Messages: Design And Analysis
Christenson, Kaplan
Content: Theory, aesthetics, and practice in the production of mass media messages. Organizing principles and aesthetic theories concerning writing for print and electronic media, message organization, visual composition, photography, audio production, basic editing. Ethical responsibilities to information sources and audiences.
Prerequisite: Communication 100.
Taught: Each semester, 4 semester credits.
COMM 203 Rhetorical Theory
Hunt, Reyes
Content: History and theory of rhetoric, including major developments in rhetorical theory from antiquity up to the present. Rhetoric's relationship with philosophy, knowledge, and culture. Examination of persuasive messages in various forms, including politics, advertising, film, video.
Prerequisite: Communication 100 or consent of instructor.
Taught: Each semester, 4 semester credits.
COMM 210 Public Discourse
Hunt, Reyes
Content: Development of basic public speaking skills, listener-critic abilities, and appreciation for the role of public discourse in society. Library research, organization and outlining, language style, presentation skills, rhetorical/communication criticism.
Prerequisite: None.
Taught: Each semester, 4 semester credits.
COMM 221 Public Argument: Parliamentary Debate
Hunt
Content: Introduction to argumentation in public arenas. History, background, and strategies for parliamentary debate. Critical thinking, library research, logic and reasoning, listening and note taking, argument creation and refutation. Practice of debate skills.
Prerequisite: None.
Taught: Alternate years, 4 semester credits.
COMM 244 Practicum
Staff
Content: Field learning experience combining theoretical concepts and skills learned in the classroom with practical work in on-campus and off-campus organizations. Additional readings and written assignments required. For three specific practica--forensics, KLC Radio, and Pioneer Log--students should enroll noting practicum: Forensics or KLC or Pioneer Log.
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
Taught: Each semester, 1-4 semester credits. May be repeated for credit. Maximum of 4 semester credits, total, in practicum and/or independent study may be counted toward the major.
COMM 260 Empirical Research Methods
Christenson, Goldsmith
Content: Methods of communication research grounded in data collection for the purposes of prediction and explanation (quantitative methods) or description and interpretation (qualitative methods). Course spans philosophy of inquiry; relationship of theory to data in developing questions and hypotheses; logic of sampling, measurement, and statistical inference; uses of interviews, fieldwork, and textual analysis; criteria for evaluating quantitative and qualitative work; research ethics.
Prerequisite: Communication 100 or consent of instructor.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
COMM 299 Independent Study
Staff
Content: Independent reading and/or research in an area other than the normal course offerings of the department.
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
Taught: Each semester, 1-4 semester credits. Maximum of 4 semester credits, total, in independent study and/or practicum may be counted toward the major.
COMM 301 Rhetorical Criticism
Hunt, Kaplan, Reyes
Content: Major critical methods for analyzing and understanding communicative action. Major historical developments in rhetorical criticism during the 20th century. Role of criticism in understanding persuasive messages in various forms, including political discourse, advertising, music, film, television.
Prerequisite: Communication 203.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
COMM 302 Mass Communication Theory
Christenson, Kaplan
Content: Survey of the key theories and research regarding the role of mass media in shaping society, spanning the early 20th century to the present. Coverage includes areas such as media's impact on the political process, the cultivation of attitudes and values through media exposure, critiques of mass culture and mass society, and the role of interpretation and social construction in media audiences.
Prerequisite: Communication 260 or consent of instructor.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
COMM 303 Relational Communication Theory
Goldsmith
Content: Theories of the processes through which communication enacts identities, constructs relationships, and organizes social interaction. Processes are examined in a variety of contexts, including personal relationships, social and task groups, and institutions such as workplaces and communities.
Prerequisite: Communication 260 or consent of instructor.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
COMM 313 Politics Of Public Memory
Reyes
Content: Investigation of public memory as the public negotiation of the past for political purposes in the present. Exploration of how different cultures have remembered and rhetorically constructed traumatic historical events such as the Holocaust and institutionalized slavery. Role of communication and persuasion in public acts of remembrance.
Prerequisite: Communication 100 or consent of instructor.
Taught: Alternate years, 4 semester credits.
COMM 322 Ethical and Legal Issues in the Mass Media
Christenson
Content: How legislatures, courts, administrative agencies, and the mass communication industries define the rights and responsibilities of the mass media. Evolution and application of First Amendment theory. Argumentation of hypothetical legal cases.
Prerequisite: Communication 100.
Taught: Alternate years, 4 semester credits.
COMM 325 The Documentary Form
Kaplan
Content: Critical analysis of the television, film, radio, and multimedia documentary with emphasis on institutional practices that shape and sustain the genre, argument in documentaries, expectations of audiences. Organization of materials for documentaries, editing and montage, principles of visual composition as they relate to moving images, functions of sound, ethical considerations. Planning and production of short radio and television documentaries.
Prerequisite: Communication 200 or consent of instructor.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
COMM 330 Communication And Culture
Goldsmith
Content: Culture as produced through systems and practices of communication, communication as a product of culture. Cross-cultural communication, cultural contexts for communication, rules and forms of expression in varied cultural settings. Cultural adaptation, codes, and appropriate communication behaviors; problems of intercultural critique. Communication in a global environment, diversity and multiculturalism.
Prerequisites: Junior standing. Communication 100 or consent of instructor.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
COMM 340 Media Across Cultures
Christenson
Content: Theoretical perspectives on the political and social role of mass communication in developed and developing nations. Mass communication organizations, content, regulatory models, audiences in diverse cultures. Implications of public versus private ownership of mass media. Evaluation of claims of U.S. cultural imperialism. Minority and ethnic media.
Prerequisites: Junior standing. Communication 100.
Taught: Alternate years, 4 semester credits.
COMM 352 Gender In Public Communication
Goldsmith
Content: Gender in public discourse, including gendered rhetoric and media representations. Feminist theories of rhetoric and the various ways rhetoric is gendered. U.S. women's movements of the 19th and 20th centuries examined as a case study of rhetorical strategies used to redefine gender and gendered relations. Contemporary examples of gendered rhetoric, both within and outside the United States. Role of mass media in constructing gender, including how gender is represented in the media and the effects of media representations on actions and attitudes.
Prerequisite: Communication 100 or Gender Studies 200 or consent of instructor.
Taught: Alternate years, 4 semester hours.
COMM 354 Legal Communication
Hunt
Content: Communication processes in the legal field, including the philosophy of the advocacy system, legal interviewing and counseling, alternative dispute resolution (negotiation, mediation, arbitration), trial practices, appellate advocacy.
Prerequisite: Communication 210 or Political Science 255 or consent of instructor.
Taught: Alternate years, 4 semester credits.
COMM 355 Political Communication
Hunt
Content: Communication in the political process, especially in campaigning. Campaign finance, consulting, political debates, advertising, stump speaking, legal constraints on political communication, effects of the First Amendment on politics.
Prerequisite: Communication 210 or Political Science 103 or consent of instructor.
Taught: Alternate years, 4 semester credits.
COMM 360 Persuasive Communication
Hunt
Content: Theory and praxis of persuasive communication in a free society. How symbolic messages influence people's attitudes, beliefs, values, behaviors. Practice in the creation and criticism of persuasive messages.
Prerequisite: Communication 100. Communication 260 or 301 recommended.
Taught: Alternate years, 4 semester credits.
COMM 406 Rhetoric, Race, And Resistance
Hunt, Reyes
Content: Role of rhetoric in social conflicts regarding issues of race. Theories and strategies of resistance and the implications for political action. Examination of major race and resistance texts.
Prerequisite: Communication 100 or consent of instructor. Communication 301 recommended.
Taught: Alternate years, 4 semester credits.
COMM 418 Health Communication
Goldsmith
Content: Communication about health and in health contexts as a site for examining broader theoretical processes, including identity management, negotiation of power and solidarity, persuasion, and discursive construction and enactment of cultural values and premises. Topics may include communication in personal relationships and social networks regarding health, illness identity and stigma, patient-provider communication, communication in public health campaigns, and representations of health in mass media.
Prerequisite: Communication 303 or consent of instructor.
Taught: Alternate years, 4 semester credits.
COMM 444 Practicum
Staff
Content: Same as Communication 244 but requiring more advanced work.
Prerequisite: Communication 100 and consent of instructor.
Taught: Each semester, 1-4 semester credits. May be repeated for credit. Maximum of 4 semester credits, total, in practicum and/or independent study may be counted toward the major.
COMM 460 Communication Technology And Society
Kaplan
Content: Cultural, political, and economic implications of major communication technology developments from the advent of broadcasting to contemporary telecommunication systems. Effects of technological change on freedom of expression, personal privacy, and equality of access to information and education. Framing public policy guidelines to maximize potential social benefits of new communication technologies. Planning and production of interactive multimedia programs.
Prerequisite: Junior standing or consent of instructor.
Taught: Alternate years, 4 semester credits.
COMM 470 Popular Culture And Socialization
Christenson
Content: Role of the mass media and popular culture in the process of growing up. Television, popular music, and other media as influences in the personal and social lives of children and adolescents. Uses and misuses of empirical research in solving public policy issues related to media and children.
Prerequisites: Communication 100 and 260.
Taught: Alternate years, 4 semester credits.
COMM 480 Senior Seminar
Staff
Content: Advanced research and independent work. Substantial research paper or media project accompanied by a shorter analysis paper. Presentation at a public forum.
Prerequisite: Senior standing.
Taught: Each semester, on a graded basis, 2 or 4 semester credits. May be taken twice for graded credit, for a maximum of 4 semester credits.
COMM 499 Independent Study
Staff
Content: Advanced-level independent reading and/or research in an area other than the normal course offerings of the department.
Prerequisites: Junior standing. Consent of instructor.
Taught: Each semester, 1-4 semester credits. Maximum of 4 semester credits, total, in independent study and/or practicum may be counted toward the major.