Communication
Due to enrollment pressures, it is Department of Communication policy to drop from the class roll students who fail to attend either of the first two meetings of a basic course (COMM 131X and 141X) even if they have preregistered. Prerequisite for all 600-level communication courses is admission to the M.A. degree Professional Communication program or permission of instructor.
COMM 131X 3 Credits
Fundamentals of Oral Communication: Group Context
Presentational speaking skills: individual and group. Includes
verbal and nonverbal skills, critical thinking in selecting and organizing
materials, audience analysis, and speaking presentation. Group skills
include task and relational interaction, required interdependence,
working across cultural differences, group decision-making and shared
logistics of presentation. Student evaluations are based on nationally
normed speaking competencies. (3 + 0) Offered Fall, Spring
COMM 141X 3 Credits
Fundamentals of Oral Communication: Public Context
Speaking skills for individual presentation. Includes verbal and
nonverbal skills, critical thinking in selecting and organizing materials,
audience analysis, informative and persuasive speaking, and actual
presentations. Student evaluations are based on nationally normed speaking
competencies. (3 + 0) Offered Fall, Spring
COMM 180 3 Credits
Introduction to Human Communication (s)
Critical thinking about fundamental concepts in human communication
in interpersonal, group, public, organizational and intercultural settings.
Introduction to inquiry into human communication as a social science.
(3 + 0) Offered Fall
COMM 231 3 Credits
Business and Professional Communication (s)
Designed to provide the student with practical applications of
communication in organizations. Includes superior-subordinate communication,
conference and meeting management, oral presentation of written proposals,
and the examination of information flow through organizational networks.
(Prerequisite: Any 100-level oral communication course or permission
of instructor. Next offered: 2005-06) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate
Years
COMM 280 3 Credits
Communication and Diversity (s)
Provides students with a cognitive and experiential foundation
for understanding how the communication process works in the context
of diversity. Includes an in-depth examination of those processes and
products of processes that lead communicators to devalue differences
in one another. (3 + 0) Offered Spring
COMM 300X 3 Credits
Communicating Ethics (h)
An examination of ethical choices which are communicated in everyday
encounters. Examines human moral development from a variety of perspectives,
including feminist interpretations. Creation and communication of
human values explored through the discussion of a series of contemporary
dilemmas. (Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.) (3 + 0)
Offered Spring/p>
COMM 320 3 Credits
Communication and Language (s)
Examination of the nature of language and its place in human
communication, with special attention to the creation of meaning
in conversation. (Prerequisite: Any lower division communication
course or permission of instructor. Next offered: 2005-06.) (3 + 0)
Offered Alternate Years/p>
COMM 321W 3 Credits
Nonverbal Communication (s)
Non-lexical behavior in human communication, including consideration
of space, physical environment, physical appearance and dress, kinesics,
facial expression, and non-lexical vocal behavior. (Prerequisites:
ENGL 111X, 211X or 213X; and any lower division communication course
or permission of instructor. Next offered: 2004-05.) (3 + 0)
Offered Alternate Years/p>
COMM 322W 3 Credits
Communication in Interpersonal Relationships (s)
An examination of communication in the most basic human context,
the relational dyad. Emphasis on the ongoing, co-construction of
the relationship as communicative action. Discussion of interpersonal
relationships generally, and extensive discussion of communication
in the patterns of coming together, relationship maintenance, relational
and personal growth in relationships, relational conflict and relational
disengagement. Theoretical and practical perspectives. Prerequisite:
ENGL 111X, 211X or 213X.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Years/p>
COMM 330 3 Credits
Intercultural Communication (s)
The nature and the sources of problems in communication that
may arise when persons with different cultural backgrounds interact.
Emphasis on problems in intercultural communication in Alaska. (Prerequisite:
Any lower division communication course or permission of instructor.
Next offered: 2004-05.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Years/p>
COMM 331O 3 Credits
Advanced Group Communication (s)
Current research and theory in intergroup and intragroup relations.
Topics include the study of leadership, power, group structure, participation
and conflict. (Prerequisites COMM 131X or 141X: and any 100-level
communication course; or permission of instructor. Next offered:
2005-06.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Years/p>
COMM 335O 3 Credits
Organizational Communication (s)
Examines current theoretical and methodological approaches undergirding
the construction of organizations via the communication process.
Includes functional (message flow, load and network analysis) as
well as interpretive (metaphors, narratives and organizational culture)
approaches to the study of organizational communication. (Prerequisites
COMM 131X or 141X: and one lower division communication course; or
permission of instructor. Next offered: 2004-05.) (3 + 0)
Offered Alternate Years/p>
COMM 351 3 Credits
Gender and Communication (s)
(Cross-listed with WMS 351)
Basic socialization differences exist in the communication practices of women
and men in every culture, resulting in differing cultural constructions of
male and female gender. Those differences are addressed in the interpersonal,
organizational and cultural contexts. Exploration of cultural female/male dichotomy
as well as individual similarities. (Prerequisite: Any lower division communication
course or permission of instructor. Next offered: 2005-06.) (3 + 0)
Offered Alternate Years/p>
COMM 352 3 Credits
Family Communication (s)
Exploration of the functions of communication in marriage and
the family, sequences and patterns of family communication, family
communication as a continual process of coping with dialectical tensions,
and the complexity of changing family life in Western societies.
(Prerequisite: Any lower division communication course or permission
of instructor. COMM 322 recommended. Next offered: 2005-06.) (3 + 0)
Offered Alternate Years/p>
COMM 353 3 Credits
Conflict, Mediation and Communication (s)
Examines conflict as a complex communication event, together
with the role of the mediator in building constructive outcomes in
conflicts. Emphasis on developing skills to engage in mediation.
(Prerequisite: Any 100-level communication course or permission of
instructor. Next offered: 2004-05.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate
Years/p>
COMM 401 3 Credits
Communication Research Methods (s)
Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies employed
in the conduct of research on communication phenomena. (Prerequisite:
Any 300-level communication courses or permission of instructor.
Next offered: 2005-06.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Years/p>
COMM 425W 3 Credits
Communication Theory (s)
Theories of human communication, as well as of the nature of
inquiry into human communication phenomena. Issues include the nature
of communication as a discipline, critical and scientific inquiry,
and major paradigms or perspectives within which communication theories
are created. (Prerequisites: ENGL 111X, 211X or 213X; and any 300-level
communication course; or permission of instructor. Next offered:
2004-05.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Years/p>
COMM 432O 3 Credits
Professional Public Speaking
Professional clear effective speaking. Uses evaluation criteria and assignments
to build speaking competencies. Professional preparation for students whose career
path includes public speaking. (Prerequisites COMM 131X or 141X: and senior standing.
Next offered: 2004-05.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Spring
COMM 441 3 Credits
Persuasion (s)
Examination of communication situations which involve attempts to modify
the beliefs, attitudes, values, intentions, or behaviors of another individual
or group of individuals. Explores the process, methods and ethics of attempts
to affect change via persuasive communication. (Prerequisite: Any 300-level
communication course or permission of instructor. Next offered: 2004-05.) (3 + 0)
Offered Alternate Years
COMM 462W 3 Credits
Communication in Health Contexts (s)
Health communication as an established context for communication study
will be explored. Problems in health communication will be examined as well
as how
those problems are exacerbated by the various matters of diversity, language
and setting. Communication between health care professionals, between health
care providers and health care consumers, between health care facilities and
communities, and the legal perspectives of health communication will be topical.
(Prerequisites: ENGL 111X, 211X or 213X; and any 300-level communication course;
or permission of instructor. Next offered: 2005-06.) (3 + 0) Offered
Alternate Spring
COMM 475W 3 Credits
Applied Communication in Training and Development (s)
Applies communication theory and research to organizational settings. Includes
the identification and assessment of problems and opportunities that would
benefit from the application of communication interventions including training,
development and transformation technologies. (Prerequisites: ENGL 111X, 211X
or 213X; and any 300-level communication course; or permission of instructor.
Next offered: 2005-06.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Years
COMM 482W,O 3 Credits
Capstone Seminar in Communication (s)
Original research to demonstrate ability to read and understand social
research, synthesize information, formalize a research question and research
skills.
This senior capstone course requires a research project presented in a public
speaking forum. (Prerequisite: ENGL 111X; ENGL 211X or ENGL 213X; COMM 131X
or 141X; and any 300-level communication course; or permission of instructor.
Next offered: 2005-06.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Years
COMM 600 3 Credits
Introduction to Professional Communication
An introduction to professional practices important to communication careers.
Professional writing and editing methods and techniques used in academic and/or
professional careers. Development and presentation of professional reports which
would include quantitatively- and qualitatively-based support. A.P.A. style guide
will be covered. (Prerequisite: Enrollment in M.A. in Professional Communication
or permission of instructor. Next offered: 2005-06.) (3 + 0) Offered
Alternate Fall
COMM 601 3 Credits
Communication Research Methodologies (Social Science)
(Cross-listed with JRN 601)
Introduction to the range of methodologies used to produce both practical
and theoretic knowledge in the discipline. Presents the relationships between
scientific
questions, appropriate selection of methodology and types of knowledge products.
Note: 601 is a required core course for the master's degree in Professional
Communication. (Next offered: 2005-06.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate
Years
COMM 602 3 Credits
Communication Research Methodologies (Human Science)
Introduction to research using a constructionist epistemology and the methodologies
of the human science contexture. Includes evaluation and preparation of research
using a variety of methodologies and to employ the data collection techniques
that are implied by those methodologies. (Prerequisites: COMM 601 and 625,
or permission of instructor. Next offered: 2004-05.) (3 + 0) Offered
Alternate Spring
COMM 622 3 Credits
Interpersonal Interaction
All understandings of communication study begin at the interpersonal level
because this is the context in which the relation of self and the social is
most clear. Interpersonal Interaction will provide students an opportunity
to investigate a particular communication context of their choice (health comm.,
family comm., comm. and aging, conflict comm., relational comm., comm. education,
etc.) and ways in which interpersonal interactions interconnect human social
life at all levels of lived experience. (Prerequisite: Enrollment in M.A. in
Professional Communication degree or permission of instructor. Next offered:
2004-05.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Years
COMM 625 3 Credits
Communication Theory
(Cross-listed with JRN 625)
Communication 625 is a required course for the master’s degree in Professional
Communication. The course is designed to acquaint students with both the historical
evolution of the discipline against the backdrop of the evolution of the social
sciences and with the theoretical perspectives of knowledge-building that have
marked that disciplinary evolution. Students will learn the contextual interconnectedness
of philosophy and theory. Finally, Communication Theory will also make the
essential connections between theoretical perspectives and their professional
uses. (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Years
COMM 635 3 Credits
Organizational Culture and Communication
Organizational Culture and Communication addresses the most contemporary
perspective of communication in the organizational context. The interpretive
paradigm will
be examined in terms of the broad range of knowledge currently being generated
by Communication scholars and other professionals who are looking more closely
at the ways communication produces the social contexts in which it occurs.
Human organizations and their transparency to the communication of their members
is the pragmatic substance of the course. (Prerequisite: Enrollment in MA in
Professional Communication degree or permission of instructor. Next offered:
2004-05.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Fall
COMM 642 3 Credits
Health Communication
Health Communication is intended to give students and interested professionals
in related fields access to the most current research in this area. The course
will address human communication at every level of interaction in the provision
of health care: interpersonal (e.g., doctor/patient), small group (e.g., clinic
cardiac team), intra-organizational (e.g., medical staff and business staff),
interorganizational (e.g., hospital and schools), public campaigns (e.g., Center
for Disease Control and prevention initiatives on drunk driving), and associated
communication factors such as culture and diversity. Includes involvement in
research and grant-proposal writing. (Prerequisite: Enrollment in MA in Professional
Communication degree or permission of instructor.) (3 + 0) Offered
As Demand Warrants
COMM 661 1 Credit
Mentored Teaching in Communication
Mentored teaching provides consistent contact on course-related issues
between teaching assistants and mentoring faculty. (Prerequisites: Enrollment
in M.A.
in Professional Communication or permission of instructor; award to teaching
assistantship in communication. Note: Teaching assistants are required to be
enrolled in a mentoring teaching section while teaching. May be repeated up
to four times for credit.) (1 + 0 + 2) Offered Fall, Spring
COMM 675 3 Credits
Training and Development Communication
Training and Development Communication offers students practical, current
understandings of planned training, development and transformation processes
as they are applied
in the organizational setting. The information and class projects will help
prepare training and development specialists, consultants and others whose
interest is in this growing communication field. (Prerequisite: Enrollment
in MA in Professional Communication degree or permission of instructor. Next
offered: 2005-06.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Years
COMM 680 3 Credits
Communication and Diversity in the Professional World
Students will learn to apply case study methods to the ever-expanding problems
of communication in a changing workplace. The diversity of gender, race, ethnicity,
nationality, physical ability, sexual orientation and age are reshaping the professional
world at every level and Communication professionals are increasingly called
upon to formulate ways of accommodating this change. The course will prepare
students to address diversity and planned changes in the workplace. (Prerequisite:
Enrollment in M.A. in Professional Communication degree or permission of instructor.
Next offered: 2004-05.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Years
COMM 682 3 Credits
Seminar in Communication
A variable content seminar intended to give students an opportunity to
work closely with communication faculty in the study of topics, ideas or methodologies
significant to the communication discipline (e.g. relational conflict, social
construction, narrative research, etc.). (Prerequisite: Enrollment in MA in
Professional Communication degree or permission of instructor. Next offered:
2005-06.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Years
COMM 699 3 Credits
Thesis
Every candidate for the Communication concentration of the master’s degree
in Professional Communication will complete a thesis project. The requirement
consists of an original piece of Communication research directed by a member
of the graduate faculty in the Communication Department. The completed and
accepted thesis will be presented in an appropriate public forum. (0 + 0)
Offered Fall, Spring