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 and
human science. (3 + 0) Offered Spring
COMM 231 3
Credits
Business and Professional Communication (s)
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.) (3 + 0) Offered
Alternate Years
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. Also available via Independent Learning. (Prerequisite: Junior
standing or above.) (3 + 0) Offered Fall, Spring
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.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Years
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.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Years
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
COMM 330 3
Credits
Intercultural Communication (s)
The nature and 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.)
(3 + 0) Offered Spring
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.) (3 + 0)
Offered Alternate Years
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.)
(3 + 0) Offered Alternate Years
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.)
(3 + 0) Offered Fall
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.)
(3 + 0) Offered Alternate Years
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.) (3 + 0)
Offered Alternate Years
COMM 380 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 401 3
Credits
Communication Research Methods (s)
Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies employed
in the conduct of research on communication phenomena. (Prerequisite: Senior
standing; any 300-level communication courses or permission of instructor.)
(3 + 0) Offered Fall
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: Senior standing; ENGL 211X or 213X; and any 300-level
communication course; or permission of instructor.) (3 + 0) Offered
Fall
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.) (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.)
(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.) (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.) (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 use 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 COMM 401; or
permission of instructor.) (3 + 0) Offered Spring
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.)
(3 + 0) Offered 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. (3 + 0) Offered Fall
COMM 602 3
Credits
Communication Research Methodologies (Human Science)
An 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.)
(3 + 0) Offered 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, family, aging, conflict, relational, 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.) (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
Fall
COMM 631 3
Credits
Teambuilding
Small group communication theory and methods linked to
professional applications. Ways to create, maintain and reward productive work
teams. Face-to-face and mediated group sessions will be discussed as well as
the impact of professional work groups on organizational teambuilding. Students
will work with teambuilding interventions that they will be able to apply in a
variety of organizational settings. (Recommended: COMM 625. Prerequisite: COMM
600.) (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants
COMM 635 3
Credits
Organizational Culture on Communication
Contemporary perspectives 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.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Years
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), inter-organizational (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. of Professional Communication or permission of instructor;
award of 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.
(3 + 0) Offered Spring
COMM 680 3
Credits
Communication and Diversity in the Professional World
Case study methods applied 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.) (3 + 0) Offered Spring
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.) (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants
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