Communication, Media and Cultural Studies Program

The communication, media and cultural studies program is organized around eight key areas of knowledge, ability and/or experience the department has identified as essential for those who contemplate entering professional communication fields upon graduation. These eight areas are:

1. Rhetorical Knowledge (1 course) Understanding how language and symbols influence beliefs, ideas, and emotions, and how persuasion depends upon ethical choices.
2. Cultural Literacy (1 course) Understanding literary and cultural history through the reading and interpretation of literary texts, and how texts from the past continue to influence print and media sources today.
3. Creative Writing and Professional Communication (1 course) Understanding and practicing the composing processes and research strategies that are essential to achieving success in either the creative or technical writing fields.
4. Speech and Performance (1 course) Understanding the theoretical and practical processes by which printed texts are adapted to a variety of oral communication situations.
5. Media and Visual Literacy (1 course) Understanding the theoretical and practical processes that influence how written language is interpreted when used in concert with film, visual, computer and multimedia technologies.
6. Theory and Research (1 course) Writing and researching at an advanced level as a prelude to the senior capstone experience.
7. Professional Experience (1 course) Applying the knowledge gained through classroom work to an internship in the communication field.
8. Senior-level/Capstone Research Seminar (1 course) Applying at an advanced level the research skills and knowledge gained in earlier communication courses to the completion of a major research project.

Two additional electives from any of category in the communication menu (2 courses).

Students choose one course from each of the eight categories and two additional courses from any category in the communication menu. Students must complete two 3000-level literature or theory courses.

Requirements for Departmental Major in Communication, Media and Cultural Studies

The following courses fulfill the requirement under which they are listed:

1. Rhetorical Knowledge (1 course)

• ENGL1208 Persuasive Strategies and Rhetorical Traditions

2. Cultural Literacy (1 course)

• ENGL2101 English Literature I
• ENGL2102 English Literature II
• ENGL2106 Irish Identities: Literature and Culture
• ENGL2303 Modern American Writers
• ENGL2304 American Voices I: U.S. Literature to 1865
• ENGL2305 Writing Women
• ENGL2309 The Haves and Have-Nots: American Authors on Money, Class and Power
• ENGL2321 Performing Gender
• ENGL2325 Spirtuality and the Literary Imagination
• ENGL2402 Shakespear: Tragedies, Comedies, Histories and Romances
• ENGL2406 The Rise of the British Novel
• ENGL2408 The Modern British Novel: Empire and After
• ENGL2409 The Political Novel
• ENGL2413 African American Literature: A Tradition of Resistance
• ENGL2323 Short Fiction
• ENGL2325 Spirituality and the Literary Imagination
• ENGL2402 Shakespeare: Tragedies, Comedies, Histories and Romances
• ENGL2406 The Rise of the British Novel
• ENGL2408 The Modern British Novel: Empire and After
• ENGL2409 The Political Novel
• ENGL2413 African American Literature: A Tradition of Resistance
• ENGL2417 Literature of the Black Atlantic
• ENGL2604 American Voices II: U.S. Literature Since 1865
• ENGL2701 Literature and Film

3. Creative Writing and Professional Communication (1 course)

• ENGL2501 Journalism
• ENGL2504 Prose Writing
• ENGL2506 Poetry Writing
• ENGL2507 Fiction Writing
• ENGL2521 Public Relations Writing
• ENGL2523 Introduction to Advertising
• ENGL3501 Writing for the Electronic Media
• ENGL3801 Feature Writing
• ITECH2109 Using the Internet: Tools and Techniques
• ITECH3103 Information Systems in the Workplace
• MGMT2307 Organizational Behavior
• SOC2133 Methods of Social Research (with permission)

4. Speech and Performance (1 course)

• ENGL1207 Critical Speech Communication
• PERF2111 Acting I: Basic Techniques
• PERF2112 Acting II: Acting II: Styles and Genres

5. Media and Visual Literacy (1 course)

• ART1407 Introduction to Digital Processes
• ART2215 Modern Art
• ART2403 Design and Composition
• ART2433 3D Form Studies
• ENGL2321 Performing Gender
• ENGL2701 Literature and Film
• ENGL3301 The American West in Film and Literature
• ENGL3303 Images of Masculinity
• ENGL3701 Media Theory
• ENGL3705 Monsters, Madness and Mayhem: The Gothic Tradition in Film and Literature
• ITECH3105 Social Issues in Computing

6. Theory and Research (1 course)

• ENGL3301 The American West in Film and Literature
• ENGL3303 Images of Masculinity
• ENGL3305 Satire
• ENGL3309 Characters of the Long 18th Century
• ENGL3601 Crime Stories and American Culture
• ENGL3701 Media Theory
• ENGL3703 Critical Theory and the Academy
• ENGL3705 Monsters, Madness and Mayhem: The Gothic Tradition in Film and Literature
• ENGL3991 Special Topics I
• ENGL3992 Special Topics II

7. Professional Experience (1 course)

• ENGL4994 Internship I
• ENGL4995 Internship II

8. Capstone Research Seminar (1 course)

• ENGL4999 Senior Seminar

Two additional courses from the communication menu