Courses Overall

Below are brief descriptions of various communication courses offered to undergraduates. Course descriptions may sometimes change; some courses may not be offered every year; and new courses may be added.

Comm 123 – Communication and Popular Culture

Popular culture has been variously dismissed as mere trivia, it has been condemned as propaganda, a tool of mass deception; and its consumers have been dubbed fashion victims and couch potatoes. This course considers these critiques, as well as those that suggest that popular culture offers valuable material for the study of social life. We consider the meanings and impact of popular culture, including its effects on how we see ourselves, others, and American life; who makes distinctions between high, middlebrow, and low or mass culture; and how power and resistance structure the production and consumption of popular texts.

Comm 125 – Introduction to Communication Behavior

(Fulfills General Requirement I: Society)

This course is an introduction to the fundamentals of communication behavior. It focuses on social science studies relating to the processes and effects of mass communication. Research reviewed includes media use behavior and media influences on knowledge, perceptions of social reality, aggressive behavior, and political behavior.

Comm 130 – Introduction to Mass Media and Society

(Fulfills General Requirement I: Society)

How might we think about the legal, political, economic, historical, and "cultural" considerations that shape what we watch on TV, read in books, stare at in billboards? What ideas are relevant for examining the enormous changes in the mass media system and the consequences of those changes? The aim of this course is to begin to answer these questions by acquainting you with the workings of American mass media as an integral part of American society.

Comm 140 – Introduction to Film Forms and Contexts

(Fulfills General Requirement III: Arts & Letters)

This course traces the development of the classical Hollywood cinema, as well as significant alternatives to this dominant mode of representation, by relating analyses of the formal elements of film texts to discussions of film industries and audiences as well as the larger social, historical context. A variety of analytical methods and perspectives are applied to films drawn from different times and countries in order to consider the cinema as a cultural construction.

Comm 175 – Argumentation and Public Advocacy

Using current events and materials from contemporary news sources, this course teaches the fundamentals of argument. The course analyzes good and bad rhetoric, and demonstrates the ways in which advocates use data, precedent, personal stories, values, experts, stereotypes and fears to support their claims or undermine the claims of others. Students have an opportunity to craft and fine-tune logical and persuasive arguments about public issues and policy and to debate issues from a wide spectrum of views.

Comm 210 – Film and Reality

This course examines some of the important theoretical (and even existential) issues raised by fiction and non-fiction films. We use film theory, literary theory, and contemporary social theory to discuss several key concepts that rest at the intersection between anthropology and communication studies: a) we interrogate contentious notions of authority, reflexivity, and objectivity; b) we analyze film’s/video’s variously pitched claims to be a ‘realistic’ representation of everyday life; c) we examine how film and video get imagined in all their visual particularity; and d) we highlight the kinds of theories about reality and realness that get turned into compelling themes in films themselves. Students will watch one film each week and consider readings that address (explicitly or implicitly) themes dramatized by that film. The screening list will include classic movies (like “Tarzan” and “Gaslight”) along with more recent motion pictures (like “The Matrix” and “Mulholland Drive”).  Watching the films during class time is mandatory (as questions about ‘the context of reception’ are also important to the course’s overarching goals).

Comm 221 – Media and Militarism – Instructor: Horner

This seminar focuses on the representation of organized, state-sponsored violence in American popular media. Militarism, defined as "a political condition characterized by the predominance of the military in government or a reliance on military force in political or diplomatic matters," has been evaluated by historians and social theorists in a variety of contexts, for a range of purposes. In this class, we assess American militarism through imagery and narrative in contemporary popular media. To understand militarism as a political condition, we will take critical perspectives on entertainments including feature films, documentaries, newscasts, video games, and commemorative events. How can we evaluate the relationship between "fictional" military depictions in entertainment media and the "objective" imagery and narratives presented by news media? How does entertainment and news media overlap in the task of informing the public in time of war? What are the consequences of popular militarism for foreign policy? Through discussion of these issues, we will evaluate the role of American media in reporting, critiquing, and celebrating war from the latter part of the 20th century through the present. Students' mastery of the course materials will be assessed in part through the quality of their contributions to classroom discussions. The purpose of the class is to familiarize students with work in media studies on topics of war and militarism and to build expertise in close reading and criticism.

Comm 224 – Communication, Childhood and Play

This course is designed to explore the history and construction of childhood and investigate the importance of play. To that end, during the first part of the course we will explore the idea of childhood including infancy, middle childhood, and the invention of adolescence; changing notions of child-rearing (e.g., “experts”, discipline, place in society); schooling; vulnerable children; the child and the state; and the child’s world (e.g., relationships with parents and peers; consumer culture; media; play). During the second part of the course, we will explore play in more detail including the culture of play; theories of play; artifacts used in play; and ways to study play. Course activities include lectures and group discussions; reading book chapters and empirical journal articles; examining children’s artwork and writing samples; observing children at play; exploring children’s artifacts (e.g., video games, board games, toys, videos, TV shows, books); and examining representations of childhood in popular culture. There will be several small writing projects (i.e., 3-5 pages); a mid-term and final (i.e., multiple choice, short-answer, and essay questions); and a final project designed in consultation with the instructor and/or TA.

Comm 225 – Children and Media

This course examines children's relationship to media in its historic, economic, political and social contexts. The class explores the ways in which "childhood" is created and understood as a time of life that is qualitatively unique and socially constructed over time. It continues with a review of various theories of child development as they inform children's relationship with and understanding of television and other household media. It next reviews public policies designed to empower parents and limit children's exposure to potentially problematic media content and simultaneously considers the economic forces that shape what children see and buy. The course concludes with a critical examination of research on the impact of media on children's physical, cognitive, social and psychological development.

Comm 226 – Introduction to Political Communication

This course is an introduction to the field of political communication, conceptual approaches to analyzing communication in various forms, including advertising, speech making, campaign debates, and candidates' and office-holders' uses of news. The focus of this course is on the interplay in the U.S. between television and politics. The course includes a history of televised campaign practices from the 1952 presidential contest through the election of 1988.

Comm 237 – Health Communication

An examination of the influence of public health communication on health behavior. The course considers: intervention programs addressing behaviors related to cancer, cardiovascular disease, HIV/AIDS, drug use, obesity and others; theories of health behavior change; issues in the design of effective health communication programs; concerns about the portrayal of health and medicine on mass media.

Comm 262 – Visual Communication

Examination of the structure and effects of visual media (film, television, advertising, and other kinds of pictures).

Comm 275 – Communication and Persuasion

Theory, research and application in the persuasive effects of communication in social and mass contexts. Primary focus on the effects of messages on attitudes, opinions, values, and behaviors. Applications include political, commercial, and public service advertising; propaganda; and communication campaigns (e.g. anti-smoking).

Comm 299 – Communication Internship Seminar

(Requires approval of Undergraduate Office)

A scholarly counterpart for students' internships in various communication-related organizations. Through individually-selected readings, class discussion and individual conferences, students develop their own independent research agendas which investigate aspects of their internship experience or industry. In written field notes and a final paper, students combine communication theory and practice in pursuit of their individual questions.

Comm 300 – Public Space, Public Life

Public space as a communicative system. Historical aspects, public space as a cultural signifier, how public space facilitates or hinders common life, public space as a component of democracy.

Comm 322 – History and Theory of Freedom of Expression

Origins, purpose, theory, practice of freedom of expression in the West. Philosophical roots of contemporary debates about expressive limits, especially problems associated with mass communications. Major topics may include, but are not limited to, sexual expression, violence, hate speech, traitorous and subversive speech, non-verbal expression, artistic expression, privacy.

Comm 323 – Contemporary Politics, Policy, and Journalism

A course on the modern media and their impact on government and politics. It primarily covers the post-Watergate/post-Vietnam era of journalism, the past quarter century. Each week focuses on specific topics and areas of post-Watergate journalism, as well as current press coverage of national events over the prior week. This course gives students the opportunity to interact and discuss the intersection of the press, politics, and public policy with some of the leading practitioners in the field.

Comm 330 – Advertising & Society

This course explores the historical and contemporary role of the advertising industry in the U.S. media system. Readings include social histories of advertising, memoirs of famous ad people, economic examinations of advertising's role in society, and critical analyses of the ad industry's power over the media.

Comm 334 – The Information Age

This course explores the problems and prospects that surround the introduction and diffusion of new information technology into the household, the workplace, and the market. Through lectures, discussions, essays and research projects, students develop an understanding and appreciation of the relations between science, technology, economics, culture and law.

Comm 336 – Local News Media & Urban Policy – Instructor: Kaniss

This course will examine the changing nature of local news in the 21st century and the challenges facing media organizations as they reach out to their audiences. A central question will be whether new models of news can be created that are capable of attracting local audiences while providing them with the information necessary to understand the challenges and opportunities facing local communities, cities, and regions. The course will begin with an examination of how suburbanization and the rise of local television newscasts affected metropolitan newspapers in the 20th century, leading up to a consideration of current challenges from new online media. We will consider trends in the media consumption habits of 18-34 year olds and relate those trends to declining youth civic engagement. The class will analyze new approaches to news gathering and dissemination--from citizen journalism and “hyperlocalism”, to blogs and podcasts, to online newspapers, public access cable and free dailies targeted to youth. At the same time, the course will examine the changing professional values and “standard operating procedures” of local journalists as well as how local public officials shape the nature news through their own media strategies (or lack thereof). Assignments will include the examination and analysis of local news coverage of urban policies in cities across the country, with a particular focus on new models of local news generation and citizen engagement with news creation. Throughout the semester, guest speakers from both the local news media as well as from the policy community will be invited to class, providing an opportunity for students to conduct interviews on the state of local news and its influence on policy decisions. Students will be expected to contribute weekly to online discussions of course content.

Comm 339 – Critical Perspectives in Journalism

This course aims to provide students with a critical understanding of journalism. It combines theoretical perspectives on the making of news with primary source material produced by and about journalists. Students analyze theoretical material on journalism – about how news is made, shaped, and performed – alongside articles and broadcasts appearing in the media, interviews with journalists in the trade press, and professional reviews. Topics include models of journalistic practice, journalistic values and norms, gatekeeping and sourcing practices, storytelling formats in news, and ethical problems related to misrepresentation, plagiarism, and celebrity.

Comm 340 – Basic Communication Research

(Fulfills the Quantitative Data Analysis Requirement)

This course is a general overview of the important components of social research. It presents a conceptual basis for assessing research quality based on the four “types of validity,” and also covers the standard elements of research design, including sampling, measurement, and causal inference. These concepts are then illustrated through reviews of four research areas: surveys and field studies, qualitative/ethnographic studies, content analysis, and policy/evaluation studies. The final part of the semester focuses more on descriptive and inferential statistics, measures of association for categorical and continuous variables, and the language of data analysis.

Comm 349 – Media and Public Opinion

(Fulfills Distribution I: Society)
(Prerequisite: COMM 125 or COMM 130)

This course explores the nature of public opinion, the ways it is formed and shaped by communication and the media, and the roles it plays in contemporary politics. Topics include: normative theories of public opinion; democracy and the media; measurement of public opinion; psychological and social bases of opinion formation and change; the role of public opinion in shaping relationships among political elites, interest groups and citizens; and the connection of public opinion to public policy. Long standing debates over the quality of public opinion, its malleability, and potential manipulation are given careful consideration throughout.

Comm 350 – Non-verbal Communication

Human non-verbal behavior as the basis of communication between persons. Non-verbal behaviors include aspects of the voice, the face and eyes, body position, posture and gesture, and space, territory and touch which are presumed to have social meaning. The course considers the individual and social factors affecting the production of such behavior, and the effects of such behaviors on others. The origins and cross-cultural similarities of non-verbal behavior are also considered.

Comm 358 – Internet & China: Technology, Power, Democracy

This course explores the dynamics between the Internet and the Chinese society with an emphasis on the social embeddedness of information and communication technologies. It addresses two sets of questions: how have government authorities and other regulatory forces shaped the development of Internet in China? How have the Internet affected information access and communication practices of Chinese people? Given the tension between democratizing potentials of the technology and various attempts to put it under control, what are further implications of the Internet on Chinese society? Topics include government surveillance and Internet censorship in China, intellectual property and creativity, China’s digital divide and information inequality, Internet and Chinese civil society, political communication online, identity and imagined communities in Chinese cyberspaces.

Comm 360 – Language and the Social Construction of Realities

This course explores what language does in everyday life. It develops language-based concepts and critically examines with them a variety of social phenomena that we tend to take for granted, including human communication. The course encourages a paradigm shift from seeing language as a system of representation and control to seeing language as a joint effort – ranging from conversation to discourse – of (re)constructing the realities we inhabit, observe, and actively maintain.

Comm 362 – Visual Communication Lab

(Requires permission of Instructor)
(Prerequisite: COMM 262)

This laboratory provides an opportunity for students to explore, through actual media production, many of the conceptual principles and research findings discussed in Comm 262 and other Communication courses.

Comm 374 – Communication and Congress

This course will examine how Congress goes about the business of translating the public's concerns into legislation and keeps the public informed of its progress. It will examine how the two chambers interact in this process, what role the media plays in shaping Congress's agenda and vice versa, and what impact the advent of 24 hour news, C-SPAN and the internet have had on Congressional deliberations. An historical approach will be taken in considering the evolution of both chambers and the media's coverage of them. Students will examine differences between the House and Senate in both their institutional development and how they go about communicating with each other, the general public, and other branches and levels of government.

Comm 376 – Supreme Court Advocacy

This course takes a detailed look at rhetorical practices of the United States Supreme Court. Students learn how cases come before the High Court, constraints on judicial decision making, and how the Court is selected. By following a current Supreme Court case, students examine petitions for certiorari, main and amicus briefs, oral arguments and judicial decisions and learn persuasion and argumentation skills. Students write an amicus brief, prepare and deliver an oral argument and both argue and decide the case in a moot court proceeding. For the final exam, students write the opinion in the case as if a sitting Justice. The class travels either to the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to hear an oral argument and attends at least one taping of NPR's Justice Talking at the National Constitution Center.

Comm 393 – Chinese and US Perspectives on Intellectual - Property, Piracy, and Creativity

China and the US are engaged in a clash over how intellectual property (IP) circulates in the global market, especially now that new technologies and the Internet have made media reproduction and distribution easy and ubiquitous. This course will look at the history and current state of Chinese and US attitudes towards IP, piracy, and creativity more generally. We will explore the deep roots of Chinese and Anglo-American IP law. US IP law, for example, developed very differently from European law and came to assume a unique, market-driven model of authorship. China traditionally had nothing like an IP legal regime until one emerged out of trade contact with the US and Britain in the 19th century. During the early years of the People's Republic Of China, a Marxist model of IP mixed with an Anglo-American model. These divergent histories of the US and China have resulted in conflicting bodies of law and very different cultures of artistic practice and consumption. We will investigate the current state of US - Chinese perspectives on IP through examinations of the black market, the effects of censorship, and trade policies. We will look at case studies like Disney in China; we will also hear from experts on the subject, and we will conduct ethnographic studies.

Comm 395 – Communication and the Presidency

This course examines the vital aspect of communication as a tool of the modern Presidency. Reading and class discussions focus on case studies drawn from modern Presidential administrations (beginning with FDR) that demonstrate the elements of successful and unsuccessful Presidential initiatives and the critical factor of communication, common to both. This course is also an introduction to primary research methods and to the use of primary research materials in the Presidential Library system.

Comm 396 – Media Events

Live broadcasts of historic events – contests, conquests, and coronations – constitute a new form of ceremonial politics whereby television joins the establishment and audience to declare a holiday. The course analyzes this genre – its diffusion, politics, anthropology, aesthetics, and effects.

Comm 399 – Communication Independent Study

(Requires agreement of supervising faculty member and approval of Undergraduate Office)

The independent study offers the self-motivated student an opportunity for a tailored, academically rigorous, semester-long investigation into a topic of the student's choice with faculty supervision. Students must also complete and file a designated form, approved and signed by the supervising faculty member and the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, which includes a topic proposal that must be received by the Undergraduate Office during the Add period of the semester during which the independent study will be conducted.

Comm 408 – Children and Media: Cognitive Development

(Prerequisites: COMM 125 and COMM 225)

This seminar is designed to investigate the relationships between children’s cognitive development and their use of media (i.e., television, computers, the Internet, video games, electronic toys). We examine normal patterns of children’s thinking and how these patterns are situated in children’s lives (e.g., contextual factors that mediate cognitive functioning). Students apply these concepts to understand both the creation of and the effects associated with media.

Comm 413 – The Role of Public Opinion in Leadership Decisions

This course explores the myriad uses of public opinion in leadership and decision making. We examine what public opinion research is, how it is conducted, and how it is subsequently utilized in a wide range of contexts, both public and private. We use numerous actual case studies involving public opinion in political campaigns, constituency organizing, crisis management, and a variety of other contexts to provide an inside view of how opinion research is actually conducted and used.

Comm 416 – Intimacy, Privacy & Surveillance – Instructor: Rosen

When is state incursion into personal privacy justified? This course will examine some of the ways in which the state has regulated our private lives. Topics to be considered include abortion prohibitions; prohibitions on access to contraception; regulation of consensual sexual activity; regulation of marriage; and state -sanctioned access to personal or private communications.

Comm 420 – Race: History, Theory and Practice – Instructor: Jackson

This class examines the history of "race" as a meaningful social category used to distinguish social groups. Where did it come from? Why/how did it develop? What are its various manifestations? In which ways might it be inextricably linked to other forms of social differentiation (such as class, gender, religion, ethnicity, and sexuality)? The course highlights the kinds of theories scholars (from different disciplines) use to explain race's continued relevance (or irrelevance), and it specifically analyzes how Communication Studies integrates race-based analyses into its research projects.

Comm 429 – Elections and Mass Media

This course will examine what is known about the role that mass media play in the electoral process. To what extent do media encourage or discourage accountability in elections?  How do academic research findings on media and politics differ from the popular wisdom about what drives campaigns?  Given the tremendous amount of criticism they draw, why do we bother holding election campaigns in the first place?  

Comm 430 – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Representation

Pre-requisites: COMM 123 or SOCI137/FOLK 137 or Permission from the Instructor

This class investigates the history of LGBT representation in a range of popular media since the 1960s—in film, television, music, pornography, the internet, video games, and so on. We will consider on-going debates about queer images, including stereotypes, camp, and the value and limits of “positive images.” The class includes a strong emphasis on independent research: students will learn how to develop and carry out an original qualitative research project throughout the semester.

 

Comm 439 – Media Criticism

Criticism has at its core an assumption of judgment about the target or performance being evaluated. Yet whose judgment is being articulated? On which basis and authority? To which ends? And with which effects? This course examines the shape of contemporary media criticism, focusing on its meaning function in different domains of popular culture (including music, television, news, and film) and the patterns by which it is produced.

Comm 445 – Tuesdays & Thursdays 10:30-12 noon – Instructor: Al-Marashi*

This course examines the various media systems in the Middle East, examining the Arab world, Israel, Iran and Turkey. Particular emphasis will focus on the roles of media systems in national identity formation and the politic process. Other questions that will be dealt with throughout the course include how do mass media affect the perception and practice of politics, and what is the interplay of the media, publics and the political process in the Middle East. News and entertainment media will be examined, including satellite TV, magazines, newspapers, motion pictures, internet, and alternative media. Other areas that will be covered include the role of gender, and pop culture in political communication in the region.

Comm 454 – Framing Public Policy

This course examines the ways in which public policy alternatives are introduced into public discourse. Informed by an emerging literature within communication, sociology, and political science that examines the framing of social issues, students select an issue of public concern of a contemporary or historical nature and produce an analysis of policy frames and their sponsors.

Comm 462 – Visual Communication and Social Advocacy

(Requires permission of Instructor)
(Prerequisite: COMM 262)

This course examines the uses of visual media in campaigns for various social causes. Students choose their own areas of interest, conduct relevant background research, and design a project based on that research.

Comm 495 – COMPS Capstone Thesis

(Requires agreement of supervising faculty member and approval of Undergraduate Office)

The senior capstone thesis is the project goal for all Communication & Public Service Program participants. Students choose the topic of the capstone thesis from a range of public policy/public service issues. Research may involve funded travel to selected archives or fieldwork sites. For students graduating with a 3.5 cumulative GPA, the capstone project may be designated as a senior honors thesis in public service.

Comm 496 – Leisure, Communication and Culture

(Fulfills Distribution I: Society)

Ever since God created the six-day work week, humans have been trying to decide how to use leisure. This course focuses on the allocation of time among different social functions, with particular reference to the idea that culture and communication may be considered the content of leisure. Readings range from empirical studies of "time budgets," to studies of the production and consumption of the arts, entertainment, holidays and tourism. "Culture policy," especially the role of government in the arts, is considered comparatively and historically.

Comm 499 – Senior Honors Thesis

(Requires agreement of supervising faculty member and approval of Undergraduate Office)

The senior honors thesis provides a capstone intellectual experience for students who have demonstrated academic achievement of a superior level. Students should consult with and arrange for a supervisor from the standing faculty no later then the middle of the term that precedes the honors thesis. Students must file a designated form, approved and signed by the supervising faculty member and the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, which includes a topic proposal.

Copyright 2006 The Annenberg School for Communication at University of Pennsylvania
3620 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 215.898.7041
Copyright Information | Contact Us | Privacy | Disclaimer | Sitemap