Education

Brief course descriptions from my time at Shepherd University.

 

COMM 203: Communication and New Media

(3 cr) New Media are changing the ways we live and work. Communication professionals must be fluent across media platforms and ready to embrace perpetual change. Communication and New Media is a course that examines media technologies and their cultural implications. The course is designed to provide students with a survey of the field and an introduction to digital media production and media literacy.

COMM 321: Public Relations Principles

(3 cr) An introduction to the principles, concepts, theoretical underpinnings, and emerging trends in the public relations. Students learn the responsibilities and functions of the public relations practitioner, examine various career paths, and are introduced to the strategic communication concentration in the Department of Communications. The course explores public relations impacts on organizations and society, the history and development of public relations, and key ethical considerations the industry faces. Emphasis is placed on the fundamentals of the strategic process of public relations.

COMM 335: Writing Across Platforms

(3 cr) Students learn to write effectively across various platforms in today’s computer-mediated world. Emphasis is given to clear and effective communication and professional standards as well as the need to tailor the message to the audience and the platform through which it is communicated.

COMM 352: Computer-Mediated Communication

(3 cr) This course focuses on the study, practice, and criticism of computer-mediated communication. Students will develop projects using a variety of digital technologies, focusing primarily on the Web. The course is designed to teach students to effectively use these technologies, to study the impact on society, and to think critically about the impact.

COMM 403: Media Studies

(3 cr) A course that investigates the significance of contemporary media, cultural ideals, beliefs, and values. The course considers the significance and impact of media on our experience of self, community, culture, society, and world. The course will engage students in the critical practices of reading, decoding, and interpreting cultural texts and practices.

COMM 406: Advertising and Imagery

(3 cr) This course explores the significance and influence of advertising, public relations, and public opinion on contemporary culture. The history, institutional practice, and aesthetics of advertising, public relations, and public opinion will be studied. The course will consider the social, political, cultural, and personal dimensions of interpreting advertising, public relations, and public opinion.

COMM 447: Advanced Internet Media

(3 cr) This course expands on the study, practice, and criticism of computer-mediated communication. Students will build upon skills developed in COMM 352, advancing their knowledge of internet-based technologies.

COMM 451: Senior Capstone Preparation

(1 cr) This course prepares Communication students to undertake the work of the Senior Capstone Project, the final requirement for graduation from the Program in Communication. The course will engage students in the initial research process, the identification, development, and planning of appropriate capstone projects, selection of a faculty director, and information that meets the expectations of the Capstone Project. This course will culminate in the production of a capstone proposal and plan that will be submitted for approval to enroll in COMM 461: Senior Capstone Project. Students are expected to complete a two-course sequence COMM 451 and 461, which must be taken in successive semesters in the last year of study.

COMM 461: Senior Capstone Project

(2 cr) A required course for all communication seniors that brings together communication theory and practical experience into a final project and presentation. Original projects may include, but are not limited tp, digital films, podcasts, papers, Websites, and social media campaigns. Projects will be presented before the department faculty, students, and the campus community. A faculty member, selected by the student, and the course instructor will serve as advisors for the project. The course will serve as a final assessment of communication skills. Students are expected to complete a 2-course sequence, COMM 451 and COMM 461, which must be taken in successive semesters in the last year of study.

COMM 329: Sound Design

(3 cr) A course in the creation and critique of audio productions for radio and video. The course explores both the theory and practice of acoustic communications and sound design. It considers both the aesthetics of electroacoustic communication and the social, cultural, and institutional contexts of radio broadcasting.

COMM 346: Motion Graphics

(3 cr) In today’s digital environment, savvy communicators exploit the synergy of the written word in combination with sound and the moving image. This course will focus on the study and creation of motion graphics in fine art, film, and advertising. How do motion graphics differ from other modes of communications? How does the introduction of text affect audience experience? While seeking answers to questions like these, students will explore groundbreaking work of visionaries such as Saul Bass while learning software that allows them to express their own messages in a professional manner.

COMM 402: Seminar in Communications

(3 cr) This course focuses upon topics faculty believe are of interest to those who intend to continue advanced study in the field. Topics for the seminar are announced during early semester registration.

COMM 326: Radio Practicum

(3 cr) A course in which the student, assigned a specific musical format, prepares and executes weekly programs complete with musical selections, news headlines, announcements, and a program guest. To qualify, the student must be capable of operating all studio equipment.

COMM 333: Music Video

(3 cr) Music Video outlines the history, significance, and impact of music video as a commercial commodity and aesthetic style. The cultural impact of music video on popular culture will be studied and students will engage in music video production as a form of writing and inscribing experience.

COMM 304: History of Film

(3 cr) Historical and critical survey of the development of motion pictures as an industry, art form, and a distinctive medium of mass communication.

COMM 450: Internship in Communication

(3 cr) A capstone course in experiential learning. The student engages in writing a run interviewing, and participating in an intensive internship, externship, or cooperative with an appropriate agency. Students may elect to intern in Washington, D. C., in conjunction with the Washington Gateway program.