97 courses with the subject COMM, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
COMM 1101Introduction to Communication4
This course will provide an introduction to the study of Communication. Topics include the functions, foundations, models, and modes of communication. Students will be introduced to research methods and begin to master the research and study skills required to be a successful scholar of communication. An overview of concepts and processes related to the functions of communication will be examined through current theoretical and empirical research.
COMM 1105FWS: Action or Despair? Media Representations of Climate3
How we think about the climate crisis is shaped by the stories that various media tell us about our relationship with nature. From films such as The Day After Tomorrow and Elizabeth Kolbert's book Field Notes From a Catastrophe to Banksy's street art and news reports, we are presented with a vision of the future filled with despair and hopelessness. Do such messages work to raise awareness and drive change, or do they instill a sense of fatalism that prevents us from taking meaningful action? In this course we will think and write about how climate change is conceptualized and communicated in a range of assignments including critical interpretation of texts, a comparative analysis paper, a book or film review and a researched argument essay.
COMM 1106FWS: Manufacturing Need: Writing About the Power of Advertising3
From Dove soap ads to Budweiser's famous Super Bowl commercials, companies vie for our attention in order to persuade us to buy their products. But what exactly are they selling us? This course will explore the ways in which print and video advertisements craft stories that capitalize on our best intentions and deepest anxieties. By identifying design elements such as use of color, lighting, spatial arrangement, music, and dialogue, students will assess and critique how visual ads make persuasive arguments that often work against our better judgment. We will then consider ads that harness this power to deliver positive messages through PSAs and advocacy advertising. Assignments will include rhetorical and critical analysis papers, creative briefs for a mock marketing campaign, and a video essay.
COMM 1107FWS: Our Stuff, Our Selves: Writing on Everyday Things3
While we live in a world that produces material goods at an overwhelming rate, one thing that has not changed throughout history is the complexity of human relationship to the material world. In our increasingly consumerist and digitized culture we still assign value beyond the immediate function of objects, an act that plays a crucial role in constituting memory, identity, and in our understanding of the past, present, and future. In this course students will write about the ways objects communicate meaning, conduct research into the cultural, political, and economic contexts surrounding material artifacts, and across several essays and a group project explore the ways objects both small and large can impact the way we think about ourselves and our world.
COMM 1111Navigating the Communication Major and Beyond1
This course introduces the Communication major and focuses on transitioning to college life, developing your academic identity, and making meaning of your college experience. You will develop a learning community, identify your support network, and explore what Cornell offers to you as a first-year Communication student. Course content will promote the development of skills for balancing academic success with extracurricular and interpersonal activities during your time in the major.
This is an introductory course for students with little to no previous experience in photography. Students with some knowledge of basic camera operations will have the opportunity to go beyond basic photography. The course will cover camera controls, uploading digital images, Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop and digital printing. Along with a technical study of the medium, this course is intended to broaden knowledge of the creative and archival possibilities the photograph represents. Students will learn to use light, composition, depth of field and focus to create images that not only depict reality but also transform it. The course will explore different techniques and concepts used in photography for study in the fields of architecture, agriculture and nature.
Introduction to visual communication theory. Examines how visual images influence our attention, perspectives, and understanding. Constructs a visual analytic language for becoming visually aware and for thinking critically about how visual images influence us. Applies this language to visual artifacts such as photos, maps, comics, and graphs and considers how we communicate visually in various contexts (e.g., with our bodies, in scenes of strong emotion, and in human-built environments).
The course focuses on face-to-face, public communication, but the principles and practices addressed transfer to all purposeful communication situations. While many assume a good speech rests in how well it is delivered, students will learn that a good speech is equally dependent on the development, structure, and integrity of one's ideas. The objectives of the course are for students to speak effectively and ethically, and listen critically.
America's employers consistently rank the ability to communicate as one of the most important career skills for hiring and advancement. This course will strengthen your ability to craft effective written communication for a variety of formats, providing you with a skill set that is applicable in professional and academic settings. Assignments explore social science and communication concepts.
Introduces students to the Communication and Information Technologies focus area of the communication department and the Human Systems track for information science. It examines several approaches to understanding technology and its role in human behavior and society. Topics include psychological aspects of computer-mediated communication; how design plays a role in the way we interface with technology and collaborate with each other; and the ways in which communication technology is situated inside social and institutional structures and cultural formations.
Social influence and persuasion are the most basic and important functions of communication. The course covers characteristics of persuasive messages, message sources, and targets; interpersonal influence; and influence in groups. Special emphasis is given to topics in health, science, risk. This course features interactive lectures, assignments that apply principles of persuasion to real world contexts, and an applied group research project. Exams, homework assignments, and the group research project comprise the bulk of student evaluation.
COMM 2820Research Methods in Communication Studies4
Covers social scientific methods to solve communication research problems empirically. Topics include basic principles of social scientific research, random sampling, questionnaire design, experimental research design, focus group techniques, content analysis, and basic descriptive and inferential statistics. Students also learn basic data manipulation, presentation, and analysis techniques using SPSS and EXCEL.
COMM 2850Communication, Environment, Science, and Health3
Environmental problems, public health issues, scientific research-in each of these areas, communication plays a fundamental role. From the media to individual conversations, from technical journals to textbooks, from lab notes to the web, communication helps define scientifically based social issues and research findings. This course examines the institutional and intellectual contexts, processes, and practical constraints on communication in the sciences.
Intended for first-year and sophomore students who are new to undergraduate research. Students may be reading scientific literature, learning research techniques, or assisting with ongoing research. The faculty supervisor determines the work goals and the form of the final report.
COMM 3001Hybrid Narratives: A Creative Writing Experience3
Explores the dynamic and generative relationship between words and images. Emphasizes curiosity, experimentation, and creative play as necessary components to self-expression. Using photographs, paintings, illustrations, and other visual materials as starting points for inspiration, students will develop writing projects that grow out of looking closely, noticing details, and following the creative impulse wherever it might lead. Rather than focusing on getting everything “right,” we will explore short writing exercises, creative detours, and collaborative prompts that help writers generate ideas and discover new directions for their work. create poems, short prose pieces, and hybrid works that combine visual and textual elements in new and unexpected ways.
COMM 3010Writing and Producing the Narrative for Digital Media3
New media communication has been blurring the traditional roles of content creator and consumer. Professional communicators-such as journalists, screenwriters, advertising executives, documentarians, and podcasters-are now expected to know how to use alternative storytelling forms to reach their audiences. They need to know how to gather information through a variety of sources such as crowdsurfing and social media; quickly and efficiently write, edit, and record audio and video. This course will explore these new delivery systems and provide guided practice of emerging communication forms. Fundamentally, this course is about writing-concisely and accurately with a clear and active voice-for new digital media with a focus on the personal narrative.
How to write about science, technology, and medicine for the media. Writing assignments focus on writing news for web sites, blogs, magazines, and other media.
COMM 3030Research Writing Seminar in Communication3
Academics are in the business of creating knowledge. The way that academics in the social sciences typically share the knowledge that we create-the way that most often earns us credit in our universities and among our professional community-is through our writing. In the field of communication, specifically, our writing typically takes the form of journal articles, which may be preceded by conference versions of our papers. At times, we also write book chapters, books, and book reviews; increasingly, scholars in our field may turn to other avenues of knowledge dissemination, including lay articles, blogs, social media, and the like (see Boczkowski & Delli Carpini (2020) for a rundown.
COMM 3040Writing and Editing for Magazines and Online Media3
Introduction to magazine and online journalism, and how magazines and websites fit into the current media landscape. Through analytical and practical study of publications and the editorial process, students will gain a basic understanding of the range of writing and editing techniques required to be successful in the field.
COMM 3050Stories that Matter: Writing for the Public3
This advance writing course will tackle today's top cultural issues, such as climate change, social justice, social media, political extremism and others, with the ultimate goal of student publication. Students will first research a media market of their choice, preferably their home market, and then create compelling media content for identified local or regional media outlets. The media content will focus on the local or regional impacts of national or global cultural crises to highlight the impact on communities. A hoped-for, but not required, outcome of the course is for students to get one piece published in their target market. Students must have strong writing skills, be self-disciplined about making deadlines, be proactive and have an interest in publishing. Advanced media writing, op-editorial, and creative non-fiction will be covered.
This course will focus on video storytelling, shooting, and editing techniques for different platforms. Students will learn to recognize and understand the technical, theoretical, and aesthetic aspects of video storytelling through exploration of topics such as understanding the core elements of good video stories and developing narrative structures for different video formats (e.g., social media, digital news, short documentaries). Students will learn about visual theories, how to shoot video using smartphones and digital video equipment, how to interview people on camera, and how to produce and edit impactful video stories. Throughout the semester, we will create three short videos – a minute and a half long news video story, a 60-second social media, and a 3-minute mini documentary.
COMM 3065Sports Communication: Media, Marketing, Crisis and Violence3
This course will introduce the student to various aspects of the sports-media-audience relationship, including the history of sports and the media, the industries that constitute sports media, the audiences drawn to and affected by sports media, and the social issues that arise from sports media. It will organized around three modules: Industry, Issues & Careers.
COMM 3066Political Communication in the United States3
Examine how modern politics is mediated through communication in the U.S. What citizens know about public affairs—and what they believe about government, leaders, and each other—is shaped by the media environments they inhabit. Drawing on major theories and empirical research, the course investigates how journalists, political elites, technology platforms, and citizens shape the circulation of political information through news coverage, campaign messaging, and social media. Explores how communication influences what citizens know about politics, which issues command public attention, how events are interpreted, and why accusations of media bias are so widespread. Students confront central puzzles of the modern media landscape, including fragmented information environments, increasingly hyperbolic political rhetoric, and the emergence of competing political realities.
COMM 3070Communicating Today: Creating Strategic Visual Messages Across Media3
The ability to translate complex issues into compelling messages for public audiences is an important professional skill. In this course, students pick a topic of personal and scholarly interest and create strategic visual communication in several popular formats with integrative media. Students will conduct research throughout the semester to address the specific needs of the different formats. Relevant visual communication theory will be explored and applied. Students learn effective use of visual narrative, images, media writing and basic messaging strategy. Students will practice oral, visual and written communication. Students are encouraged, but not required, to select topics related to science, technology, social science or sustainability issues. Semester topic should be related to the student’s major.
In the age of artificial intelligence, the ability to use generative AI tools to assist with content production is quickly becoming an in-demand professional skill. At the same time, there is a valid concern that over-reliance on LLMs in writing hinders critical thinking, problem solving, and genuine intellectual inquiry. This course will help students develop critical AI literacy skills and explore the limitations and affordances of LLMs in writing and content creation. Students will practice integrating AI tools into the composing process in an ethical and transparent way. Through a variety of creative, analytical, and research-based assignments, students will create original work while reflecting on the role of AI in knowledge-making.
COMM 3090Experiential Writing in Mexico: Cultural and Environmental Communication3
The natural and cultural experience of 8-10 days in Mexico will serve as the inspiration for compelling written communication in this writing intensive course. Students will master writing for diverse audiences in a variety of common formats, from science communication to popular media. Keys to successful communication include; the ability to grab and maintain the reader's attention while synthesizing complex or controversial material; developing a narrative; and, above all, not distracting the reader with weak writing, lack of clarity, or poor structure. Through readings and field trips, students will explore cultural, environmental, and socioeconomic development issues in a rich and diverse landscape. These experiences will be the basis of the written assignments, augmented by research. Classes while in Mexico are full days with homework overnight.
COMM 3100Communication and Decision Making in Groups3
Provides students with a greater understanding of information sharing, persuasion, and decision development in small work groups. Through practical exercises, class discussions, and lectures, students learn firsthand how tools such as decision structuring process can affect group performance. The course is taught in an interactive hands-on format that emphasizes application of tested theory. Due to the unique nature of this class, there is a very strict attendance policy.
Educational psychology is the application of psychological principles and concepts to cases of teaching and learning. We study behavioral, cognitive, embodied, and social-cultural perspectives on learning and thinking, and we use them in planning and reflecting on weekly fieldwork outside the classroom. In the process, we become more mindful and skilled learners ourselves and better facilitators of others' learning. *Both the Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 courses will focus on educational psychology as it relates to PreK-Adult learners; however, Fall fieldwork experiences will be with learners across the PreK-Adult spectrum; Spring fieldwork experiences will be with adult learners ONLY.
This course will explore the traditional dynamic and norms of political press coverage in the United States, and the impact of those patterns on both the government and the nation; some of the ways longstanding norms have recently shifted, and continue to shift; the larger historical forces and long-term trends driving those changes; and the theoretical questions, logistical challenges and ethical dilemmas these changes pose for both political journalists and those they cover. The course will equally cover the practice of political reporting, including weekly analysis and discussion of current press coverage, in-class exercises and simulations, readings from academic and journalistic sources, and visits from leading political reporters and former spokespeople able to offer a firsthand perspective on the topics.
COMM 3150Organizational Communication: Theory and Practice3
This is a survey course of issues that influence communication in organizations. Topics include formal organizational structure, social networks, information technology, leadership, team dynamics, and cross-culture differences.
COMM 3189Taking America's Pulse: Creating and Conducting a National Opinion Poll3-4
In this course, students will design, conduct, and analyze a national-level public opinion survey. Students will determine all survey questions based on their research interests. All necessary survey research skills will be learned in the class. (GOVT-AM)
The purpose of this class is to learn to “see” the work that data does in our modern world. Data and society are fundamentally entangled. In this class, we will pull on the different strands of this entanglement to better understand the role that data plays across a range of distinct contexts. This is a survey course, intended to expose you to a broad array of issues. We will explore the role that data plays in domains as varied as representative democracy, search engines, employment, and genetic sense-making. We will examine how economic and political interests shape what data exists and how those data are used. You will also get to explore the communicative role that data plays in decision-making.
This course addresses the contemporary socio- technological challenges and debates about digital media and information technologies and their impact on society. It covers a broad spectrum of topics spanning digital technologies, social behaviors, and society. We will critically evaluate research evidence and its relevance to various social contexts and practices, diverse users and uses of social media, ethical and policy implications, trade-offs of potential solutions, and the impact of socio-technological shifts on individuals and communities. Our overarching goal is to challenge commonplace assumptions about these tools and phenomena; and to ask deeper questions about their profound impact on society.
Students investigate how values, attitudes, social structure, and communication affect public perceptions of environmental risk and public opinion about the environment. A primary focus is mass media's impact on public perceptions of the environment, how the media portray the environment, and discussion of the implications of public consumption of environmental content.
COMM 3250Vamos Pa'l Norte: U.S. Migration and Communication3
Migrants are a heterogeneous group of people (the term migrants is used to encompass different immigrant communities). The reasons for relocating to the United States, or another country, the conditions under which they relocate, whether they are authorized to remain in a country, their cultural backgrounds, their ethnic/racial identities, their education level, their gender identity and sexual orientation, and their socio-economic status are merely a few factors that contribute to immigrants' diverse experiences. Thus, this course will introduce us to different frameworks, research, and practices that can help us understand the important role of communication in different, U.S., migration experiences. On the one hand, communication can help mitigate some of the social and structural barriers that migrants face in the United States and elsewhere. On the other hand, communication can also exacerbate or lead to educational, economic, and health inequities among migrants. We will consider both ways in which communication can function for migrant communities. Overall, migration: (1) is a diverse area of research that can incorporate intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, organizational, institutional, cultural, and policy levels of analysis; (2) is studied using a wide range of methodologies; and (3) is affected by a variety of communication channels. The readings and content of this course primarily focus on the experiences of Latina/o/x immigrant communities in the U.S.
In this class, students will learn about entertainment media, media systems, new media and the ways in which they interconnect with globalization, colonialism and imperialism. Here, students will contextualize media across national contexts paying attention to how mass media shapes or is shaped by social, political, religious and economic factors. They will learn how to do critical comparative analyses of entertainment media across nations and from these analyses make projections about how media have and will influence key events intra-nationally and transnationally.
This course focuses on user experience design (UX) and the life cycle of interface design from the user perspective. We will discuss key aspects of the human-centered design process: understanding, analyzing, and formalizing user needs, exploring possible design solutions to address user needs, creating prototypes to externalize design ideas, and evaluating the usability of these prototypes.
Computers are powerful tools for working, playing, thinking, and living. Laptops, PDAs, webcams, cell phones, and iPods are not just devices, they also provide narratives, metaphors, and ways of seeing the world. This course critically examines how computing technology and society shape each other and how this plays out in our everyday lives. Identifies how computers, networks, and information technologies reproduce, reinforce, and rework existing cultural trends, norms, and values. We will look at the values embodied in the cultures of computing and consider alternative ways to imagine, build, and work with information technologies.
The goal of the class is to expose students to cross-cultural differences in a wide range of topics, ranging from ethnicity and race, values, religion, ethics, gender, sexual orientation to behavioral norms. Throughout the semester, students will examine and analyze these issues through a selection of films that offer vivid portrayals of how people from across the world live and work. Through in-class discussion of these films, along with assigned readings, the course aims to help students gain cross-cultural competence in cognition, affect and behavior.
In this course, students will read theories and research in positive psychology, mindfulness meditation, and intercultural communication to gain a basic understanding of the emerging science on the effects of mindfulness practices on effectiveness in intercultural communication, as well as mental and physical health. Students will also learn a series of meditative routines, including both basic breathing techniques and more advanced meditative practices that conscientiously cultivate such positive emotions as gratitude, joy, compassion, empathy, equanimity, forgiveness and connectedness of humanity. Through regular and persistent practices, students will grow their attentiveness, compassion, and empathy that are vital for constructive intercultural and interpersonal communication.
What is television? Drawing on key concepts in the field of television studies, this class will critically appraise the medium of television in our contemporary digital context. We will look at transformations in television production, genres, and audiences in response to new technologies and economies. By the end of the class, we will decide whether television is still a meaningful term and, if so, how its meanings must expand to account for our changing televisual practices. By the end of the course, you will have deepened your understanding of television and its relation to contemporary culture as well as developed a scholarly understanding of some key ideas that have structured television studies since its emergence as a field of study in the mid-1970s.
This course will introduce students to the work of Trust & Safety in online platforms. Students will learn what happens behind the scenes of their favorite platforms while engaging in exercises designed to struggle with the challenges that T&S professionals face on a daily basis. This work forces T&S professionals to reckon with global norms and a range of ethical conundrums. This practice is also continuously evolving alongside the development of new technologies (e.g., AI) and in light of new political, legal, and global pressures.
COMM 4058Introduction to Interpersonal Communication (IPC)3
Centering on humans’ (our) dynamic process of exchanging messages to create meaning, this class examines how interpersonal communication (IPC) affects and is affected by our sense of self, perceptions, cultural backgrounds, goals, modes of communication, relationships, and many other factors. This course is a highly interactive conceptual overview of scholarly and popular literature. As a broad area of study, interpersonal communication encompasses topics such as conversational coherence and structure; nonverbal communication; cognition and communication; relationship development, maintenance, and decline; comforting and social support; privacy and self-disclosure; interpersonal influence; politeness and identity management; conflict and aggression; and coping and resiliency. Issues related to gender, culture, social media, and development across the lifespan also intersect with these topics.
COMM 4201Information Policy: Applied Research and Analysis3
This course will address a wide range of information policy issues such as privacy, security, antitrust, intellectual property, algorithmic fairness, net neutrality, risk mitigation strategies, and other legal and policy compliance concerns in a simulated project management environment. Patterned on life cycle project management for products and services in contemporary large-scale technology companies, students will adopt specific topic areas for applied research and analysis working dynamically with other team members. Course outcomes include conducting upper-level research in specific information policy domains, experiential group dynamics, persuasive analytic presentations, fundamentals of project management in the technology sector, and insights into corporate hierarchies, organization, and functionalities.
This class moves beyond a simple consideration of how lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and queer people have been represented in the mainstream media. We will explore both how dominant media forms have traditionally represented LGBTQ people, as well as how LGBTQ people have seized the opportunities offered by alternative media practices and technologies to articulate passions and politics that dominant media forms have little or no investment in.
COMM 4300Ethics in New Media, Technology, and Communication3
This course examines moral and ethical issues in communication, new media, and technology. Using theories and research in moral philosophy and psychology, we examine how people perceive and reason about ethical issues presented by media and technology, and how moral action is influenced by cognitive, emotional, and ethical belief systems. Issues of autonomy, transparency, harm, privacy, manipulation, justice, democracy, equality, and care are discussed. We analyze the consistency between personal and professional ethics, the importance of moral character and agency, and the translation of moral thought to ethical action, and address the development of professional and personal ethical codes of conduct and research for communication professionals in the areas of new media and technology.
Leadership development in a changing technological world presents new challenges. Digital and evolving technologies allow new and creative forms of communication, collaboration and teamwork with increasingly globally located and diverse team members who may work remotely and asynchronously to coordinate information and achieve shared goals. These, along with newer forms of organizational structure and culture and require leaders who lead with integrity and a mind toward creating ethical contexts and communication practices. This course uses discussion, reflective activities, current events, case studies, online interactions, and guest speakers to develop one's own future leadership skills and to communicate leadership ethically and effectively.
This course deals with the psychological, social, and technical aspects of being embodied in virtual environments. During this course, students will learn how human-and non-human-entities and their actions are represented as virtual bodies. The course is organized around three areas: an overview of how a sense of embodiment is created in virtual reality, an overview of research on virtual embodiment, and current and future applications. Students will experience virtual environments, relate course topics to current events, and experiment with the creation of immersive virtual content.
This upper-level course provides an in-depth understanding of and experience with advanced concepts and techniques for researching, ideating, critiquing, designing, and evaluating interactive technologies intended for people to use and incorporate in their lives. The course focuses on advanced qualitative methods for user research and design. We will delve into the theoretical and conceptual aspects of each method, and learn to apply them in the technology design process. The course involves readings, classroom discussions and hands-on activities, and a semester-long project.
Focuses on reading and evaluating the theories and research methodologies used to investigate communication via computer systems. Assignments include student collaborations using electronic conferencing and other advanced communication technologies, as well as reflections on and evaluations of these collaborations in light of current theories and research findings. Topics include virtual teams, videoconferencing, and others as they emerge.
COMM 4480Comm amid Fragmentation, Weaponization and AI3
This course examines the contemporary challenges for communicators in an era defined by fragmented, participatory, and weaponized information ecosystems. From the rise of misinformation and the erosion of trust, to the opportunities and risks presented by AI, we ask: what does effective communication look like today? Students will gain both a strong theoretical grounding and practical skills, including how to build community resilience against rumors, answering questions at a town hall, or disseminating new research. The course draws on recent case studies and integrates real-time examples as events unfold. Assessments include online discussion posts, in-class participation, leading an activity, a midterm exam, and a communications toolkit or strategy memo offering actionable recommendations for an organization or institution.
COMM 4485Investigating Artificial Intelligence Failures3
AI systems that monitor and interact with people are everywhere—directing the behavior of law enforcement, giving us relationship advice, managing the world’s financial systems, shaping our cultures, and flipping a coin on the success or failure of movements for change. How can we know if they are any good, and if accusations of their harms are true?
Examines how new communication technologies affect the way we produce and understand language and modify interaction with one another. Focuses on the collaborative nature of language use and how Internet technologies affect the joint activities of speakers and listeners during the construction of meaning in conversation
COMM 4660Public Communication of Science and Technology3
Explores the structure, meanings, and implications of public communication of science and technology (PCST). Examines the contexts in which PCST occurs, looks at motivations and constraints of those involved in producing information about science for nonprofessional audiences, and analyzes the functions of PCST. Ties existing ideas about PCST to general communication research and leads to developing new knowledge about PCST.
This senior-level undergraduate seminar provides an overview of theory and research on communication related to population health, including strategic efforts to impact health behavior and structural environments that support health, media portrayals of health issues, and news coverage of health and social policy with impacts on the health and distribution of health in populations. Topics include: theories of behavior change and message effects, campaigns to improve behavioral and structural determinants of health, the intersection of health and politics, and implications of changes in media platforms for population health campaigns and research.
This course will examine the role of advertising and consumerism in US culture and social life. We will begin by exploring the rise of a Western consumer society and its evolution over the course of the twentieth century; various theoretical and critical perspectives will be introduced to illuminate the changing relationships between advertising, culture, and the economy. We will then examine how advertising “texts” and “producers” represent various social identities: gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, and more. The final section of the course will focus on promotional culture in the early 21st century; topics will include social media advertising/user-generated content; ideologies and practices of branding the self; and the role of influencers and the creator economy.
COMM 4850Communication Systems and Social Inequality3
This course examines how everyday systems of communication—urban design, news media, digital platforms, government bureaucracy related to welfare, mass incarceration, and immigration, neighborhood networks, and interpersonal interaction—shape socioeconomic inequality in the United States. Drawing from political communication, media studies, sociology, and ethnography, students analyze how communication infrastructures determine access to information, recognition, and institutional power. Through sustained critical reading, discussion, and hands-on group work, students will explore structural barriers and the lived experiences of those navigating social and economic inequality and critically evaluate how communication infrastructure can reinforce disadvantage or serve as tools of resistance and repair. Students leave the course with a deep, practice-ready understanding of how communication organizes life chances and democratic belonging.
Every day we face known and unknown risks to our own health and safety and risks to the environment. In many cases we not only misperceive these risks, but we frequently make decisions that put us at even greater risk. Communicating the likelihood of harm based on complex, incomplete, and uncertain science is a challenge. This course uses case studies to illustrate theories of risk communication, and practical in-class exercises to demonstrate how theories apply to specific situations.
Study of topics in communication not otherwise provided by a department course and determined by the interest of faculty members and students. Please check department website for most up-to-date offerings.
This 7-week seminar will supplement a four-day visit to NYC where students will meet with media professionals from Primary Wave, Este Lauder, NBCUniversal, and Major League Soccer, to name a few. The purpose of the class is to introduce students to alumni working in the field, learn about their role in the changing media landscapes, and prepare for opportunities with a dynamic ePortfolio, resume and interview skills. The course will cover relevant background information about each company prior to the trip and will include Zoom meetings with other media firms as well.
This fall semester seminar introduces students to the world of professional communication. Students meet communication alumni working in media, technology, public relations, brand management, marketing, and civil services. Students learn about alumni' roles in the changing professional communication landscape. Students create a resume and learn interview skills, in addition to preparing an ePortfolio. In preparation for a required trip to visit companies in DC, the course will cover relevant background information about each company and will include Zoom meetings with other communication and media firms.
This winter session field trip is an extension of fall seminar COMM 4951 which introduces students to the world of professional communication. During this trip, students travel to a rotating city (e.g. Los Angeles, San Francisco) to meet with alumni working in the communication field. Previous companies visited include: LA Chargers. Students will review relevant background information about each company prior to the trip to include Skype meetings with other communication and media firms.
Students receive a structured, on-the-job learning experience under the supervision of communication professionals in cooperating organizations. A minimum of 60 hours of on-the-job work is required; the number of work hours beyond 60 is left to the discretion of the intern and the supervising company. A final project linking communication theory to practical work experience is required. All internships must be approved by the internship coordinator before the work experience segment. All COMM 4960 internship courses must adhere to the CALS guidelines at cals.cornell.edu/academics/student-research/internship. For more information about registering for credit and COMM 4960, please see https://communication.cals.cornell.edu/undergraduate-program/internship-information-0.
Individual study under faculty supervision. Work should concentrate on locating, assimilating, synthesizing, and reporting existing knowledge on a selected topic. Attempts to implement this knowledge in a practical application are desirable.
Periodic meetings with the instructor cover realization of course objectives, evaluation of teaching methods, and student feedback. In addition to aiding with the actual instruction, each student prepares a paper on some aspect of the course.
Permits outstanding students to conduct laboratory or field research in communication under appropriate faculty supervision. The research should be scientific: systematic, controlled, empirical. Research goals should include description, prediction, explanation, or policy orientation and should generate new knowledge.
COMM 5150Organizational Communication: Theory and Practice3
This is a survey course of issues that influence communication in organizations. Topics include formal organizational structure, social networks, information technology, leadership, team dynamics, and cross-culture differences. (MHA-EL)
COMM 5300Ethics in New Media, Technology, and Communication3
This course examines moral and ethical issues in communication, new media, and technology. Using theories and research in moral philosophy and psychology, we examine how people perceive and reason about ethical issues presented by media and technology, and how moral action is influenced by cognitive, emotional, and ethical belief systems. Issues of autonomy, transparency, harm, privacy, manipulation, justice, democracy, equality, and care are discussed. We analyze the consistency between personal and professional ethics, the importance of moral character and agency, and the translation of moral thought to ethical action, and address the development of professional and personal ethical codes of conduct and research for communication professionals in the areas of new media and technology.
COMM 6025Interpersonal Communication (IPC): Theories, Frame3
Centering Communication (and related disciplines) frameworks and perspectives, this course will acquaint students with notable human perspectives that prompt the development of interpersonal communication theory and research. Each week, drawing from various critical and empirical social scientific theories and perspectives, our weekly, in-depth discussions will: (a) evaluate the variety and quality of interpersonal interactions and (b) co-create diverse research questions/hypotheses and develop novel research projects that center on exploring interpersonal phenomena.
COMM 6210Advanced Communication and the Environment3
Students investigate how values, attitudes, social structure, and communication affect public perceptions of environmental risk and public opinion about the environment. A primary focus is mass media's impact on public perceptions of the environment, how the media portray the environment, and discussion of the implications of public consumption of environmental content.
This course explores key theoretical and methodological approaches underlying the study of information, technology, and society, focused primarily (though not exclusively) on social science approaches-drawing from disciplines like sociology, communications, history, science & technology studies, and others. The course is designed to be rigorous and to prepare students to make their own analytically and theoretically sound contributions to scholarship about information, technology, and society.
This course investigates how sexuality, broadly conceived, is produced, represented, and enacted through a variety of media. We will consider how groups of people collectively produce their erotic identifications, practices, and connections through media and in space. These affinities may be transient or life-long, co-present or virtual, of the majority or marginalized. Rather than assuming sex is a private matter, we will analyze the ways sexuality is constituted through media engagements, in physical and online spaces, and in the ways that mediated desire play out in broad movements of consumerism and neoliberal aspirations. We will consider sexual cultures from a transnational perspective and in historical context. The course will address how structural hierarchies such as gender, race, sexual identification, and location help to shape sexual media.
This course explores the behavioral foundations of communication technology and the information sciences, and the ways in which theories and methods from the behavioral sciences play a role in understanding people's use of, access to and interactions with information and communication technologies.
This course deals with the technical and theoretical aspects of conducting research on or with virtual environments. While this is not a programming course, we will complete tutorials on the basics of game engines like Unity and Unreal, modeling programs like Blender, etc. Students will learn about different consumer-grade hardware for virtual and augmented reality. As part of the course, students will learn how to design and build a study using XR, including submitting an IRB application with proper safety and privacy guards. The goal is that by the end of the course, students will have an approved, piloted “shovel ready” study to run in XR.
Focuses on reading and evaluating the theories and research methodologies used to investigate communication via computer systems. Assignments include student collaborations using electronic conferencing and other advanced communication technologies, as well as reflections on and evaluations of these collaborations in light of current theories and research findings. Topics include virtual teams, videoconferencing, and others as they emerge.
COMM 6480Comm amid Fragmentation, Weaponization and AI3
This course examines the contemporary challenges for communicators in an era defined by fragmented, participatory, and weaponized information ecosystems. From the rise of misinformation and the erosion of trust, to the opportunities and risks presented by AI, we ask: what does effective communication look like today? Students will gain both a strong theoretical grounding and practical skills, including how to build community resilience against rumors, answering questions at a town hall, or disseminating new research. The course draws on recent case studies and integrates real-time examples as events unfold. Assessments include online discussion posts, in-class participation, leading an activity, a midterm exam, and a communications toolkit or strategy memo offering actionable recommendations for an organization or institution.
This course explores personal connections in the digital age, and how information and communication technologies impact our lives and relationships. It focuses on how people manage interactions and identities, develop and maintain relationships, accomplish social goals, create shared meanings, and engage in collaboration and conflict in social media. Emphasis will be placed on how current thinking in relational communication can explain and anticipate interpersonal dynamics on the Internet, but also on how online behaviors may challenge traditional principles of human communication. A major part of the course is a semester-long research project in which students working in small groups design, run, and present their own empirical study of personal relationships and technology.
Examines how new communication technologies affect the way we produce and understand language and modify interaction with one another. Focuses on the collaborative nature of language use and how Internet technologies affect the joint activities of speakers and listeners during the construction of meaning in conversation. The graduate students are expected to take the lead on the small group class projects, in terms of identifying research questions, working out the method, and performing statistics. This requires mentorship of the undergraduates on their team. The graduate students are also expected to submit more in depth analyses of the readings for their individual paper assignments.
In this class, students will learn about mass communications, media systems, new media and the ways in which they interconnect with globalization and decolonization. Here, students will contextualize mass media across national contexts paying attention to the ways in which mass media shapes or is shaped by social, political, cultural and economic factors. They will learn how to do critical comparative analyses of mass media across nations and from these analyses make projections about how the media have and will influence key events intra-nationally and internationally. Key among topics to be discussed in the class are cultural flows, globalization, media imperialism, media and power, media and activism, media and politics, media and gender among others. The class will provide the foundation for understanding the theories on global media hierarchies and hegemony by contextualizing media within the histories of slavery, colonialism, neocolonialism and imperialism. At the end of the class, students are expected to produce the first draft of a research project which can be further revised for conference submission or publication in an academic journal.
COMM 6730Research Writing Seminar in Communication3
Academics are in the business of creating knowledge. The way that academics in the social sciences typically share the knowledge that we create-the way that most often earns us credit in our universities and among our professional community-is through our writing. In the field of communication, specifically, our writing typically takes the form of journal articles, which may be preceded by conference versions of our papers.At times, we also write book chapters, books, and book reviews; increasingly, scholars in our field may turn to other avenues of knowledge dissemination, including lay articles, blogs, social media, and the like (see Boczkowski & Delli Carpini (2020) for a rundown.
COMM 6750Research Methods for Social Networks and Social Media3
This course will train students to deploy network methods and computational techniques with the goal of using data to advance communication theory. Students will enter with a theoretical question that they believe can be tested with either social network data or data drawn from social media archives. They will learn relevant issues of research design, methods of data acquisition and appropriate methods of statistical analysis for data of this kind. Students will use this knowledge to produce a paper reporting the results of data analysis that addresses their question.
This graduate-level seminar is designed to provide students with an in-depth understanding of the complex and rapidly-evolving landscape of social media research and theory. It is offered as a 1.5-credit course with the option to repeat so that students can enroll for both semesters. In this seminar, we will examine current research in social media, investigate critical questions from various methodological perspectives, and address the contemporary debates about social media and technology in the research field and public discourse. While the seminar focuses on social cognition and social influence, it covers a broad spectrum of topics spanning digital technologies, social behaviors, and society.
Reviews classical and contemporary readings in communication, including key concepts and areas of investigation. Explores the scope of the field, the interrelationships of its various branches, and examines the role of theory in the research process.
Development of, and contemporary issues in, communication theory. Discusses the interaction between communication and society, social groupings, and mental processing.
The goal of this course is to provide new PhD students with a foundation for designing, conducting, and evaluating quantitative research in Communication and related social scientific fields. We will focus primarily on the relationship between theory and methods, as well as on communicating ideas clearly.
COMM 6830Qualitative Research Methods in Communication3
Reviews qualitative methods used in communication research, including interviews, focus groups, fieldwork (ethnography), and case studies. Students practice the various methods so they can learn to apply them to their own research. Students also discuss how researchers analyze qualitative data and build theories from their observations.
COMM 6840Theory & Research in Group Comm & Decision Making3
Graduate seminar focusing on theory and research in communication and decision-making in small groups. Emphasis is on task-oriented groups. Topics include information exchange, decision-making processes, types of tasks, social influence, group development processes, group support systems, intergroup processes, and leadership. Special attention is given to methodological challenges in group research.
By offering generalizable principles and frameworks, theory allows us to grapple with a wide array of phenomena across varied contexts. As scholars progress in their intellectual journey, they begin by working to understand what contributions theory offers to a discipline. They must then grapple with the limitations and openings of theory as they look to conduct their own research. Finally, scholars begin producing their own theory. In this course, we will focus primarily on the second phase of this journey. We will read an assortment of different theoretical frameworks to grapple with how those theories can help us build our analytical toolkit. This course is designed for PhD students with prior exposure to advanced communication theory. Graduate students outside of Communication who have not taken COMM 6810 - but have taken similar social theory courses - can seek permission of the instructor.
COMM 7600Special Topics in Media, Technology, and Society3
Traditional and emergent media are situated within particular socio-cultural contexts, which can be examined through their varying contents, forms, structures, effects, and production cultures. Against this backdrop, this upper-level graduate seminar will explore contemporary issues and debates at the intersection of media, technology, and society.
Small-group or individual research based on original, empirical, data-based designs regarding topical issues in communication not otherwise examined in a graduate field course.
