Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus · Courses
CAS
35 courses with the subject CAS, 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.
CAS 500Historical Public Address3
Special topics in American public address, 1765-1900; emphasis on rhetoric of revolution, reform, and reaction. CAS 500CAS 500 Historical Public Address (3 per semester/maximum of 9) This is a graduate seminar focusing on special topics in the history of American public address, 1765-1900. It is designed to strengthen students' knowledge of the historical foundations of the American rhetorical tradition. Special attention is paid to key texts, debates, and movements shaping the origins and development of American nationhood. Emphasis is placed on the language of revolution, reform, and reaction. Special topics through which this course is to be taught may include: The Rhetoric of the American Revolution, Rhetoric of Abolitionism and Civil Rights, The Rhetoric of the Women's Suffrage Movement, Great Debates in American History, and Rhetoric and the American Presidency, 1789-1900. Students should consult with the instructor prior to enrolling to ascertain that the course topic is not the same as in prior enrollments.
An advanced seminar inthe history, theory, methods, and practice of rhetorical criticism. CAS 503 CAS 503 Rhetorical Criticism (3 per semester/maximum of 6) An advanced seminar in the history, theory, methods, and practice of rhetorical criticism. Students should consult with the instructor prior to enrolling to ascertain that the course topic is not the same as in prior enrollments.
Special topics in recent history of American public address, including speeches, debates, persuasive campaigns, and social movements in America 1900-pesent. CAS 504 CAS 504 Contemporary Public Address (3 per semester/maximum of 9) This course is a graduate seminar focusing on special topics in the history of American public address since 1900. Through intensive study of great speeches and other rhetorical texts, important national debates and controversies, and significant persuasive campaigns and social movements, it cultivates specialized understanding of the distinctively American tradition of public advocacy and deliberation and illuminates how that tradition has evolved in response to political and social developments and new communication technologies. Special topics reflecting the research interests of current faculty who might be expected to teach the course include: "The Rhetoric of the Progressive Era," "The Rhetoric of the New Deal," "The Manifesto in Contemporary Social Movements," "The Rhetoric of Contemporary Political Campaigns," and "The Rhetorical Presidency." Students should consult with the instructor prior to enrolling to ascertain that the course topic is not the same as in prior enrollments.
Theoretical, analytical, philosophical, and critical problems in human communication, with application of humanistic and social scientific research framework. CAS 507 CAS 507 Issues in Rhetorical Theory (3 per semester/maximum of 6) The seminar is available to members of the faculty who wish to explore specialized problems of a theoretical, analytical, philosophical, or critical nature in human communication research. Its content varies by instructor. Such subject areas of language and meaning, epistemology, ethics and moral philosophy, metaphysics and ontology, the functions of myth, cognition, child development, and brain function may be considered for the contributions they make to our understanding of rhetorical behavior. Special topics reflecting the research interests of current faculty who might be expected to teach the course include: "Rhetoric, Myth, and Cosmology," "Rhetoric and Ethics," "The Rhetorical Construction of Social Identity," and "Rhetoric and Public Deliberation." Students should consult with the instructor prior to enrolling to ascertain that the course topic is not the same as in prior enrollments.
Modern political systems are as likely to move further away from deliberative ideals as toward them, and such movement can undermine a system's democratic legitimacy. This problem has inspired the development of deliberative democratic theory and research, which provides a powerful critique of contemporary politics. The study of deliberation dates back to ancient Greece, which gave us forms of speech that endure to the present day. Current conceptions stress public deliberation and dialogue's potential to ameliorate social and political problems, including polarization and incivility, and to generate more robust and reflective public policy solutions to complex problems. These ideas fold into grander theories of deliberative democracy, which considers how everything from cultural practices to large-scale institutions feed into the overall system of public discourse in a society. Students will review philosophical and interpretive works, as well as empirical research on deliberation utilizing case studies, surveys, and experiments. This seminar also helps students plan and execute their own contributions to this growing body of scholarship.
Seminar in the application of rhetorical theory and criticism to television, film, and other media. CAS 515 CAS 515 Rhetoric and Media (3 per semester/maximum of 9) Seminar in the application of rhetorical theory and criticism to television, film, and other media. In a recent offering of the seminar, we studied the films of Alfred Hitchcock from the point of view of The Rhetoric of the Thriller: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock as Art, Entertainment, and Social Text. This course offered an intensive examination of the art of Alfred Hitchcock, one of the great film artists of the twentieth century. Each week, the class screened one or more of Hitchcock's classic films. The class then met in small discussion sections for intensive analysis of the films and a series of related readings. Our discussions and readings explored Hitchcock as one of Hollywood's most successful popular entertainers, the "master of suspense"; as one of the great artists of the medium; as a critic of American culture; and as a persona whose reputation is a construction of his own efforts, and the product of reviewers and academic critics. Students should consult with the instructor prior to enrolling to ascertain that the course topic is not the same as in prior enrollments.
Study of rhetorical and communicative dimensions of contemporary political communication with particular attention to electronic media. CAS 530CAS 530: Political Communication and Media (3) This seminar explores the rhetoric of electronically mediated political discourse, including broadcast speeches, news coverage of politics and political campaigns, campaign debates, political advertising, talk radio, and political websites. Addressing key problems and issues in democratic theory and practical politics, the seminar explores questions frequently raised by both scholars and political pundits: How has the character of political discourse changed in the age of electronic media? How have new communicative technologies affected political discourse? Is it possible to have an engaged, informed, and responsible electorate in the age of 30-second Aspot@ ads and journalistic Asound bites?@ What might be done to improve the quality of political discourse and to enhance public deliberation? How might new media technologies be used to combat political alienation and promote civic engagement? The specific focus of the seminar varies by semester. Recent seminars have focused on the rhetoric of presidential campaigns, conceptions of Athe public@ and Apublic opinion@ in the age of mass media and polling, and the political significance of such non-traditional media as motion pictures and websites. Whatever the topic, the focus remains on the impact of mass media on the quality and character of political discourse in America. Students in the seminar will join in a larger scholarly conversation about the impact of new media technologies on democratic politics. Students in CAS 530 will read scholarly works on mass media and politics from a variety of disciplines, as well as more popular writings that have developed influential critiques of contemporary political communication or have advocated reforms in the laws and regulations governing mass media. Given the subject matter, the seminar is necessarily interdisciplinary in approach, and students will be encouraged to take interdisciplinary approaches to their own research and writing for the seminar.
Theory and devices of persuasion; analysis of persuasive discourse. CAS 550 CAS 550 Social Influence (3 per semester/maximum of 6) This is a graduate-level seminar designed to provide students with social scientific theoretical principles for explanation, prediction, and practice in social influence contexts and situations. CAS 550 emphasizes the positive and negative outcomes likely to be associated with specific messages designed to influence others in social and societal settings. It emphasizes the importance of audience analysis and goal selection in guiding message design, and source and channel selection to communicate in ways that are intended to form, change, or reinforce and maintain others' beliefs, attitudes, values, and behaviors. It affords significant opportunities to address the gaps between theory and measurement in social scientific research pursuits. These attempts may employ a highly active cognitive approach or a more passive strategy. Both approaches are examined in this course. The course content and setting reflects the above aims. The course begins by defining social influence, provides an overview of its history, and introduces the major theories associated with social influence formation, change, and reinforcement objectives. The course devotes significant time to the evaluation of existing social influence attempts, including review of the channel(s) and source(s) used to deliver particular messages. Students will also practice known strategies for designing influence messages. These activities will take place within the framework of knowledge generated by research findings associated with the influence theories examined in the class.Evaluation will include participation in class, exams that include application in the form of a social influence case study, and a research proposal associated with the application of social influence theories to message design and evaluation.The course complements graduate students' interests in pursuing academic, business, health, management, public relations, advertising, sales, and other career ambitions where communication is associated with the desire to influence others. The course will increase students' critical thinking and informed decision-making skills associated with others' efforts to influence them. It also frames discussion about the ethics of and ethical decision-making associated with persuasion.CAS 550 will be offered every other year with 15 seats per offering.
CAS 551 (Persuasive Communication) is a graduate level survey of classic and contemporary thinking on persuasive communication. The overarching goal of the course is to impart an understanding of the major issues and concerns in one of the oldest and most extensive literatures in social science. Students should leave the course with a broad understanding of the content and contours of the field as well as a set of strong empirical generalizations. Because of the enormous role that persuasion plays in shaping contemporary society as well as the day-to-day lives of individuals, an understanding of it is essential for scholars, consumers, and citizens.
Communication variables in small groups. Experimental research and innovations in communication in vocational, therapeutic, and educational groups. CAS 554 CAS 554 Small Group Communication (3 per semester/maximum of 6) Group communication is a specialized area of study that has ties to the related areas of interpersonal and organizational communication. These ties reflect the fact that groups typically are part of some larger organizational structure and that it is the interaction among the members of groups that drive their performance. The major objectives of the course, which is presently offered once every two academic years, are to provide students with (1) an in-depth examination of what social scientific research has revealed about the functions communication among the members of groups in various interpersonal and organizational contexts and (2) the opportunity to engage in an even deeper examination of a specific issue relating to a specific function of communication in one of the types of groups included, that is, decision-making and problem-solving groups, familial groups, educational groups, work groups, and support groups, by means of an original research project. The first three weeks of the course acquaint students with the general domain of group communication as a specialized area of study, as well as the dominant theoretical and methodological approaches in evidence. In the fourth and fifth weeks, students come to understand how communication in groups functions generally to socialize the members and thereby shape their respective cultures, as well as influence the ways in which they characteristically fulfill the purposes for which they have been created. During the remaining ten weeks of the course, the accent is on particular types of group contexts and the unique ways in which communication is manifested in each. Finally, each student identifies and executes an original research project, the results of which he or she shares with other members of the class in the form of a scholarly paper which, if warranted, he or she subsequently modifies for presentation at a professional conference and possibly publication. Determination of overall mastery of the course content derives from a student's performance on a comprehensive final examination held during the regularly scheduled final examination period. The grade for the research project and the final examination combined provide basis for the recorded grade for the course. The course requires no special facilities other than a classroom. Students should consult with the instructor prior to enrolling to ascertain that the course topic is not the same as in prior enrollments.
Investigation of the communicative management of ongoing relationships; examination of how communication both creates and responds to exigencies of friendship. CAS 555 CAS 555 Interpersonal Communication (3 per semester/maximum of 6) This course is intended for graduate students who want an in-depth understanding of interpersonal communication across contexts. It is a graduate-level course, so the reading is heavy, the expectations for the level of discussion are high, and the instructor will assume that students have a serious interest in studying research and theory focused on understanding communication processes. Structurally, the course begins with a review of definitional and philosophical issues underlying research and theory in interpersonal communication, then covers the major frameworks and theories that make up knowledge in the area. In addition, some of the primary issues debated in the literature will be discussed. Evaluation methods will include presentations and research paper(s), but may also include exams and participation. Students should consult with the instructor prior to enrolling to ascertain that the course topic is not the same as in prior enrollments.
Examines theories and research focused on understanding communication in intimate (or potentially intimate) relationships. CAS 556CAS 556 Relational Communication (3) This course is intended for students who want an in-depth understanding of interpersonal communication in intimate and potentially intimate relationships. It is a graduate-level course, so the expectations for the level of discussion are high and the instructor will assume that students have a serious interest in studying research and theory focused on understanding communication processes in relational contexts. The focus will be on cognitive and social theories of relational encounters, including friendships, romantic relationships, and family relationships. Structurally, the course begins with a review of different philosophical issues underlying research and theory in the field of relational communication. Then, students will shift their attention to the major social scientific perspectives on human relationships. Next, major theories would be discussed and the course would be completed with a more focused discussion of central issues related to relational communication. Evaluation methods will include, research paper(s) and presentations, but may also include exams, short papers, journals, quizzes, and creative activities.
Provides experience in making decisions about planning, implementing, and evaluating communication in community-based health campaigns to achieve health promotion/education. CAS 557 CAS 557 Health Communication (3) This is a graduate seminar designed to provide students with a comprehensive overview of health communication in community-based health campaigns. Health messages are a pervasive feature of contemporary American life. The study of health communication for community-based campaigns overviews strategies for informing, motivating, and selling ideas and behaviors based on health and health care. Students will select a target community and topic to use as a focal point for applying course readings. Students will prepare an evaluation plan for assessing policymakers' involvement in your health topic. This should include projection of the need for policymakers' involvement, using as many archival materials as possible to conduct a formative evaluation of the need and a plan to obtain the additional information needed to identify the gaps between current and projected levels of involvement. Students will also assess previous efforts to involve lay and expert communities in health promotion efforts associated with their topic, and summarize findings, preparing an organizational membership roster for both Expert Advisory Board and Community Steering Committee, and providing a mission statement to be used in recruitment. Provide a draft of a commitment contract to be signed by board and committee members. Students will also examine previous efforts to involve educational institutions, and lay and expert providers in promotion efforts, summarizing findings and developing a vision of how these audiences should be and could be involved. Previous efforts to involve businesses, retailers, and family in promotion efforts will also be assessed, with development of a vision of how these audiences should be and could be involved included. The health communication seminar complements students' interests in pursuing academic, political, counseling, pastoral, business, health, management, public relations, advertising, sales, and other career ambitions where community-based campaigns comprise an important focus.
Examines theories and research focused on understanding communication in family contexts. CAS 558CAS 558 Family Communication (3) This course is intended for students who want an in-depth understanding of communication in family relationships. It is a graduate-level course, so the expectations for the level of discussion are high and the instructor will assume that students have a serious interest in studying research and theory focused on understanding communication processes in family contexts. The focus will be on communication theories of family relationships, including parent-child relationships across the life span, sibling relationships, and marital relationships. Students are encouraged to apply this knowledge to their own lives. Students should leave the course with a much more thorough understanding of factors that affect communication within family interaction. Structurally, the course begins with a review of different philosophical issues underlying research and theory in the field of family communication. Then, students will shift their attention to the foundational issues/principles underlying communication in family contexts. Once the course successfully increases student awareness of these foundational principles, the course moves to a focus on interactions within family settings. As part of this move, the course will address communication in parent-child, intergenerational, marital, and sibling relationships, and will include general topics such as affection and intimacy, conflict, power and control, and strengthening and repairing relationships. Throughout, the course will discuss communication processes within the larger cultural, interpersonal, and communication contexts in which family relationships are situated. Evaluation methods will primarily include exams, paper(s), research projects, and critical thinking reaction papers.
How various communication processes such as language skills, interpersonal relationship definition and management, social support change cross the lifespan. CAS 559CAS 559 Lifespan Communication (3) Lifespan Communication is a graduate seminar that emphasizes how communication processes (e.g., language skills, interpersonal conflict management, socialization and support, etc.) are developed, maintained and changed across the lifespan. The seminar concentrates upon numerous communicative processes from infancy through childhood, adolescence into middle age, and beyond middle age into later life. Numerous theoretical perspectives that incorporate lifespan principles will guide this seminar. The most recent research that investigates communication across the lifespan will be read and critiqued. This course is grounded in the assumption that multiple disciplines have investigated and continue to investigate human interaction at all points in the lifespan. Therefore, sociological, psychological and anthropological research will complement the research in the discipline of communication that will be discussed in the seminar.
This course introduces graduate students to the philosophical underpinnings of communication research and develops skills in theory construction. CAS 560CAS 560 Communication Theory (3) The first Department of Communication was established in the 1950s, and most departments of communication are less than 30 years old. This course is intended for graduate students who want an in-depth understanding of the philosophical issues underlying research and theory in human communication. It is a graduate-level course that emphasizes theory development in the area of human communication behavior. The readings covered are extensive, contributing to an expectation for abstract and integrative thought and discussion. Students should have a serious interest in studying theory construction and related philosophical underpinnings. Structurally, the course begins with a review of definitional issues underlying research and theory in human communication, moves to a focused discussion of various epistemological and ontological positions in the social sciences and humanities, then shifts to issues of theory construction and development. In addition, some of the primary issues debated in the related literatures will be discussed. Evaluation methods will include presentations and paper(s), but may also include exams and participation. As a result, students will examine where knowledge about communication comes from while defining social science, metatheory, theory, and levels of theorizing; acquire familiarity with the breadth, scope, and range of communication theory as a domain of study; comprehend major issues confronting researchers and theoreticians in communication; and acquire a vocabulary suitable for understanding the discussion that takes place in the field's journals and at communication conferences. The course is planned as a foundational course for all graduate students entering the graduate program with interests in non-rhetorical methods of inquiry, and it is strongly recommended for all students entering the graduate program with interests in non-rhetorical methods of inquiry. This course will be offered once a year with 15 seats per offering.
Introduces graduate students to principles, issues, and design considerations underlying social scientific methodology; material is applied to communication research. CAS 561 CAS 561 Quantitative Research Methods (3) This course is intended for graduate students who want an understanding of the quantitative methodology and research design. It is a graduate-level course, so the reading is heavy, the expectations for the level of discussion are high, and the instructor will assume that students have a serious interest in becoming critical consumers of quantitative research methods. Structurally, the course begins with a review of definitional issues, moves to a thorough discussion of sampling, reliability, and validity in research designs, then shifts to an understanding of quasi-experimental and experimental designs. In addition, some of the primary issues debated in the literature on quantitative methodologies will be discussed. Evaluation methods will include presentations and paper(s), but may also include exams and participation. The course is planned as a foundational course for all graduate students entering the graduate program with interests in non-rhetorical methods of inquiry, and it is strongly recommended for all students entering the graduate program with interests in non-rhetorical methods of inquiry. This course will be offered once a year with 15 seats per offering.
CAS 563Pairs & Pairings: Quantitative Methods for Interdependent Data3
Foundational course exploring methods for addressing interdependent data: dyadic analysis and social network analysis. CAS 563 Pairs & Pairings: Quantitative Methods for Interdependent Data (3) This graduate seminar is a foundational course exposing students to two quantitative perspectives that are increasingly encountered in the communication research: dyadic analysis and social network analysis. Dyadic analysis and social network analysis attempt to analyze non-independent data, and test concepts such as interpersonal influence, position, role, or social distance and segregation. By the end of the semester students should have an understanding of these perspectives, be able to conduct basic dyadic and social network analyses competently, and be ready to anticipate various boundaries, caveats, and necessary conditions. The ultimate objective of this seminar is to produce informed users and consumers of quantitative research using quantitative methods for handling interdependent data.
This course is concerned with the theory and technology of measuring variables relevant to the study of communication. In a phrase, the course is about construct validity. It consists of three major sections. The first focuses on how to devise and evaluate a conceptual definition, then create a corresponding operational definition. This section lays the groundwork for the subsequent sections that present data-analytic procedures for evaluating the correspondence between concept and operation. Part two of the course addresses measures in which the symbols reflective of the phenomenon are ordered. Specific topics include consistency indices of reliability, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis. Part three emphasizes measurement of phenomena for which the symbols are not ordered, that is, the measurement of categories. It covers the creation and evaluation of coding schemes as they are used in verbal protocols, content analysis, and social interaction analysis as well as agreement indices of reliability. The overarching goal of the course is to impart some of the conceptual and practical skills necessary for conducting social scientific research.
This course is a graduate-level examination of research linking interpersonal communication to outcomes associated with personal well-being. This course is grounded in a biopsychosocial understanding of health, which recognizes that physical and mental health is shaped by social experiences, including interpersonal communication. The course begins by reviewing various indices of well-being, mind-body linkages, and evidence that interpersonal communication produces outcomes relevant to well-being. Next, we explore the literature linking well-being to social support in its various forms, spanning the health benefits of social network involvement to the impact of specific comforting messages. We turn then to the deleterious impact of caustic relationship states and communication episodes representing facets of interpersonal conflict. Throughout the semester, attention will be given to the theoretical issues and methodological challenges that confront researchers working on these topics, and a review of those issues serves as the capstone session for the semester.
Theory and methods of message design, audience analysis, evaluation, and ethics in health communication research. CAS 567 Health Campaigns: Design and Evaluation (3) This graduate course explores theories of health communication and approaches to designing and evaluating effective communication campaigns that attempt to address real-world health issues. The real-world health issues may vary from pandemic conditions involving global coordination to specific ones appearing within a smaller, cohesive network in a particular neighborhood. Students will consider theory-driven campaigns targeting audiences who represent a variety of languages as well as co-cultural orientations and identities, in domestic and international settings. Students will learn theories and methods related to audience analysis, campaign design, and program evaluation. This course will cover issues of inference, ethics, and sources of bias in health campaign design and evaluation.
Overview of theories and approaches to the analysis of spoken and/or written discourse. APLNG 581 APLNG (CAS) 581 Discourse Analysis (3) This course is designed to provide an overview of the various theories of and approaches to the analysis of spoken and written discourse, e.g., speech act theory, conversation analysis, pragmatics, contextual analysis, functional/cognitive grammar, grammar and interaction. These and other approaches are intended to serve as analytic tools and frameworks for students to ultimately design and carry out their own research projects within the course of the semester. Research projects may focus on any aspect of language use, such as language and grammar, language and interaction, language and culture, language socialization, language and cognition; projects may center on some phenomenon of English or may involve other languages, as long as the student is capable of conducting an in-depth analysis of the particular phenomenon under investigation in that language.
Continuing seminars which consist of a series of individual lectures by faculty, students, or outside speakers. CAS 590CAS 590 Colloquium (1-3) The CAS Colloquium provides a forum for the presentation of graduate student and faculty research, as well as for discussion of professional issues, such as preparing a curriculum vitae or teaching portfolio, publishing scholarly work, applying for grants, and interviewing for academic positions. All first-year graduate students register for the colloquium, and graduate students at all stages of their career are strongly encouraged to attend.
CAS 602Supervised Experience in College Teaching1-3
Students enrolled will, under supervision, teach SPCOM 100--introduction to speech communication: formal speaking, group discussion, analysis and evaluation of messages.
