45 courses with the subject MCOM, 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.
An introductory overview of the history and current trends in mass communication from a socio-cultural perspective. Areas covered include print media (newspapers, magazines and books), electronic media (radio, television, film, the Internet), advertising, public relations and media ethics. Credit(s): 3
An introduction to the principles of public speaking, including theory, history and practice. This course presents both classical and contemporary theories of rhetoric while at the same time emphasizing the practical skills of public speaking. The course offers full coverage of all major aspects of speech preparation and presentation, and requires student practice throughout the course. Credit(s): 3
This course presents an introduction to the principles and practical skills of public speaking, as well as reading and understanding scientific publications and presenting research at conferences. All major aspects of speech preparation and presentation will be addressed. Students will apply the skills learned in this course by giving presentations that are scientific in nature. Credit(s): 3
This course focuses on the nature and power of visual imagery - especially the photographic image. Provides perspective on the cultural significance and social effects of image production, and combines theory with practice. Students apply the principles of image production in visual exercises in using Adobe Photoshop. Credit(s): 3
This course is designed to familiarize students with the field of public relations and the role it plays in the mass media. The course will outline the process of public relations, including fact-finding and research, planning and programming, communication and actions and evaluation. It will also examine relevant communication and persuasion theories. Credit(s): 3
This course explores the dynamics of interpersonal communication, the communication between two people. This will be accomplished by exploring ideas and theories about how and why people communicate one-on-one in the ways that we do, including ways to pursue interpersonal justice and practice charitable interpersonal communication. Students will initially build a foundation by looking at the principal tools and skills of interpersonal communication. Students will explore more complex dynamics of interpersonal communication such as intimacy, communication contexts and interpersonal conflict. When students complete this course they should be growing as communicators and learning why and how to navigate communication issues in both essential and desirable interpersonal relationships. Credit(s): 3
This course considers the ethical issues facing communication students, professional journalists and media practitioners. Students will be provided with ethics principles, models and theories to work through ethical issues and moral dilemmas. Credit(s): 3
This course provides an introduction to motion pictures as an artistic and cultural form, as well as film’s relationship to other popular media. The course content explores movies’ narrative conventions; the stylistic conventions of lighting, cinematography, sound and editing; and how they communicate to mass audiences in popular genres like the Western, science fiction, the musical, women’s films and film noir. Credit(s): 3
This course is designed to introduce students to the emerging interdisciplinary field of health communication. Health communication studies how health information is generated and disseminated to a specific audience; also, how that information affects individuals and communities. The two main avenues of health communication are patient-provider communication and public health. This class is designed to teach students to identify the mediums, messages, contexts, and reasons that will motivate people to adopt healthy behaviors. Students may be asked to design health communication programs, create educational materials for at risk populations, or frame a particular health policy issue for legislation. Health communication is always oriented towards healthy individual and social behavior. Credit(s): 3
FILM 220 Students will learn the principles and basic techniques of photography. From still life to journalistic “street” photography students will shoot and edit images every week. A heavy emphasis will be placed on proper composition and exposure. Students will learn the principles of good photography and develop the skills necessary to create it. In addition, students will gain a solid understanding of mustknow lighting and composition techniques. Students do not need to provide their own camera. Credit(s): 3
This course considers the many hours spent tuned in to cell phones, laptops, satellite/cable/online television, newspapers, among other media and digital devices, and is designed to provide students with the necessary knowledge and critical skills to become literate media consumers. The course also traces the roots of today’s digital and social media to their earlier origins. Credit(s): 3
An overview of recent technological developments and their impact in the field of mass communication. Students will be introduced to new communication technologies and applications including desktop publishing, multimedia, desktop video, presentation software and Web page design. Credit(s): 3
This course introduces students to news reporting and storytelling techniques using multimedia, including audio, photography, as well as social and digital media. The course prepares students to work in various news, online and corporate environments. Students will contribute content to Shenandoah University’s online student newspaper. Credit(s): 3
This course examines the forms of informational and persuasive writing used in the public relations field. Emphasis is on developing the writing and research skills necessary for producing various types of public relations copy including news releases, public service announcements and audiovisual scripts, as well as copy for newsletters, brochures, annual reports and press kits. Credit(s): 3
This course is designed to familiarize students with the social science research methods most commonly used in mass communication. It also examines the theories which have been shaped and informed by media research. Students will design and conduct a media research project. Credit(s): 3
This course is designed to increase the student’s understanding of the impact of the mass media on society and the way these effects have evolved and increased over time. Issues examined include freedom and responsibility of the media, sex and violence in media, portrayals of minorities and women, media and democracy and the emergence of mass culture. Credit(s): 3
This course deals with issues that impact the environment and the web of life that surrounds us. Although the central focus is on the communicative topics relating to the environment, the approach of this class is necessarily pluralistic and multidisciplinary. Students will call on theories from fields as diverse as philosophy, rhetoric, education, business and evolutionary biology to investigate, examine and engage issues of environmentalism. The approaches will be brought to bear on various environmental texts. This course also has a commitment to and is embedded in environmental justice. Credit(s): 3
This course examines the internal and external systems of communication, including small group, interpersonal and public communication. It provides opportunities for developing organizational skills, identifying problems, analyzing outcomes and taking appropriate corrective action. Credit(s): 3
This course examines the social, cultural and economic roles of advertising in capitalistic society with a focus on how commercial messages and images help construct social perceptions and consumptive behavior. Credit(s): 3
(same as GWST 322) This course uses advertising to examine the construction of gender from the late 19th century to the present, particularly how advertising has contributed to the meanings we attach to being a man and being a woman in American culture. We take a historical look at how consumer culture has represented and defined the male, the female, the masculine, and the feminine by focusing on the development of significant advertising campaigns and consumption items. We will examine the relationship between major shifts for men and women in the private and public sphere and the depiction of those shifts in advertisements. Throughout the semester, we will relate the old to the new by focusing on persistent patterns of meanings that reoccur in advertisements and what these patterns tell us about the development of particular gendered meanings and gendered norms. Credit(s): 3
(same as PSY 323 ) This course examines the relationship between children and the media. It will look at media exposure and content as they relate to child development. Media influences related to diversity, culture, self-concept, attitudes and behavior will be highlighted. Credit(s): 3
Students will learn the basic tools of computer-assisted reporting (CAR). They will learn to organize information and develop story ideas using computer spreadsheets and databases. They will learn to research stories using electronically sorted public documents and the Internet. Credit(s): 3
A project-oriented course utilizing computer-based graphic design and publishing applications. Students will write, edit, design and publish several projects. Credit(s): 3
This course focuses on the process of writing news stories using standard news values, basic news gathering techniques, the inverted pyramid and Associated Press style. Students will also be introduced to other types of media writing, including feature, broadcast, Web and public relations writing. Credit(s): 3
This course introduces students to the techniques of broadcast field reporting and working as a reporting team. Emphasis is placed on the basic skills involved in gathering, reporting, editing and delivering the news. Credit(s): 3
This course focuses on sports writing, reporting and editorial practice for print, broadcast and online media. Credit(s): 3
This course is designed to familiarize students with the kinds of oral and written communications needed to succeed in business and professional contexts, and to develop in them the skills needed for effective communication in a variety of organizational settings. The course also explores theories of persuasion, group dynamics and management to increase student awareness and understanding of underlying communication process. Credit(s): 3
(same as PSCI 351) This course is an interdisciplinary introduction to the complex interrelationship between politics and the media. This course will present principles of politics and the media and train the students to analyze political life, issues, trends, and events as they are covered, or not covered, by the news media. Credit(s): 3
This course considers how gender influences interpersonal and mediated communication with a focus on gender theory, rhetorical analysis, media criticism and personal experiences. Students study the relationship between gender and communication with a particular emphasis on how gender can help shape discourse and meaning. Credit(s): 3
Advanced practice in journalistic writing, broadcast reporting and news editorial. Students act as editors for the campus newspaper, supervising and editing the work of the student staff. This class will also provide students with hands-on opportunities to practice the craft of news editing in various media including print, broadcast and online. Credit(s): 3
Advanced techniques for the design and production of multimedia, hypermedia and other interactive media. Credit(s): 3
Study of special topics, issues or themes within the field of visual communications. Credit(s): 3
An on-campus internship with one of the university media, public relations or information offices. Credit(s): 3
The backbone of the pre-production process is script writing. Effective conceptualization and organization as a producer/director is practiced in several field settings. The class will generate a series of “magazine” television programs, with each student writing one show. Credit(s): 3
This course explores theory, techniques and models related to setting long- and short-term goals and objectives, designing strategies and tactics, segmenting audiences, analyzing problems and opportunities, communicating with top management, developing budgets, contingency planning for crises and disasters, managing issues, developing timetables and calendars and assigning authority and responsibility. Credit(s): 3
This course examines media law using historical, theoretical and case study approaches. Among topics covered are the First Amendment, libel, privacy, journalist privilege, free press/fair trial, indecency and obscenity. Credit(s): 3
This course examines the relationship between culture and communication with an emphasis on theory and practical application in intercultural contexts. Ethnography and other approaches will be used to study interpersonal and public communication among people from different cultures. Credit(s): 3
This course introduces student to covering government (primarily state and local), public schools, courts, crime, and social services. Using Winchester and Frederick County as their laboratory, student will cover city and/or county government and school board meetings, courts, the police beat, the environment, health care, and other public policy stories. It also introduces them to the theory of civic journalism and explores the role of journalism in a democratic society. Credit(s): 3
This course looks at the intersection of sex and violence in the American sports media. Particular emphasis will be placed on how the media frame highly publicized cases and trials. Credit(s): 3
(same as FILM 461 ) This course examines media depictions of gender and sport through an examination of media texts, including sports broadcasts, newspaper and magazine articles, sports documentaries and narrative films. Particular emphasis is placed on the social, mediated and cinematic constructions of femininity and masculinity in sport. Enrollment is limited to juniors and seniors. Credit(s): 3
This course examines media depictions of race and sport through an examination of media texts including sports broadcasts, newspaper and magazine articles and documentary and feature films. Particular emphasis is placed on the social and mediated constructions of race in American sport. Credit(s): 3
Supervise practicum managing and editing the campus newspaper or magazine as a staff member. May be repeated for a total of three hours credit. Credit(s): 1
Directed study in mass communication. Credit(s): 3
Independent study in mass communication. Credit(s): 3
A field internship with an area, regional or national communication organization. Credit(s): 3
Source: Shenandoah University's catalog, linked per course · table learning_unit · CourseShelf publish 59
