COMM - Communications
Preparation, delivery, and analysis of types of speeches with emphasis on extemporaneous speaking.
An introduction to the analysis and practice of effective voice and articulation. Applications across various communication contexts, such as public communication, media, and social communication.
An introduction to concepts, processes, and effects of communication in personal and social relationships. Emphasis on fundamental communication skills necessary for the formation and maintenance of relationships.
Open only to students in the Honors College. A study of the theory, strategies, and techniques of public speaking with emphasis on its application to effective conflict resolution.
A study of selected topics designed for non-majors, or for elective credit within a major. These courses will appear in the course schedule, and will be more fully described in a booklet distributed to all academic advisors.
A study of selected topics designed for non-majors, or for elective credit within a major. These courses will appear in the course schedule, and will be more fully described in a booklet distributed to all academic advisors.
An introduction to the discipline and methods of human communication. Survey of the major approaches to studying communication across the range of human communication contexts and functions.
Fundamentals of construction, lighting, and production techniques in contemporary theatre and film. Students will apply acquired skills to active productions for ODU Theatre and Film productions.
Open only to students in the Honors College. An introduction to the discipline and methods of human communication. Survey of the major approaches to studying communication across the range of human communication contexts and functions.
Open only to students in the Honors College. This class will focus on both contextual and close text analysis of masterworks as they have influenced film art and industry. Students in this course are expected to develop basic research, communication, viewing and critical thinking skills as they apply their knowledge to the analysis of the film experience.
An introduction to principles, methods, and materials used in designing stage and film productions.
An examination of mass communication--books, newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, film, sound recordings, and the Internet--as a global institution, industry, and social force. Media literacy skills are emphasized, as are matters of technology, content, economics, history and impact.
This hands-on introductory course is designed to give students a foundation in the art and profession of screenwriting, with an emphasis on short film scripts. The course breaks down key features of screenwriting, such as: proper screenplay formatting, story structure, character development, conflict, action, and dialog. Students will apply what they learn in numerous exercises and writing assignments.
This online course will introduce students to the process of making movies. Students will learn basic conceptual and technical principles of the filmmaking process using personal equipment, such as an iPhone. The course is intended for non-cinema majors and does not satisfy the prerequisite requirement for higher-level production courses.
This class focuses on both contextual and close text analysis of masterworks as they have influenced film art and industry. Students in this course are expected to develop basic research, communication, viewing and critical thinking skills as they apply their knowledge to the analysis of the film experience.
This course will introduce the beginning student to making movies. Students will learn the basics of working with cameras, lights, sound recording, video editing and post production. This is a hands-on production course and the required prerequisite to most higher-level production courses. Students who complete COMM 271 cannot enroll in COMM 269 and have that course count toward their major.
Digital literacy refers to the unequal understanding people have about how digital technologies work, how that work is regulated, and how digital technologies are used - by us and by others - as effective and strategic communication and information tools. This course offers students a pathway to become digitally literate by teaching them how the work they perform on digital platforms impacts their interpersonal, communal, and social interactions as consumers, citizens, and content producers.
Advertising influences consumer beliefs and decision-making. This course introduces students to fundamental concepts in advertising and consumer culture while developing skills and knowledge in information and digital literacy. Topics covered include consumerism and resistance, representation in advertising, audience segmentation, and digital advertising. As they learn to critically evaluate and analyze advertising and its audiences, students will practice message evaluation and research skills. Students will also consider legal and ethical use of information in advertising.
This course is an introduction to the entertainment industry including working methods, processes, and equipment for live, recorded, and interactive entertainment. The exploration will include theatre, opera, dance, concert productions, theme parks, themed-retail, film production, immersive, interactive and virtual environments, and gaming technology. Attention is given to the positive and negative aspects of entertainment technologies and how they impact culture and society.
A study of selected topics designed for nonmajors or for elective credit within a major. These courses will appear in the course schedule and will be more fully described by academic advisors.
This course is designed to prepare ODU study-abroad students for successful international sojourns. Topics to be covered include culture, culture shock, reverse culture shock and strategies for a successful study-abroad experience.
This survey course introduces students to critical methodologies utilized in the study of media texts. Through case studies and hands-on exercises, students will learn how to study the production, consumption, and engagement with popular culture and how to decode its meanings.
An introduction to communication research from a social science perspective. Experiment, survey, content analysis and observational approaches are covered. Students learn statistical data collection and data analysis techniques.
A study of interactions within and among communication workplaces and the public. Attention is given to the media, promotions, community relations, and public information.
An analysis and expression of professional speeches, delivered in public, business and special occasion contexts. Attention is given to audience analysis, library research, development of arguments/evidence as content, creation and use of professional visual aids, expression of appropriate verbal and nonverbal speech cues, speaker credibility, and extemporaneous delivery skills.
This course is an examination of both the theory and practice of communication in the professional setting. Content includes communication theory, work-life communication, as well as the roles of interpersonal, organizational, and mediated communication as related to the workplace.
This course provides students with an historic overview of films from a variety of European countries. Students gain the vocabulary necessary to analyze individual films and for the comparative analysis of films from different cultural and historical contexts. The course will focus on issues such as national and individual identity, film as aesthetic form, gender and sexuality, and popular culture.
This writing-intensive course equips students with the foundational skills for effective writing across multiple media platforms, including print, digital, and broadcast. Emphasizing clarity, accuracy, and ethical practices, students will learn to craft news stories, feature articles, and press releases while adapting their work to diverse audiences. The course also introduces the role of data in enhancing media writing, demonstrating how analytics can shape content strategy and improve audience engagement. Students will also integrate multimedia elements and explore storytelling techniques essential for professional media environments. Ultimately, this prerequisite course for the Journalism/Public Information and Strategic Communication concentrations seeks to ensure a solid writing foundation for all future media professionals.
Companies and organizations from just about every sector have a person or in some cases entire offices tasked with media relations. This course will take an in-depth look at the evolving landscape of multimedia communications, including seismic changes in the media in general, the rise of bloggers, influencers, and other shared media models, and the increasing role that content generation plays in traditional media relations. The course will include hands-on instruction and projects in content generation, media pitching and contact lists, media interviews, press conferences, as well as non-traditional earned media practices.
This course emphasizes a multi-disciplinary and multi-media approach to problem solving. Students will prepare a strategic communication campaign on behalf of a real client. It will include the production of research, strategy, and media material for use by the client. These materials, in turn, may be used in student portfolios as examples of professional capabilities.
This course provides students skills needed to enter the workforce with a robust set of domain-specific skills, which includes practicing those skills in a realistic, hands-on setting, so they feel more ready to win and succeed in jobs in the competitive, modern marketplace. This course will provide relevant skills training to strategic communication students, while fortifying these students for professional success.
An introduction to the theories, processes and effects of communication in nonverbal codes. Topics include kinesics, proxemics and paralanguage. Critical analysis and contemporary research emphasized.
An overview of communication theory and research examining gendered verbal and nonverbal communication. Topics include communication differences as a function of gender, theories that seek to explain these differences, and critical examination of social practices that create gender prescriptions. This is a writing intensive course.
This course assists students in understanding the elements of production management both in television and on stage. The course emphasizes organizational and communication skills; technical production knowledge; professional rehearsal and performance protocol according to the rules of AEA, AFTRA and SAG as well as basic production budgeting and scheduling.
The course covers the systematic process of organizational assessment from basic communication channels (verbal, printed, and electronic modes of communication), to interpersonal and group communication, to the management of events and staff. This course examines the importance of leadership roles within organizations in planning any event as well as the communication dynamics between management and those being supervised.
This class introduces the concepts and techniques of sound design and sound effects for the stage and camera. Students learn design of sound elements in both a live and recorded environment as well as learn the current equipment and software in digital sound reproduction.
An introduction to the study of communication in task groups. Course reviews foundational literature and emphasizes communication competencies relevant to optimizing group outcomes including group observation, participation, assessment, and leadership.
This course builds upon the principles taught in Screenwriting 1 (or equivalent) using the short script as a basis for the exploration. Utilizing concepts of characterization, plot, dialogue and narrative style, students should complete the course with several production-ready short scripts.
An overview of the rhetorical and social scientific theories and research about persuasion and applications in speeches and campaigns.
This screenwriting course explores the ways teleplays, stage plays, and screenplays can be crafted using a variety of primary source materials. Through multiple screenings, writing exercises, and deep reading, it examines what constitutes an adaptable piece of prose and how that material can be transformed. Primary weight is given to the movement from novel to film.
With the goal of being able to critique a communication event, students study a variety of rhetorical approaches that may include neo-Aristotelian, generic, feminist, metaphoric, fantasy theme, and pentadic approaches to rhetorical criticism. This is a writing intensive course.
In this course, students learn how to transform casual expressions of opinion about celebrities and media into polished reviews and articles worthy of publication in newspapers, magazines, and online platforms. Students will examine models of good entertainment journalism, past and present, in print, on the Web and in podcasts. In particular, students will consider critical reviews, profiles of artists and entertainers, interviews, and trend stories.
This course examines the basic ways in which the mass media intersect with the currents of contemporary culture. Both historical and critical approaches to the study of mass communication and popular culture trace the full implications of their mutual determination and interdependence.
This is a production course introducing students to the world of light and shadow, mood and composition by surveying lighting design, its technologies for stage and camera, and such principles as basic electrical theory and stage/studio/location design aesthetics.
This course serves as an introduction to the art of video post-production. Students explore the theory and practice of various editing styles in order to gain a better understanding of how stories are constructed in the editing room. The course covers principles of post-production of narrative, documentary, and experimental films. Through demonstrations and hands-on experience, students learn editing techniques with an in-depth examination of tools and approaches in a non-linear editing system.
This course provides students with an overview of a range of media industries, exploring their histories and structures and their impact on contemporary media production. Students will track ongoing industry developments, applying course concepts and learning how media is made and how that process is restricted by a range of social, cultural, political, and economic forces.
This course is designed to introduce students to the major theories and perspectives that inform the ways media audiences are made meaningful to the creation, distribution, promotion, regulation, and evaluation of media and popular culture.
This course is an introduction to narrative screenwriting focusing on the traditional feature film. Students will study screenwriting principles through text reading, film viewing, script analysis and substantial writing assignments. Focus is on story structure, character development, action, dialogue, and proper screenplay format.
This course examines the process of building characters for the camera, and the ways in which the conventions of the stage are adapted for the film or video audience.
This course explores the design aesthetic, historical context, and contemporary impact on performance of the costume garment and its accessories. Students explore the application of design principles in a practical experience.
Focuses on communication theory, research, and applications of a variety of forms of communication in organizational relationships. Topics include superior-subordinate communication, interviewing, and presentations with an emphasis on a diversity of perspectives and types of organizations.
This is a project oriented, studio class that will focus on the art of animated storytelling from the traditional perspective of stop motion animation combined with digital post production. Students will engage in individual research, writing, storyboarding, editing, and sound creation to produce original short animations. Crosslisted with THEA 353.
This course is an intermediate level course designed to introduce the student to the fundementals of graphic skills necessary for the implementation of a scenic design on either the stage or in front of a lens. Techinques and skills will be demonstrated in drafting (hand and computer generated) and perspective sketching and rendering. Crosslisted with THEA 354.
Focuses on critical analysis of theory and research organizations as functional communication systems at the individual, dyadic, small group, and organizational levels. Topics include information processing, problem solving, impression management, compliance gaining, and network analysis.
This is a project-oriented studio class that will focus on the art of animated storytelling through the use of computer-based 3D animation.
This is a project-oriented studio class that will focus on the art of animated storytelling from the perspective of computer-based 3D animation, building on the skills developed in 3D Animation 1. Students will engage in individual research, writing, storyboarding, editing, and sound creation to produce original short animations.
This course will introduce students to color workflow in the digital cinema environment. The focus will be on working with color beginning with the camera, through color correction to delivery, mixing software-specific techniques with a deepening understanding of the underlying theories of color theory and practice. Students will learn and apply industry standard best practices in the field of visual post-production. This is a hands-on workshop style post-production course.
This course will develop design principles and craft techniques to create a wide variety of costume crafts. The course will focus on individual research, design elements and technical challenges. Projects will encourage students to explore textile modification, various applications for clothing design, costume crafts and art materials. Cross-listed with THEA 355.
This course is designed to provide students with an in-depth knowledge of the theory of film editing and concepts in film editing such as pacing, rhythm, juxtaposition, and color. The course will encourage students to investigate and understand the effectiveness of various editing techniques deployed by film editors.
This class focuses on media literacy and on the role of media in society. Students learn and practice elements of news writing, including writing leads, organizing stories, reporting techniques, and interviewing. Story assignments come from handouts, press releases, press conferences, speeches, and public meetings. Some assignments are completed under simulated deadline pressure in the computer lab. This course is identical to the course previously named Reporting and News Writing I and satisfies that requirement.
Available for pass/fail grading only. Student participation for credit based on the academic relevance of the work experience, criteria, and evaluative procedures as formally determined by the department prior to the semester in which the work experience takes place. May be repeated for credit.
A structured work experience with or without remuneration, in an appropriately related disciplinary field. An ePortfolio, 150 hours of site work, plus satisfactory evaluations by supervisor and cooperating faculty member are required. Available for pass/fail grading only. Available to Communication, Theatre, and Dance majors and minors only. Cross-listed with DANC 368 and THEA 368.
A structured research experience, under the supervision of communication faculty member. A paper evaluating/analyzing the research, a log of research progress, and satisfactory evaluation by the supervising faculty are required.
Introduction to new media practices and theories. Focuses upon the powers of composition, networked communities, information management, social networking and identification in digital environments. Students will examine practical applications such as blogging, online mapping and tagging, online collaborative work such as wikis and self composition in online social networks.
This course explores the basic process of producing television from script to presentation.
This course offers the student an opportunity to explore the world of documentary filmmaking. Students will perform research to develop evidence in support of a thesis, then utilize the camera to capture a narrative story based on the thesis. Through this process, the student is better able to understand documentary filmmaking. Students will develop and deliver short documentary films by the end of the semester.
This course focuses on writing for television news and producing online news reports. Students will strengthen their journalistic skills and learn the importance of writing clearly for a viewing audience while working under newsroom deadlines. By the end of the course, students should feel confident in producing accurate, detailed reports for television news and online news sites.
This course is designed as a practical guide for directors to elicit strong performances from the actors who tell their stories. The class will establish vocabulary and practice techniques that are equally applicable to work in film or theatre. Ideally, the course will encourage students to think beyond genre as they create work that is both dramatically and humanly compelling.
Introduces students to cinematography. The course explores camera technique, blocking actors, lighting, and cinematography fundamentals. The concepts of the course are applied to fiction and nonfiction cinema. This is a production class.
This course builds on the fundamentals learned in Post-Production I, exploring advanced post-production techniques in picture editing, color correction and grading, sound editing and mixing, VFX editing, title and graphics editing, chroma key and compositing. The focus will be on mixing software-specific techniques with deepening understanding of the underlying theories of editing, color theory and principles of sound post-production. The students will learn and apply industry standard best practices in the field of audiovisual post-production. This is a hands-on workshop style post-production course.
This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to the reporting, writing, and production aspects of a television news program. Students will learn how to create 15- and 30-minute news broadcasts by developing story ideas and news gathering. Students will also learn the intricacies of shooting and editing video along with the production process involved in recording a live news broadcast. Each student will spend time both in front of and behind the television studio cameras. The goal of this course is to produce weekly news programs worthy of broadcast on local television. Students will assume the roles of reporter, writer, producer, floor director, photojournalist, videographer, technician, and more.
This course is designed to develop within students a heightened and multifaceted awareness and appreciation for aesthetics of a particular type - motion picture aesthetics. Aesthetic considerations impact us intellectually, emotionally, psychologically, and viscerally. Professionals most definitely employ a language to filmmaking. One must learn the language of motion picture production and aesthetic design in order to convey concepts to their audiences.
This course will explore the best concepts in recording, editing and mixing audio for film and post-production. Students will be using Pro Tools hands-on to sync and mix audio to picture. Topics will include location audio, sound design, ADR, mixing, and more.
This course offers a general introduction to film theory and criticism through examination of key film studies debates, authors, and texts as well as the relationship between film theory, history, and aesthetics. It is also a critical cultural study of film, focusing on the relationship between filmic representations and society.
A study of selected topics designed for non-majors, or for elective credit within a major. These courses will appear in the course schedule, and will be more fully described in information distributed to all academic advisors.
A study of selected topics designed for nonmajors, or for elective credit within a major. These courses will appear in the course schedule, and will be more fully described in information distributed to all academic advisors.
This course is designed to introduce students to the study of communication in cultural contexts, the purpose of which is to prepare one to live and work within an increasingly multicultural world. This is accomplished by defining and critically analyzing concepts of culture. Throughout the semester, the course will investigate theories of culture and communication that address the development of cultural identity, intercultural communication competence, the role of verbal and nonverbal communication across cultures, the cultural composition of the U.S., and ethical communication and challenge in a globalized era. This is a writing intensive course.
An overview of general and contextual theories of communication. Focus is on the nature of communication theory, the role of theory in communication inquiry, and the relationships among theory, research, and practice.
An overview of effective oral, written and visual means to communicate data and to communicate about data to a variety of audiences.
This course introduces students to the basic elements of public information as it pertains to assisting organizations avoid, mitigate and recover from crisis situations. Students will have the opportunity to both observe and participate in crisis communications situations.
This course introduces students to the multi-layered challenges associated with communication in the event of accidents, crises and natural disasters. In addition to incorporating basic elements of public relations as it pertains to assisting organizations avoid, mitigate and recover from external crisis situations, students will have the opportunity to both observe and participate in crafting multi-agency responses to these unplanned events.
The course examines the tensions between modernity and tradition in the context of Middle East culture. Cultural variables for study include myth and religion, family structures and the use of science and technology.
This course focuses on the study of the Internet and information technology by examining how new media impacts our communication practices with others. The course explores topics related to communication technology and theories, leadership in the digital age, effectively communicating in digital spaces, and how digital communication intersects various areas of our daily lives.
This course provides an overview of contemporary scholarship on phenomena within the scope of interpersonal health communication. Students will become familiar with fundamental communication processes that are involved in the interprofessional management of physical and mental health. Additionally, students will develop an awareness of how communication among friends, family members, professionals, and others influences people's well-being, and how, in turn, health and illness shape communication and relationship dynamics.
In this course, students will examine the ways in which major tech companies support & celebrate LGBTQ+ culture within a larger organizational culture. This course will take a critical cultural studies approach to exploring the organizational policies and gendered communication in these spaces. Students' experience may include tours and interviews with organizational & cultural leaders, as well as the integration of visits to LGBTQ+ historical sites.
A survey of classic and contemporary theories and research of communication in personal and social relationships across the lifespan. Emphasizes communication as a means to facilitate conditions for development of positive relational outcomes. This is a writing intensive course.
Focus on theory and research of communication processes in conflict episodes across social and personal relational contexts. Applications of communication approaches to conflict management emphasized.
The listening course introduces students to: 1) Practices for exploring and developing listening competencies, 2) Theoretical perspectives and models of listening, and 3) Research on listening. Practice, theory, and research are all integrated across the contexts of self, others, nature, and the divine.
Perspectives on nonviolent communication and peace are covered from the micro level (e.g., individual beliefs and worldviews) to interpersonal relationships (e.g., conflict management), groups (e.g., tribes, gangs), organizational systems (e.g., businesses, governments), and macro or global level (e.g., political relationships between nations).
This course investigates the history, types, characteristics, functions, and applications of love in everyday life, emphasizing the communication of altruistic/compassionate/agape love in four interrelated contexts: self, spirit, others, and creation. Theory, research, and applications of love will be explored within the spiritual, scientific, and dialogic (the conversation between science and spirit) perspectives.
A survey of classic and contemporary theories and research of communication in family units, family relationships, and family interfacings with society. The course emphasizes communication in the social construction of evolving 'family' realities as well as communication as means to facilitate conditions for development of positive domestic outcomes.
A survey of theories and research of communication during childhood. Emphasis is on children as developing communicators, their relationships, and their interactions with media. Factors affecting optimal development of children's communication and development of applications to enhance children's communication development are emphasized.
This course concentrates on the development and delivery of industry standard one-hour long TV scripts and the associated script 'bible.' Students will study sample scripts from broadcast TV programs and develop their own spec scripts. Cross-listed with THEA 430.
This capstone course requires students to exhibit knowledge from disciplinary curricula. Students will review an informed snapshot of current topics, methods and research within the communication discipline. Students will demonstrate communication competency through the development of a relevant final project (with required research).
This course offers ways for artists––and people invested in the arts––to contribute to the development, production, and distribution of radio programs, criticism, podcasts, and documentary films that engage audiences with topics in creative and appealing ways. Students will be exposed to how critics have both opened––and foreclosed––paths for artists to achieve 'success.' Students will develop projects that are grounded in humanities scholarship and that demonstrate how approaches to artistic creation can be thoughtful, balanced, and analytical, and may be (mis)interpreted by critics in mainstream press. Ultimately, this course investigates how creativity intersects with digital platforms to explore how both writing and discourse about the arts benefit from digital circulations.
This course focuses on the act and application of writing journalistic content across a variety of media. Students will create content and integrate multiple modalities of writing to form cohesive reports. Students will work on deadline to produce meaningful and informative news stories for their portfolios.
In today's digital landscape, storytelling is a powerful tool for effective communication. This course explores the intersection of strategic communication and podcasting, equipping students with the skills to craft compelling narratives that engage audiences across various platforms. Through a combination of theoretical insights, practical exercises, and hands-on podcasting projects, students will learn how to develop, produce, and distribute podcasts strategically to achieve communication objectives.
This course explores the history, theory, industry, and practice of advertising as a communication discipline. This course explores the origins of advertising and its evolution into its contemporary, technologically-driven form while introducing students to skills and concepts necessary for work in the field.
This is an experiential style course in the art and business of documentary production in the hands-on, professional environment of WHRO, which operates Hampton Roads’ PBS affiliate TV station as well as two public radio stations. Students will be guided through the production of content for WHRO by an ODU faculty member and the WHRO staff. Cross-listed with THEA 439.
This is an in-the-field study abroad course where students will, in small groups, produce a short documentary film about a local NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) creating positive change in the local community.
This course will seek to better understand the music industry. To do this, the organization and operation of the modern music industry will be examined. Issues of publishing, copyright and intellectual property and technology will also be examined.
This course explores the geographic dimensions of media, considering how issues of space and place intersect with the production and consumption of different forms of media. Employing semester-long cases that explore a range of mediated spaces from theme parks to television productions, students in the course will consider how spatiality shapes the cultural, economic, and creative dynamics of that production/experience.
A topical study of the major works of Spanish and Latin American film from Buneul to the present. The course will explore many issues, including those related to gender, race, symbolism, and class struggle.
The first half of the 20th century was the most creative and destructive period in German and European history. Its rich cultural achievements included Viennese psychoanalytical theory of the turn of the century, Art Nouveau, German Expressionism, and the avant garde aesthetics of the Weimar Republic. Conversely, World War I and II exposed the cultural agony and human depravity of modern civilization. This course will trace these various aspects and developments in a variety of exemplary genres. Readings and discussions in German. (Cross-listed with WCS 445/WCS 545 and GER 445/GER 545)
A survey of the key methods used in critiquing various forms of human and mediated communication for the purpose of becoming more discerning consumers of public and mass mediated messages. Analysis will include films, television, and radio programs, advertisements, newspapers, public discourses, speeches, and conversations.
This course seeks to provide students with fundamental principles and practical techniques of directing the narrative fiction film: script development and analysis, production planning, shot composition and framing, and working with actors and crew.
This course focuses on legal and policy issues related to modern media systems and technologies, with an emphasis on legal considerations of electronic media. Topics include First Amendment issues concerning news, programming, and advertising; station licensing; and challenges to traditional legal thought brought about by new technologies. This is a writing intensive course.
An examination of the rise of broadcast technology and world flow of information and entertainment. Theory and policy issues of systems of broadcast ownership, access, regulation, programming, transborder, broadcasting and cultural imperialism and dominance of Western programming will be addressed.
This course is for students who are interested in the field of voice over for commercials, narration, industrials, animation, Internet, and gaming. Students will practice voicing copy using acting techniques, vocal techniques, building characters, and analyzing copy. Students will learn to select, edit and prepare copy for a future demo and learn to perform cold voice over auditions. This is a performance-oriented course that is a workout session each day. Crosslisted with THEA 453.
Strategic communications is best learned by doing, including researching what has worked and what hasn't worked in strategies and tactics conducted by other professionals. This course will introduce students to a series of case studies organized thematically, grounding the knowledge gained in COMM 303 and allowing students to apply that knowledge to contemporary industries and cases of their own choosing.
A critical examination of the news industry as practiced in the printed press, network and cable television, magazines, the Internet, and alternative press. Class examines the political economy of journalism, the sociology of journalistic practice, international news flows, ideological/political control of news, and mythological narrative forms within news.
Focuses on theories, research and applications of the social influence function of communication in a variety of organizational contexts. Examines traditional and nontraditional social influence theories and research as applied to organizational change.
The foundation of any successful strategic communications, from marketing to public relations to advertising, is research. This course introduces students to secondary and primary research methods in an applied way, having students actually design and conduct full research studies for a client in the community. Students will discuss and conduct various forms of market research (situation, stakeholder, and competitor), explaining how it is integral to strategic thinking and responsible growth in order to directly prepare them for work in the field.
Social marketing, the process through which communications professionals attempt to introduce, reinforce, or augment social change through theories and practices of marketing, is a growing field with implications ranging from social entrepreneurship to international relations to community resiliency. This course will introduce the theories of social marketing, applying them through collaborations with a local organization or cause. Students will focus on a practical approach to constructing a brand through communication strategy and media tactics, and how those relate to constructing and maintaining the identity of a larger organization while also promoting social benefit.
A survey of sport media and communications. This course will expose students to the rapidly evolving sport media landscape, analyzing the communication processes involved in both strategic communication and journalism, through the mediums used to convey messages. The internal and external audiences involved in sport communication will be examined, both through an analysis of journalism’s impact on sport and an exploration of the strategic communication planning process.
Designed to familiarize students with the fundamentals of beat reporting and its practice in the multimedia environment of 'converged' newsrooms. The course emphatically focuses on writing but also provides instruction on how the tools and techniques of multimedia platforms are used to enhance storytelling. Emphasis is also placed on accessing information through web-based resources and government documents. This is a writing intensive course.
Course includes discussion and practice of writing a variety of newspaper and magazine feature stories. Students will write and critique stories on people, places, businesses, trends, and issues. Assistance is given in the marketing of manuscripts.
An examination of world cinema as a technology, a business, an institution, and an art form from its inception to the present. Emphasis is on the narrative fiction film, its technological and aesthetic development, economic organization, and socio-cultural context. Representative classic and contemporary works will be screened and analyzed. This is a writing intensive course.
This upper-division seminar investigates one or two particular emergent new media practices and theories. The topics will be chosen at the discretion of the instructor but may include issues such as 'mobile media,' 'micro media and audiences,' and 'social media.'
The role of television in the cultural, psychological, and economic life of America. The structure and design of television programs; and the history and function of television in reinforcing or altering public perceptions of ideas, events, and people. Major critical approaches are employed in examining television's social impact and global reach.
In the past two decades, reality television has become television's most replicated genre, documenting real people in 'real' situations across broadcast, cable, and streaming outlets. This class investigates the historical, cultural, and industrial logics that govern the rise of reality TV, exploring how the genre intersects with issues of race, gender, sexuality, and class, and asking students to apply their understanding of the genre to detailed analysis of its ongoing efforts to capture the complexities of everyday life.
This course introduces students to the ways in which different media forms are used for advertising and marketing purposes. Emphasis is on electronic media, though other approaches, such as direct marketing techniques and the increasing use of new media technologies for marketing, are also examined.
An examination of American motion pictures as an art form, a business and an institution from inception to the present. Primary attention is accorded to the narrative fiction film, its aesthetic and technological development, economic organization and social impact. This course highlights the many connections between film history and American culture. This is a writing intensive course.
Students will continue the work performed in COMM 380 with more advanced proposals, research, and production work.
Students will explore storytelling for cinema through screenplay analysis, scene study, character development, narrative structure, and story development. This upper-level, hands-on course applies a range of screenwriting principles to writing exercises, critique, and construction of the first half of a feature-length screenplay.
This is an intensive capstone course in film production. Students experience pre-production, production, and post-production phases while creating a product to be entered in regional and national competitions.
This course is designed to extend students' knowledge of the media elements of strategic communications, from graphics to images to video. Students will discuss how to ground creative production in strategy for a client, how to focus on content and storytelling for a specific stakeholder, and how to create an extended, coherent plan using both creative and organizational goals. This is not intended to make students 'creative' but instead to show students how to design, direct, and manage the work that a media production team might do.
This course is designed to examine the conventions and meanings of various film and television genres within their broader aesthetic, socio-historical, cultural, and political contexts. Each time the class is offered it will focus in depth on a different genre, such as the gangster, the Western, the musical, the comedy, science fiction, among others. Class may be repeated for credit as long as the genres are different.
This course offers students an opportunity to collaborate on a faculty led project beyond the scope of typical classroom projects. Students will execute an assigned duty for the duration of the semester.
This course is designed to provide students with advanced instruction in reporting, writing, and production for a television news program. Students will take on important roles in 15- and 30-minute news broadcasts and refine their skills in shooting and editing video. The goal of this course is to produce weekly news programs worthy of broadcast on local television. Students will receive significant experience in front of the camera as news, sports, and entertainment anchors/reporters as well as leadership positions in the television studio during the live broadcasts.
In this course, students examine how media culture - both historic and contemporary - contribute to the intersectional production of race in the United States. A guiding question will be: How do media and popular culture - as texts, practices, industries, and sites of identity formation and pleasure - construct race? Although students will theorize the politics of representation, they will also work to situate texts within a larger historic, political, and discursive context in order to assess the type of cultural work they perform.
This course is designed to give an overview of contemporary scholarship on phenomena within the scope of interpersonal health communication.
In this course, students gain hands-on experience working in an agency setting. They work directly with clients to create specific materials, and learn new tools and software suitable for each project. We emphasize building students' professional qualifications connected to their interests and the client's needs that bridge the gap between coursework and a career. Students will conduct situation analyses, choose audiences and strategy, and create professional-quality materials for clients. If they take the class for a second semester, students will have more senior roles, where they interface more extensively with the client and become team leaders with bigger projects.
This course will delve into activism and social change from a local and global perspective in order to enhance students' perspectives of social change as it manifests via popular media and community action.
This course builds on the fundamentals learned in Cinematography 1, exploring advanced camera and lighting techniques primarily used in narrative cinema. Advanced cameras, grip, electric, and lighting equipment will be covered, exposing students to gear and practices beyond the scope of a standard student production. This is a production class.
This intensive course will bring students onto the set of a Feature Film Production, working crew positions as the film is shot. Cross-listed with THEA 493.
This course is designed to help students enhance their personal and professional development through innovation guided by faculty members and professionals, while at the same time, meeting a critical need for Old Dominion University. Through a partnership with ODU's Office of Strategic Communication and Marketing, a select group of upper-level public relations, marketing or related discipline students will work, individually and in teams, as a "bureau" for the University's central marketing and communications office.
The advanced study of selected topics designed to permit small groups of qualified students to work on subjects of mutual interest which, due to their specialized nature, may not be offered regularly. These courses will appear in the course schedule, and will be more fully described in information distributed to all academic advisors.
The advanced study of selected topics designed to permit small groups of qualified students to work on subjects of mutual interest which, due to their specialized nature, may not be offered regularly. These courses will appear in the course schedule, and will be more fully described in information distributed to all academic advisors.
Independent reading and study on a topic to be selected under the direction of an instructor. Conferences and papers as appropriate.
Independent reading and study on a topic to be selected under the direction of an instructor. Conferences and papers as appropriate.
This course is designed to introduce students to the study of communication in cultural contexts, the purpose of which is to prepare students to live and work within an increasingly multicultural world. This is accomplished by first defining and critically analyzing concepts of culture. Throughout the semester, the course will investigate theories of culture and communication that address the development of cultural identity, intercultural communication competence, the role of verbal and nonverbal communication across cultures, the cultural composition of the U.S., and finally ethical communication and challenges in a globalized era.
An overview of general and contextual theories of communication. Focus is on the nature of communication theory, the role of theory in communication inquiry, and the relationships among theory, research, and practice.
This course introduces students to the basic elements of public information as it pertains to assisting organizations avoid, mitigate and recover from crisis situations. Students will have the opportunity to both observe and participate in crisis communications situations.
This course introduces students to the multi-layered challenges associated with communication in the event of accidents, crises and natural disasters. In addition to incorporating basic elements of public relations as it pertains to assisting organizations avoid, mitigate and recover from external crisis situations, students will have the opportunity to both observe and participate in crafting multi-agency responses to these unplanned events.
The course examines the tensions between modernity and tradition in the context of Middle East culture. Cultural variables for study include myth and religion, family structures and the use of science and technology.
A survey of classic and contemporary theories and research of communication in personal and social relationships across the lifespan. Emphasizes communication as a means to facilitate conditions for development of positive relational outcomes.
Focus on theory and research of communication processes in conflict episodes across social and personal relational contexts. Applications of communication approaches to conflict management are emphasized.
The listening course introduces students to: 1) Practices for exploring and developing listening competencies, 2) Theoretical perspectives and models of listening, and 3) Research on listening. Practice, theory, and research are all integrated across the contexts of self, others, nature, and the divine.
Perspectives on nonviolent communication and peace are covered from the micro level (e.g., individual beliefs and worldviews) to interpersonal relationships (e.g., conflict management), groups (e.g., tribes, gangs), organizational systems (e.g., businesses, governments), and macro or global level (e.g., political relationships between nations).
This course investigates the history, types, characteristics, functions, and applications of love in everyday life, emphasizing the communication of altruistic/compassionate/agape love in four interrelated contexts: self, spirit, others, and creation. Theory, research, and applications of love will be explored within the spiritual, scientific, and dialogic (the conversation between science and spirit) perspectives.
A survey of classic and contemporary theories and research of communication in family units, family relationships, and family interfacings with society. The course emphasizes communication in the social construction of evolving "family" realities as well as communication as means to facilitate conditions for development of positive domestic outcomes.
A survey of theories and research of communication during childhood. Emphasis is on children as developing communicators, their relationships, and their interactions with media. Factors affecting optimal development of children's communication and development of applications to enhance children's communication development are emphasized.
In today's digital landscape, storytelling is a powerful tool for effective communication. This course explores the intersection of strategic communication and podcasting, equipping students with the skills to craft compelling narratives that engage audiences across various platforms. Through a combination of theoretical insights, practical exercises, and hands-on podcasting projects, students will learn how to develop, produce, and distribute podcasts strategically to achieve communication objectives.
This course explores the history, theory, industry, and practice of advertising as a communication discipline. This course explores the origins of advertising and its evolution into its contemporary, technologically-driven form while introducing students to skills and concepts necessary for work in the field.
A topical study of the major works of Spanish and Latin American film from Buneul to the present. The course explores many issues, including those related to gender, race, symbolism, and class struggle.
The first half of the 20th century was the most creative and destructive period in German and European history. Its rich cultural achievements included Viennese psychoanalytical theory of the turn of the century, Art Nouveau, German Expressionism, and the avant garde aesthetics of the Weimar Republic. Conversely, World War I and II exposed the cultural agony and human depravity of modern civilization. This course will trace these various aspects and developments in a variety of exemplary genres. Readings and discussions in German. (Cross-listed with WCS 445/WCS 545 and GER 445/GER 545)
A survey of the key methods used in critiquing various forms of human and mediated communication for the purpose of becoming more discerning consumers of public and mass mediated messages. Analysis will include films, television, and radio programs, advertisements, newspapers, public discourses, speeches, and conversations.
This course focuses on legal and policy issues related to modern media systems and technologies, with an emphasis on legal considerations of electronic media. Subjects include First Amendment issues concerning news, programming, and advertising; station licensing; and challenges to traditional legal thought brought about by new technologies.
An examination of the rise of broadcast technology and world flow of information and entertainment. Theory and policy issues of systems of broadcast ownership, access, regulation, programming, transborder, broadcasting and cultural imperialism and dominance of Western programming will be addressed.
A critical examination of the news industry as practiced in the printed press, network and cable television, magazines, the Internet, and alternative press. Class examines the political economy of journalism, the sociology of journalistic practice, international news flows, ideological/political control of news, and mythological narrative forms within news.
Focuses on theories, research and applications of the social influence function of communication in a variety of organizational contexts. Examines traditional and nontraditional social influence theories and research as applied to organizational change.
The foundation of any successful strategic communications, from marketing to public relations to advertising, is research. This course introduces students to secondary and primary research methods in an applied way, having students actually design and conduct full research studies for a client in the community. Students will discuss and conduct various forms of market research (situation, stakeholder, and competitor), explaining how it is integral to strategic thinking and responsible growth in order to directly prepare them for work in the field.
Social marketing, the process through which communications professionals attempt to introduce, reinforce, or augment social change through theories and practices of marketing, is a growing field with implications ranging from social entrepreneurship to international relations to community resiliency. This course will introduce the theories of social marketing, applying them through collaborations with a local organization or cause. Students will focus on a practical approach to constructing a brand through communication strategy and media tactics, and how those relate to constructing and maintaining the identity of a larger organization while also promoting social benefit.
A survey of sport media and communications. This course will expose students to the rapidly evolving sport media landscape, analyzing the communication processes involved in both strategic communication and journalism, through the mediums used to convey messages. The internal and external audiences involved in sport communication will be examined, both through an analysis of journalism’s impact on sport and an exploration of the strategic communication planning process.
An examination of world cinema as a technology, a business, an institution, and an art form from inception to the present. Emphasis is on the narrative fiction film, its technological and aesthetic development, economic organization, and socio-cultural context. Representative classic and contemporary works will be screened and analyzed.
This seminar investigates one or two particular emergent new media practices and theories. The topics will be chosen at the discretion of the instructor but may include issues such as 'mobile media,' 'micro media and audiences,' and 'social media.'
The role of television in the cultural, psychological, and economic life of America. The structure and design of television programs; and the history and function of television in reinforcing or altering public perceptions of ideas, events, and people. Major critical approaches are employed in examining television's social impact and global reach.
This course introduces students to the ways in which different media forms are used for advertising and marketing purposes. Emphasis is on electronic media, though other approaches, such as direct marketing techniques and the increasing use of new media technologies for marketing, are also examined.
An examination of American motion pictures as an art form, a business and an institution from inception to the present. Primary attention is accorded to the narrative fiction film, its technological and aesthetic development, economic organization and social impact. This course highlights the many connections between film history and American culture.
Discussion/presentation topics range from production field work to post-production editing. The final third of the semester will be devoted to compiling the rough footage in post production.
This course is designed to extend students' knowledge of the media elements of strategic communications, from graphics to images to video. Students will discuss how to ground creative production in strategy for a client, how to focus on content and storytelling for a specific stakeholder, and how to create an extended, coherent plan using both creative and organizational goals. This is not intended to make students 'creative' but instead to show students how to design, direct, and manage the work that a media production team might do.
This course is designed to examine the conventions and meanings of various film and television genres within their broader aesthetic, socio-historical, cultural, and political contexts. Each time the class is offered it will focus in depth on a different genre, such as the gangster, the Western, the musical, the comedy, science fiction, among others. Class may be repeated for credit as long as the genres are different.
This course offers students an opportunity to collaborate on a faculty led project beyond the scope of typical classroom projects. Students will execute an assigned duty for the duration of the semester.
This course is designed to give an overview of contemporary scholarship on phenomena within the scope of interpersonal health communication.
In this course, students gain hands-on experience working in an agency setting. They work directly with clients to create specific materials, and learn new tools and software suitable for each project. We emphasize building students' professional qualifications connected to their interests and the client's needs that bridge the gap between coursework and a career. Students will conduct situation analyses, choose audiences and strategy, and create professional-quality materials for clients. If they take the class for a second semester, students will have more senior roles, where they interface more extensively with the client and become team leaders with bigger projects.
This course will delve into activism and social change from a local and global perspective in order to enhance students' perspectives of social change as it manifests via popular media and community action.
The advanced study of selected topics designed to permit small groups of qualified students to work on subjects of mutual interest which, due to their specialized nature, may not be offered regularly. These courses will appear in the course schedule, and will be more fully described in information distributed to all academic advisors.
The advanced study of selected topics designed to permit small groups of qualified students to work on subjects of mutual interest which, due to their specialized nature, may not be offered regularly. These courses will appear in the course schedule, and will be more fully described in information distributed to all academic advisors.
Independent reading and study on a topic to be selected under the direction of an instructor. Conferences and papers as appropriate.
Topic to be selected under the direction of an instructor. Conferences and papers as appropriate.
Students begin with an overview and then cover (1) past intercultural communication research, (2) the philosophical underpinning and ethics behind intercultural communication research, and (3) current developments in intercultural communication theory. They then address the application of intercultural communication theory in specific intercultural communication contexts (e.g. business, education, health and international travel).
This course takes a developmental approach to the study of communication by exploring the culminating effects of communication as it evolves across our lifetime. It encompasses all phases of life (birth-death) across interactions within family, work, social, health, and spiritual contexts. The focus is on foundational and contemporary lifespan theories and research.
This class looks at emerging theories of new media and their transformative effects on industrial practices, news dissemination, cultural production, social interaction, and political engagement across the lifespan. Students engage in ongoing theoretical debates and participate in various online endeavors that offer real world research opportunities.
Examines the role of various communication systems in enacting social change involving commercial, governmental and not-for-profit contexts. Topics include persuasive techniques, community engagement, mobilizing large-scale social movements, and the political consequences of human and digital communication across the lifespan.
An overview of social scientific and qualitative methods used in lifespan development communication research. Includes survey, experiment, observations, content and conversation analyses with an emphasis on developmental methods. Approaches to studying communication of children, adolescents, and later life are included.
This class surveys the major methodological approaches available to critical communication researchers, such as semiology, structuralism, post-structuralism, neo-Marxism, and psychoanalysis, among others, within a cultural studies tradition. Special attention is paid to various digital communication technologies and how they are utilized throughout the lifespan.
This course will examine: (1) the nature-nurture controversy as reflected in current theories about gender as a significant factor in the transformation of physical bodies into social bodies, (2) cultural objects and institutions that shape our gender roles and expectations, and (3) nonverbal language and power and the status of the sexes.
This course explores theories and research of communication in everyday relationships across the lifespan from early childhood relationships until relationships at the end of life. Communication in personal and social relationships, within age cohorts (early childhood, adolescence, adulthood) are highlighted.
This course examines communication theories and research in light of the theories and research of positive psychology. Topics include: strengths-based communication theorizing, communication and happiness, positive communication functions, creative communication, and positive communication outcomes (health, wellness, peace, hope).
This course examines the intersections of communication, geography, and food from lifespan and global perspectives. Topics to be covered include communication and cooking; dinner table talk; food and folk culture; victual rituals; the portrayals of food in media (e.g., film, television, CMC, print); the roles of race, class, and gender in food production/consumption; the commercialization of food; fast food and slow food; globalization vs. the 'locavore' movement; visualization and symbolic communication about food and nutrition; and market and supermarket geographies.
This course conceptualizes the relationship established by the processes of human communication that are mediated by new media technologies. The course examines how such technologies affect social relationships, and how cultural values influence usage patterns of these technologies.
This course explores the theories, questions, claims and myths that have accompanied the rise of new communication technologies and electronically derived digital information that define the 'Electronic Revolution,' also known as the Information Society.
The seminar surveys the relationship between communication and religion with an emphasis on theory, research and applications. Topics may include the communication of religious beliefs/values via story, ritual, ceremony, worship, prayer and mediated communications.
A structured work experience providing both a conceptual understanding and on-the-job training in some aspect of lifespan and digital communication. A journal, a final paper, a log of hours, a portfolio of work, and a satisfactory evaluation by wok supervisor and cooperating faculty member are required.
This course examines the relationships among race, racial identity, and television. Multiple scholarly traditions are used to examine the interactions among television tests, audiences and institution, and historical and contemporary race relations.
A capstone seminar for non-thesis students in their final semester to synthesize the relationships between lifespan and digital communication. Students will develop and complete a research paper or a digital communication project that they will present to a COMM graduate committee.
This course is intended for students in the Master of Arts in Lifespan and Digital Communication program who choose the thesis option. Course topics include: developing a thesis proposal, thesis rules and regulations, the thesis committee, presenting and defending a thesis proposal, and acquiring the essential tools needed to write and successfully defend an MA thesis.
The study of selected topics designed to permit qualified students to work on subjects of mutual interest in a seminar format which, due to their specialized nature, may not be offered regularly.
Independent reading and study of a topic under the direction of an instructor. Conferences and papers as appropriate.
This course is intended for students in the Master of Arts in Lifespan and Digital Communication program who choose the thesis option. During the time a student is working on the MA thesis they must be enrolled in COMM 698, followed by COMM 699.
This course is designed to provide an overview of contemporary scholarship on phenomena within the scope of interpersonal health communication. Students will become familiar with fundamental communication processes that are involved in managing physical and mental health. Additionally, they will develop an awareness of how communication among friends, family members, professionals, and others influences people's well-being, and how, in turn, health and illness shape communication and relationship dynamics. Topics to be covered include patient identity and self-disclosure, social support, patient-provider communication, end-of-life care, and health education. Consistent with the goals of graduate education, students are expected to engage with the course content, exercise critical thinking skills, develop advanced reading and writing competencies, and develop a sense of practical applications of theory and research.
The advanced study of selected topics in communication studies will be covered in such a way as to permit small groups of qualified students to study subjects of mutual interest which, due to their specialized nature, may not be offered regularly.
Independent research directed by professors/faculty members examining communication topics.
The advanced study of selected topics in communication studies are covered in such a way as to permit small groups of qualified students to study subjects of mutual interest which, due to their specialized nature, may not be offered regularly.
Independent research directed by professors/faculty members examining communication topics.
This course is a pass/fail course for master's students in their final semester. It may be taken to fulfill the registration requirement necessary for graduation. All master's students are required to be registered for at least one graduate credit hour in the semester of their graduation.