Communication and Contemporary Issues

Catalog description

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. COURSE OVERVIEW. Explores the study of how communication practices construct, contest, circulate and/or suppress contemporary issues. Focus may draw on rhetorical, critical, interpretive and/or empirical approaches to message design, media representation, public discourse and/or everyday interaction. Emphasizes analytical reading and case analysis grounded in scholarship. Course focus varies by instructor and term. RELEVANCE AND APPLICATION. Uses the study of individual contemporary issues as a laboratory for understanding how communication shapes public problems across domains. Builds recognition of how messages influence perception, policy and action in government, health, technology, culture and/or everyday life. Develops skills relevant to professional roles involving analysis, advocacy, media interpretation, strategic messaging or organizational decision-making. Strengthens academic preparation by deepening proficiency in applying theory to real-world cases. Supports civic readiness by refining the ability to interpret competing claims, identify persuasive strategies and critically engage issues with clarity. TOPICS AND THEMES. May include study of how communication shapes issues related to health, environment, technology, labor, education, identity or public policy. May examine political rhetoric, media representation, scientific controversy, organizational messaging, global and transnational issues, colonialism and decoloniality and/or grassroots advocacy. Cases may draw from news, social media, institutional reports, cultural texts and/or lived experiences. Course material may include perspectives that conflict or critique one another, addressed for the purpose of understanding how issues are framed, debated and acted upon. Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification.