Dr. Foulger
A more detailed version of this syllabus is available online at http://davis.foulger.net/rowan/fall2007/commtheory/syllabus.htm .
We live in our communication, but we rarely give it much thought. We spend more time engaged in communication than we spend in any other activity, including sleeping, but it is something we've been talking and listening, gesturing and watching ever since we were born. It is more a basis for our other knowledge than a usual focus of study, but much of what we assume about our communication is wrong, and we are less effective communicators because of it.
In this course we will be digging into and testing our assumptions about the nature of our communication with others. This is a survey course, so we'll be covering a lot of ground. We;ll consider the fundamental structures of the communication process and the ways in which we shape them. We'll look at languages, media, cultures, contexts, and the ways they shape the ways in which we create, consume, process and interpret messages. We'll consider interpersonal communication, organizational communication, small groups, communities, the mass media and the newer communication technologies and systems. We'll consider persuasion, influence, narrative, and the ways in which we shape message to achieve desired effects, including the structuration of languages, media, cultures, and contexts. Finally, we'll spend time thinking about the process of creating and testing communication theories that work in the real world.
There's a lot more to know about communication theory than we can possibly touch on in a single course. The goal, then, is to get you started. I hope you are as excited as I am at the prospect.
Griffin, E. (2006). A First Look at Communication Theory, Sixth Edition.
A package of 3"x5" index cards. This should cost you no more than a dollar or so.
Students should understand a variety of communication theories well enough to usefully apply them to improving their own communication and understanding the communication successes and failures of others.
Your understanding of communication theories will be assessed through two exams (40% of your grade), two short papers (30% of your grade), and several different kinds of participation, including participation in discussions (8% of your grade), submission of questions (8% of your grade), and submission of "think" assignments (8% of your grade), and in class group assignments (6% of your grade). The short papers, which should be at least five pages long (not including the cover page or references), will each explore a communication theory of your choice. You will be expected to BOTH find, read, and make use of at additional original references and to apply the theory to your own life. We'll discuss detailed expectations as you start work on the papers. The two exams will take the form of short essay style questions in which you apply and compare different theories of human communication. The second exam will be comprehensive, covering all of the material in the course.
A class discussion group will be maintained on Blackboard (which replaces Web-CT this year. I have not, as I write this syllabus, had the opportunity to set up WebCT class spaces as yet (I'm new to Rowan and don't even have an ID yet). When it is set up, you can also use the group to exchange of any class-related information or questions, especially those questions you didn’t want to ask in class. Only class members will be able to post to the forum or read messages on the forum.
My usual practice is to make my lecture/discussion notes directly available to the class via the Internet. If it is possible to do so I will display those notes during class. You can print them out later. You may be able to print them out before class, but I don't guarantee that you will. I frequently change my discussion notes right up to the beginning of class (and sometimes during class). The version posted at the end of class can generally be considered to be reliable, but I occasionally modify them after class based on class discussions.