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The theory and practice of teaching in post-secondary institutions, with specific application to teaching the introductory public speaking course or the hybrid overview course with major public speaking components. Designed to create familiarity with learner variables, effective course design…
The theory and practice of teaching in post-secondary institutions, with specific application to teaching the introduction to interpersonal communication course. Designed to create familiarity with learner variables, effective course design for achieving learning outcomes, creating a positive…
Advanced study of public speaking, with an emphasis upon speaking from fully developed written manuscripts. The course focuses upon the topics of style, invention, argumentation, disposition, and oral delivery. Students also learn techniques of revision and how to develop a written style…
Communication strategies and activities in the executive and legislative branches of local, state, and national government. Case study approach incorporated into the class.
An investigation of the different types of political communication found in campaigns. Issues and events to be discussed will include: language, public speaking in campaigns, agenda setting, political consultants, the role of the mass media and the new media in campaigns, spot ads, party…
The nature and practice of communication in a variety of religious traditions. Notions of sacred symbolism, myth, revelation, hermeneutics, and apologetics are especially emphasized.
The practice of communicating scientific learning within disciplines, across disciplines, and to lay audiences. The course is designed to equip students in the natural and social sciences with the skills necessary to bring scientific information to professional audiences and to the general…
The rhetorical nature, function, development, and impact of social movements on society as applied to one or more case studies and the role of the media in social change.
History and criticism of speeches by United States women in nineteenth- and twentieth-century social reform movements, especially woman's rights and feminism.
Examination of the role of rhetoric in the political systems of democratic Athens and republican Rome through readings from ancient speeches and ancient rhetorical theory. It especially considers the relationship between rhetoric and civic engagement and the influence of ancient rhetoric on…
Explores how sociocultural influences (e.g., media, family, and peers) communicate about and socially construct weight/appearance standards and the effects of these messages on individuals’ affective, cognitive, perceptual, and behavioral (i.e., body image) outcomes.
Major issues of rhetorical theory and practice in ancient Greece and Rome. Particular focus on the distinction between rhetoric and philosophy, methods in ancient argumentation, and ethical issues in persuasion.
In-depth examination of the functional potential of each type of nonverbal communication. Primary emphasis is given to demonstrating the value of specific kinds of nonverbal cues in communicating successfully in such real world settings as the job interview, male-female interaction, and the…
An examination of the precursors, dynamics, and implications of interpersonal conflict in a variety of formal and informal relational contexts.
The relationship between communicating and organizing within complex organizations. Course content includes the ways in which communication creates organizational cultures, identities, networks, leadership, conflict, and other topics.
Course explores how communication can signal social identity and categorization as well as the activation of stereotypes and biases in interactions. Examination of how the activation of certain social categories can influence how we communicate with others, and how this can both facilitate…
Communication about health with physicians and other providers, within support groups and health care organizations, and by public figures, groups, and organizations.
Why are some people healthy and others not? How can health communication make a difference? Students in this course will be introduced to foundational concepts related to health disparities in order to confidently contribute to a health communication intervention in a community setting in…
Exploration of communication’s role in shaping understandings of race, ethnicity, and culture in Costa Rica. Experiential learning occurs via readings, discussions, panels, group presentations, and in-depth interviews with local residents. Students are challenged to engage critically and…
Interpersonal communication and how ethnicity-race impacts our understanding of race, discrimination, and racism in close relationships. Historical, sociological, and psychological factors that affect individual relationships, including interracial relationships, homogamy, and friendships.
Perspectives on race, ethnicity, and the family. Focuses on how these three areas function as social institutions, how people are socialized to think and communicate about race and ethnicity, as well as how to engage in communication as a way to enact social change and overcome difference,…
Students are challenged to think critically about how racially, culturally, and ethnically different people communicate with and influence each other’s worldviews. This course involves intense introspection on in-country experiences and how one’s racial identity as a U.S. citizen transforms…
Explores the language of digital communication, ranging from the innovation of new words and expressions in social media to the construction of identities in cyberspace. Students will use modern tools in the analysis of language data to understand the mechanisms that shape language usage…
Research while enrolled for master's degree under the direction of faculty members.
Comprehensive examination preparation and research under the direction of a major professor.
This course is solely for Communication Studies students studying Interpersonal and Health Communication enrolled in the M.A./Ph.D. program. This in an intensive writing course that will result in a publishable paper under the direction of an adviser.
Thesis writing under the direction of the major professor.
Practicum of communication training and development. Relevant theory and research and the opportunity to participate in and present extended training and development programs. Topics include needs assessment, design and presentation of training programs, proposal writing, multi-media skill…
Theoretical foundations and interpersonal processes in medical interviewing. Information-seeking and dissemination strategies of consumers and providers; the use of conventional and new technologies; communicating bad news; health literacy; the depiction of illness, health, and disease in media…
Communication theory and research to public or private sector enterprise. Emphasis on observation and analysis of communication behaviors in workplace contexts.
In-depth exposure and participation in public presentations of current research on rhetorical and communication theory, criticism, and practice. Issues related to professional concerns in the Communication Studies discipline will also be addressed. Students are required to give an academic…
Teaching public speaking in postsecondary institutions. Variables related to public speaking, such as communication apprehension, sociolinguistic diversity, and motivations for adult learning. Instructional strategies, including evaluation, technology, classroom management and curriculum…
Teaching interpersonal communication in postsecondary institutions. Variables related to instruction of interpersonal communication such as communication competence, relational communication, cultural diversity, and motivations for adult learning. Instructional strategies, including evaluation,…
A basic introduction to graduate studies in Communication Studies.
Focused discussions and presentations related to issues about professional and career development for communication studies Ph.D.-level graduate students. Content will primarily focus on issues related to careers in communication studies-related fields. Offered to third- or second-year Ph.D.…
Research apprenticeship conducted under faculty supervision.
The theory, research, and skills necessary to design and implement health communication interventions. Students will learn how to select objectives, how to segment and analyze audiences, how to use formative research techniques, how to design effective messages using behavior change and…
A survey of key issues and figures in rhetorical theory, especially in the classical, modern, and contemporary eras.
Focused study on the emergence of rhetorical theory and practice in the classical era.
Exploration of the historical developments in the field of argumentation. The seminar will investigate the relationship between argument and kindred concepts including rhetoric, logic, and epistemology. This orientation to the history of argumentation will be followed by an extended…
Influential 20th- and 21st-century scholarship in rhetorical theory, emphasizing prominent trends, figures, and debates within the contemporary discipline.
The development of twentieth-century discourse theories from a variety of fields as they have influenced the study of rhetoric, including structuralism, critical theory, postmodernism, and poststructuralism.
The field of rhetorical criticism is concerned with the expert reading of persuasive discourse. The course traces the classical roots of this critical tradition but also explores many examples drawing upon different lineages. Students undertake various projects of critical interpretation.
Research, analysis, and evaluation of selected topics of public address.
An intensive focus on rhetorical theory in a particular area. May focus on an author (e.g., Kenneth Burke, Michel Foucault, or St. Augustine), an era (e.g., classical, 19th century, interwar), or a subject area (e.g., social change, aesthetics, materiality).
Concentrates on a particular style of rhetorical criticism and thoroughly explores its literature. Examples are cultural criticism (gender, race, political economy), exploration of approaches by key figures (Aristotle, Burke, Foucault), themes (discourse, narrative/myth, the rhetorical…
An investigation of the discursive underpinnings of scientific inquiry, both in its technical and public aspects. May examine the social construction of scientific knowledge, science's interfaces with political and cultural influences, and the various ways that scientific knowledge is…
History, purposes, assumptions, and analytical and evaluative tools of feminist theory and criticism as they relate to various forms of public discourse. Examples may include, but are not limited to, rhetorical discourse, film, television, and other forms of public culture.
Theories of interpersonal communication. Familiarizes students with the breadth, scope, and range of communication theories. Develops skills in theory development, hypothesis formation, and model building. Provides skills necessary to read and evaluate scholarly publications in communication…
Familiarizes students with issues related to communication and social influence. Parameters of social influence, theories of social influence that emphasize communication processes, source and audience characteristics, message and channel properties, and attitudinal outcomes.
Issues and research related to communication in personal relationships. Issues and studies related to attraction, relational development, relational maintenance and repair, critical events in relationships, and relational termination.
A readings and research seminar in theoretical topics of interpersonal communication. Areas of study will vary depending on the time lines of the topics and the research focus of the professor. Sample topics include communication in relational development, interracial communication, conflict,…
The multiple discourses and processes involved in communication about health. Advanced analysis of theories and research involved in the processes of naming, blaming, and shaming.
Introduction to theory and research on the relationship between organizing and communicating within complex organizations and the communicative interplay between organizations and society. Examination of the communicative nature of organizations, structure, culture, socialization, identification…
Provides students a thorough overview of the basics in empirical research methods used by social scientists with an emphasis on methods used most frequently by interpersonal communication researchers.
The study of communication within and between diverse cultural groups. Examines communicative nature of social identity, effects of world view on communication, nonverbal and verbal codes, varying relational patterns, and rhetoric situated in varying cultures. An applied research project will be…
Exploration of the current trends in literature on the topics of race relations, communication styles and patterns, communication theory, and social construction of race and its influence on communication. Residential segregation, racism, biracial identity, cultural sensitivity, stereotypes,…
Focused discussion and research on a current topic in the communication studies discipline as defined by a faculty member of the Department of Communication Studies.
Research while enrolled for a doctoral degree under the direction of faculty members.
Dissertation writing under the direction of the major professor.
See if and when courses are offered in a given semester via our downloadable course schedule.
UGA Course Schedules
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