Explores the historical evolution of communication, focusing on media and culture from print and radio to mobile platforms and AI. Students critically assess technological, economic, institutional, and socio-cultural perspectives by analyzing literature, photography, film, and new media, highlighting how digital and social media practices have transformed our media systems and their implications for society.

Introduces students to multiple ways of storytelling through various types of writing and working with audio, video, and interactive media. Students become familiar with audio and video recording and editing, as well as producing stories for the Web. Introduces script writing and storyboarding as part of an overall emphasis on clear and engaging writing within creative writing and journalistic frameworks.

Introduces the concept of self-identity, examining it within the contexts of gender, sexuality, health, and ethnicity across media and society. Using interdisciplinary approaches, this cultural studies course focuses upon themes and theories that explore identity through analyzing meanings in media and social/cultural texts. It questions how these develop across history and questions identity in everyday common sense discourse and its relationships to media and society at local and global levels.

Introduces students to photography, digital cameras and photo editing programs. Topics include various forms of composition for communication including documentary photography. Combines lectures and discussion with hands-on experience. Instruction includes camera functions, exposure control, technical and creative control, basic computer manipulation of images and digital output options. Students must provide a digital SLR or point and shoot camera.

Introduces students to the recording and editing practices involved in producing audio stories. Explores the range of programming, both live and recorded, for an FCC-licensed non-commercial radio station. Includes news, music shows, interviews and sports. Students produce live and recorded shows for WJJW, MCLA's radio station. Adobe Audition is used for digital recording and editing.

Surveys various storytelling forms in digital video, film, and radio, initially emphasizing journalism. Explores both fictional and non-fictional genres, applying theoretical and practical knowledge in studio and external settings while considering audience reception. Students engage in individual and group projects, gaining introductory skills in audio and video editing, studio technologies, and protocols.

Examines the key themes among media theories and how they help explain important aspects of modern and postmodern society, including political, social, and cultural life, means of communication, and the changes between audiences and media institutions in the digital world. Students will learn about media effects, medium theory, symbolic interactionism and structuration, political economy, critical theory, feminism and gender studies, and postmodernity and the information society.

Teaches basic principles and skills involved in news reporting and writing. These include interviewing, identification of news values, formal and informal research, story organization, lead writing, transitions, attributions, and grammar and style, including application of the AP Stylebook and Libel Manual. Students develop their skills by writing several practice stories. They are invited to contribute stories to The Beacon, the weekly newspaper of MCLA.

Builds sports storytelling skills through writing, reporting, and commentating on sports like basketball, soccer, and baseball. Explores media formats such as radio, video, podcasts, and social media, teaching students to pitch, write, and edit with a focus on professional workflow and deadlines. Students create sports media texts, applying storytelling elements across written, radio, and visual formats like game day images, postgame posts, live stats, and photography.

Undertakes reading and reporting the news with a strong emphasis on the structure of radio news programs as a key feature in which a sustained, longer form of storytelling is advanced with interviews a central component. In a developmental approach, increasing across the semester, 5-minute news is increased to 15 before a final 30-minute form is achieved for WJJW in initially, morning and evening shows, evolving to twice a week.

Explores podcasting in two forms: prerecorded and live shows, using both internal and external interviews. Covers technical skills, research, and advanced preproduction necessary for professional-quality audio and video content. Topics include podcast trends, titles, descriptions, cover art, microphone types, best practices for field and studio recording, interviewing, listening skills, scripting, intros/outros, audio presentation, audience engagement, and essentials in ethics and law.

Studies introductory topics in media production and/or mass communications. Designed to provide foundational frameworks in communication subjects, including but not limited to media analysis, interpretation, research, media production, and media-specific writing. Content identified by subtitle.

Develops knowledge about the role of communication research in academic and professional disciplines, preparing students to better analyze data and critically engage with research findings. It introduces quantitative, qualitative, and combined communication research methods so students can begin primary research of their own.

Develop the skills to navigate and engage in effective intercultural communication in professional and personal contexts. Explores how cultural values, language, identity, and power shape interactions across diverse communities. Through case studies, discussions, and experiential activities, students will refine their ability to adapt, interpret, and respond to cultural differences, fostering global competence in an interconnected world.

Provides practice in writing strong, clear, and creative business communication.

Emphasizes principles of technical communication, particularly document design and readability, and gives students the opportunity to apply these principles in writing reports, instructions, descriptions, and abstracts for science, business and communications.

Builds on COMM 214 to deepen storytelling skills across various digital media forms, producing longer features and in-depth journalistic narratives like documentaries and films. Emphasizes sophisticated narratives informed by multiple truths and explores unconventional narrative structures, focusing on trans-narrative media forms where various media components enrich the storytelling experience.

Gives students a broad-based understanding of the fundamental trends and dynamics taking place in the digital media landscape today. Students learn about new measurement metrics, how to conduct social media campaigns, and are able to practice skills that they can use when working in a range of organizations that utilize digital and social media. Guest speakers from the industry are invited, and we work with real-world clients that want to have strategic media campaigns.

Studies in depth a specific aspect of global communication and provides the students a general knowledge of the geopolitical issues of international communication, including technological, economic and political/ideological patterns.

Studies contemporary layouts and design principles, with special emphasis on creating and integrating logos, content, typography and design for visually appealing communications packages. Includes basic typography and an overview of printing processes. Students create layouts for flyers, brochures, newsletters, newspapers, and magazines, and learn Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign.

Emphasizes investigative reporting as it relates to gathering, writing and presenting news and documentary for television. Also examines the practical and theoretical concepts of electronic news gathering (ENG) and electronic field production (EFP) including analysis of broadcast journalism standards.

Discusses issues and problems central to the practice of journalism and the role of the media in a democratic society. Issues may include environmental journalism; media, law and ethics; investigative reporting; government, politics and the press; covering popular culture and others. Students may be required to produce journalism articles and/or commentaries based on those or related issues.

Builds upon skills learned in Introduction to Photography to include sophisticated camera techniques and advanced darkroom developing and procedures. Students are encouraged to develop various forms of composition such as photography for science, art or publication. Some consideration will be given to digital photography and related procedures.

Concentrates on photojournalism as a form of composition. Designed to help students to understand and master a number of techniques such as story-telling and photo editing. The subject of ethics will also be covered, as will digital camera applications. Students will be encouraged to submit work to The Beacon for consideration.

Provides writing and reporting experience by crafting advanced news stories and features that involve research and interview analysis. Students cover town and campus meetings, police and safety news, local courts, and engage in investigative reporting. They deepen their understanding of ethics, libel, privacy, and freedom of information laws while exploring explanatory forms and investigative journalism, submitting their work to The Beacon and WJJW.

Allows student selection of two or more media, as a focus for multimedia skills development with one medium chosen for in-depth specialization. Focusing critically upon this medium, students apply practical and theoretical knowledge to learn how websites and/or radio and video, converge to inform storytelling and how developed skillsets are required for successful production outcomes.

Introduces students to the broad career area of public relations. Principles, cases and problems of public relations will be studied through contact with local organizations. Topic areas include internal communications systems, applications of mass communications, researching public opinions and social responsibilities.

Studies in depth the role culture plays in the communication process in various world cultures including African, Asian and Central American. Also examines the cultural differences in language, thought patterns and non-verbal behaviors.

Teaches how to do in-depth research with large datasets and how to find stories from numbers, crucial skills for today's journalists. Relevant statistical and computer-assisted reporting (CAR) techniques are learned and applied to stories, and software and apps are used to create powerful and meaningful data visualizations and infographics to accompany stories. Previous experience with statistics and design or production software is helpful, but not necessary.

Develops knowledge about the field of semiotics from its inception to the contemporary practice of reading significations. Focusing upon reading signs/meanings across different media and culture, students learn about symbolic activities and different interpretative models and analytical approaches. These include: de Saussure, Peirce, Burke, Marx, Freud, Lacan, Irigaray, Gramsci, Laclau and Mouffe, Levi-Strauss, Barthes, Althusser, Foucault, Williams, Hall and Lash and Urry.

Explores genre theory and meaning-making across media, reviewing transformations in drama, documentary, comedy, film, news, and reality TV. Examines shifts in genre and meaning, with focus on animation, soap operas, and video on demand. Students create a hybrid story using at least two media, enabling a multiplatform storytelling approach.

Studies in depth a specific aspect of mass communications. Designed to provide advanced work in media analysis, interpretation and research. Primarily for majors in the junior and senior year. Content identified by subtitle.

Provides a departmental capstone course in which majors meet in their final undergraduate year to explore a significant theme or topic. Students integrate what they have learned about communication and media, and together the students, polling their special knowledge in these areas, respond to the specific theme, concept, or topic.

Provides the opportunity for a student to assist in preparation and implementation of a communications course. Course may be repeated for a total of 6 credits.

Open to juniors and seniors who wish to read in a given area or to study a topic in depth within the fields of communications, media writing and production, or media and cultural studies. Written reports and frequent conferences with the advisor are required.

Provides a practical, hands-on field experience to supplement classroom courses. The student works with an on-campus faculty advisor and usually with an on-site supervisor, and the two jointly evaluate the student's work.