MSPC 3440 - Special Topics: Communication

Spring 2020:

JOURNALISM IN THE AGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Navigating the minefield of news and information in an environment in which journalism and information-sharing have been upended by the advent of digital deliver, social media, and the political environment.  Presented by a senior journalist and media executive who holds multiple reporting, editing and industry business awards, and with a dual purpose of serving both prospective journalists and consumers of news looking for a deeper understanding of how news and information are gathered and presented.  Students will gain an understanding of how we got to today, ethical and practical pitfalls facing journalists, how to detect not just “fake news” but also understanding and accounting for bias.  Discussion will include differentiating between the so-called gold standards of “objectivity” versus “fairness” and developing models for better journalism and smarter news consumption.

PR IN THE DIGITAL AGE

The course approaches both PR and new media from an ethical angle that investigates how they work together and the moral and political dilemmas that their unity engenders.  Course participates will engage in critical conversation that examines the place of PR in our contemporary world as well as the role of critical citizens in the age of electronic communication.  With its ethical rather than marketing focus this course raises questions that often remain underexplored in journalistic and everyday discussions of PR and emergent media.  Some of the topics that “Public Relations in the Digital Age” examines are the formation of online identities, social media policies, corporate social responsibility (CSR), government PR and political campaigns.  The class material will consist of lectures, discussions and film screenings.

Summer II 2019:

MSPC 3440-02 Mass Communication

This course explores prominent and emergent social scientific theories of mass communication. By tracing the historical study of mass communication and examining both traditional and contemporary models, students are asked to critically engage with scholarly work that helps explain the influence of media on individuals and society. Students will apply theoretical concepts to examples from popular contemporary media. Topics covered include: print to digital media history, theories of advertising and persuasion, political communication, news media, and social media.

Fall 2019:

MSPC 3440-01 Communication Practicum: Are you being heard? A Practicum in Mastering Your Communications

From conception, to structure, and to using the right words and images in your efforts to move your audience across multiple communication disciplines. Included are advocacy, business, marketing, grant writing, social media and literary styles presented through class discussion and exercises on what goes into getting your message heard. The course includes guest presentations from professional writers, and weekly prose writing exercises and individual one-on-one critiques and mentoring with the goal of making your communication skills more effective. Discussion on honing your writing skills begins with observation and conception, incorporating critical thinking, awareness of audience needs and expectations, and getting it from your brain to your chosen medium. And how to do this so you’ll get noticed. Has potential prelaw applications.

MSPC 3440-02 Ethics in Digital Marketing

This course explores the concepts and situations that can create ethical dilemmas in digital marketing and connects “black hat” techniques with their ethical implications. In this course, we will explore key concepts through current trends, techniques, and examples, and better understand our own principles and values through dialogue and the examination of multiple perspectives. This course flexes our ethical muscles and provides the body of knowledge needed to act in an ethical manner within the evolving landscape of digital marketing. 

 

Anticipated Terms Offered: varies