Communication/Media Studies (CMS)
This course offers an overview of the cultural, social, political, and economic impact of mediated communication. Topics include the nature and function of media, core media institutions, and media in transition. Students will analyze media critically, including the contemporary mediascape, and develop a historical perspective on major media forms.
Prerequisites: ENGL 1101
This course covers the principles of visual literacy and basic techniques in the production of media content, with focus on visual awareness, composition, aesthetics and processing as key elements in effective communication.
Prerequisites: ENGL 1101
A humanities-based approach to cinema as an art form, this course introduces the basic elements of motion-picture form: camerawork, editing, narrative, sound, and mise-en-scene. The course also locates contemporary filmmaking within historical and international contexts. Attendance is required for weekly out-of-class screenings.
Introduction to photographic techniques and editing. Students will learn basic composition, lighting, and image processing for digital distribution.
An introduction to the production and distribution of networked digital media. Readings and assignments teach the basic concepts employed in production/distribution as well as hands-on skills using hardware and software. Students are required to provide a digital audio/video recording device (e.g. smart phone or camcorder) that meets the specifications listed on the CMS program website.
Prerequisites: ENGL 1102
This course provides CMS majors with the necessary skills to conduct independent, primary, interdisciplinary research in Media Studies and Cultural Studies. Students learn a variety of humanistic and social-scientific methodologies, which may include some or all of the following: in-depth interviewing, focus groups, archival research, content analysis, semiotics and textual analysis. Students choose an appropriate media topic to study through a variety of research modes and methods over the length of the semester. Open to students who have been admitted to the Communication and Media Studies (CMS) minor or BA programs.
An introduction to humanities-based approaches to the study of media and culture. Theories of textual and visual signification are introduced, including the contributions of discursive contexts and audience expectations. The class considers questions of taste, quality, and cultural identity, particularly as applied to contemporary and emerging media technologies.
Study of film, broadcast, print, and Internet industries, explaining how these industries work in the corporate world.
Prerequisites: CMS 2010
A chronological survey of major types of media and human communication, from pre-history through the present day, focusing upon the interrelationships between communication media and their larger social and cultural contexts. The history of communication leading to English-language media is the main focus, but comparisons and contrasts with other world communication systems will also be explored. Recommend: Completion of Areas C and E.3 (preferably HIST 1110).
This course closely studies the development of a specific national or regional cinema in terms of its aesthetic, theoretical, and socio-political dimensions. Topics range from the study of a historical period (the Russian silent era, for example), to an in-depth analysis of a single (The French New Wave), to the conceptualization of a specific national or regional cinema (e.g., Japanese, Indian French, Mexican, Canadian, African, New Zealand, etc.).
This course closely studies the development of a specific national or regional cinema in terms of its aesthetic, theoretical, and socio-political dimensions. Topics range from the study of a historical period (the Russian silent era, for example), to an in-depth analysis of a single movement (The French New Wave), to the conceptualization of a specific national or regional cinema (e.g., Japanese, Indian, French, Mexican, Canadian, African, New Zealand, etc.).
This course closely studies the development of a specific national or regional cinema in terms of its aesthetic, theoretical, and socio-political dimensions. Topics range from the study of a historical period (the Russian silent era, for example), to an in-depth analysis of a single movement (The French New Wave), to the conceptualization of a specific national or regional cinema (e.g., Japanese, Indian, French, Mexican, Canadian, African, New Zealand, etc.).
This course is designed to provide students with an overview of law, ethics and diversity in mass media, a basic understanding of how existing laws control the operation of mass media, and recognition of freedom of expression and press laws in the United States including access to government records.
This studio course introduces the aesthetic conventions and technical skills of motion-picture lighting, including instruments, equipment, and techniques used for in-studio and on-location settings. Students will learn the process behind production lighting and demonstrate the ability to achieve a professional-quality video image.
This studio course introduces the aesthetic conventions and technical skills of recorded sound. Assignments include field recording for audio media (e.g. radio and podcasting) and video, along with post-production sound design for moving images, including the preparation of dialog, sound effects, and music tracks.
Prerequisites: CMS 2100
A course in writing and editing for mass audiences, including print, broadcast, and Internet Journalism. Emphasis on news gathering, public affairs reporting, and practical applications of journalistic techniques and genres.
This course provides students with a comprehensive introduction to advertising as an industry, its history, evolution and cultural impacts. Students will study theories of advertising, the advertising agency and the roles and responsibilities of its personnel. Students will also learn production techniques and the relationships among the advertising agency, the client, and the media.
This course provides students with a detailed introduction to public relations, including its historical origins, and its distinctions from advertising. Students will study theories of the public and public relations theory, while learning the many roles of the public relations practitioner and of the public relations agency. Through case studies students will examine the legal and ethical concerns of P.R., while studying the press release, newsletter, and personal appearances.
Prerequisites: ENGL 1102
This course provides students with an understanding of the operations and functions of radio and television broadcasting in both America and in other countries. Students will learn how broadcasting and the electronic media operate including programming, production and distribution, networks, local stations, advertising and promotion, audience ratings and new technologies.
This course teaches students fundamental design skills which can be applied to advertising and publicity layout and production. Students learn the fundamentals of color theory and software applications along with design techniques used in the representation of corporate entities in the production of print ads; logos and corporate identities; online ads, and/or newsletters. Students will also learn the role and responsibilities of designers within the advertising industry.
An advanced writing course that examines dispersed computer networks as new media forms. The course begins with a survey of the aesthetic, historical, and theoretical contexts that shape communication using digital media. It then offers hands-on experience in the development of hypertext and multimedia documents. Recommended: ITSK 1401 or equivalent knowledge of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).
Prerequisites: (ENGL 1102 or ENGL 112)
A studio course that focuses on aesthetic and communicative applications of graphic, streaming, and interactive digital media. Class projects will result in a portfolio of work integrating sound, typography, photo illustration, and moving images.
Prerequisites: ENGL 1102
This course explores how women are represented in American popular culture, and how popular culture shapes our common sense notions regarding women, men, and our gender- specific roles in society. We will consider what types of images we see and hear in various forms of popular culture, including Hollywood movies, fashion magazines, television, advertising, music and popular health. We will then question how we learn to respond to and interpret these messages. Throughout our course we will study how pop cultural texts work to create meanings and how we can become critical consumers of those messages.
In this course, students will study the mechanics of screenwriting. The course explores dramatic structure including film language, story, and character development. Students will analyze and apply various techniques in writing for the screen.
This course is the principal experiential learning component of the Communication and Media Studies degree program. The placement site will be in a professional communication, performance, or other media environment related to the career interests or goals of the individual student. Students must coordinate their placements both with their desired internship/practicum sites and with the CSU Office of Experiential Learning. Placement opportunities outside the U.S. are encouraged. Enrollment is limited to students majoring in Communication and Media Studies and also requires program approval.
Restrictions: Communication Media Studies
This course offers Communication and Media Studies students an additional experiential-learning opportunity that may be completed in addition to the required internship, CMS 3901. The course involves supervised work in teaching, training, and/or tutoring related to the career interests or goals of the individual student. Enrollment is limited to students majoring in Communication and Media Studies and also requires program approval.
Restrictions: Communication Media Studies
This course offers Communication and Media Studies students an additional experiential-learning opportunity that may be completed in addition to the required internship, CMS 3901. The course involves supervised work in advanced media production related to the career interests or goals of the individual student. Enrollment is limited to students majoring in Communication and Media Studies and also requires program approval.
Restrictions: Communication Media Studies
This course is the principal experiential learning component of the Communication and Media Studies degree program. The placement site will be in a professional communication, performance, or other media environment—either on- or off-campus, as appropriate—related to the career interests or goals of the individual student. Students must coordinate their placements both with their desired internship/practicum sites and with the Clayton State Office of Experiential Learning. Placement opportunities outside the U.S. are encouraged. Enrollment is limited to students majoring in Communication and Media Studies and also requires program approval.
This course is the principal experiential learning component of the Communication and Media Studies degree program. The placement site will be in a professional communication, performance, or other media environment—either on- or off-campus, as appropriate—related to the career interests or goals of the individual student. Students must coordinate their placements both with their desired internship/practicum sites and with the Clayton State Office of Experiential Learning. Placement opportunities outside the U.S. are encouraged. Enrollment is limited to students majoring in Communication and Media Studies and also requires program approval.
This course continues the humanities-based approach to cinema begun in Introduction to Film, now in a writing-intensive format. Through weekly writing assignments students master the analysis of motion-picture form, including camerawork, editing, narrative, sound, and mise-en-scene. The course also considers multiple approaches to film theory and criticism within historical and international contexts. Attendance is required for weekly out-of-class screenings.
This course explores the role of women in cinema as on-screen representation, as spectators, and as filmmakers. We will study selected films and readings particularly in light of women's gender, class, race, and sexuality.
An analysis of specific genres of American and international cinema, focusing on the conventions and icons of those genres and examining significant films within them.
Prerequisites: (CMS 2100 or CMSS 2100)
An analysis of specific genres of American and international cinema, focusing on the conventions and icons of those genres and examining significant films within them.
Prerequisites: (CMS 2100 or CMSS 2100)
An analysis of specific genres of American and international cinema, focusing on the conventions and icons of those genres and examining significant films within them.
Prerequisites: (CMS 2100 or CMSS 2100)
This course teaches students to analyze television programming using such methods as genre criticism, ideological criticism, auteurs criticism, semiotics and cultural studies and instructs them in the important elements of television production, including narrative structure, cinematography, editing, sound and acting.
An introduction to the three phases of digital video creation: pre-production, production, and post-production. Students will be required to attend events (e.g., video shoots) scheduled outside of regular class hours.
This studio course in digital video production investigates modes of digital production, including fiction, documentary, experimental, personal narrative, web video, and interactive media, teaching fundamental terms and concepts while providing students with hands-on hardware and software skills. Students will be required to attend events (e.g. video shoots) scheduled outside of regular class hours.
This studio course in digital video production investigates modes of digital production, including fiction, documentary, experimental, personal narrative, web video, and interactive media, teaching fundamental terms and concepts while providing students with hands-on hardware and software skills. Students will be required to attend events (e.g. video shoots) scheduled outside of regular class hours.
This course focuses on the roles played by media in processes of cultural and economic globalization.
A study of advertising and public relations theories and practices with emphasis on communication strategy and creative practices behind the delivery of advertising and public relations messages to target audiences.
Introduction to crisis and change communication and application, covering crisis communication theory, management approaches during corporate changes, and the influence of culture on crisis and change communication.
This course focuses on emerging definitions, theories, and practices of social media. It surveys different platforms and investigates contemporary uses of social media by individuals and institutions. In addition, it includes hands-on experience and production techniques using selected platforms.
Introduction to the technical and creative skills necessary for producing high quality serial asynchronous audio programming (podcasts). Topics include: audio recording and editing, copyright, voice training, interviewing, writing for spoken communication, narrative structure, and musical arrangement. Over the course of the semester, students will produce their own podcasts.
Prerequisites: COMM 1110
Seminar in Communication and Media Studies topics.
Seminar in Communication and Media Studies topics.
Seminar in Communication and Media Studies topics.
Seminar in Communication and Media Studies topics.
Seminar in Communication and Media Studies topics.
Seminar in Communication and Media Studies topics.
Seminar in Communication and Media Studies topics.
In this course, we will explore the role of women as artists, spectators, and representations in the visual, literary, and performing arts. Our primary category of analysis in Women & the Arts is gender, the socially constructed and historically variable understanding of what it means to be a woman or man, but we will further consider how this category interacts with race, class, and sexuality in the arts. Likewise, a central idea in our class is that knowledge and images conveyed through artistic texts are not neutral; rather, the arts socialize and discipline us even as they entertain and enlighten us.
Considers the roles played by media and rhetoric in shaping the nature, development and impact of one or more social movements. Examines how communication and media have facilitated or hindered protest and reform in the United States and the world. Rotating topics.
Considers the roles played by media and rhetoric in shaping the nature, development and impact of one or more social movements. Examines how communication and media have facilitated or hindered protest and reform in the United States and the world. Rotating topics.
Considers the roles played by media and rhetoric in shaping the nature, development and impact of one or more social movements. Examines how communication and media have facilitated or hindered protest and reform in the United States and the world. Rotating topics.
Independent study in Communication and Media Studies (credit varies). Prerequisite(s): Junior-level status and CMS Program permission.
Restrictions: Communication Media Studies
This senior-level seminar will prepare students for entering careers in communication, media, and related fields. Students will receive training in job search techniques and interview skills, and study current dynamics in the workforce. Students will also develop a professional resume and a digital portfolio appropriate to their interests, strengths, and career goals.