Course Descriptions

Communication Studies Courses (COM)

COM 1000. Communication Studies Seminar (0). Required for all communication studies majors. This zero credit seminar is offered each fall semester. Students should enroll in the seminar during the freshman year, or upon transfer to the university. The seminar is designed as an orientation to the communication studies program and to provide an opportunity for assessment of student skills and interests. Grades are awarded on a Pass/Fail basis.

COM 1090. Listening (3). Provides and understanding of the importance of effective listening and the complexities of listening as a communication behavior, drawing on theory from a number of fields, and focuses on the development of the skills needed at various levels of interaction.

COM 1100. Fundamentals of Speech Communication (3). Enhances student skills in development, presentation and consumption of human communication with an emphasis on public speaking.

COM 1930. Interpersonal Communication (3). Students explore theories of interpersonal communication and learn how to better manage their interpersonal behavior in work, family, romance, friendship and everyday interaction.

COM 1950-4950. Studies Abroad (3-18). Study in a foreign country. Individual course titles and locations are assigned for each course taken. See Studies Abroad program for details.

COM 1990-4990. Independent Studies (1-3). Courses designed with a professor for independent study purposes.

COM 1895-4895. Special Topics (133). Special Topics or pilot courses.

COM 2010. Forensics (1). Students may earn 1 credit hour per semester of participation with Belmont Speech and Debate Team. Students may enroll each semester, but may earn no more than a total of 3 credit hours. Participation includes regular attendance at practice sessions and participation in forensic tournaments and will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis.

COM 2020. Argumentation and Debate (3).  This course focuses on argumentation and critical thinking skills with emphasis on analysis, evidence, reasoning, constructing and refuting claims. Students will receive both theoretical background and practice in debate.

COM 2140. Family Communication (3).Family relationships are often the most intense and personal of all human connections. This course invites students to explore the nature of communication in these complex webs of involuntary relationships. Through research, film, music and self-analysis, students will have the opportunity to study family communication in a variety of cultural and socio-economic contexts and make practical applications to their own experience.

COM 2200. Persuasion (3). Prerequisite: COM 1100. Provides advanced skills in the development of messages that aim to influence human behavior, attitudes and values.

COM 2230. Teamwork in Organizations (3). This course explores the use of teams in organizational settings. It provides students with the knowledge and practice of the methods and techniques of effective leadership and participation in committee work, informal groups and business conferences.

COM 2340. Business and Professional Communication (3). Prerequisite: COM 1100. This course enables students to improve their professional communication skills, including business writing, interviewing, and professional decorum.

COM 3000. Internship (1-3). Prerequisite: Permission of Intern Director. This course provides practical training and experience that enhances students' vocational objectives.  Normally taken after a student successfully completes COM 2340 Business and Professional Communication. Students may repeat COM 3000 up to 6 total hours, but may only apply 3 credit hours towards major elective credit. COM 3000 hours beyond three will be applied as free electives.

COM 3150. Intercultural Communication (3). The course involves studying the basic communication elements of cultural systems, the research and literature in the field, and the interpersonal interaction characteristics of specific cultures.
Gen. Ed. Designation: GS (G – Global Studies).

COM 3210. The Rhetoric of Social Movements (3). This course will analyze the persuasive strategies and tactics employed by agitators and the establishment they seek to change. It explores the nature and types of social movements and the rhetorical requirements, obstacles, and needs of leaders and followers within the movement. Activists from social movements, both past and present, will visit the class to answer questions about their participation in social protest.

COM 3230. Political Rhetoric in Film (3).  This course examines the political rhetoric in film, and its impact on culture and society.  This course will equip students with critical thinking skills by exploring the rhetoric involved in political debates over powerful issues, such as civil rights, nuclear power, health care reform, war, and freedom of speech.

COM 3240. Conflict Management (3). This course examines communication in interpersonal and organizational conflict.  Through an examination of relevant theory and case studies, students explore the nature of conflict and how to competently manage it.

COM 3250. Gender & Communication (3).  This course examines the mutually influential relationship of gender and communication.  Students learn theoretical, historical, and cultural understandings of gender before exploring the ways gender influences interpersonal communication in family, work, friendship, and romance.

COM 3260. Social Networking (3). This course takes the model of social networking and considers the impacts created in both personal and public space.  Students will learn to rethink divisions between work, social, family and private lives as well as consider how this technology is altering our communication in these groups.

COM 3340. Organizational Communication (3).  This course explores the role of communication in organizations.  Students learn prominent theories of organizational communication and use them to analyze real-world organizational contexts.  Technology, corporate culture, leadership, teamwork, ethics, and diversity are among the topics examined.

COM 3920. Theories of Public Communication (3). Provides an overview of historical and contemporary theories regarding the functioning of rhetorical discourse in public settings. Classical readings and oral projects focus on rhetoric as a persuasive tool by which orators sway audiences and emerge as leaders in the public realm. Contemporary readings and oral projects focus on rhetoric as a means of creating and sharing a social reality via a variety of channels: public speaking, electronic media, and acts of public display.

COM 4000. Communication Studies Advanced Seminar (0). Required of all communication studies majors during their last year of study. This zero credit seminar is offered every fall semester. Grades are awarded on a Pass/Fail basis.

COM 4140. Crisis Communication (3). This course examines how organizations strategically communicate to internal and external audiences during crises and their aftermath.  Additionally, the course will explore how effective issues management can avert future crises.

COM 4200. Communication Criticism (3). Provides an understanding of, and practice in, methods of criticism of public discourse. Students will develop their skills as critical receivers of communication, applying what they learn to samples of public communication that interest them most: speeches, songs, films, television and such acts of public display.

COM 4280. Great American Oratory (3). This course examines the role rhetoric has played in the formation of the American experience by scrutinizing the communication strategies and tactics of significant American orators.

COM 4310. Contemporary Issues in Organizational Communication (3). Topic is variable. Examination of selected theories of organizational communication as they relate to specific organizational trends and/or social problems.

COM 4920. Political Communication (3). This course examines the role of communication in contemporary politics, as well as its historical context.

COM 4940. Directed Studies (3). Student development of a project or study of special interest. Consent of the instructor is required.