Communication Arts Summer 2021 Courses
The Communication Arts Department has a great selection of summer courses for you, listed below. Please see Course Search & Enroll and the Academic Guide for additional course information.
Offered online, asynchronously
Com Arts 313: Documentary on the Edge: Between Fact & Fiction
Explore the blurred lines between fact and fiction, realism and artifice in contemporary documentary media. Consider how and why filmmakers develop unorthodox approaches to capturing “reality.” Analyze cutting-edge formal and representational strategies along the way. Screenings range from popular Hollywood genres like “found footage horror” and “mockumentary” to global art cinema and avant-garde documentaries.
- Open to students with sophomore standing or higher
- Intermediate level, humanities breadth course, 3 credits
Com Arts 325: Media & Human Behavior
Examine the many ways that media affects our everyday lives. Explore timely media effects research (some from our own department!), ranging from political engagement and fake news, to social media and body image and more.
- Open to students with sophomore standing or higher
- Intermediate level, social science breadth, 3 credits
Com Arts 449, Sound Cultures: Podcasting and Music
Explore the role sound and music play in your everyday life. Learn technical skills for recording, editing and producing podcasts using digital audio software and conceptual skills for reflecting on how sound shapes our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
- Open to students with junior standing or higher
- Intermediate level, humanities breadth, 3 credits
- Students will need access to a microphone and audio editing software.
Com Arts 466: Writing for TV and Film
Develop your screenwriting skills. Learn the elements of a successful dramatic screenplay. Explore story concept, dramatic structure, character development, dialogue, and visual storytelling.
- Open to students who have completed Com Arts 355 (no consent or application required for summer enrollment)
- Advanced level, 3 credits
Com Arts 575: Communication in Complex Organizations
Learn to make better decisions. Increase your ability to use teams to innovate.
- Open to students with junior standing or higher
- Advanced level, social science breadth, 3 credits
Com Arts 605: Digital Studies Capstone
Digital Studies certificate students synthesize the material they have learned throughout the program and explore professional and personal growth opportunities.
- Open to Digital Studies Certificate seniors who have completed their DS coursework. Contact Amy Schultz for consent.
- Advanced level, 1 credit
Offered in Hybrid Online Format: Synchronous Lectures with Asynchronous Modes
Com Arts/CHICLA 347: Race, Ethnicity, and Media
Study historical and contemporary representations of race and ethnicity in media. Develop an understanding of how media industries subvert, reinforce, and engage with systems of racism and inequality.
- Open to all undergraduates
- Ethnic studies course
- Intermediate level, humanities breadth course, 3 credits
Offered online, asynchronously
Com Arts 200: Introduction to Digital Communication
Explore the power and limits of digital communication. Learn skills and techniques for communicating your message in a range of social media including video, photos, and micro-blogging. Consider who can speak and who gets heard.
- Open to all undergraduates
- Elementary level, humanities or social science breadth, 3 credits
Com Arts 345: Online Communication and Personal Relationships
Explore how communication technologies like email, mobile phones, and online dating affect personal relationships.
- Open to students with sophomore standing or higher
- Intermediate level, social science breadth, 3 credits
Com Arts 357: History of Animated Film
Study the major animation directors, techniques and technologies that have shaped animation. Develop analytical frameworks for understanding animation as an industry and a craft.
- Open to students with sophomore standing or higher
- Intermediate level, humanities breadth, 3 credits
Com Arts 360: Introduction to Rhetoric, Politics, and Culture
Explore how rhetoric operates in politics and culture. Analyze the various factors that enable and constrain one’s ability to speak, write, and act. Learn how to analyze discourse as a rhetorical critic.
- Open to students with sophomore standing or higher or Com Arts 260
- Intermediate level, humanities breadth, 3 credits
Com Arts 465: Editing & Post-Production
Gain a thorough understanding of narrative editing techniques, color correction, audio post-production, and the requisite software.
- Open to students who have completed Com Arts 355 (no consent or application required for summer enrollment)
- Advanced level, 4 credits
Offered online, asynchronously
Com Arts 100: Introduction to Speech Composition
Develop your speech writing and presentation skills.
- Open to students who have not received credit for Com Arts 105 or 181
- Communication A course
- Elementary level, 3 credits
Com Arts 272: Introduction to Interpersonal Communication
Examine social interactions with family, friends, and romantic partners. Improve your communication skills in relational contexts.
- Open to students who have not completed Com Arts 273 or Com Arts 276
- Communication B course
- Elementary level, social science breadth, 3 credits
Com Arts 371: Communication and Conflict Resolution
Study the complexities of conflict. Learn communication strategies for managing and resolving conflict in interpersonal, organizational, intercultural, and global contexts.
- Open to students with sophomore standing or higher
- Intermediate level, social science breadth, 3 credits
Com Arts 609: Writing an Adapted Screenplay: Short Story to Film
Explore the art of adapting short fiction into screenplays. Learn how the film industry buys, sells, and develops adapted screenplays. Acquire the skills to break down story elements and translate them into compelling characters, dialogue, and visuals.
- Open to students who have completed Com Arts 355 (no consent or application required for summer enrollment)
- Advanced level, 3 credits
Com Arts 614 or 615: Field Experience in Communication
Reflect on your internship experience. Acquire skills related to your future job search.
- Open to Com Arts majors. See instructions for arranging credit.
Advanced level, 1 credit
Offered online, asynchronously
Com Arts 316: Gender and Communication
Explore theories, concepts, and analytics for understanding how gender impacts how we create and interpret messages. Learn strategies for managing gendered differences in our interpersonal, professional, and social lives.
- Open to students with sophomore standing or higher
- Intermediate level, humanities breadth, 3 credits
Com Arts 373: Intercultural Communication and Rhetoric
Explore how rhetoric and communication function between and across cultures. Examine how culture, history, and power constitute our cultural identities, our modes of communication, and how we engage with others.
- Open to students with sophomore standing or higher
- Intermediate level, humanities or social science breadth, 3 credits
Offered online, synchronously
Com Arts 300: Film Comedy
Explore the comedy genre. Examine theories of humor in relation to comic amusement in film. Learn tools for critical appreciation and analysis.
- Open to students with sophomore standing or higher
- Intermediate level, humanities breadth course, 3 credits
Com Arts 609: Directing the Actor for the Camera
Explore the art of directing the actor for the camera and acquire a toolkit for how to work with actors on set. Learn how to break down a scene into beats and how to shape the scene using character objectives, subtext, backstory and behavior.
- Open to students who have completed Com Arts 355 (no consent or application required for summer enrollment)
- Advanced level, 3 credits