Mass Media and Society
Overview of the history, organization, economics, content, control, and effects of mass communications in the United States with some comparison to foreign systems.
Notable Classes
Public Relations
Writing For Mass Media
Introduction to and practice in writing for mass media, with a focus on commercial copy for the electronic media of radio and television.
Communication Theory
Learned about a diverse array of communication theories and distinguished differences among basic types of communication theories, including social scientific/objective, interpretive/humanistic, and critical. Communication theories in interpersonal communication, media, rhetoric, intercultural communication, and organizational communication are examined.
Writing for Strategic Public Relations
Focused on building effective and ethical organization-public relationships through writing and tailoring public relations materials such as media kits, newsletters, infographics, brochures, social media campaigns, and web writing. Basic graphic design and publication/printing process were also introduced. The course culminated in a final writing portfolio.
Principles of Strategic Public Relations
Introduction to the nature, history, and current practice of strategic public relations, emphasizing communication practices for various publics and contexts including corporate, nonprofit and government agencies. Focused on research, action planning, communication and evaluation, along with ethics, social media, media relations, and community relations.
Fundraising Principles and Strategies
Covered foundations of fundraising for communication-related professions, including ethical campaign development, solicitation through multiple communication channels, relationship-building, and campaign evaluation.
Rhetorical Theory
Surveyed the history and major theories of rhetoric from ancient Greece to postmodern forms. Developed conceptual frameworks for persuasive speaking and writing while evaluating the function of rhetoric in society.
Event Planning
Prepared students to research, plan, execute, and evaluate both small and large-scale events. Created event plans covering logistics, promotions and evaluation, plus associated print, social, and internal communication materials.
Communication Design
Focused on principles and practice of visual communication using photography, multimedia, publication design/layout, and website design with industry tools and techniques. Students received an introduction to Adobe Creative Cloud, including Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator.
Crisis Communication & Media Relations
Students learned to thoughtfully analyze and address corporate, institutional and governmental conflict and crises. Topics learned included negotiation, problem-solving, crisis planning, spokesperson training, news conferences and releases through simulated crisis management plans and crisis press conferences.
Children & Youth Services
Foundations of Marriage & Family
Covered foundational knowledge about family dynamics through Christian, multicultural, historical, contemporary, and strength-based perspectives. Topics included family theories, marriage and parenting, development, gender and sexuality, communication and stress, and family traditions.
Adolescent Development
Applied a development-focused approach to understanding adolescents, including physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development and related theoretical and methodological issues.
Parenting
Examined parenting processes, styles, techniques and theories across the family life cycle, with attention to diverse cultural and family structural contexts and parent education program design.
Infants, Toddlers & Families
Examined the role of families and caregivers in the development of infants and toddlers (ages 0-3), including early intervention, assessment techniques, developmentally appropriate practices, IFSP, and available support services.
Children's Literature
Critical and extensive study of children’s literature and classroom application, with attention to genres, socio-cultural considerations, censorship issues, illustration, historical development, and technology implications.