COMM 10: CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES IN COMMUNICATION

Reorganized COURSE GUIDE

COURSE DESCRIPTION

COMM 10: Critical Perspectives in Communication

- a UP General Education (GE) course that explores...
how communication takes place in various levels of human interaction:
• interpersonal or group, mass or public, intercultural,.and workplace.
- in these spheres, we.forge our individual and collective identities, and make sense of
our interactions not only with others but also with institutions
that impact on our thoughts, feelings, and actions.
As we interact with individuals and institutions...
- need to be armed with various lenses to have a more
critical and meaningful engagement
with issues and concerns of communication in local and global contexts.
* perspectives course
- a critical examination of communication issues in five interrelated areas:
identity construction, representation, culture, language and discourse.
- areas that evidence/manifest the interdisciplinary nature of COMM 10 manifest
takes off from the arts and humanities, but draws certain concepts and tools of
analysis from the social science disciplines.
A GE program that loops in knowledge domains in
- the arts and humanities, social sciences and philosophy, mathematics and the
sciences forms the bedrock of university education;
- provides the base from which core courses in various curricula may spring.
After finishing this course...
- [grow] to develop a clearer standpoint on vital issues through the concepts/ tools of
analysis [fostered by] theories/ frameworks learned in this class.

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

After completing this course, you should be able to:
1. Discuss the changing landscape of communication;
2. Explain the different theories and frameworks of communication;
3. Apply relevant communication theories and frameworks in analyzing various
issues; and
4. Formulate a critical perspective on a communication phenomenon or event.

COURSE OUTLINE
I. The changing landscape of communication (Module 1)
A. Orality and literacy
B. Traditional media, mass media, new media
C. Media convergence, blurring of genres
Readings: Ong, W. (2002). Orality and literacy. London, UK: Routledge. Pages 1-3, 170-171
COMM 10: CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES IN COMMUNICATION

For the TIMELINE group task: Baran, S. (2013). Introduction to mass communication:
media literacy and culture. New York, NY: McGraw Hill. Introductory pages...

Tentative schedule:
January 24-25 Thursday or Friday
January 30-31, Wednesday or Thursday
NO CLASSES: February 1 - 5 (Holiday!)
Friday or Tuesday
February 12 - 20
February 21 - 22
Class discussion: taking off from "Orality*
Group meetings
February 7-8, Thursday-Friday
<--- submit first GROUP task: TIMELINE
Class discussion
MOODLE trial: starting with "Identity"
<--- submit take-home QUIZ
re: Comm & Identity Construction

II. Frames of engagement: Theories and frameworks of communication

*Refer to the specified readings per module.
B. Communication and identity construction (Module 3)
1. What is identity?
2. The process of identity construction
3. Social and cultural identities

C. Communication and representation (Module 4) <---start February 21-22

1. Theories of representation
2. Semiotics, the discursive approach and the production of meaning
3. Media content and representation

D. Communication and culture <---continue until March 29-30: submit minor paper
1. Low- and high-context cultures (Module 5)
2. Intercultural communication (Module 6)

A. Communication and rhetoric (Module 2) <---start April 2-3

1. The rhetorical situation
2. Political rhetoric
3. Digital rhetoric
* Communication and discourse
1. Nature of discourse
2. Power relations
3. Examing power through discourse analysis
<---submit final paper: May 7-8, 2019
III. Communication as critical practice: a synthesis