Undergraduate Courses

CMN 101 Public Speaking credit: 3 hours. Preparation and presentation of short informative and persuasive speeches; emphasis on the selection and organization of material, methods of securing interest and attention, and the elements of delivery. Credit is not given for both CMN 101 and either CMN 111 or CMN 112.

CMN 102 Intro to Comm Theory & Res credit: 4 hours. Survey of the questions probed, the methods employed, and the current status of knowledge in the study of communication. In Fall and Spring terms, students must register for one quiz and one lecture section. This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for a: UIUC: Behavioral Sciences

CMN 111 Oral & Written Comm I credit: 3 hours. Principles and practice in communication; stress on fundamentals of critical thinking in writing and speaking. The campus rhetoric requirement is fulfilled by this course in conjunction with CMN 112. Credit is not given for both CMN 111 and CMN 112, and other courses that fulfill the Composition I requirement (i.e., RHET 100; RHET 101 and RHET 102; RHET 103 and RHET 104; RHET 105; ESL 114 and ESL 115). Credit is also not given for both CMN 111/CMN 112 and CMN 101. CMN 111/CMN 112 may not be taken by students who have completed the University's Composition I requirement. This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for a: UIUC: Freshman Composition I

CMN 112 Oral & Written Comm II credit: 3 hours. Continuation of Oral & Written Comm I; stress on deliberation and fundamentals of communication and public argument through speaking and writing. The campus rhetoric requirement is fulfilled by this course in conjunction with CMN 111. Credit is not given for both CMN 111 - CMN 112 and other courses that fulfill the Composition I requirement (i.e., RHET 100; RHET 101 and RHET 102; RHET 103 and RHET 104; RHET 105; ESL 114 and ESL 115). Credit is also not given for both CMN 111 - CMN 112 and CMN 101. CMN 111 - CMN 112 may not be taken by students who have completed the University's Composition I requirement. Prerequisite: CMN 111. All sections are restricted to Undergraduate students. Engineering students must obtain a dean's approval to drop this course after the second week of instruction. This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for a: UIUC: Freshman Composition I

CMN 113 Small Group Communication credit: 3 hours. Study of leadership, group process, and interpersonal relations in the small group, conference, and the public forum; emphasis on practice in leading and participation in various types of public discussion and conference, with materials drawn from current public questions.

CMN 115 Interviewing credit: 3 hours. Describes theory and research on interviews in interpersonal and organizational settings; emphasis on practice in conducting and participating in different types of interviews, with materials drawn from various interview settings (e.g., employment, evaluation, medical, and so on).

CMN 191 Freshman Honors Tutorial credit: 1 to 3 hours. Study of selected topics on an individually arranged basis. Open only to Chancellors Scholars, Cohn Scholars and James Scholars. May be repeated one time. Prerequisite: Consent of departmental honors advisor.

CMN 199 Undergraduate Open Seminar credit: 0 to 5 hours. May be repeated to a maximum of 6 hours.

CMN 204 Internship in Teaching Comm credit: 3 hours. Supervised experience in assisting in the teaching of an undergraduate course in communication; practice in preparing and presenting brief lectures, conducting activities within class, and assisting students outside of class. Prerequisite: Junior standing, 3.0 grade-point average, 3.5 grade-point average in Communication, recommendation from an instructor, and approval of application. Students must have department consent to enroll.

CMN 210 Public Comm in Everyday Life credit: 3 hours. Introduces concepts useful for the critical analysis of public communication in everyday life. Drawing on communication theory and practice, especially theories of rhetoric, the course investigates techniques of persuasion, offers tools for critical analysis of public discourse, and considers the political and ethical implications of various forms of public communication. Intended for all students who are interested in the role public discourse plays in our lives as citizens, consumers, and community members. This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for a: UIUC: Western Compartv Cult UIUC: Hist&Philosoph Perspect

CMN 211 Business Communication credit: 3 hours. Focus on relevant theory and research on communication strategies and skills vital to diverse business contexts. Topics will include communication in civic engagement and in multinational corporations, cross-cultural communication, ethics, telecommuting, virtual work teams, and effective writing. Study, preparation, and presentation of the chief types of business speeches and other forms of communication; special attention to conferences, sales talks, interviews, and job applications are included. Prerequisite: CMN 101.

CMN 212 Intro to Organizational Comm credit: 3 hours. Considers major theories, research questions, and approaches to organizational communication.

CMN 220 Communicating Public Policy credit: 3 hours. Study of the nature of policy-oriented communication; analysis and formulation of positions on issues of professional, personal, or public interest; design and presentation of public policy messages addressed to varying tasks and audiences, with special emphasis on advanced writing skills. Prerequisite: Completion of campus Composition I general education requirement. This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for a: UIUC: Advanced Composition

CMN 230 Intro to Interpersonal Comm credit: 3 hours. Study of communication theory and its application to interpersonal relations; extensive discussion of problems of conflict and misunderstanding in personal affairs to facilitate the development of knowledge, insights, and skills in the processes of face-to-face interaction. In Fall and Spring terms, students must register for one discussion and one lecture section. This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for a: UIUC Social Sciences

CMN 231 Communication and Conflict credit: 3 hours. Examines how people experience and manage conflict within both private and public settings. Units focus on conflict in interpersonal, small group, and organizational contexts. This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for a: UIUC: Behavioral Sciences

CMN 232 Intro to Intercultural Comm credit: 3 hours. Introduction to the study of intercultural communication in a variety of contexts, including domestic and international; examines theory and research to explain what happens when people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds interact. Requires students to think critically about the ways in which "taken-for-granted" ways of thinking, acting, and interacting are culturally specific. This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for a: UIUC: Non-Western Cultures UIUC Social Sciences

CMN 251 Public Information Management credit: 3 hours. Study of communication problems and practices involved in the management of public information. Considers functions, contexts, and evaluation of public information efforts.

CMN 260 Intro to Health Communication credit: 3 hours. Introduces theory and research on communication in health and illness contexts. Explores how messages from media, interpersonal, and organizational sources affect health beliefs and behaviors. This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for a: UIUC: Behavioral Sciences UIUC: Western Compartv Cult

CMN 275 Media, Money and Power credit: 4 hours. Describes the political economy of the media in the U.S. Acquaints students with a core understanding of how the media system operates, and with what effects, in a capitalist society. Examines the role of advertising, public relations, corporate concentration, and government regulation upon news reporting, entertainment, culture, and participatory democracy. Also examines issues such as the Internet, globalization, and public broadcasting. This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for a: UIUC: Western Compartv Cult UIUC: Hist&Philosoph Perspect

CMN 277 Intro to Mediated Comm credit: 4 hours. Survey of the history, structure, forms, and social effects of the American mass media. Students must register for one discussion and one lecture section (Fall and Spring Semesters only). This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for a: UIUC Social Sciences

CMN 280 Comm Technology & Society credit: 3 hours. Introduction to theory and research on both old and new communication technologies; focus will be on how these technological systems develop and are used, and what implications of these systems have for culture and society. This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for a: UIUC Social Sciences

CMN 304 Communication Internship credit: 1 to 3 hours. Directed internship experience for Communication majors only. Students make arrangements with individual faculty members. May be repeated in separate terms to a maximum of 6 hours.

CMN 310 The Rhetorical Tradition credit: 3 hours. Survey of major trends in the development of rhetorical theory from Homer to the present.

CMN 320 Comm Controversy Public Policy credit: 3 hours. Examines how public policy shapes American life, by providing an advanced exploration of the controversies, discourses and effects of public policy. Provides in-depth analysis of the definitions and histories of public policy and the tensions between public and private spheres that shape it. Explores the American landscape, energy sources and environment, food systems, and political process, with a focus on industry and government turn-style lobbying rules and reform. Develops a fundamental understanding of public versus private spheres; analyzes and critiques how public policy shapes American historical and cultural landscapes; increases skillfulness in oral and written analysis of controversies, institutions, political and economic power brokers, and social norms. Prerequisite: CMN 220 or consent of instructor.

CMN 321 Strategies of Persuasion credit: 3 hours. Studies of powerful instances of public persuasion; students examine key means of public influence. Prerequisite: CMN 101.

CMN 323 Argumentation credit: 3 hours. Study of the theory of argument, e.g., evidence, reasoning, and construction of briefs; practice in formal and informal forms of debate and public discourse on current public questions. Prerequisite: CMN 101.

CMN 325 Politics and the Media credit: 3 hours. Examines the processes of mass-mediated political communication in democratic societies. Special emphasis will be given to the role of news media in democratic theory, factors shaping the construction of news such as journalism routines, media economics, and the strategic management of news by political elites.
Same as MACS 322 and PS 312. See PS 312.

CMN 326 Mass Media and the Audience credit: 3 hours. Presents information on how to conceptualize audiences, mass media use, and reception of media messages. Also examines the character of the audience experience, uses and gratifications of mass media, social cognition, and studies of audiences as interpretive communities.

CMN 336 Family Communication credit: 3 hours. Examines the nature and functions of communication in various family configurations (e.g. nuclear families, single-parent families, stepfamilies); discusses both problematic interaction patterns and links between family interaction and strong families.

CMN 340 Visual Politics credit: 3 hours. Explores the role of visual images in U.S. culture, paying special attention to the ways that images function persuasively as political communication. Provides tools for analyzing historical and contemporary images and artifacts, such as photographs, prints, paintings, advertisements, and memorials. Emphasis on how visual images are used for remembering and memorializing; confronting and resisting; consuming and commodifying; governing and authorizing; and visualizing and informing.

CMN 354 Freedom of Speech credit: 3 hours. Examination of the nature and variety of responses to value questions concerning communication; includes a survey of the evolution of and current controversies in freedom of speech.

CMN 357 Intro to Conversation Analysis credit: 3 hours. Analysis of everyday conversation and talk in institutional settings, including basic organizational features of talk such as turn-taking, sequences of actions, openings and closings, and repair; ways that participants use talk to perform social actions such as complimenting, inviting, arguing, blaming, and apologizing; and ways that talk is used in professional settings such as 911 emergency calls, courtroom interactions, and doctor-patient interviews to perform the work of these social institutions.
Same as LING 357. See LING 357.

CMN 362 Folklore as Communication credit: 3 hours. Study of unofficial, noncommercial and face-to-face modes of communication, called "folklore" or "vernacular culture." For purposes of this course, "folklore" includes speech, stories, legends, sayings, proverbs, customs, rituals and performances. Students will be asked to develop and use a variety of cultural description and documentation skills. The goal is to give students a strong sense of variety, persistence, and flexibility of traditional culture as it lives in the present, and practice in recording it, writing about it, and analyzing it.

CMN 368 Sexual Communication credit: 3 hours. Describes sex as a foundational activity in the development and maintenance of human relationships. Communication about sex happens in a myriad of interpersonal, group, organizational, and mediated contexts. Explores the many ways in which sexual communication intersects our personal, relational, cultural, and institutional norms and values. Topics will include social norms about sexual communication, sexual harassment, family communication about sex, sexual health education, doctor-patient communication about sex, and sex in the media and in advertising. Theory and research on communication processes will be used to elaborate how talk about sex can achieve multiple goals.

CMN 375 Popular Media and Culture credit: 3 hours. Using the critical lens of theories on race, class, gender, and sexuality, this class will investigate the complicated relations among popular media and culture, including how our everyday life and attitudes are thought to be shaped by the media, and how cultural systems can be said to inform the media. By exploring a wide range of media (e.g., film, television, music, the internet, and computer games), students will investigate the national, political, and personal dimensions of popular media and the varied ways in which media construct, reflect and intersect with specific cultural systems, identities, and classifications. May be repeated in separate terms to a maximum of 6 hours.

CMN 377 Public Relations & Propaganda credit: 3 hours. Traces the social, economic, and political underpinnings of public relations and propaganda in modern times. Starting with the rise of modern propaganda in post Civil War era, examines the rise of corporate propaganda as a strategy to prevent regulatory measures and public criticism and explores how the same persuasive strategies were quickly adapted by other social and political actors. Explores the major social, political, and economic causes for the emergence of propaganda as a dominant communication strategy and traces how events during WWI and WWII helped solidify the role of government and commercial propaganda in society. The frequently blurry distinctions between government propaganda and commercial PR will be explored and the second part of the course will focus on contemporary strategies, issues and concerns. The relationship between propaganda, PR and the mass media will be a constant site of
inquiry.

CMN 390 Individual Study credit: 1 to 3 hours. Individual investigation of special problems. May be repeated to a maximum of 6 hours. Prerequisite: Twelve hours of communication; a grade-point average of 3.25; and consent of head of department.

CMN 396 Special Topics in Comm credit: 3 hours. Special topics in communication not treated in regularly scheduled courses. See Class Schedule for current topics. May be repeated to a maximum of 6 hours if topics vary.

CMN 410 Workplace Comm Technology credit: 3 or 4 hours. Focuses on how communication technologies shape the creation, content, and flow of information within and between organizations. Special attention will be given to the characteristics of the technology; social and organizational practices; economic considerations; and policy issues. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

CMN 411 Organizational Comm Assessment credit: 3 or 4 hours. Organizational communication theory applied to the assessment of communication practices in organizations; systematic procedures for diagnosing communication problems and facilitating effective communication in organizations. Extensive use of case studies. Students conduct a communication audit of an organization. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: CMN 212.

CMN 412 Adv Organizational Comm credit: 3 or 4 hours. Advanced study of theory and research in organizational communication; considers such topics as communication networks, superior-subordinate communications, task-related and social information processing, and communicating with the external environment. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: CMN 212.

CMN 413 Adv Small Group Communication credit: 3 or 4 hours. Advanced study of theory, research, techniques, and training methods in interviewing and group discussion; emphasis on empirical research findings concerning communication processes in face-to-face groups. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

CMN 414 Communication and Leadership credit: 3 or 4 hours. Explores communication behaviors and processes in theories and research on leadership in small group, organizational, institutional, and cultural settings; a practicum on leadership communication using established and validated measures. Goals include defining leader communication; distinguishing between popular appeals and social-scientific evidence about leadership; familiarizing students with ways to evaluate leadership; and increasing self-awareness about leadership. Topics include leadership and gender, diversity, ethics, teams, and culture. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

CMN 415 Classical Rhetorics credit: 3 or 4 hours. Survey of the contributions to the theory and practice of rhetoric from Homer to the Renaissance. Same as CLCV 415 and MDVL 415. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

CMN 416 Early Modern Rhetorics credit: 3 or 4 hours. Significant developments in European rhetorical theory from 1500 to the 20th Century. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

CMN 417 Contemporary Rhetorics credit: 3 or 4 hours. Major contributors to rhetorical theory from I.A. Richards to the present. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

CMN 421 Persuasion Theory & Research credit: 3 or 4 hours. Survey of major theories of persuasion, research on factors influencing persuasive effectiveness, and application to problems of persuasive discourse. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

CMN 423 Rhetorical Criticism credit: 3 or 4 hours. Methods of interpreting and judging persuasive discourse with emphasis on political speaking and writing; extensive practice in criticism of rhetorical texts. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

CMN 424 Campaigning to Win credit: 3 or 4 hours. Using a case study approach to illustrate how campaigns attempt to persuade and mobilize voters, students learn how to plan and manage effective political campaigns. Same as PS 411. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

CMN 427 Children and the Media credit: 3 or 4 hours. Examines the role of the mass media in the lives of children. Focuses on how developmental differences influence how children process and respond to the media. Topics include media violence, media advertising, stereotypes in the media, and educational content. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

CMN 428 Media and the Human Body credit: 3 or 4 hours. Explores the way the human body is portrayed within, and affected by, the mass media. The term "body" is broadly construed to apply to a wide range of corporeal matters that have been linked to identity, including ability and disability, race, age, sexuality, social class, athletic prowess, and health. We will take a social psychological approach to the study of media and the body. Knowledge of statistics-based research methods is not required, but is helpful. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

CMN 429 Race and the Mass Media credit: 3 or 4 hours. Presents an overview of racial stereotypes in the mass media and the effects of stereotypical imagery on viewers. Discussion of the structural and social origins of stereotypic media from multiple perspectives focusing on published scholarship that systematically assesses the content and effects of racial representations from a social scientific perspective. Intersections between race, ethnicity, class, and gender also will be explored. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

CMN 432 Gender and Language credit: 3 or 4 hours. Study of actual and perceived differences and similarities in the use of language by women and by men; emphasizes the social contexts of speech. Same as GWS 432, and LING 432. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

CMN 435 Adv Interpersonal Comm credit: 3 or 4 hours. Study of the major processes involved in an individual's adjustment to the communication situations of everyday life; emphasis on the development of interpersonal competency and orientations, social perception, interpersonal sentiment and hostility, trust, and the social context as factors influencing the understanding and evaluation of interpersonal messages. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: CMN 230 or consent of instructor.

CMN 437 Comm in Personal Relationships credit: 3 or 4 hours. Examines theories of communication within personal relationships, including family, friendship, and romantic associations. Specific topics include relationship development, conflict, power, self-disclosure, and relational uncertainty. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

CMN 450 Adv Topics in Public Discourse credit: 3 or 4 hours. Study of selected periods and genres of public discourse in historical context, including British, American, French, Russian, German, Chinese, and Japanese. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated as topics vary to a maximum of 12 undergraduate hours or 16 graduate hours. Prerequisite: One course in rhetorical criticism or consent of instructor.

CMN 462 Interpersonal Health Comm credit: 3 or 4 hours. Examines the role of communication in the management of mental and physical health. Focuses on topics such as communication and illness identity, health and interpersonal relationships, health care provider-patient interactions, impacts of technology on health communication, and health education and prevention efforts. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

CMN 463 Organizational Health Comm credit: 3 or 4 hours. Focuses on organizational issues shaping communication between providers, patients, and consumers of health care and information, including background on financing personal medical services; organizations, professions, and their interrelationships involved in providing medical services; theorizing communication and organization in personal medical services; and communication between organizations and the public on health issues. Topics include managed care, professional communication, the hospital as a unique communication site, ethics in health communication, direct-to-consumer drug advertising, and health crisis communication. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

CMN 464 Health Communication Campaigns credit: 3 or 4 hours. Focuses on the theoretical principles behind designing, implementing, and evaluating a health communication campaign. Students will be exposed to campaigns pertaining to alcohol abuse, illicit drug use, organ donation, safe sex, tobacco use, among others. The first part of the course reviews theories used in health communication campaigns, derived from the disciplines of communication, social psychology, and public health. The second part of the course focuses on designing campaigns and creating messages as well as evaluating the effects of those campaigns and messages. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

CMN 465 Social Marketing Health&Behav credit: 3 or 4 hours. Applies marketing concepts and practices to bring about behavior change for a social good. Social marketing is an approach to planning and implementing projects and programs that emphasizes a customer-centered mindset to learn what people want and need to change their behavior. Designed to give students a thorough orientation to the discipline of social marketing and its application to a range of problems with an emphasis on issues in health contexts. Topics will include audience research, segmentation strategies, communication channels, marketing mix, and the application of behavioral theory. Students will acquire practical skills in the design, implementation, and evaluation of health intervention initiatives that use social marketing. Same as CHLH 465. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

CMN 474 Intro to Research Methods credit: 3 or 4 hours. Introduction to descriptive and experimental methods in communication; intended to produce understanding and critical evaluation of research designs. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

CMN 476 Commercialism and the Public credit: 3 or 4 hours. Explores the influences of advertising and commercialism and their role in defining our political culture, social institutions, and personal lives. Through readings, written reflection, visual presentations, and class discussions, the course explores a wide range of advertising and consumer issues and discusses how consumers negotiate these forces. The first part of the course is devoted to a historical overview; discussing the risk and evolving nature of advertising throughout the 20th century. Having established a historical framework, the course offers six contemporary topics to be discussed in the remainder of the semester. Topics may include, but not be limited to: the commercial mass media; the public relations industry; gender in advertising; commercialization of childhood; the commercialization of medicine and science; contemporary consumer society; advertising in schools; and food, advertising, and body image. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

CMN 491 Honors Individual Study credit: 2 hours. Individual investigation of special problems. No graduate credit. May be repeated to a maximum of 4 undergraduate hours. Prerequisite: Twelve hours of communication; a grade-point average of 3.50; and consent of head of department.

CMN 493 Honors Senior Thesis credit: 2 hours. Individual study leading to a thesis for honors in the Department of Communication. No graduate credit. May be repeated to a maximum of 4 undergraduate hours. Prerequisite: Senior standing; a grade-point average of 3.50; and consent of head of department.

CMN 496 Adv Topics in Communication credit: 3 or 4 hours. Advanced topics in communication not treated in regularly scheduled courses; see Class Schedule for current topics. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated as topics vary to a maximum of 6 undergraduate hours or 8 graduate hours.

* CMN 496 can be repeated provided topics are different. ** When enrolling in a 400 level course, make sure you are enrolling in the undergraduate CRN for 3 hours.