** Please use the course schedule to find the unique numbers. Classes are subject to change at any time* https://registrar.utexas.edu/schedules CMS 081M – INTRO TO GRADUATE STUDIES IN COMMUNICATIONRene Dailey (rdailey@austin.utexas.edu)M 2:00 - 3:00 pm. CMA 7.160This course was created in 2000, driven by graduate student input. It has taken several forms over the years. Consistent goals, however, have been to (1) introduce incoming graduate students to their cohort, other graduate students, the faculty, the department, the college and the university and (2) socialize incoming graduate students to professional expectations and issues associated with the department and careers involving research. Open to Graduate Students in The Department of Comm Studies ONLY. CMS 386K 1- INTERPERSONAL COMM THEORYErin Donovan (erindonovan@.utexas.edu) TH 3:30 – 6:30 pm. CMA 7.160This survey course is designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to the predominant theories and topics regarding interpersonal communication. We will cover topics such as cognition and emotion regarding communication, nonverbal communication, information management (privacy, self-disclosure), conflict, and social support as well as in various contexts (e.g., romantic relationships, family relationships, health contexts). The objectives for this course are for students to become familiar with foundational and contemporary theories and topics, synthesize information regarding interpersonal theories and research, analyze and critique interpersonal theories and research, and articulate and support their original thinking and theorizing regarding interpersonal communication. Assessments include presentations, participation, leading class discussions, and a research proposal. CMS 386N 1- QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODSTalia Stroud (tstroud@austin.utexas.edu) W 6:30 – 9:30 pm. CMA 7.160The primary goal of this course is to give you a solid understanding of the logic of quantitative social science. The class will focus on the process of defining research problems, the logic of research design, and a limited number of techniques – for measurement, for design and sampling, and for analysis of data. There are no pre-requisites for this course. CMS 386P.6 DARK SIDE OF INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATIONRene Dailey (rdailey@austin.utexas.edu)T 6:30 - 9:30 pm. CMA 7.160This course is designed to provide an overview of topics related to the “dark side” of communication in interpersonal relationships, including undesired features of interpersonal relationships as well as features that are seemingly productive but can be also dysfunctional or features which are seemingly destructive but can also be functional. Specifically, the course will cover topics such as topic avoidance and secrets, conflict, relational transgressions, invoking negative emotions, and aggression in comparison with topics such as honesty, affection, and support. The readings and assessments for this course have been designed with the following objectives in mind:to become familiar with the various topics examined within the “dark side” of interpersonal communication and relationshipsto synthesize, analyze, and critique interpersonal research and theories regarding dark side topicsto gain experience in conducting interpersonal communication researchto articulate and support, through presentations and written assignments, original thinking and theorizing regarding dark side topics. CMS 386P COMMUNICATION AND IMMIGRATION Roselia Mendez-Murillo (roselia.mendezmurillo@austin.utexas.edu) W 3:30 - 6:30 PM CMA 7.160This graduate seminar will introduce us to different frameworks, research, and practices that can help us understand the important role that communication plays in creating inequities among immigrants in the United States, as well as the ways in which immigrants use various communication strategies to mitigate the barriers they experience. Immigration, and Communication is a diverse area of research that can incorporate different levels (intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, organizational, societal) of analysis, methodologies, and a wide range of communication channels and contexts. In this seminar, we will pay particular attention to the ways in which communication can contribute to creating disparities and inequities among various immigrant communities (undocumented and documented), and at the same time, help mitigate immigrants’ disparities and inequities. We will also discuss what responsibilities we may have as researchers to conduct studies that can help us understand and improve immigrants’ social mobility through, for example, community engagement and public engagement. Furthermore, we will consider how immigration and communication research and practices can enhance our own research interests, theorizing, and practices, regardless of whether we primarily identify as an immigration communication scholar. This course will explore a range of topics including but not limited to immigration and inequities, acculturation, language brokering, immigration narratives, family ethnic socialization, immigrant family separation and reunification, and undocumented immigration and mixed-status families. CMS 390N – POLITICAL POLARIZATION: CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES, AND SOLUTIONSAshwin Rajadesingan (arajades@austin.utexas.edu) T 3:30 – 6:30 pm. CMA 7.160Political polarization has become increasingly common in countries across the world. This course explores the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to political polarization. Through an interdisciplinary lens, the course will analyze key political, social, and psychological factors driving polarization, including identity, misinformation, and (social) media influence. The course also focuses on the broader consequences of polarization to political and social life. Finally, we will review the most recent efforts to reduce polarization and their effectiveness. CMS 390R 1-BASIC RHETORICAL CRITICISMMike Butterworth (michael.butterworth@austin.utexas.edu)TH 6:30 – 9:30 pm. CMA 7.160This course provides an orientation to key concepts and methods of rhetorical criticism. It covers significant historical developments and debates and introduces students to various approaches present in contemporary scholarship. It views rhetorical criticism as a way of engaging cultural, political, and social issues through the lens of rhetoric. Accordingly, rhetoric’s constitutive capacity will be privileged over its instrumental capacity. Course readings will feature approaches to rhetoric that value contingency, invention, and judgment, with the understanding that rhetorical critics are participants in the discourses that they analyze. From this perspective, rhetorical criticism is politically engaged, ethically responsible, and invested in rhetoric as a means of cultural production. This course is reading and writing intensive, and students will produce an essay of original scholarship at the end of the semester. CMS 390S COMMUNICATION POWER AND INEQUALITY Shiv Ganesh (shiv.ganesh@austin.utexas.edu)M 3:30 - 6:30 p.m. CMA 7.160The concept of power registers in any number of popular discourses. We use the term to explain issues in subjects as diverse as government, religion, globalization, popular culture, gender, sexuality, management and organizational behavior, technology, and personal relationships. Small wonder then, that power has been a formative category in social theory over the last several hundred years, and a prime vector in how we understand a central issue of our times, inequality. Such range and importance shape the objectives of this course in two major ways.First, given that one can find a treatment of power in the work of most prominent social theorists (in many ways the history of the study of power is the history of social theory itself), it becomes important to consider this history. Moreover, debates about power and control that have occurred over the last two hundred years have significantly influenced communication inquiry and, as students of communication, we need to better understand such influence. Given this heavy ideological baggage, an important objective of the seminar is to give its participants a sense of the history of the concept of power itself.Second, the sheer diversity of perspectives, problems and polemics that are invoked when one considers power signals the inevitable ambiguity of a course simply titled ‘communication, power and inequality.’ Given such diversity, selectivity is inevitable. However, important exceptions aside, the concern with power and politics in communication studies has been a central concern of what might loosely be called ‘the critical tradition’ in several key areas of communication inquiry. Another prime objective of this seminar, then, is to provide its participants with a broad-based understanding of critical communication studies of inequality. We will meet these objectives by spending the first several class meetings examining some key classical and modern theorists of power, including Machiavelli, Marx, Weber, Gramsci and Foucault. As we do so, we will compare their ideas with the work of more contemporary scholars in communication studies. We will then move into a consideration of the highly contemporary theme of organized inequality, and take up several recent critical, journalistic and theoretical treatments of the subject both inside and outside the field of communication studies.Seminar participants will read several books throughout the course of the semester, and these will be complemented with other readings, some of which will be mandatory; others will be assigned to individual students, in order to broaden the scope of seminar discussions and better align course content with graduate student interests. CMS 392P -GRANT WRITING IN COMMUNICATIONKeri Stephens (keri.stephens@austin.utexas.edu)M 6:30-9:30 p.m. CMA 7.160This seminar course prepares graduate students to understand and participate in the grant-writing process. Many of the assigned readings are actual grant proposals that we will analyze and critique. Students will also gain graduate student teaching experience when they prepare and teach the class about their particular research interests that will inform their grant proposal development. This is an important assignment because peers in the class will serve as grant reviewers for others’ proposals. The course concludes by having all students write a grant proposal and participate in grant review panels. As an introduction to the grant-writing process, we will explore some fundable topic areas like health, technology/artificial intelligence, disasters, risk and decision making, and organization science. We will explore interdisciplinary teams, team science, and how to negotiate site access and build collaborations for funded research projects. While we will explore opportunities from large federal agencies like the National Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation, we will cover at least 20 additional funding sources, including several sources unearthed by students in our class. Many students will identify a dissertation improvement grant or an early career grant that they will develop for the final course project. CMS 398T – SUPERVISED TEACHING Maddie Holland (mholland@austin.utexas.edu) M 3:30 - 6:30 p.m. DMC 3.206This course will give students an introduction to trends, techniques, and conversations in and around teaching in higher education settings. Regardless of whether students plan to pursue a career in the academy, industry, or elsewhere, this class will give them the skills they need to succeed in the program they find themselves in here and now. Students will learn how to build strong relationships with classmates and faculty colleagues through excellence in the classroom, and those contacts play a key role in securing employment after graduation. To achieve this, students will:Develop a basic understanding of current trends and practices in undergraduate education.Translate knowledge of these trends and practices into designing materials you can use in the classroom.Explore and evaluate strategies for creating an inclusive and equitable learning environment. *Cultivate self-reflection and feedback practices to promote continuous improvement in course design and delivery for yourself and others.*Deepen, expand, and interrogate your understanding of what it means to be a post-secondary educator, with an appreciation of the particularities of Communication Studies as a field.
** Please use the course schedule to find the unique numbers. Classes are subject to change at any time* https://registrar.utexas.edu/schedules CMS 081M – INTRO TO GRADUATE STUDIES IN COMMUNICATIONRene Dailey (rdailey@austin.utexas.edu)M 2:00 - 3:00 pm. CMA 7.160This course was created in 2000, driven by graduate student input. It has taken several forms over the years. Consistent goals, however, have been to (1) introduce incoming graduate students to their cohort, other graduate students, the faculty, the department, the college and the university and (2) socialize incoming graduate students to professional expectations and issues associated with the department and careers involving research. Open to Graduate Students in The Department of Comm Studies ONLY. CMS 386K 1- INTERPERSONAL COMM THEORYErin Donovan (erindonovan@.utexas.edu) TH 3:30 – 6:30 pm. CMA 7.160This survey course is designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to the predominant theories and topics regarding interpersonal communication. We will cover topics such as cognition and emotion regarding communication, nonverbal communication, information management (privacy, self-disclosure), conflict, and social support as well as in various contexts (e.g., romantic relationships, family relationships, health contexts). The objectives for this course are for students to become familiar with foundational and contemporary theories and topics, synthesize information regarding interpersonal theories and research, analyze and critique interpersonal theories and research, and articulate and support their original thinking and theorizing regarding interpersonal communication. Assessments include presentations, participation, leading class discussions, and a research proposal. CMS 386N 1- QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODSTalia Stroud (tstroud@austin.utexas.edu) W 6:30 – 9:30 pm. CMA 7.160The primary goal of this course is to give you a solid understanding of the logic of quantitative social science. The class will focus on the process of defining research problems, the logic of research design, and a limited number of techniques – for measurement, for design and sampling, and for analysis of data. There are no pre-requisites for this course. CMS 386P.6 DARK SIDE OF INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATIONRene Dailey (rdailey@austin.utexas.edu)T 6:30 - 9:30 pm. CMA 7.160This course is designed to provide an overview of topics related to the “dark side” of communication in interpersonal relationships, including undesired features of interpersonal relationships as well as features that are seemingly productive but can be also dysfunctional or features which are seemingly destructive but can also be functional. Specifically, the course will cover topics such as topic avoidance and secrets, conflict, relational transgressions, invoking negative emotions, and aggression in comparison with topics such as honesty, affection, and support. The readings and assessments for this course have been designed with the following objectives in mind:to become familiar with the various topics examined within the “dark side” of interpersonal communication and relationshipsto synthesize, analyze, and critique interpersonal research and theories regarding dark side topicsto gain experience in conducting interpersonal communication researchto articulate and support, through presentations and written assignments, original thinking and theorizing regarding dark side topics. CMS 386P COMMUNICATION AND IMMIGRATION Roselia Mendez-Murillo (roselia.mendezmurillo@austin.utexas.edu) W 3:30 - 6:30 PM CMA 7.160This graduate seminar will introduce us to different frameworks, research, and practices that can help us understand the important role that communication plays in creating inequities among immigrants in the United States, as well as the ways in which immigrants use various communication strategies to mitigate the barriers they experience. Immigration, and Communication is a diverse area of research that can incorporate different levels (intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, organizational, societal) of analysis, methodologies, and a wide range of communication channels and contexts. In this seminar, we will pay particular attention to the ways in which communication can contribute to creating disparities and inequities among various immigrant communities (undocumented and documented), and at the same time, help mitigate immigrants’ disparities and inequities. We will also discuss what responsibilities we may have as researchers to conduct studies that can help us understand and improve immigrants’ social mobility through, for example, community engagement and public engagement. Furthermore, we will consider how immigration and communication research and practices can enhance our own research interests, theorizing, and practices, regardless of whether we primarily identify as an immigration communication scholar. This course will explore a range of topics including but not limited to immigration and inequities, acculturation, language brokering, immigration narratives, family ethnic socialization, immigrant family separation and reunification, and undocumented immigration and mixed-status families. CMS 390N – POLITICAL POLARIZATION: CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES, AND SOLUTIONSAshwin Rajadesingan (arajades@austin.utexas.edu) T 3:30 – 6:30 pm. CMA 7.160Political polarization has become increasingly common in countries across the world. This course explores the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to political polarization. Through an interdisciplinary lens, the course will analyze key political, social, and psychological factors driving polarization, including identity, misinformation, and (social) media influence. The course also focuses on the broader consequences of polarization to political and social life. Finally, we will review the most recent efforts to reduce polarization and their effectiveness. CMS 390R 1-BASIC RHETORICAL CRITICISMMike Butterworth (michael.butterworth@austin.utexas.edu)TH 6:30 – 9:30 pm. CMA 7.160This course provides an orientation to key concepts and methods of rhetorical criticism. It covers significant historical developments and debates and introduces students to various approaches present in contemporary scholarship. It views rhetorical criticism as a way of engaging cultural, political, and social issues through the lens of rhetoric. Accordingly, rhetoric’s constitutive capacity will be privileged over its instrumental capacity. Course readings will feature approaches to rhetoric that value contingency, invention, and judgment, with the understanding that rhetorical critics are participants in the discourses that they analyze. From this perspective, rhetorical criticism is politically engaged, ethically responsible, and invested in rhetoric as a means of cultural production. This course is reading and writing intensive, and students will produce an essay of original scholarship at the end of the semester. CMS 390S COMMUNICATION POWER AND INEQUALITY Shiv Ganesh (shiv.ganesh@austin.utexas.edu)M 3:30 - 6:30 p.m. CMA 7.160The concept of power registers in any number of popular discourses. We use the term to explain issues in subjects as diverse as government, religion, globalization, popular culture, gender, sexuality, management and organizational behavior, technology, and personal relationships. Small wonder then, that power has been a formative category in social theory over the last several hundred years, and a prime vector in how we understand a central issue of our times, inequality. Such range and importance shape the objectives of this course in two major ways.First, given that one can find a treatment of power in the work of most prominent social theorists (in many ways the history of the study of power is the history of social theory itself), it becomes important to consider this history. Moreover, debates about power and control that have occurred over the last two hundred years have significantly influenced communication inquiry and, as students of communication, we need to better understand such influence. Given this heavy ideological baggage, an important objective of the seminar is to give its participants a sense of the history of the concept of power itself.Second, the sheer diversity of perspectives, problems and polemics that are invoked when one considers power signals the inevitable ambiguity of a course simply titled ‘communication, power and inequality.’ Given such diversity, selectivity is inevitable. However, important exceptions aside, the concern with power and politics in communication studies has been a central concern of what might loosely be called ‘the critical tradition’ in several key areas of communication inquiry. Another prime objective of this seminar, then, is to provide its participants with a broad-based understanding of critical communication studies of inequality. We will meet these objectives by spending the first several class meetings examining some key classical and modern theorists of power, including Machiavelli, Marx, Weber, Gramsci and Foucault. As we do so, we will compare their ideas with the work of more contemporary scholars in communication studies. We will then move into a consideration of the highly contemporary theme of organized inequality, and take up several recent critical, journalistic and theoretical treatments of the subject both inside and outside the field of communication studies.Seminar participants will read several books throughout the course of the semester, and these will be complemented with other readings, some of which will be mandatory; others will be assigned to individual students, in order to broaden the scope of seminar discussions and better align course content with graduate student interests. CMS 392P -GRANT WRITING IN COMMUNICATIONKeri Stephens (keri.stephens@austin.utexas.edu)M 6:30-9:30 p.m. CMA 7.160This seminar course prepares graduate students to understand and participate in the grant-writing process. Many of the assigned readings are actual grant proposals that we will analyze and critique. Students will also gain graduate student teaching experience when they prepare and teach the class about their particular research interests that will inform their grant proposal development. This is an important assignment because peers in the class will serve as grant reviewers for others’ proposals. The course concludes by having all students write a grant proposal and participate in grant review panels. As an introduction to the grant-writing process, we will explore some fundable topic areas like health, technology/artificial intelligence, disasters, risk and decision making, and organization science. We will explore interdisciplinary teams, team science, and how to negotiate site access and build collaborations for funded research projects. While we will explore opportunities from large federal agencies like the National Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation, we will cover at least 20 additional funding sources, including several sources unearthed by students in our class. Many students will identify a dissertation improvement grant or an early career grant that they will develop for the final course project. CMS 398T – SUPERVISED TEACHING Maddie Holland (mholland@austin.utexas.edu) M 3:30 - 6:30 p.m. DMC 3.206This course will give students an introduction to trends, techniques, and conversations in and around teaching in higher education settings. Regardless of whether students plan to pursue a career in the academy, industry, or elsewhere, this class will give them the skills they need to succeed in the program they find themselves in here and now. Students will learn how to build strong relationships with classmates and faculty colleagues through excellence in the classroom, and those contacts play a key role in securing employment after graduation. To achieve this, students will:Develop a basic understanding of current trends and practices in undergraduate education.Translate knowledge of these trends and practices into designing materials you can use in the classroom.Explore and evaluate strategies for creating an inclusive and equitable learning environment. *Cultivate self-reflection and feedback practices to promote continuous improvement in course design and delivery for yourself and others.*Deepen, expand, and interrogate your understanding of what it means to be a post-secondary educator, with an appreciation of the particularities of Communication Studies as a field.
