** Please use the Spring 2025 course schedule to find the unique numbers. Classes are subject to change at any time*
https://registrar.utexas.edu/schedules
CMS 386N.2 Qualitative Research Methods
Roselia Mendez-Murillo (roselia.mendezmurillo@austin.utexas.edu)
T 6:30 - 9:30PM (CMA 7.160)
Through presentation of scholarly readings and immersion into in-depth research, this course explores a variety of qualitative research approaches, taking into account issues of epistemology (ways of knowing), methodology (ways of examining), and representation (ways of writing and reporting). We will examine interpretive theory, and several intellectual traditions that constitute this field of research including analytic induction, grounded theory, and ethnography. We will read exemplars of qualitative research that illustrate diverse theoretical traditions as well as examine key issues such as gaining access to research sites, forms of interactions with research subjects, interview tips, coding qualitative data, and research ethics.
CMS 386P Lying and Deception
Matt McGlone (matthew_mcglone@austin.utexas.edu)
T 3:30 – 6:30PM (CMA 7.160)
Deception occurs in communication behavior across species, and lying (i.e., intentional deception) is a pervasive phenomenon in human communication. This graduate seminar will explore the complexities of lying and deception across various domains, including politics, advertising, personal relationships, law enforcement, and even interspecies communication. We will examine how deception manifests through doublespeak, political spin, white lies, false advertising, and forgery, and will critically engage with detection methods ranging from micro-expression analysis to content-in-context assessment to polygraph and fMRI testing. Students will dive into moral and ethical dimensions, self-deception, and organizational dishonesty, while developing their ability to scrutinize research on these phenomena across disciplines. Prepare to challenge assumptions, uncover hidden truths (lies too), and investigate the gray areas where deception thrives.
CMS 386P.11 Advocacy
John Daly (daly@austin.utexas.edu)
TTH 12:30 - 2:00PM (RRH 3.310)
This course introduces you to how people successful “market” their ideas particularly within organizations. No matter how good your ideas are, unless you can also effectively sell those notions to decision-makers, those ideas don’t matter. Good ideas, in short, don’t sell themselves. In this class we focus on crucial skills that help you not only understand how people influence you but also help you successfully pitch your ideas to others. You’ll be exposed to research answering questions like:
- How do you clearly and memorably communicate your ideas?
- How do you build and maintain affinity and credibility as an advocate?
- How do you become a more effective story-teller when persuading others?
- How do you know when it is the right time to pitch an idea?
- How do you build alliances to get better buy-in for your ideas?
- How do you “pre-sell” ideas?
- How do you successfully influence change in organizations?
- How do you effectively persuade others to adopt your ideas?
- How do you make yourself more impactful in meetings?
The class is designed for anyone who will face the challenge of convincing others to invest in their ideas. Advocacy matters in every profession and at every level of an organization. Creative entrepreneurs must successfully pitch their innovations, managers must, on a daily basis, effectively persuade team members and garner buy-in from leadership to adopt their ideas, sales and marketing folks constantly advocate for their products and services.
CMS 390N.8 Social Media Effects
Talia Stroud (tstroud@austin.utexas.edu)
M 3:30 - 6:30PM (CMS 7.160)
Social media are now a major way in which people spend their time, find information, and interact with others. But what are the effects? How are these platforms changing what people think, feel, believe, and do? And what are the societal implications of these effects? In this class, we will review the most recent and cutting-edge social science research on the effects of social media. Emphasis will be placed on the effects of social media on our social, political, and psychological lives. As part of the course, students will design their own projects to investigate social media.
CMS 390R Gender and Communication
Johanna Hartelius (j.hartelius@austin.utexas.edu)
W 3:30-6:30PM (CMA 7.160)
The purpose of this course is to examine gender as an aspect, effect, and implication of communication. In terms of theory and method, the course has its center of gravity in rhetoric and critical scholarship; however, the course welcomes various student backgrounds and research foci, and is designed to facilitate productive discussion. For the major research assignment, each student may choose to employ the method/approach of her/his field or academic specialty as long as the project relates to gender and communication.
The following types of questions will drive our readings, discussions, and projects: What can we learn about gender and gender advocacy from thinkers who have made a lasting impression on Western thought (like Nietzsche and de Beauvoir)? How are gender and gender advocacy represented in public discourse and media? How do communication practices and performances in everyday life reinforce and/or challenge norms? Are we presently experiencing/witnessing a cultural paradigm shift in gender identities and gender advocacy, or are structures of power/privilege (gender, race, class, sexuality, ability, etc.) as strong as they ever were? Weekly topics: gender in popular media; gender non-binarity; intersectional experiences and politics; the origins of masculinity ideals; feminist perspectives/methods in rhetorical/critical scholarship.
Special focus in readings and discussions will be given to:
- Prominent/enduring theoretical perspectives on gender
- Works by thinkers/theorists/activists who have shaped the concept of gender in theory and practice (but may not have marked themselves as gender-focused)
Scholarship on gender and gender advocacy produced by National Communication Association and Rhetoric Society of America scholars from the 1990s to the present
CMS 390S.7 On Time
Dawna Ballard (diballard@utexas.edu)
TH 6:30 - 9:30PM (CMA 7.160)
Introduction to the field of chronemics, the study of time as it is bound with communication, via a broad survey of literature across several disciplines. A range of contemporary communication challenges, as well as opportunities for positive communication and organizational scholarship will be interrogated.
CMS 392P Hidden Organizations
Craig R. Scott (craig.scott@austin.utexas.edu)
TH 3:30 - 6:30PM (CMA 7.160)
This class will examine hidden organizations in our society—ranging from secret societies to criminal organizations, from hate groups to support groups, and from fronts and astroturfing to aspect of the B2B and informal economies—and how they and their members communicatively conceal their identity from key audiences. In doing so the course will also examine issues of anonymity, (in)visibility management, and secrecy. In addition, the seminar will examine issues related to hidden labor and hidden work that exist in even more visible organizations.
** Please use the Spring 2025 course schedule to find the unique numbers. Classes are subject to change at any time* https://registrar.utexas.edu/schedules
CMS 386N.2 Qualitative Research Methods
Roselia Mendez-Murillo (roselia.mendezmurillo@austin.utexas.edu)
TH 6:30 - 9:30 PM (CMA 7.160)
Through presentation of scholarly readings and immersion into in-depth research, this course explores a variety of qualitative research approaches, taking into account issues of epistemology (ways of knowing), methodology (ways of examining), and representation (ways of writing and reporting). We will examine interpretive theory, and several intellectual traditions that constitute this field of research including analytic induction, grounded theory, and ethnography. We will read exemplars of qualitative research that illustrate diverse theoretical traditions as well as examine key issues such as gaining access to research sites, forms of interactions with research subjects, interview tips, coding qualitative data, and research ethics.
CMS 386P Lying and Deception
Matt McGlone (matthew_mcglone@austin.utexas.edu)
T 3:30pm – 6:30pm (CMA 7.160)
Deception occurs in communication behavior across species, and lying (i.e., intentional deception) is a pervasive phenomenon in human communication. This graduate seminar will explore the complexities of lying and deception across various domains, including politics, advertising, personal relationships, law enforcement, and even interspecies communication. We will examine how deception manifests through doublespeak, political spin, white lies, false advertising, and forgery, and will critically engage with detection methods ranging from micro-expression analysis to content-in-context assessment to polygraph and fMRI testing. Students will dive into moral and ethical dimensions, self-deception, and organizational dishonesty, while developing their ability to scrutinize research on these phenomena across disciplines. Prepare to challenge assumptions, uncover hidden truths (lies too), and investigate the gray areas where deception thrives.
CMS 386P.11 Advocacy
John Daly (daly@austin.utexas.edu)
TTH 12:30 - 2:00 PM (RRH 3.310)
This course introduces you to how people successful “market” their ideas particularly within organizations. No matter how good your ideas are, unless you can also effectively sell those notions to decision-makers, those ideas don’t matter. Good ideas, in short, don’t sell themselves. In this class we focus on crucial skills that help you not only understand how people influence you but also help you successfully pitch your ideas to others. You’ll be exposed to research answering questions like:
- How do you clearly and memorably communicate your ideas?
- How do you build and maintain affinity and credibility as an advocate?
- How do you become a more effective story-teller when persuading others?
- How do you know when it is the right time to pitch an idea?
- How do you build alliances to get better buy-in for your ideas?
- How do you “pre-sell” ideas?
- How do you successfully influence change in organizations?
- How do you effectively persuade others to adopt your ideas?
- How do you make yourself more impactful in meetings?
The class is designed for anyone who will face the challenge of convincing others to invest in their ideas. Advocacy matters in every profession and at every level of an organization. Creative entrepreneurs must successfully pitch their innovations, managers must, on a daily basis, effectively persuade team members and garner buy-in from leadership to adopt their ideas, sales and marketing folks constantly advocate for their products and services.
CMS 390N.8 Social Media Effects
Talia Stroud (tstroud@austin.utexas.edu)
M 3:30pm - 6:30pm (CMS 7.160)
Social media are now a major way in which people spend their time, find information, and interact with others. But what are the effects? How are these platforms changing what people think, feel, believe, and do? And what are the societal implications of these effects? In this class, we will review the most recent and cutting-edge social science research on the effects of social media. Emphasis will be placed on the effects of social media on our social, political, and psychological lives. As part of the course, students will design their own projects to investigate social media.
CMS 390R Gender and Communication
Johanna Hartelius (j.hartelius@austin.utexas.edu)
W 3:30-6:30 PM (CMA 7.160)
The purpose of this course is to examine gender as an aspect, effect, and implication of communication. In terms of theory and method, the course has its center of gravity in rhetoric and critical scholarship; however, the course welcomes various student backgrounds and research foci, and is designed to facilitate productive discussion. For the major research assignment, each student may choose to employ the method/approach of her/his field or academic specialty as long as the project relates to gender and communication.
The following types of questions will drive our readings, discussions, and projects: What can we learn about gender and gender advocacy from thinkers who have made a lasting impression on Western thought (like Nietzsche and de Beauvoir)? How are gender and gender advocacy represented in public discourse and media? How do communication practices and performances in everyday life reinforce and/or challenge norms? Are we presently experiencing/witnessing a cultural paradigm shift in gender identities and gender advocacy, or are structures of power/privilege (gender, race, class, sexuality, ability, etc.) as strong as they ever were? Weekly topics: gender in popular media; gender non-binarity; intersectional experiences and politics; the origins of masculinity ideals; feminist perspectives/methods in rhetorical/critical scholarship.
Special focus in readings and discussions will be given to:
- Prominent/enduring theoretical perspectives on gender
- Works by thinkers/theorists/activists who have shaped the concept of gender in theory and practice (but may not have marked themselves as gender-focused)
Scholarship on gender and gender advocacy produced by National Communication Association and Rhetoric Society of America scholars from the 1990s to the present
CMS 390S.7 On Time
Dawna Ballard (diballard@utexas.edu)
M 6:30pm - 9:30pm (CMA 7.160)
Introduction to the field of chronemics, the study of time as it is bound with communication, via a broad survey of literature across several disciplines. A range of contemporary communication challenges, as well as opportunities for positive communication and organizational scholarship will be interrogated.
CMS 392P Hidden Organizations
Craig R. Scott (craig.scott@austin.utexas.edu)
TH 3:30pm – 6:30pm (CMA 7.160)
This class will examine hidden organizations in our society—ranging from secret societies to criminal organizations, from hate groups to support groups, and from fronts and astroturfing to aspect of the B2B and informal economies—and how they and their members communicatively conceal their identity from key audiences. In doing so the course will also examine issues of anonymity, (in)visibility management, and secrecy. In addition, the seminar will examine issues related to hidden labor and hidden work that exist in even more visible organizations.