Core Courses – Descriptions
COST 1116: Introduction to Mass Media
This course serves as an introduction to the various sectors within the Canadian mass media, including film, television, radio, telecommunications, the Internet, print media, advertising and music. Issues explored will include those of ownership, regulation and policy, and the relationship that exists between Canadian mass media and their powerful American counterparts. No pre-requisites, Cr 3.
COST 1117: Introduction to Communication Theory and Semiotics
This course serves as an introduction to communication theory. Subjects introduced will include the transition from oral to electronic communication, mythology, ideology, semiotics, hegemony and resistance. Students will learn to be active readers of text and be introduced to many of the principal theories and thinkers within the field. No pre-requisites, Cr 3.
COST 2445/RLST 2445: Dynamics of Interpersonal Communication
This course considers the nature and meaning of interpersonal communication as dialogue. An examination is made of communication skills, specifically, self-awareness, self-disclosure, listening and responding. These skills are examined in a variety of interpersonal contexts such as day-to-day exchanges, friendships, intimate relationships, work, and transitions. The virtue of civility as a consciously motivated and ethical organizational behaviour will be examined as a basis for enhancing all forms of interpersonal communication, Cr 6.
COST 2506: Information Technology I: Theory
This course provides background in Information Technology development, theory and terminology. There will be a special focus on the relation of the technology to the information, teaching and learning process. This is largely a concepts course, introducing applications software, storage, information systems, and social and cultural issues. No pre-requisites, Cr 3.
COST 2507: Information Technology II: Practice
This course is dependent upon Information Technology I and offers students opportunities for research and projects on topics such as applications software processors, storage, software development, and related social and cultural issues. Pre-requisite: COST 2506, Cr 3.
COST 2526: Broadcast Journalism and Production
This course explores the structures and history of broadcasting, trends in technological development and current practice in reporting and writing for television. Using the assistance of professional journalists and broadcasters, this course will help students to identify their interests and strengths in broadcasting and hone their skills in both its technical and journalistic aspects. The chief goal is to familiarize all participants with the dynamics of visual and audio communication: how it works and how they can work within it, Cr 3.
COST 2606: The Decorated Body as Communication
This course explores the ways in which human beings around the word, past and present, decorate their bodies. There is no known culture in which people do not paint, pierce, tatoo, reshape, or simply adorn their bodies. Whether with permanent marks like tatoos or scars, or temporary decorations like makeup, clothing, and hairstyles, body art is a way of signalling an individual’s place in society, marking a special moment, celebrating a transition in life or simply following a fashion. It can also be considered as a language or form of communication. What messages do these practices carry? How have they been used to identify us as indivuals or as members of a group? How have ideas about people consider beautiful changed over time? Cr 3.
COST 3006: Technology and the Individual Experience
This course offers an introduction to and a critique of issues from and within the relationship between individuals and modern technology. This examination will be made from the perspective of Western culture, assessing an individual’s identity in relation to mass communication, bio-technologies, human rights, and the future. No pre-requisites, Cr 3.
COST 3007: Technology and the Social Experience
This course offers and introduction to and a critique of the social milieu of modern Western culture from both an historical and contemporary perspective. Issues such as the growth of cities and work places, the significance of money and markets, violence, and the exploration of inner and outer space will be examined. No pre-requisites, Cr 3.
NEW! COST 4506: New Media Policy
This course will provide students with a critical look at the evolving debates and issues surrounding media and communication policy, in the Canadian, North American and international arenas. The specific focus of the course will be on new media policy, and as such, will cover issues of copyright and intellectual property, privacy, digital divide, and internet governance. These issues will be discussed in the context of media policy from a historical and cultural perspective, Cr 3.
NEW! COST 4507: Mass Media and Democracy
This course will examine mass media and democracy through a political communication lens. Beyond the basic issues and theories in political communication that will be covered in this course, topics such as the decline of social capital, the rise of the permanent campaign, values and trends within journalism and popular culture, the political strategies
employed by political leaders and the effects of media coverage on political and electoral processes will be discussed in this class, Cr 3.
NEW! COST 4595: Thesis in Communication Studies
This course provides students with the opportunity to engage in focused research in an area of communications studies for which appropriate faculty supervision is available. This course is intended to activate students’ critical thinking skills and the ability to design and complete a research project culminating in a thesis outlining their findings. Students will learn how to develop a research question, to look for critical and relevant academic sources, to design a research project, collect and analyze data, and to present the results in a professional written manner, Cr 6.