Communication

With globalization, the Internet, and the general shrinking of time and space, cross- cultural interaction has become a necessity in people’s everyday lives. This course is designed to interrogate different aspects of cross-cultural communication and cultural differences: family life, social relationships, the workplace, government, education, gender, romance, and religion. Throughout exploring these topics, we will strive to engage in personal self-reflection, hands-on experience, and to understand the connections to larger social structures.

The course explores how frameworks, theories, and models from a number of different areas, including cognitive neuropsychology and psycholinguistics, inform clinical assessment and remediation of aphasia. Findings from basic science, neurophysiology, imaging, and speech and language therapy are linked to increase our knowledge of the effects of the rehabilitative interventions at the level of the brain as well as their functional impact. Both emerging and established rehabilitative approaches are highlighted.

This course introduces the major theories and research methods of interpersonal communication and explains how they can be applied to effective communication in a variety of specific interpersonal relationships. Topics discussed include privacy and communication, nonverbal interpersonal communication, computer-mediated interpersonal communication, and social networks. The program is designed to incorporate cutting-edge academic and industry developments and to foster an international perspective.

The analysis of communication on social media is rapidly becoming a key-area in (socio)linguistics and discourse studies. This course introduces students to the main methods of data collection and analysis of language and discourse for a variety of social media contexts. The course combines familiarization with frameworks of analysis with practical steps on how to approach data. A variety of case-studies of social media afforded practices (e.g. sharing, tagging, Like & Follow) ranging from YouTube to Facebook and Twitter illustrate the role of a range of language and multimodal resources in presenting ourselves and relating with others online. 

This course explores key concepts and theories in media, communication, and cultural studies to connect them to matters of cultural politics and power. It focuses on language and how it is used to represent the world we live in. The course covers semiotics, discourse, power/knowledge, speech act theory, performativity, and queer theory. Using these theoretical/methodological perspectives, it critically examines media representations of gender, sexuality, race, and nation.  

This course focuses on understanding how photojournalism contributes to the news landscape and how images shape our comprehension of current affairs and history. The course looks at images from contemporary events as well as studying the history of photojournalism and its different fields of engagement in order to give context for its role today. The course also focuses on how Artificial Intelligence is changing the game for the viewers as well as the professional photographers. It discusses questions such as what makes us an ethical photojournalist? Are there ways we should act while covering stories worldwide? Is it always appropriate to make an image or are there times when a conversation needs to happen first? What messages are we trying to convey through our photographs? How do we remain transparent and inclusive as photographers while working in the field?

This course examines the forms, channels, and strategies behind the distribution of propaganda. It reviews the history of propaganda from antiquity, through the Middle Ages, the invention of mechanized printing, and to the modern state. Particular emphasis is placed on propaganda in modern wartime. 

This interdisciplinary course provides students with the opportunity to address complex problems identified by industry, community, and government organizations, and gain valuable experience in working across disciplinary boundaries. In collaboration with a
major industry partner and an academic lead, students integrate their academic skills and knowledge by working in teams with students from a range of disciplinary backgrounds. This experience allows students to research, analyze and present solutions to a real-world problem, and to build on their interpersonal and transferable skills by engaging with and learning from industry experts and presenting their ideas and solutions to the industry partner.

Other than its discursive normality, how can public speaking be an artistic act? How do speaking and writing go together? How is public speaking different from casual conversation or informal briefing? If such an act entails a creative process, are there strategies for any public speaker to convey ideas not only in a comprehensible manner but also in an animating and persuasive fashion? What are other complications when language makes the challenge even more stupendous? From Aristotle to Obama, what commonalities are still practiced by these public figures?  

This course aims at incorporating three important elements together in presenting a successful speech in English: drafting ideas, structuring a narrative, and delivering a speech. The course goes through certain rhetorical analysis with certain successful written speeches and impressive public speeches. Throughout this small-sized, highly interactive course, students will also practice many ceremonial speeches such as how to draft and deliver such speeches as a welcome address, introductory statements, and closing remarks. Throughout the semester, the course will develop students’ creative ideas and narrative structuring: what to say and what to avoid. Participation and attendance are obligatory as part of students’ performance will be assessed by other members. 

The focus of this course is twofold: firstly, to study the nature of representations and the impact they have on our society through philosophy, cinema, literature, and art; and secondly, to develop a critical analysis of the image through aesthetics, political theories, cultural studies, and the philosophy of humor. It analyzes different scenarios of the image in order to circumscribe its "field of action," in particular, to understand the motives behind the objects of the representation, the impact on the spectators, and the socio-political consequences that they generate. The course discusses how technology facilitates the spread of images in our society and mirrors, to a certain extent, our way of life. It considers how, as means of communication, images convey our personal and public experiences on a daily basis, captivate our attention, influence our perception of the world, and, if images are to be considered representations, contain aesthetic and political components.