Communication

This course is a study of international journalism, beginning with a review of the background of global journalism and its theoretical framework. Particular emphasis is paid to the rapidly changing landscape of journalism in the digital era. Topics of study include: war and conflict journalism; correspondents, envoys, and legal coverage; censorship, propaganda, and the ethical response; Al Qaeda and cyberterrorism; coverage of climate change, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, volcanoes, and accidents; news from international organizations; leading think tanks and their analysis; elections, regime change, and international politics; social networks and the WikiLeaks case; and regional geopolitical coverage.

This course examines the cultural production of the 1960s in the United States, a period of enormous socio-cultural and political change. Topics include: New Journalism; the Civil Rights Movement; politicization of rock and roll; student protests; the Summer of Love; Vietnam; rioting in Chicago 1968; Hunter Thompson and the Hell's Angels; Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.

Drawing on studies in psychology, management, and communication, this course covers a variety of topics (e.g., identity, motivation, and interpersonal relationships) from a cross-cultural perspective. The first half of the course starts with an introduction to culture and cross-cultural communication and proceeds to mapping world cultures along the dimensions of value systems as well as how such systems affect individuals in terms of development and communication. The second half of the course applies knowledge to different settings and elaborates on how the differences impact conflict management and relational maintenance in various contexts, such as tourism, business, education, and health care.  
 

This course studies how theories of social psychology can be applied to the understanding of how new media is produced, marketed, resisted, adopted, and consumed. It highlights key stages in the development trajectory of new media and introduces relevant theories, while considering such issues as why some technologies succeed where others fail, how marketers should promote new technology, which services are likely to become tomorrow's dominant applications, what goes through the minds of new media adopters, and who are most likely to engage in deviant media use.

 Why do two translators sometimes produce two very different translations of the same text? Can a translation ever have the same effect as its source text? Why should we study translation theory? What even *is* translation? Through this course, students will explore these and other multi-faceted questions in the field of Translation Studies (TS). 

This course aims to provide a solid foundation in major theories and issues of TS, from historical debates surrounding equivalence and fidelity, to newer perspectives that challenge these well-entrenched concepts. Students will learn to describe and critically evaluate translations and translation strategies. 

Finally, through guided practice activities and a final group translation project, students will be able to experience firsthand the puzzle-like challenges and satisfactions of producing their own translations.