Instructor
Norbert Elliot
Professor of English
Department of Humanities
Phone: 973-596-6487
e-mail: elliot@adm.njit.edu

Course Description

This course will introduce students to communication theory and practice. The course begins with a review of contemporary communication theory. After covering five selected theories-semiotic, visual, cultural, social, and reception-students will be required to apply a selected theory to a computer-mediated case study. Students will also be required to perform a collaborative field study. Through the course, students will be expected to read critically, to research peer-reviewed sources thoroughly, to present effective oral briefings, and to write analytic reports.

Prerequisites

HSS 101 Writing, Thinking, Speaking

Texts

Katherine Miller. Communication Theories: Perspectives, Processes, and Contexts. 2nd ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2005. ISBN 0072937947

Paul Cobley, ed. The Communication Theory Reader. London: Routledge, 1996. ISBN 0415147174

Selected readings from the peer-reviewed literature.

Syllabus

Part 1: Background

Aim: To introduce students to basic theoretical questions and cultural history of communication theory

Week 1

Topic: Communication in Theory; Communication as a Field of Study

Core Questions
" Does the theory establish a universal typology? That is, does it give us a method to classify knowledge?
" Does the theory allow us to gain insight due to the typology? Classification is not enough! Does the classification yield insight?
" Does the theory postulate sequence? Is a learning sequence postulated under a model of social construction?
" Does the theory postulate relationships? Nothing exists in a vacuum. What influences the constructs offered in the theory? What forces are in play?
" Does the theory address operational issues? How will the ideas be make operational?

Readings:

Miller, Chapter 1, Conceptual Foundations
Miller, Chapter 2, Philosophical Foundations
Cobley, Introduction
R. T. Craig. "Communication Theory as a Field." Communication Theory 9.2 (1999): 119-161.

Week 2

Topic: Historical Perspective: Modernism and Post-Modernism

Core Questions
" How does the history of the last 106 years inform the study of communication?
" What is modernism? Postmodernism?
" How does contemporary culture, specifically the post-9/11 culture, confound definitions of modernism and postmodernism?

Readings:

Miller, Chapter 3: Post-Positivist Perspectives
Miller, Chapter 4: Interpretive Perspectives on Theory Development
Miller, Chapter 5: Critical Perspectives on Theory Development
Cobley: Emile Benveniste, "The Nature of the Lingusitic Sign"; M. A. K. Halliday, "Language as Social Semiotic"

Assignment: Written presentation on conceptual and cultural issues (20 points)

Part 2: The Major Theories

Aim: To introduce students to five major theories: semiotic, visual, cultural, social,
and reception

Week 3

Topic: Semiotic Analysis: Theory of the Sign (What We Talk About When We Talk About Writing)

Core Questions
" What is the theory of the sign?
" What are the strengths and limits of de Saussure's concept of signifier and signified?
" What are the strengths and limits of de Saussure's concept of parole and langue?

Readings:
Miller, Chapter 9, Theories of Discourse and Interaction
Cobley: Ferdinand de Saussure, "The Object of Linguistics"; C. S. Peirce, "A Guess at the Riddle"

Week 4

Topic: Visual Analysis: The Medium is the Message (In Movies Too)

Core Questions
" How does visual communication function?
" What are the strengths and limits of Barthes' concept of constructedness?
" What are the strengths and limits of Eco's concept of cultural imperatives?
" What are the strengths and limits of McLuhan's aphorism "the medium is the message" as this idea applies to print, photography, film, and computer-media transactions?
" What are the strengths and limits of Bolter and Gromala's concept of transparency?

Readings:
Miller, Chapter 13, Theories of Mass Processing and Effects
Cobley: Roland Barthes, "Denotation and connotation"; Barthes, "The Photographic Message"; Umberto Eco, "How Culture Conditions the Colors We See"
Marshal McLuhan, The Medium is the Messsage 1967. New York: Ginco P, 2005. selections
Jay David Bolter and Diane Gromala. Windows and Mirrors: Interaction Design, Digital Art, and the Myth of Transparency. Cambridge: MIT P, 2003. selections

Week 5

Topic: Cultural Analysis: From Formalism to Postmodernism (And Beyond)

Core Questions
" How may culture be defined?
" What are the strengths and limits of Brooks' concept of formalism?
" What are the strengths and limits of Harvey's concept of modernism?
" What are the strengths and limits of Derrida's concept of différance?

Readings:
Miller, Chapter 15, Theories of Media and Society
Cobley: Jacques Derrida, "Semiology and Gramatology: Interview with Julia Kristeva"
Cleanth Brooks, "Irony as a Principle of Structure," Literary Opinion in America. Ed. Morton Dauwen Zabel. New York: Harper, 1937. 729-741.
David Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity: An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change. London: Basil Blackwell, 1989. Selections.

Week 6

Topic: Social Analysis: If Trees Fall in the Forest, Did Someone Cut Them Down?

Core Questions
" How are social analyses different from, and similar to, cultural analyses?
" What are the strengths and limits of McGuire's concept of social inoculation?

Readings:
Miller, Chapter 7, Theories of Message Production
Miller, Chapter 8, Theories of Message Processing
Cobley: Judith Williamson, "But I Know What I Like: The Function of Art in Advertising"
Brian Torode, "Textuality, Sexuality, and Economy"
William. J. McGuier, "Inducting Resistance to Persuasion: Some Contemporary Approaches." L. Berkowitz, Advances in Experimental and Social Psychology, Vol 1. New York: Academic P, 1964. 191-229

Week 7

Topic: Reception Analysis: Is There a Text in this Class? (And Who Selected It? Why?)

Core Questions
" What are the strengths and limits of Fish's concept of reader response?
" What are the strengths and limits of Isher's concept of reader experience?

Readings:
Miller, Chapter 9, Theories of Discourse and Interaction
Cobley: Stanley Fish, "Why No One's Afraid of Wolfgang Iser"; Wolfgang Iser, "Talk Like Whales: A Reply to Stanley Fish"

Week 8

Topic: Putting It Together

Assignment: Written and oral (in-class) individual presentations on a theory selected and analyzed by each student (20 points)

Part 3: Applications

Aim: To introduce students to how aspects of the five major theories are applied to compuer-mediated issues in technology, health, and culture

Week 9

Topic: Technology Application

Core Question:
" How can the concept of transparency be applied to computer-mediated communication? (Recall Week 4, Visual Communication. Recall Jay David Bolter and Diane Gromala. Windows and Mirrors: Interaction Design, Digital Art, and the Myth of Transparency. Cambridge: MIT P, 2003)

Reading:
Yancey, Kathleen Blake, "Postmodernism. Palimpsest, and Portfolios: Theoretical Issues in the Representation of Student Work." CCC 55.4 (2004): 738-761.

Week 10

Topic: Health Application

Core Question:
" How can the concept of inoculation theory be applied to computer-mediated health communication? (Recall Week 6, Social Constructivism; Recall William. J. McGuier, "Inducting Resistance to Persuasion: Some Contemporary Approaches." L. Berkowitz, Advances in Experimental and Social Psychology, Vol 1. New York: Academic P, 1964. 191-229

Reading:
Michael Pfau, "Designing Messages for Behavioral Inoculation. E. Maiback and R. L. Parrot, eds. Designing Health Messages: Approaches from Communication Theory and Public Health Practice. (CA: Sage, 1995). 99-113.

Week 11

Topic: Cultural Application

Core Question:
" How can the concept of postmodernism be applied to the teaching of digital literature? (Recall Week 5, Cultural Analysis' Recall Cleanth Brooks, "Irony as a Principle of Structure," Literary Opinion in America. Ed. Morton Dauwen Zabel. New York: Harper, 1937. 729-741.)

Reading:
Christopher Funkhouser. "Irregular Solid: John Cayley's Cybertextually Engineered Digital Poetry." Forthcoming, Entertext.

Assignment: Written presentation (20 points)

Part 4: Into the Forest

Aim: To allow students to conduct a brief field study in order to understand how the theories enable an enhanced understanding of social transactions

Week 12

Topic: Site Selection

Core Questions:
" How can collaborative field study allow communication majors to address the following:
--Does the theory establish a universal typology? That is, does it give us a method to classify knowledge?
--Does the theory allow us to gain insight due to the typology? Classification is not enough! Does the classification yield insight?
--Does the theory postulate sequence? Is a learning sequence postulated under a model of social construction?
--Does the theory postulate relationships? Nothing exists in a vacuum. What influences the constructs offered in the theory? What forces are in play?
--Does the theory address operational issues? How will the ideas be make operational?
" How can a site be selected that can yield the best possible inquiry for a limited (one-week) period.
" What techniques (note-taking, photographs, interview) can allow information gathering?
" What techniques (coding, visual analysis, trend analysis) can allow information analysis?

Week 13

Topic: Week in the Field

Assignment: Students report on field experiences in WebCT discussion group (20 points)

Week 14

Topic: In-Class Group Reports of Field Work

Assignment: Collaboratively written and oral (in-class) presentations on field experience.

Part 5: Summative Evaluation

Aim: To assess student ability to articulate core questions and cultural history of communication theory; to analyze the five theories; to apply theory to social settings; and to use theory to better understand social transactions.

Week 15

Assignment: Preparation in class and inWebCT; Final Examinations in class (20 points)