Communication studies
Communication studies is the analysis of media and communication technologies, and how information and ideas are circulated to the public. There is a focus on the relationship between communication and society, and how popular culture is transformed through communications.
Communication studies students explore the historical development of media and communication, and are introduced to emerging, theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of contemporary media.
Communications electives
Below is a list of all Communications Studies electives that anyone can register for, because they have 0 or just 1 prerequisite. For a complete list of our communications courses, see the university calendar.
Critical Approaches to Popular Culture
(CMST 2000)
Critical Approaches to Popular Culture considers critical issues and approaches in the study of popular culture. It will explore the ways in which everyone is both a user of and is used by popular culture. A variety of critical approaches to studying popular culture will be examined: Production, Texts, Audience, and History.
Introduction to Communication Theory
(CMST 2001)
Introduction to Communication Theory provides an introduction to theoretical approaches to organization, use and manipulation of language, including semiotics, performativity, mass and group communications, sociolinguistics and interpersonal communication. We will examine notions of influence, rhetoric, social judgment, deception, subject formation, globalization and cultural hybridity within the field of communications.
Prerequisite: Completion of CMST 2000 is encouraged
Introduction to Game Studies
(CMST 2100)
Introduction to Game Studies provides an introduction to the critical study of video games and gaming. Classes will survey the history of games and play in relation to topics such as game design, ethics, industry, gender, race, and emerging technologies.
Emerging Media: Social Media Platforms
(CMST 3000)
Emerging Media: Social Media Platformsexplores the historical, technological, economic and social dynamics associated with the rise of social media.
Prerequisite: English 1090 or permission of the instructor
Media and Urban Life
(CMST 3001)
Media and Urban Life explores the theoretical, representational, and experiential intersections between modern media and urban cultures. The course will foreground how recent media theory has been shaped by important theoretical works in the study of urban societies.
Special Topics in Communication Studies
(CMST 3010-3020)
Special Topics in Communication Studies courses will vary yearly, and the topics will be announced by the program coordinator in the lead up to registration periods. and have topics to be studied announced by the Program Coordinator.
Television Production
(CMST 3816)
Television Production is an introduction to the principles of television production.
Note: Attendance is required; same as the former English 3816. Admission priority will be given first to students in the Diploma in Stage and Screen Technique and then to students in the Major in Communication Studies.
Prerequisite: English 2451 (or the former English 3351).
Speechwriting
(CMST 3913)
Speechwriting develops the student’s ability to speak on all occasions, formal and informal, expected and unexpected. Students will deliver speeches of varying types and lengths on a regular basis throughout the semester.
Note: Same as English 3913
Prerequisite: 1 English course at the 1000 level
Seminar in Mass Communication and Visual Culture
(CMST 4001)
Seminar in Mass Communication and Visual Culture examines the ways visual culture shapes and is shaped by communication forms and processes.
Media and the Environment
(CMST 4002)
Media and the Environment explores the representational, technological, industrial, and socio-political dynamics associated with ecocritical media studies.
Special Topics in Communication Studies
(CMST 4010-4020)
Special Topics in Communication Studies courses will vary yearly, and the topics will be announced by the program coordinator in the lead up to registration periods. and have topics to be studied announced by the Program Coordinator.
Graphic Medicine
(CMST 4844)
Graphic Medicine examines a broad spectrum of graphic illness narratives across various media taking into account theoretical developments in comics studies, autobiographical studies, and graphic medicine.
Note: Same as English 4844