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Program Requirements
The Minor Concentration Communication Studies provides undergraduate students with a critical understanding of the role that communications media and communication technologies play in a society. It offers students intellectually challenging and innovative instruction in key traditions of Communications and Media Studies and new theoretical and methodological practices being developed in the field. The courses included in the program focus on issues of the relationship between communication, democracy and urban life, the social life of communication technologies, the historical development and transformation of media and communication forms, institutions, practices and technologies, and the mass media representation and mobilization of social difference.
Required Course (3 credits)
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COMS 210 Introduction to Communication Studies (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : The social and cultural implications of media. Surveys theory and case studies relevant key issues such as the ownership, structure and governance of media industries; the significance of emergent media technologies; and the roles of media as cultural forms and practices.
Terms: Fall 2022
Instructors: Sterne, Jonathan (Fall)
Restriction: Not open to students who have taken ENGL 278 or ENGC 210
Complementary Courses (15 credits)
Five courses in Communication Studies selected from:
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COMS 200 History of Communication (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : The social and cultural implications of major developments in communications from prehistory to the electronic era. Thematic and conceptual introduction to the underlying media technologies and to some key issues and practices of historical thinking about their role in society.
Terms: Summer 2023
Instructors: Fontaine, Jessica (Summer)
Restriction: Not open to students who have ENGC 200.
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COMS 230 Communication and Democracy (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : Introduction to investigation of the relationship between communication, media practices and democracy. Examines the role of media and communication in existing and emerging democratic contexts, and the challenges of constructing and maintaining a democratic media and communication environment on the domestic and international levels.
Terms: Winter 2023
Instructors: Lloyd, Mark (Winter)
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COMS 300 Media and Modernity in the 20th Century (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : An overview of the growth and impact of 20th century media such as radio, television, cinema and the mass-circulation press; their role in shaping the technological, socio-political and aesthetic dimensions of urban modernity.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
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COMS 301 Core Concepts in Critical Theory (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : This course will survey foundational texts and thinkers in critical social theory, as they relate to the fields of media and communication studies. This will include core texts in Marxism, the Frankfurt School, public sphere theory, feminism, post-structuralism, post-colonialism and queer theory. The course will prepare students with key theoretical and conceptual vocabularies for advanced study in the field.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
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COMS 310 Media and Feminist Studies (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : Introduction to feminist studies of the media. Impact of feminist and queer theory on media studies; current issues about gender in the media. Emphasis will be placed on critical analysis of media representations of gender in relation to other social differences, such as race, class and sexuality.
Terms: Fall 2022
Instructors: Rentschler, Carrie (Fall)
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COMS 320 Media and Empire (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : The relationship between mass media and empire-building, as well as the role of mass and alternative media in anti-imperialism movements. Topics may include: Print technologies and the British Empire; shipping technologies, industrialization and the slave trade; new media and the anti-war and anti-globalization movements.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
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COMS 330 Media in Cultural Life (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : Introduction to a range of theories and qualitative methods in communication studies for the critical analysis of media practices in cultural life.
Terms: Fall 2022
Instructors: Hayes, Helen (Fall)
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COMS 340 New Media (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : Critical analysis of new media from cultural, philosophical, technological and institutional perspectives.
Terms: Winter 2023
Instructors: Rentschler, Carrie (Winter)
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COMS 350 Sound Culture (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : Analysis of sound culture, including sonic and audiovisual media, sound art and architecture, sound in everyday life, sonic institutions and theoretical accounts of the role of sound in communication.
Terms: Fall 2022
Instructors: Blue, Alex (Fall)
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COMS 354 Media Studies of Crime (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : Critical analysis of the social construction of crime from the perspectives of its visual culture and representation in popular, historical and new media forms.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
This course is sometimes cross-listed with ARTH 353 when taught as "Visual Culture of Crime" by Prof. Will Straw.
Prerequisite: One of the following: COMS 200, COMS 210, or COMS 230 or permission of the instructor.
Restriction: Not open to students who have taken or are taking ARTH 353 when topic is "Visual Culture of Crime".
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COMS 355 Media Governance (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : Electronic communications systems such as broadcasting, cable, telephony, and the Internet are vital public resources for social, economic, political, and cultural interaction in modern life. This course introduces students to the political and economic forces that govern policies about the flow of information, knowledge, and ideas using such media systems.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
- COMS 361 Selected Topics Communication Studies 1 (3 credits)
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COMS 362 Selected Topics Communication Studies 2 (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : Study of a special field of critical inquiry into media and/or technological practices.
Terms: Winter 2023
Instructors: Ferreira Santos, Gustavo Luiz (Winter)
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COMS 400 Critical Theory Seminar (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : This course builds on the foundations of critical social thought to engage students in intensive study of emerging and contemporary themes in social and cultural theory related to media and communication studies. Focus will be on current texts and debates of significance in the field, and will include prominent work in areas including political economy, feminism, gender and sexuality studies, postcolonial and critical race theory, radical democracy, environmentalism, and media and cultural studies.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Prerequisite(s): COMS 301
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COMS 410 Cultures in Visualization (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : Analysis of imaging technologies in their cultural contexts. Focus on different traditions of visual representation through the investigation of artistic and scientific visualization practices.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
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COMS 411 Disability, Technology and Communication (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : Explores communication, technology and culture from the perspective of disability. Topics may included identity, stigma, representation and art; design, access and accessibility; normalization and classification; contrasting models of disability; interfaces between bodies and technologies; the disabling dimensions of environments and technologies; disability policy and activism.
Terms: Winter 2023
Instructors: Sterne, Jonathan (Winter)
Prerequisite(s): Any 200-level course in Communication Studies (COMS 2xx for 3 credits) AND any 300-level course in Communication Studies (COMS 3xx for 3 credits), or by the permission of the instructor.
Restrictions: Not open to students who have taken COMS 492 in 201109 or 201209.
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COMS 425 Urban Culture and Everyday Life (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : Explores how popular and artistic cultural texts interrogate the dimensions of urban culture that shape everyday life, such as transnationalization/ globalization; gentrification, migration and other displacements; the proliferation of mobile media and communication technologies; and the political mobilization of fear and anxiety about violence and terrorism.
Terms: Fall 2022
Instructors: Burman, Jennifer C (Fall)
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COMS 435 Advanced Issues in Media Governance (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : This seminar examines current/emergent scholarship about policy debates and issues related to electronic media worldwide. Topics vary; they include but are not limited to Internet Governance, Electronic Privacy/Surveillance, Access to Information/Knowledge, Media Diversity, Community and Social Justice Media, Communication Rights and Freedom of Expression, and Civil Society Policy Advocacy.
Terms: Winter 2023
Instructors: Lloyd, Mark (Winter)
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COMS 490 Special Topics in History and Theory of Media (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : Emergent themes in media history and media theory, and their application to current issues in communications studies.
Terms: Winter 2023
Instructors: Blue, Alex (Winter)
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COMS 491 Special Topics in Communications Studies (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : Emergent themes and issues in cultural approaches to media and communication studies.
Terms: Fall 2022
Instructors: Benedicto, Roberto (Fall)
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COMS 492 Power, Difference and Justice (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : Media systems and their role in social relations of power and difference that are maintained and challenged through communication practices.
Terms: Winter 2023
Instructors: Rentschler, Carrie (Winter)
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COMS 495 Directed Reading (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : Directed reading in a specialized area of communication studies to be undertaken with the guidance of an instructor with relevant expertise in the area.
Terms: Summer 2023
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
3 credits at the 200-level and 3 credits at the 300-level in COMS courses and permission of the instructor
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COMS 497 Independent Study (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : Independent study of a particular topic in communication studies taken under the supervision of an instructor with relevant expertise in the area.
Terms: Fall 2022, Winter 2023, Summer 2023
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
3 credits at the 200-level and 3 credits at the 300-level in COMS courses and permission of the instructor
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COMS 510 Canadian Broadcasting Policy (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : Key issues in the history and evolution of radio, television and new media in Canada. The legislative and regulatory framework of Canadian broadcasting, the relationship between public and privately-owned media, the emergence of new media, and the efforts of interest groups to influence the direction of the Canadian media system.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Course intended for senior undergraduates and graduate students with a specialized interest in Canadian broadcasting policy.
Prerequisites: 3 credits of COMS coursework at the 200-level, 3 credits of COMS coursework at the 300 or 400-level, or permission of instructor.
Faculty of Arts—2022-2023 (last updated Aug. 25, 2022) (disclaimer)
