Communication Courses – 2010

Spring 2010

This spring we will be offering two undergraduate communication courses: 

COMM 103:  Academic Writing & Argumentation, which replaces English 103, and

COMM 321/LEAD 321: Leadership Communication

COMM 325/LEAD 325: Applied Leadership: Power, Influence, and Persuasion.

COMM 103 focuses on writing, COMM 321 on writing, speaking, teams, and interpersonal leadership skills, and COMM 325 on the practical applications of leadership skills in negotiation, organizational communication, and consulting.

All courses are open to all students and are recommended to any students wanting to improve their communication abilities.

In addition, communication courses will also be offered in Anthropology, Business, English, Humanities, Linguistics, Management, Natural Sciences, and Sport Management.

COMM 103: Academic Writing and Argumentation

COMM 103 provides students the opportunity to strengthen their writing and their overall communication abilities in the academic disciplines in preparation for more advanced work. Topics include: constructing logical arguments, identifying argumentative patterns and fallacies, using online research tools, practicing heuristic techniques, revising and editing papers according to the conventions of formal written English, and using MLA and APA documentation systems. Enrollment is open to all Rice undergraduates.

Twelve sections of COMM 103 will be offered this spring:

Click here for detailed course descriptions.

COMM 321: Leadership Communication

In COMM/LEAD 321, students will learn to project a positive ethos and to communicate clearly and persuasively whether directly through writing or speaking or indirectly through their actions and behavior.  The course will provide instruction and practice in written and spoken individual and team communication and allow students the opportunity to develop the important interpersonal skills that leaders need to communicate in diverse professional contexts and across different cultures.  This course is open to all undergraduates and is cross-listed as LEAD 321 for those students in the Leadership Rice program.

Two sections of COMM 321/LEAD 321 will be offered this spring:

For more information or with any questions about the course, contact Dr. Deborah Barrett, Director of the Program for Communication Excellence, at 713-348-5394 or by e-mail.

Comm 325: Applied Leadership

Applied Leadership is a leadership skills development course focused on practical applications in negotiation, organizational communication, and consulting. The course explores power, influence, and persuasion in organizational contexts and allows students to practice advanced leadership skills, such as conflict management, change management, negotiation, delegation, and group facilitation, with an emphasis on supervising, persuading, and motivating others. Course work assumes competence in fundamental communication skills, such as are developed in LEAD 321 - Leadership Communication, BUSI 296 - Business Communication, or one of the HUMA or other COMM courses focused on writing and speaking. Students completing this course will be prepared to exercise strategic influence from point in an organizational hierarchy, whether interacting with supervisors, peers, or subordinates.

One section of COMM 325/LEAD 325 will be offered this spring:

For more information or with any questions about the course, contact Dr. Deborah Barrett, Director of the Program for Communication Excellence, at 713-348-5394 or by e-mail.

Communication courses offered elsewhere on campus:

BUSI 296: Business Communication

Provides an introduction to business, focusing on the strategy and practice of effective communications in business situations. The course includes individual communication skills assessment and development as well as team-based oral and written communication instruction. Space is limited. Registration does not guarantee a space in class. The Jones School will conduct a lottery for over- enrolled classes to create the course roster for the semester. The Jones School will communicate the results within a week of the close of registration.

For more information, click here. 

Further questions?  Contact Rick Schell.

ENGL 208 Introduction to Visual Argument and Designing Texts

A course designed to prepare students to produce sophisticated analyses of images as well as arguments in a culture or social context. It emphasizes how visuals and words combined in genres such as advertisement, illustration, computer displays, and political flyers to represent individuals, events, and social settings.

For more information, click here.

Further questions?  Contact Linda Driskill.

HUMA 201: Public Speaking

This course is designed to give the student exposure to and experience using basic principles and skills of oral communication in the public context. Emphasis will be on the development of speech organization, support, and delivery. Informative and persuasive speeches will be practiced. An important outcome of the course is that the student better understand and appreciate the important role public speaking plays in modern society.

For more information, click here.

Further questions? Contact David Worth.

HUMA 302 Theories of Rhetorical Communication

This course will survey major theorists of speech and public communication ranging from classical to contemporary thinkers. Emphasis will be on understanding speech and public communication from consumer and scholarly perspectives. Students are expected to read and discuss material with the goals of gaining basic understanding of major rhetorical theorists specifically engage a particular topic in rhetorical theory. Our central questions involve the nature of and relationship between speaker, text, and audience.

For more information, click here.

Further questions? Contact David Worth.

HUMA 303 Persuasion and Political Rhetoric

This course will survey research and writing in the fields of persuasion and political communication. Of particular interest will be explanations of political communication based in rhetorical theory. Students will study historically important political speeches, debates, and advertisements. Emphasis will be on academic exploration of political rhetoric as human expression.

For more information, click here.

Further questions? Contact Maynard Prince.

LING 410/ANTH 412 Rhetoric

Overview of classical series of rhetoric and followed by more intensive discussions both of contemporary theories and applications in a wide variety of disciplines.

For more information, click here.

Further questions? Contact Stephen Tyler.

MANA 404: Management Communications

The capstone course for the MANA major. Students must have completed 8 of the required courses for the major. Section 001- Teaches managerial communications with a focus on business strategy and communication problems. Section 002 (offered spring semester only)- Teaches managerial communications with a focus on entrepreneurship as well as management.

For more information, contact  June Ferrill, Ph.D. or visit the course website.

NSCI 121: Writing Professionally in Natural Sciences

Communication is an essential element of scientific progress. Data entered in lab notebooks are converted into written arguments that must be clearly understood by the reader to establish credibility of the research. In most university laboratory courses, the importance of writing is evidenced by the substantial contribution of lab reports to the overall course grade. NSCI 121 gives students the opportunity to gain skills necessary for professional scientific writing, such as that done in laboratory and seminar courses at Rice, without time-intensive lab sessions. The course includes ways to avoid common errors observed in student research papers. Short writing assignments and in-class interactive workshop sessions provide experience writing and editing for a scientific audience.

For more information, contact Dr. Liz Eich or Mary Purugganan or visit the course website.

SMGT 466:  Media Relations

An applied study of media in business and sport with an emphasis on press conferences, news releases, media-athlete relations, print journalism, and public relations.

For more information, click here.

Further questions?  Contact Clark D. Haptonstall.