Communications (COM)

A study of the use of writing, reading, and discussion as a means of discovering, questioning, and analyzing ideas, with an emphasis on audience, context and the use of revision. This course satisfies the Basic Writing Proficiency Requirement. It does not satisfy a general education requirement in the Humanities and Social or Behavioral Sciences.

This course is designed to help international students develop skills in writing, reading and discussion as a means of discovering, questioning and analyzing ideas. Students will engage in reading a variety of texts on a theme, extrapolating key ideas, and developing their own claims through discussion, research writing, and presentation. Additionally, this course will provide support to address common writing issues for multilingual speakers of English as well as build intercultural competence in communication. Placement in this course is based on English proficiency and/or placement exam results. Equivalent to COM 101. This course satisfies IIT's Basic Writing Proficiency Requirement. It does not satisfy a general education requirement in the humanities and social or behavioral sciences.

This English communication course will give international students the opportunity to expand their knowledge of Chicago’s history and culture while developing their voice through advanced conversation, presentation, and discussion skills. Through a storytelling and experiential lens, students will focus on articulating and responding to in-depth questions, applying advanced presentation skills, and using cultural and communicative skills to collaborate in dynamic city-focused discussions. Placement in this course is based on English proficiency and/or placement exam results.

This course focuses on the most important topic of all: YOU! You have a unique story to tell – whether in an interview, a discussion, or a professional presentation – and this course will give students the opportunity to develop advanced language skills around each student’s field of study and interests. Through engaging with audio and video materials, active reading, and intensive speaking practice, students will work to develop personalized responses to a variety of behavioral interview questions, research and contribute information from their individual fields into a group discussion, as well as write and present on a technical topic to a general audience of students. Placement in this course is based on English proficiency and/or placement exam results.

An introduction to the systematic study of language. Focus on the core areas of linguistics, such as sound patterns of language (phonology), form (syntax, morphology), and meaning (semantics, pragmatics), as well as applied areas, such as language, variation, language acquisition, psychology of language, and the origin of language.

The first of a two-semester sequence, this course and its sequel will introduce students to a particular language and culture, which will change annually. May be repeated for different languages. This course does not satisfy the HUM 102, 104, or 106 general education requirement.

The second of a two-semester sequence, this course and its predecessor will introduce students to a particular language and culture, which will change annually. May be repeated for different languages. This course does not satisfy the HUM 102, 104, or 106 general education requirement.

This course examines the rhetorical and ethical challenges as well as the cultural consequences of AI technology in the field of communication. Students will critically assess the problems and potential of usage of LLMs in writing.

The rhetorical theory and applied practice of digital writing. Topics include word processor alternatives, social media for professional development, multimedia writing, and collaboration and project management.

This course examines the structure of the English language from several different approaches: (1) word-formation; (2) sentence organization; (3) meaning and situational meaning; and (4) conversation and discourse analysis.

Arguments are a tool we use to build our social realities and the worlds we want to see. In this course, we move beyond “winning debates” to instead ask: How does culture and context convince us what is true, and how do we critically assess those assumptions? Using an interdisciplinary blend of theories and methods from the humanities and social sciences, we will analyze argumentation as a contest over power. We will explore how “common sense” is constructed through discursive repetition and ritual, as well as how media technologies have historically (and in the present) facilitated those constructions. Students will learn to navigate the politics of representation, scrutinize the “mythologies” of Big Tech, and construct arguments that are not only logical, but socially and ethically responsive to the conditions of the world.

Third-semester generic language and culture course designed to be applicable to various languages. Students should have already taken COM 126 in same language.

Fourth-semester generic language and culture course designed to be applicable to various languages. Students should have already taken COM 225 in the same language.

This course will examine how communication technologies have evolved from the printing press to the digital age. Students will explore the impact of these technologies on society, culture, and political movements critically, with special emphasis placed on the importance of social media and digital culture to contemporary society.

Information Literacy and Sense-Making instills students with the skills essential to be information-savvy professionals. Key concepts include the location and vetting of primary, secondary, and tertiary sources; fact checking and provenance; and the integration of disparate information sources into cohesive, fact-based forms and tools such as reports, memos, and research papers.

In this course, we will investigate philosophical questions about the nature of technology and communication, as well as ethical questions related to a broad range of specific communication-related technologies. Topics include algorithmic bias and fairness, privacy and surveillance, consent and manipulation, and the environmental impacts of digital technologies. Students will engage with case studies that require applying ethical principles to complex situations.

An introduction to the art of public speaking with assignments designed to promote competency in the delivery of speeches, organization of ideas, methods of argumentation, application of evidence and use of visual aids.

An investigation into a topic of current interest in the field of Communication, which will be announced by the instructor when the course is scheduled.

Analysis of human and synthetic speech intended for technology mediated environments and devices. Focus on talker characteristics that affect speech intelligibility and social factors that affect talker characteristics. Attention to design characteristics of technology-mediated speech and how humans react to it.

The analysis of language "flow" beyond sentence boundaries. Working with both spoken and written discourse, students will consider culture and gender-related patterns, and will apply findings from discourse analysis to communication problems in politics, education, healthcare, and the law.

AI-Assisted Workflows prepares students to work effectively with AI tools across communication tasks including content generation, research, editing, and analysis. Topics include prompt engineering, critical evaluation of AI outputs, workflow integration, and maintaining appropriate human oversight. Explicitly addresses limitations, risks, and ethical dimensions of AI tools. Emphasis on AI as a tool to be directed rather than a replacement for human judgment.

Principles and practice in the communication of technical materials. Students work on the design, writing, and revising of reports, articles, manuals, procedures, proposals, including the use of graphics. Works by modern writers are analyzed.

Principles and strategies for effective document and information design, focusing on print media. Students design, produce, and evaluate documents for a variety of applications, such as instructional materials, brochures, newsletters, graphics, and tables.

Introduces students to the issues, strategies, and ethics of technical and professional presentations, and provides students with opportunities to engage in public address, video presentations and conferencing, and group presentations. Analysis of audience types and presentation situations, group dynamics, persuasive theories, language, and mass media.

An introduction to the problems of communication across cultures, with emphasis on the interplay of American civilization with those of other cultural areas.

Planning and managing digital-video projects to document concepts and procedures in technology, science, business, and education. Attention to scripting, shooting, editing, and distribution media. Students will work on individual activities and collaborate on a community-service or other client-centered project.

Planning and managing informative and instructional exhibits in professional and creative contexts. Attention to characteristics and constraints of space, multimedia, and other resources, along with principles and goals of viewer access and flow. Students will work on individual activities and collaborate on a community-service or other client-centered project. Instruction will incorporate Chicago-area resources such as the Museum of Science and Industry.

This course covers the social, cultural, economic, and political dimensions of globalization and explores the role that communication and media technologies (newspapers, magazines, film, television, and digital media) play in shaping an interconnected, interdependent globalized world and in constituting our identities as global audiences, citizens, workers, consumers, and activists.

The history and structure of mass media, from print through film and broadcasting to the Internet, and their influences on American society.

A seminar course on a topic of current interest in the field of Communication, which will be announced by the instructor when the course is scheduled.

This course will discuss the development and trends of social media as well as their impacts on individuals and society. It will draw from a broad range of studies related to social media to learn how social media have impacts on interpersonal relationships, psychological well-being, privacy, politics, entertainment, and so on.

This course will discuss a variety of measures and properties of networks, identify various types of social networks, describe how position within and the structure of networks matter, use software tools to analyze social network data, and apply social network analysis to areas such as information retrieval, social media and organizational behavior.

Principles and practical applications of editing at all levels, working with both hard and soft copy and including copymarking, copyediting, proofreading, grammar and style, and comprehensive editing. Attention primarily to documents from science, technology, and business.

Consent of department. For advanced students. Based on the selected topic, this course may or may not be applied to the humanities general education requirement. Consult the course instructor.

This course serves advanced students in the Communication and Emerging Media Major. Capstone projects require that students integrate and utilize the skills and key concepts learned throughout their coursework. Projects are supervised by faculty advisers and serve as a culminating experience for their degree. Students complete the capstone across two semesters. COM 498 should be completed directly prior to COM 499.

This course serves advanced students in the Communication and Emerging Media Major. Capstone projects require that students integrate and utilize the skills and key concepts learned throughout their coursework. Projects are supervised by faculty advisers and serve as a culminating experience for their degree. Students complete the capstone across two semesters. COM 499 should be completed directly after COM 498.