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Regular version of the site
Bachelor 2019/2020

Fundamentals of Communication Theory (Part 2)

Type: Compulsory course (Advertising and Public Relations)
Area of studies: Advertising and Public Relations
When: 2 year, 3, 4 module
Mode of studies: distance learning
Instructors: Ткаленко Дмитрий Эдуардович, Olga Solovyeva, Коломиец Яна Юрьевна
Language: English
ECTS credits: 3
Contact hours: 24

Course Syllabus

Abstract

This is an introductory course for students aiming to pursue Advertising and Public Relations major. The course is designed as an extension of Communication theory fundamentals course in Russian to explore internationally recognized major theoretical concepts and applications of communication studies, as well as major approaches to communication theory. Communication discipline borrows a lot of its theoretical base from psychology, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, critical theory, feminist theory, business management, economics, and linguistics. Hence, this course will also address multidisciplinary theoretical issues from various communication branches, such as interpersonal, group, organizational, intercultural, gender communication as well as critical approaches and mass communication and media perception. Coursework is designed to encourage students to give critical consideration to the place of theory within the communication discipline and to apply the theories in their everyday lives. This course will also connect major communication theories with the major traditions in communication theory, including semiotics, phenomenology, and cybernetic, sociocultural, critical, rhetorical traditions. Finally, the course will allow students to get an understanding on the role of theory in communication studies and become familiar with the key English vocabulary used by scholars in the humanities and social sciences. The course will utilize handouts, videos, project work and the Internet to examine and discuss the economic, social, and political impact of communication. Also, students are expected to take an online course, prior taking the class. Each of in-class seminars correspond with the material students familiarize themselves with during the online course. The guidelines and instructions on course are explicitly detailed below
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • To create an understanding of the essence of communication theory as a practical and research discipline;
  • To get familiar with major theories is communication field, including theories of micro-, meta- and macro level;
  • To learn and apply modern tools and techniques in communication research;
  • To develop skills necessary for strategic communication.
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • To be aware of types of communication theory field;
  • To identify, analyse, and discuss actual case studies and/or strategic communication in fields of interpersonal communication.
  • To understand how communication theory developed in the field of interpersonal communication;
  • To know what instruments are used to understand interpersonal communication;
  • To identify, analyse, and discuss actual case studies and/or strategic communication in field of group communication.
  • To understand how communication theory developed and how what are its implications in group communication;
  • To be aware of communication techniques that help to forster group communication
  • To identify, analyse, and discuss actual case studies and/or strategic communication in field of persuasive communication
  • To be able to utilise principles of rthetorics in speech analysis;
  • To be able to create persuasive messages for target audience;
  • To identify, analyse, and discuss actual case studies and/or strategic communication in field of mass and mediated communciation
  • To be able to discuss and analyse issues of framing, primimg , agenda-setting, selective exposure and other media effects
  • To identify, analyse, and discuss actual case studies and/or strategic communication in field of online communication
  • To be able argue on social and digital media emergence and development through different optics of theoretical approaches;
  • To be familiar with practical applications of theoretical approaches in PR;
  • To understand, recognize, and examine the phenomenon of communication research and its application in PR
  • To be able to link the approach in PR practice to its types;
  • To understand how critical theory developed and how what are its implications in different contexts;
  • To be able to analyse texts utilising critical tradition approaches;
  • To examine how multiculturalism and diversity impact on communication theory and practice;
  • To utilize major concepts and constructs in the analysis of communication practice.
  • To understand, recognize, and examine the phenomenon of communication research and its application for professional and personal life;
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • Lecture 1 Introduction to the course
    This lecture provides the context of the course, defines the key concepts to operate with and introduces students to the field of Communication Studies. Here we discuss what communication is and set up the place of the theory in communication research and practice. What is the typology of theories and how to distinguish good theory from the bad one. During this class students will also learn major approaches to communication theory through the Craig's typology.
  • Lecture 2 Interpersonal Communication
    Interpersonal communication is an underlying field of communication studies. In this lecture students will learn the main concepts to explain and predict how relationships are built, maintained and followed upon the dissolution in human communication.
  • Lecture 3 Group communication
    How group dynamics can be maintained and what are the main approaches to navigate effective group work? This lecture provides you with answers for these questions as well as it highlight the importance of leadership in group communication.
  • Lecture 4 Public Rhetoric and Persuasion
    The main focus of this lecture is to introduce student to the field of rhetoric. This class focuses at theoretical approaches to persuasion and the ways how to craft messages that influence the audience. Here we discuss approaches to the public speaking and online communication.
  • Lecture 5 Mass Communication and Media Effects
    In this lecture student will be provided with the brief history of media effects theories and further in-depth explanation of various traditions in media effects. Why some people are being more influenced, how do we select and process the information and what is the role of media in society? All these questions will be addressed in this class along with the case study in the end.
  • Lecture 6 Theories for Social Media
    Social media in general can be considered as a quite new phenomenon. In this lecture, we discuss the way how emergence of social media influences the society and the social order, go through the main characteristics of social media and distinguish what makes it popular among the larger audiences.
  • Lecture 7 Theories of Public Relations
    This lecture introduces students to the field of Public Relations, we discuss the main theories explaining and describing approaches to maintain relationships between organisations and strategic publics.
  • Lecture 8 Critical theory in Communication
    This class is devoted to the complex issues of critical theory considering culture, media, and the way norms and beliefs are reproduced in the existing society throughout communication patterns. Critical theory is all about the critique of existing social order and this lecture provides students with an in-depth understanding of how our society is functioning.
  • Lecture 9 Theory Guided Communication
    The final lecture revises all the chapters discussed so far and brings some insights on how theory can be applied to practice. Here we also introduce you to some aspects that haven't been covered.
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking Group in class activity
    Is conducted several times during the course for the relevant classes.
  • non-blocking Poster presentation
    <p>Students are asked to prepare posters presenting an academic research utilizing one of the theories of interpersonal communication on social media. The poster must be based on academic article.</p><p>List of theories for the task:<br /> Social presence<br /> Media richness<br /> Signalling theory<br /> SIP (social information processing)<br /> Hyperpersonal model</p>
  • non-blocking Online test in LMS
    An exam is taken in online format via LMS. The test consists of 50 open and closed questions related to the topics of lectures. The duration of the exam is 1 hour 20 minutes. If communication is lost, the test cannot be continued (this is a feature of the LMS system).
  • non-blocking Essay
    Here we introduce of the writing tasks during this course, which will be an essay. It will be really great to learn some of first-hand experience directly from the PR practitioner. I also ask you to reflect on theoretical grounds you’ve learned (for example, excellence theory) and overall strategic communication practices. You are expected to use examples from the interview to provide arguments for your thoughts and findings.
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • Interim assessment (4 module)
    0.2 * Essay + 0.5 * Group in class activity + 0.2 * Online test in LMS + 0.1 * Poster presentation
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • Communication Theory and Research, edited by Denis McQuail, et al., SAGE Publications, 2006. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hselibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=334341.
  • Theories and Models of Communication, edited by Paul Cobley, and Peter J. Schulz, De Gruyter, Inc., 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hselibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1108066.

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • Aristotle, Yunis, H., Waterfield, R., & Aristotle. (2018). The Art of Rhetoric. Oxford, United Kingdom: OUP Oxford. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=2096818
  • Caywood, C. L. (1997). The Handbook of Strategic Public Relations & Integrated Communications. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=51946
  • Communication and Organizational Knowledge : Contemporary Issues for Theory and Practice, edited by Heather E. Canary, and Robert D. McPhee, Routledge, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hselibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=547335&query=Communication+and+Organizational+Knowledge+%3A+Contemporary+Issues+for+Theory+and+Practice
  • Discourse and Communication : New Approaches to the Analysis of Mass Media Discourse and Communication, edited by Teun A. Van Dijk, De Gruyter, Inc., 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hselibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=3042341.
  • Halverson, C.B. Effective Multicultural Teams: Theory and Practice / ed. by Claire B.Halverson, S. Aqeel Tirmizi. – Dordrecht: Springer Science + Business Media B.V., 2008. – 299 p. – (Advances in Group Decision and Negotiation; Vol. 3). – ISBN 9781402069567. – Текст: электронный // БД Springer Books [сайт]. – URL: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4020-6957-4
  • Language, Power and Ideology : Studies in political discourse, edited by Ruth Wodak, John Benjamins Publishing Company, 1989. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hselibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=673092.
  • Liu, S., & Gallois, C. (2014). Integrating intercultural communication and cross-cultural psychology: Theoretical and pedagogical implications. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.AD7AAB0B
  • Mangion, Claude. Philosophical Approaches to Communication, Intellect Books Ltd, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hselibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=685164.
  • Martin, J. (2015). Situating Speech: A Rhetorical Approach to Political Strategy. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.9ADDDE3B
  • Miller, D. (2016). How the World Changed Social Media. London: UCL Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1257654
  • Online Consumer Behavior : Theory and Research in Social Media, Advertising and E-Tail, edited by Scheinbaum, Angeline Close, Routledge, 2012. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hselibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=957949&query=social+media+theory#
  • Poynter, R. (2010). The Handbook of Online and Social Media Research : Tools and Techniques for Market Researchers. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K.: Wiley. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=339147
  • Public Relations and Communication Management in Europe : A Nation-by-nation Introduction to Public Relations Theory and Practice, edited by Betteke van Ruler, and Dejan Vercic, De Gruyter, Inc., 2004. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hselibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=325663&query=communication+theory#
  • Public Relations Cases : International Perspectives, edited by Danny Moss, et al., Routledge, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hselibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=557237.
  • Rhetoric in European Culture and Beyond, Karolinum Press, 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hselibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=2057512.
  • Smith, Ronald D.. Strategic Planning for Public Relations, Routledge, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hselibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4862851.
  • Solomon, Denise, and Jennifer Theiss. Interpersonal Communication : Putting Theory into Practice, Routledge, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hselibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1101332.
  • Tannen, Deborah, et al. The Handbook of Discourse Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hselibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1895501.
  • The Handbook of Media and Mass Communication Theory, edited by Robert S. Fortner, and P. Mark Fackler, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hselibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1650862.
  • The Routledge Handbook of Language and Media [Электронный ресурс] / ed. by Colleen Cotter, Daniel Perrin; DB ebrary. – London; New York: Routledge; Taylor & Francis Group, 2018. – 572 p. – Режим доступа: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hselibrary-ebooks/reader.action?docID=4939135&query=Methods+of+Critical+Discourse+Analysis+
  • Theaker, Alison. The Public Relations Handbook, Taylor & Francis Group, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hselibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=957791.