Catalog 2021-2022

COM - Communication

COM 212 Social Justice Documentary Editing

During this course, students will edit and distribute the film they shot during COM 212A: Social Justice Documentary Abroad. Student production teams will work under the careful guidance of their professor as they complete their films and create an outreach campaign to get the film seen by its target audience. There are no language or production prerequisites for this course. If not used for student’s major, can fulfill the Non-Western and International/Global Awareness (NW/IG) components of their Baccalaureate Experience Requirements. Offered every other spring.
Credit Hours: 2
(IG) (NW)

COM 212A Social Justice Documentary Abroad

This faculty-led travel course takes students abroad over winter term to make documentary films about non-profit organizations and social justice entrepreneurs. Destinations vary and past versions have included Ecuador, Morocco, and Thailand. While in-country, student production teams will conduct background research, write an outline, create a shot list, conduct interviews, and capture b-roll footage on location. There are no language or production prerequisites for this course. If not used for student’s major, can fulfill the Non-Western and International/Global Awareness (NW/IG) components of their Baccalaureate Experience Requirements.
Credit Hours: 2
(IG)(NW)

COM 222 Media Aesthetics and Creativity

In this class, students will be asked to explore their own creative processes and develop identities as creative thinkers and producers of media. Students will research theories about creativity; explore aesthetic principles relating to two-dimensional, interactive and time-based media; and experiment with traditional and experimental narrative techniques. The focus will be on developing creative concepts in pre-production phases (e.g., sketching, storyboarding, storytelling, writing treatments and artist statements, experimenting with electronic media). Students will work both individually and in groups; research and synthesize substantive ideas from outside influences; and effectively present ideas in oral, visual and written forms.

Credit Hours: 4

COM 224 Media and Society

Studies the fundamentals of communication theory to provide a foundation for understanding how the media work, how they influence us, how we can analyze them and how we can effectively use them. Students can apply these critical skills to their roles as responsible consumers and communication professionals. May be used to fulfill Social Science (SS) requirements if not used for the major. 

This is a CORE foundation course for all communication majors.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

COM 225 Media Writing

An introduction to the principles and practices of writing for major types of mass communication media, with an emphasis on content, engagement, organization, conciseness and clarity. Students learn various styles of writing for print media, social media, broadcast media, the Web, advertising and public relations. This course also discusses the ethical and legal implications of writing for the media.

Credit Hours: 4
(W)

COM 226 Introduction to Scriptwriting for Motion Pictures and Television

Students learn and practice the principles behind the art and craft of scriptwriting for short, single-camera "motion picture" format, and multi-camera, live audience television (such as situation comedies). May not be used to satisfy general distribution requirements.

Credit Hours: 4
(W)

COM 227 Media in the Americas

Media in the Americas travels abroad to engage with Latin American media producers, regulators, scholars, and audiences. Students will experience first-hand how media policies, institutions, and technologies intersect with the politics and processes of media production, distribution, and consumption. If not used for student's major, this course can be counted towards fulfilling the Social Science (SS) and Non-Western and International/Global Awareness (NW/IG) requirements of the Baccalaureate Experience requirement.
Credit Hours: 4
(SS)(IG)(NW)

COM 232 Visual Literacy

It is one of the great ironies of contemporary existence that we are beset, informed, controlled and constructed by images, yet we receive almost no formal training in understanding and creating visual communication. Visual Literacy addresses this issue through interdisciplinary study of the terminology and theory of visual communication, with special emphasis on the relationship of visuality and cultural practice. Considering ideas from art history, photography, film, mass media and cultural studies, students are asked to analyze visual rhetoric, begin to see critically, articulate meaning and author visual rhetoric of their own. May be used to fulfill the general distribution requirements for the humanities if not used for the major.

This is a CORE foundation course for all communication majors.

Credit Hours: 4
(A) (HFA)

COM 234 Topics in Communication

Credit Hours: 1-4

COM 236 UTTV Student Television

Produce broadcast news packages for UTTV: Spartan News, the University of Tampa’s student-run campus news channel. Students work in teams to research newsworthy stories and then use smartphone production kits to conduct on-camera interviews with experts and citizens, shoot b-roll on location, and write and record stand-ups and voice-overs before editing, revising, and posting their short videos to UTTV's social media feeds.
Credit Hours: 2 or 4
(HFA)

COM 242 Digital Citizenship

Digital Citizenship teaches digital media production as a means of identity exploration, ethical formation, and civic engagement. Through sound and image capture, editing, and distribution, students will learn to better recognize and more effectively advocate solutions to social problems and thereby develop the necessary skills to go from casual users of contemporary technologies to digital rhetoricians practicing active, engaged citizenship.

This is a CORE foundation course for all communication majors. Laboratory fee required.

Credit Hours: 4

COM 250 WUTT Student Radio

Produce radio for WUTT: Spartan Radio, the University of Tampa’s student-run radio station (1080am, RadioFX, and TunedIn Radio). Students learn about radio regulations, marketing, licensing, DJing, interviewing guests, news, and sports while producing live, on-air radio shows both from the WUTT studio and on location during campus events.

Credit Hours: 2 or 4

COM 260 American Cinema

A basic introduction to film studies. Surveys the history of American narrative film with an emphasis on the cultural impact of film in society. May be used to fulfill the Art/Aesthetics (A) and Humanities and Fine Arts (HFA) requirements if not used for the major.

Credit Hours: 4
(A) (HFA)

COM 261 World Cinema

An examination of world cinema movements. May be used to fulfill the Art/Aesthetics (A), the Humanities and Fine Arts (HFA), and International/Global Awareness (IG) and Non-Western (NW) requirements if not used for the major.

Credit Hours: 4
(A) (HFA) (IG) (NW)

COM 283 Principles of Advertising

This course introduces students to the historical, cultural, economic, and social aspects of advertising. Students will discusses advertising’s relationship to marketing as well as its role in traditional and new media landscapes. This course also provides an overview of advertising management, advertising planning, advertising creativity and concepts, global advertising, and laws affecting advertising.

Credit Hours: 4

COM 284 Principles of Public Relations

This is an introductory course to public relations communication. The primary objectives of this course are to help students recognize the basic concepts and principles of public relations, to help them gain an understanding of the social importance of public relations in our community and organizations, and to help students personalize these concepts to their professional career interests.
Credit Hours: 4

COM 300 The Documentary Tradition

Survey course on the visual documentary tradition. May be used to satisfy general distribution requirements in the humanities if not used for the major.

Credit Hours: 4
(HFA)

Prerequisites

COM 232 or consent of instructor.

COM 301 Introduction to Organizational Communication

This course introduces students to theory, research and applied practice in the study of organizational communication. Students will explore the role human communication plays in structuring, maintaining and changing organizations, and they will explore specific issues within the study of organizational communication including socialization, decision-making, conflict, stress and burnout, cultural diversity and external communication.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

COM 224.

COM 302 Digital Media and Design for Communication

Students will develop critical perspectives on media consumption and creation while learning intermediate skills in design and imagining for visual communication in print, web, social media, and time-based media.  The course focuses on conceptual thinking and problem-solving in the development and production of digital media projects.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

ART 110 or FMX 210; plus at least one of the following: COM 222, COM 224, COM 225, COM 232, COM 283; or consent of instructor.

COM 303 Studio Television I

Emphasizes formal aspects of studio video-production operations, including camera switching, lighting, sound and accessory equipment and remote-location production for integration into a studio program. This course provides production support for WUTV programming. May be used to satisfy general distribution requirements in the humanities if not used for the communication major. Laboratory fee required.

Credit Hours: 4
(A) (HFA)

Prerequisites

COM 225 or COM 226 and one of the following: COM 242, JOU 221, or FMX 241.

COM 315 Web Design

This studio course introduces students to Web design techniques, technologies and theories, including HTML, CSS and Web design software. Almost all work is performed at a computer. Laboratory fee required.
Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

ART 110, FMX 210, JOU 221 or consent of instructor.

COM 323 Digital Communication and Society

This course explores the social, political, economic, and cultural effects of emerging communication technologies.  Areas covered include the design and affordances of new technologies, how they are used by consumers and organizations, and how they are addressed by laws, policies, industries, and powerful social and cultural institutions. 

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

Prerequisites

COM 224.

COM 325 Writing for Broadcast News

This course covers the elements of broadcast news writing and production, including the structure of radio and television news and feature stories, research and interviewing techniques, "package" production and ethical considerations. May not be used to satisfy general distribution requirements.

Credit Hours: 4
(W)

Prerequisites

COM 225 or JOU 101

COM 327 Communication and Law

Communication and Law is the study of concepts, policies, laws and court decisions that affect communication in our society. Through text, scholarly and popular articles, sound and video recordings, court decisions, lectures and class participation, we explore critical legal principles of civilized democratic society and the range of laws that protect or restrain communication within it. In addition to examining such principles and laws for their own merit (or lack of it), the course provides a practical basis upon which students who seek to become communications professionals can identify legal issues that will influence their professional conduct.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

COM 224 or JOU 101

COM 332 Television Criticism

This is a survey of traditions of television criticism. The class covers key areas of television research and criticism, including narrative, aesthetic, production-oriented, economic, audience-centered, and ideological approaches to TV. The class will address questions related to TV as a technology, the broadcast and post-network eras of TV, the globalization of media programming, as well as a wide range of TV genres and their conventions.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

COM 224.

COM 333 Studio TV II

Live stream multi-camera video productions straight to social media. Students will produce a bi-monthly entertainment and information talk show that combines pre-recorded segments with live hosts, guest interviews, and in-studio demonstrations. Students are responsible for pitching stories, booking talent, writing scripts, and operating equipment. This course is modeled on Daytime, a nationally syndicated program produced in Tampa. Laboratory fee required.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

COM 303 or consent of instructor.

COM 334 Information and the New World Order

Examines the cultural, political, economic and ethical issues surrounding a complex, international communication movement known as the New World Information Order. Explores all aspects of the topic, with an emphasis on threats to the national sovereignty of developing countries, the bias of international news agencies and cultural imperialism. May be used to fulfill Third World requirements. May be used to fulfill general distribution requirements for the social sciences if not used for the major.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS)

Prerequisites

COM 224, junior or senior standing, or consent of instructor.

COM 335 Survey of Independent Video and Film

Students study and view tapes and films produced as part of the non-commercial independent movement. May be used to satisfy general distribution requirements in the humanities if not used for the major.

Credit Hours: 4
(A) (HFA)

Prerequisites

COM 232 or permission of the instructor.

COM 340 Screenwriting I

Covers the elements of writing feature film scripts including character development, dialogue and dramatic structure. May not be used to satisfy general distribution requirements.

Credit Hours: 4
(A) (W)

Prerequisites

COM 226 or COM 240.

COM 344 Special Topics

Credit Hours: 1-4

COM 346 Writing for Interactive Media

This course explores practice and theory of writing for interactive media, including hypertext and hypermedia, narrative games, critical games, and location-based media. May not be used to satisfy general distribution requirements.

Credit Hours: 4
(W)

Prerequisites

One of the following: COM 225, COM 226, WRI 200, WRI 220, or FMX 240

COM 348 Writing the Situation Comedy

This course is an introduction to the mechanics of writing for television. From idea through final draft, students learn the process of developing scripts for television. The structural demands of commercial television and cable are explored. The student obtains a grounding in the historical development of marketable TV genres. The selling and buying of a script are analyzed, as well as strategies for creating a teleplay by oneself or with a staff of writers. May not be used to satisfy general distribution requirements.

Credit Hours: 4
(W)

Prerequisites

COM 226, FMX 240, or consent of instructor.

COM 350 Strategic Social Media

Students will learn how to use social media for strategic purposes, develop effective content, and measure success through analytics.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

ART 110 or FMX 210; and one of the following courses: COM 224, COM 283, COM 284, JOU 101

COM 354 Internship in Communication

This variable credit internship course is designed for Communication, Media, and Culture (COM) majors and advertising and public relations (AD/PR) majors. Key assignments include learning objectives, orientation seminar, informational interview, reports, and evaluations. Cannot be used to meet the 300-or-above-level requirement in either the COM or AD/PR major and may not be used to satisfy general distribution requirements. Credits (1-4) vary according to the number of hours worked at the internship host site.

Credit Hours: 1-4

Prerequisites

Junior or senior standing, minimum GPA of 3.0 in major and consent of instructor.

COM 360 Film Directors

A search for the defining characteristics of a director's works, including issues of thematic motifs and visual style. May be used to satisfy general distribution requirements in the humanities if not used for the major.

Credit Hours: 4
(A) (HFA) (W)

Prerequisites

COM 260 or COM 261 or consent of instructor.

COM 361 Film Genres

This course will be an investigation into the thematic, theoretical, technical and structural concepts that contribute to our understanding of film genre. Students, through weekly informal writing as well as significant research-based formal papers, will sharpen their analytical, critical and research skills. Specifically, they will employ the methodology of critical inquiry and utilize appropriate vocabulary and processes to engage, through analysis, research, writing and discussion, in the dialogues of our discipline. May be used to satisfy general distribution requirements in the humanities if not used for the major.
Credit Hours: 4
(A) (HFA) (W)

Prerequisites

COM 260 or COM 261 or consent of instructor

COM 365 Critical Analysis of Media Events

The course is designed to introduce intermediate research methodologies to a student's critical analysis of large-scale media events. It involves the practical analysis of a media event, including circumstances, details, historical perspective and reactions by journalists, officials and the public. Archival coverage, documentaries, feature films, print articles and Internet sites relating to a singular or series of events will encompass a majority of the analysis. Particular attention will be given to events with international implications. Students will review the previous exposure of related topics in an effort to compare the attention given to a subject in a comparison of "before and after." May be used to fulfill general distribution requirements for the social sciences if not used for the major.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

COM 370 Women, Film and Popular Culture

Focuses on the politics of representing women, particularly in film, television, advertising, popular literature and the popular press. The critical background includes texts on political economy, semiotics, feminist theory and cultural studies. The student completes a major research project during the course. May be used to fulfill general distribution requirements for the humanities, but not for the social sciences if not used for the major.

Credit Hours: 4
(A) (HFA)

Prerequisites

COM 232 or consent of the instructor.

COM 375 Critical Media Practice

This course familiarizes students with key theories, techniques, and media forms that will enable them to produce creative, well-researched and thought-provoking projects that embody critical media practice.  Each student will select and examine an issue of social importance, and research media platforms and rhetorical approaches suitable for that issue. Combining scholarship with media skills, the student will create a final media project. Laboratory fee required.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

COM 242

COM 383 Advertising Creative Direction

This lab course involves strategic concept development, copywriting, and media production, as well as ethical considerations related to these practices.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

COM 283, plus either ART 110 or FMX 210

COM 384 Writing for Public Relations

This course involves training in theory, form and style for writing public relations materials for all stages and types of public relations campaigns. This course is designed to provide students with a broad range of public relations writing skills utilized in the industry.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS) (W)

Prerequisites

AWR 101, COM 225 or COM 284, or consent of instructor.

COM 388 Multicultural and Prosocial Strategic Communication

“For-profit” brands and companies have crossed-over to the traditionally “non-profit” territory, using their platforms in advertising and public relations (ADPR) to discuss social issues so as to promote social good and to achieve commercial success. This emerging market of prosocial consumers lead to changes in the practice of doing social good in ADPR. This demands our future ADPR practitioners to have the diversity/multicultural literacy that guides them to make appropriate and conscious decisions when applying multicultural and prosocial strategies. In this course, we will cover prosocial strategic decision-making, multicultural targeting/messages/markets, consumer diversity psychology, critical social issues, and related practices in ADPR.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

COM 224

COM 390 Ethnicity in Film and Literature (Honors)

For Honors Program students only. This course is an exploration of the concept of "ethnicity" and how it may be expressed through literature and film. May be used to satisfy general distribution requirements in the humanities if not used for the major.
Credit Hours: 4
(A) (HFA)

COM 392 Independent Study in Communication

Research or creative project under the auspices of a communication instructor.  Students may take a maximum of 8 credit hours of independent study to fulfill the requirements of the major.
Credit Hours: 1-4

Prerequisites

Junior or senior standing, COM 224, COM 225 or COM 226, and COM 232 and minimum GPA of 3.0, or consent of instructor

COM 401 Intercultural Communication

The purpose of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the socio-cultural dynamics that affect the communication process. Students focus on their own cultural world view as they are exposed to the cultural dynamics and characteristics of other societies. Emphasis is placed upon the nonverbal and oral/visual aspects of communication content, structure and context. May be used to fulfill general distribution requirements for the social sciences if not used for the major.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

COM 425 Information Technology and Human Values

Raises fundamental questions about the relationship between science and the humanities. Analyzes the role of technology in modern life with special emphasis on the impact of new information technologies. May be used to fulfill general distribution requirements for the humanities if not used for the major.

Credit Hours: 4
(HFA)

Prerequisites

COM 224, junior or senior standing, or consent of instructor.

COM 426 Public Opinion, the Media and Power

Examines public opinion from a variety of perspectives, providing students with the ability to be intelligent consumers of public opinion research and effective users of public opinion research tools. Explores the interaction between the media and public opinion, as well as public opinion's effects on contemporary society and politics.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

Prerequisites

Junior or senior standing, or consent of instructor.

COM 435 Women Directors: Theory and Criticism

Examines women directors worldwide. The course will focus on the theoretical, critical, historical, cultural and aesthetic basis of films made by international, mainstream, documentary and the avant-garde women film directors of New Zealand, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, the African and Asian diasporas, and North and South America. Students will submit a series of written critical responses and complete a major project related to course material. May be counted in the humanities if not counted in the major.

Credit Hours: 4
(A) (HFA) (IG) (NW) (W)

Prerequisites

AWR 101 and AWR 201; or one of COM 232, COM 260 or COM 261; or one course in women's studies; or consent of instructor.

COM 436 Communication and Media Ethics

This course studies critical contexts of public communications to bring students an understanding of forces that shape media and representation, and relationships between mass communication and the public.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

COM 224.

COM 440 Screenwriting II

Advanced explorations of feature film scriptwriting and analysis. May not be used to satisfy general distribution requirements.

Credit Hours: 4
(W)

Prerequisites

COM 340 or consent of instructor.

COM 443 Communication and Cultural Studies

Students explore the role of communication in the social construction of culture. Emphasis is on acquiring knowledge of culture as an evolving process of codifications, and examining dominant and marginal cultural meaning systems in science, history and the arts. May be used to fulfill general distribution requirements for the social sciences if not used for the major.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS) (W)

Prerequisites

COM 224, junior or senior standing or consent of instructor.

COM 445 The Image and the Reality

Explores the relationship between myth and cinema. Also looks at the politics of representation as it relates to race, gender and ethnicity. May be used to satisfy general distribution requirements in the humanities if not used for the major.

Credit Hours: 4
(A)

Prerequisites

Junior or senior standing and one of the following courses: COM 260, COM 261, COM 300, COM 308, COM 335, COM 360, COM 370 or COM 465, or consent of instructor.

COM 446 Advanced Topics in Communication

Credit Hours: 4

COM 450 Experimental Cinema: History and Theory

This course examines experimental, avant-garde cinema worldwide. It focuses on the theoretical, critical, historical, cultural and aesthetic basis of experimental and avant-garde films made by national and international directors. Students submit a series of written critical responses and complete a major project related to course material. May be counted in the humanities if not counted in the major.

Credit Hours: 4
(A) (HFA) (IG) (W)

Prerequisites

COM 232, COM 260 or COM 261, or consent of instructor.

COM 455 Film Theory and Criticism

The course explores worldwide film theory and criticism from its roots to the present through lectures and screenings of international, global and non-western films.  Classical and contemporary theorists include Sergie Eisenstein, Andre Bazin, Gilles Deleuze, Walter Benjamin, Laura Mulvey, Lev Manovich and more. Issues of representation, the cinematic apparatus and semiotics including psychoanalytic film theory will be covered.  Students submit a series of written critical/theoretical responses and complete a conference style abstract and paper related to course material.  May be counted in the Humanities if not counted in the major.

Credit Hours: 4
(A) (HFA) (IG) (NW) (W)

Prerequisites

Any one of the following: COM 232, COM 260, COM 261, or any 300- or 400-level course in the "Media, Culture and Society" course offerings, or instructor consent.

COM 465 Senior Seminar in Cinema Studies

Seminar for seniors completing a thesis paper in cinema studies as the requirement for graduation in film and media arts. Each student pursues a cinema studies thesis project, in written form, of sufficient breadth and depth as to crystallize their experiences at the University. Topics vary from semester to semester.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

Senior standing, and any of the following: COM 300, COM 335, COM 360, COM 365, COM 370 or COM 445, or consent of instructor.

COM 466 International Advertising

The course is designed to help students integrate knowledge of advertising theory and practice within an international context. Instructor and students will meet occasionally over the spring semester for orientation and introduction to course material and spend two weeks abroad in May expanding the study and application of international advertising topics/concepts. In addition, the travel portion of the course will give students the opportunity to learn about and experience, first hand, advertising as a product and shaper of culture and the advertising industry’s role in a globalized economy.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

COM 283

COM 467 Advanced Film Analysis

Students will conduct deep analysis of films, delving into close readings of form and content, including character, dialogue, plot, mise-en-scene, camerawork & cinematography, editing and sound (diegetic and non-diegetic).  At the end of the course students will have an enhanced understanding of how multiple elements combine to create compelling stories and opportunities for interpretation in complex, primarily narrative, films.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

Any two of the following COM courses: COM 335, COM 340, COM 360, COM 361, COM 370, COMH 390, or permission of instructor.

COM 470 Communication Research Methods

This course introduces students of communication to the core concepts and common practices of both quantitative and qualitative communication research. Students will be exposed to a variety of theoretical perspectives on the nature, practice, use and meaning of research in the field of communication. Particular emphasis will be placed on research concepts and methods appropriate to the practice of advertising and public relations.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

COM 224, junior or senior standing, or permission of instructor.

COM 475 Seminar in Critical Media Practice

The course emphasizes interpretation, discussion, and practice, building upon theoretical and practical knowledge students have acquired over the course of their study in critical media practice. Using traditional and emerging media technologies, students will produce projects over the course of the semester to convey critical perspectives on phenomena with social, cultural, economic, and/or political implications. Laboratory fee required.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

COM 375

COM 483 Advertising Campaigns

This course teaches strategic development of advertising campaigns and involves research, branding, copywriting, design and digital production. May not be used to satisfy general distribution requirements.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

ART 305 or COM 302, COM 383, and senior standing, or permission of instructor.

COM 484 Public Relations Campaigns

This course focuses on a systematic process of public relations, including research, strategic planning, communication tactics and evaluation. Through an extensive public relations campaign project, students will understand and practice the multifaceted and strategic nature of public relations. The course involves case studies, group problem-solving, writing, production and client relations work.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

COM 302 or ART 305, COM 384 and senior standing, or permission of instructor.

COM 490 Communication Major Portfolio Review

The Communication Major Portfolio Review is required for all communication majors, to be taken during their senior year. The course asks students to select and submit major works for review and assessment.

Credit Hours: 1

Prerequisites

Senior standing, Communication Majors Only.

COM 499 Senior Project

Students must apply for acceptance the semester before their anticipated enrollment. Each year, a select number of students are able to choose a senior project option in order to fulfill the 400-level requirement of the communication major. In this independent course, a student or group of students pursue a research or production objective of sufficient breadth and depth as to crystallize their experiences as communication majors at the University.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

Senior standing.