Communications

UPCES Communications Courses

Here you'll find the UPCES course options related to Communications. Please note that course offerings are subject to change or cancelation based on faculty availability and student enrollment. All course subjects must be approved by your home institution for departmental credit.

This course listing includes a detailed description, cross-listed subjects, and a downloadable syllabus.

Culture from the Heart of Europe
[SOCIOLOGY, CULTURAL STUDIES, COMMUNICATIONS, 3 credits] 

Full syllabus coming soon

The course of “The Culture from the Heart of Europe” explores the contemporary host culture (the Czech Republic) through the lenses of intercultural studies. Students will study about the past and current societal and cultural (literature, movies, visual arts) themes significant for the Czech Republic and the central European region, compare various identities between the host country and the U.S. We will examine the complexity of values, beliefs, and practices and learn to identify the cultural differences and similarities between these two cultures. Students will also learn about key intercultural communication theories and frameworks, acquire new perspectives and effectively communicate and interact with culturally differences. We shall also incorporate field trips to illustrate the covered and discussed themes.

Topics to be covered (and incorporated into the syllabus/course program):
- Culture shock (stages)
- Cultural values (i.e. Hofstede, Trompenaars, Hall)
- Applied intercultural features (i.e. advertising)
- Stereotypes, prejudice
- Intercultural communication in various contexts (health care, education)

Global Communication
[COMMUNICATIONS/FILM AND MEDIA STUDIES, 3 credits]

Syllabus 

This course aims to bring together diverse issues and perspectives in the rapidly evolving and changing area of international/global communication. Through a multidimensional, historical perspective, a framework will be established for the appreciation of the immense scope, disparity, and complexity of this field. Students will be encouraged to critically assess shifts in national, regional, and international media patterns of production, distribution, and consumption in the larger context of globalization. Essential concepts of global communication will be examined, including trends in national and global media consolidation, cultural implications of globalization, international content flows, supranational communication law and regulation, and trends in communication and information technologies.

Propaganda and Society
[COMMUNICATION, FILM AND MEDIA STUDIES, PSYCHOLOGY, 3 credits]

Syllabus

This course explores mass persuasion and propaganda in a developmental context with an emphasis on understanding approaches and techniques. It traces the emergence of strategic persuasive communication and propaganda from its origins to the present day. The basic principles, philosophy, and techniques of mass persuasion in different periods are considered, with an emphasis on contemporary contexts. Students will learn to identify different propaganda techniques and will gain the tools to evaluate and debunk propaganda campaigns. A developmental approach is used in order to allow the opportunity to see aspects of continuity and change in approaches. A combination of classic and contemporary texts in the area of propaganda and disinformation will be studied. Various approaches to propaganda will examined across a variety of media, with an emphasis in the second half of the course on emerging computational and participatory propaganda.