Areas of Study

Global and Transcultural Communication

Courses examine the varied challenges posed by globalization on citizenship, diasporas, ethnic and cultural minorities, human rights, media economies of scale, the circulation and influence of cultural products, intellectual and cultural property, the structuring and stratification of information flows and social policy.

Interaction and Social Processes

Courses examine face-to-face and virtual communication dynamics, interaction rituals, identity transactions, verbal and nonverbal practices in socially and technologically constructed contexts.

Visual Culture and Cultural Studies

Courses examine the role of cultural production and visual practice in the fashioning of urbanism, consumer desire, spatial experience, gender/sexual identities, race and ethnicity, trans-cultural and historical image flows, the aesthetics of everyday life and the performance of political power.

Technology and Society

Courses examine the social history and cultural consequences of technological development, instrumental rationality, machine/body interfaces, and the ethical and social policy outcomes of the technological remediation of social life.

Persuasion and Politics

Courses examine theories of rhetoric and persuasion, the role of strategic discourse and mass media in shaping public spheres, with a thematic focus on propaganda, legislative debate, legal argument, rhetorics of science and technology, social movements, public dissent and censorship, political campaign communication, public relations and public administration.