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Course Descriptions for Communication

Cm120 or its equivalent is the prerequisite for all the courses in this section.

Cu/Ar157 Intro to Photography
(See Fine Arts Department for course description.)
Cu/Ar158 Photography
(See Fine Arts Department for course description.)
Cu/Ar190 Intro to Film
(See Fine Arts Department for course description.)
Cu/Dp251  Web Page Development
(See Fine Arts Department for course description.)
Cu202 Media Communications I
An introduction to the study of media with a focus on mass communications: history and major developments in publishing, broadcasting, film and new information delivery systems.
Cu203 Media Communications II
A survey of communication process research and theories. Also an introduction to the impact of regulation, law and ethics on media practitioners and users. Prerequisite: Cu202.
Cu205 News Writing and Reporting
An introduction to journalism, including a survey of print media, and practice in interviewing, reporting, and writing hard news and news feature stories.
Cu206 Advanced Newswriting and Editing Workshop
Students build on the expertise acquired in Cu205, developing their skills further in newsgathering, interviewing, editing, proofreading and layout. Students will generate stories on their own as well as complete assignments on deadline. Beat and specialized reporting, headline and feature writing, print vs. broadcast and various practical, legal and ethical issues in journalism will also be covered.
Cu/El210 Grammar for Writers
A review of the basic rules of grammar in English intended for students who have completed composition requirements and wish to become better communicators. Also intended to assist students who may enter areas of media requiring strong verbal skills, and editing abilities. Prerequisites: Cm115 or 117 or 119 or 120.
Cu/Mm213 Advertising and the New Media
The history, theories, techniques, and social impact of advertising, and its place in publishing, broadcasting and the new media.
Cu/Dp217 Desktop Publishing
A hands-on introduction to writing and publishing by electronic methods including desktop production and development of web pages using current graphics and composition software. Prerequisites: knowledge of word processing.
Cu/Mm218 Media Business
An examination of media as a profitmaking industry. The roles of sales, advertising and investors are viewed, as are trends of corporate media and entrepreneurship. Public relations and ethics are introduced.
Cu/Ar220 Computer Art
(See Fine Arts Department for course description.)
Cu/Mm241 Advertising Management
(See Management & Marketing Department for course description.)
Cu/Mm247 Marketing Communications
(See Management & Marketing Department for course description.)
Cu/Dp250 Multimedia Computer-based Communications
(See Computer Science Department for course description.)
Cu/Dp252 Web Page Development
(See Computer Science Department for course description.)
Cu/El252 Creative Writing
(See English Department for course description.)
Cu/El254  Dramatic Writing
(See English Department for course description.)
Cu/Pl255 Ethics in Communications
Satisfies values, but not core elective requirements. (See Philosophy Deartment for course description.)
Cu260 Radio Station
This course is designed to teach students the basics of digital radio production through exercises in editing, radio script writing, announcing and on-air interviewing.
Cu/Po262 The Political Influence of Film
(See Political Science Department for course description.)
Cu265 Screenwriting
This course teaches the art and craft of writing feature film and television scripts. Students will learn the screenplay format, writing effective dialogue, creating characters and the basics of working in the business of motion pictures and TV as a writer.
Cu266 Advanced Screenwriting
Those students who have promising projects in Basic Screenwriting will continue their work in this course. There will be frequent story conferences, which will include sharing work, solving problems, analyzing successful and unsuccessful scripts, creating "bibles" for TV series, and exploring more complex strategies for plot and character. The goal is for all students to complete a polished script suitable for professional submission.
Cu270 Broadcast Studies
Students will be introduced to the basic structure, history, social impact, and operations of the broadcast industry.
Cu271 Television Production
An introductory course in electronic communication skills in which students prepare and produce videos in a hands on setting at the College. Take roles as production personnel. Practice general studio and camera work.
Cu272 Television Post Production
This course examines the basic processes used in editing television programs. Students will study the major editing systems used during or after show production. This is a skills course with lab work required.
Cu274 Media: Behind the Scenes
A Metropolitan Seminar. Students visit news and entertainment centers including The New York Times, PBS channel 13, NBC Studios, the Museum of Television and Radio, and the Museum of the Moving Image. Research on McLuhan theories of message interpretation via print, audio, and video mediums.
Cu275 Public Speaking Workshop
Intensive practical experience addressing a variety of audiences with individual analyses of performance and specific recommendations for improvement. Presentations will be videotaped to improve speaking technique.
Cu277 Strategies of Oral Communication
Techniques of oral presentation to promote clear and effective exchange of information and ideas in a variety of everyday situations, with special attention to business interviews, meetings and conferences.
Cu280 Mediated Communication in Organizations and Society
The course examines how new media technologies, especially those involving wireless services and computer mediated communication, are being used to organize work, to facilitate organizational decision-making, to conduct personal relationships and create communities, to orchestrate collective action, and to manage everything from personal interaction to global business organizations. Various media theories, as well as the research done on the nature, form, history, and uses of mediated communication technologies will also be discussed.
Cu281 Media Literacy
In expanding the definition of "literacy," the goal of the course is to develop an informed and critical understanding of the nature of new and traditional media, how media products are constructed through various techniques and professional practices, and how the media, in turn, construct our everyday reality in ways that are social, cultural, psychological and political. Strategies for integrating media literacy into educational programs and instructing others, especially children, how to access, recognize, interpret, analyze, evaluate, utilize, and create all forms of media will also be explored.
Cu/El293 Today's Film Scene
(See English Department for course description.)
Cu295 Cooperative Education
(See Cooperative Education Office for more information.)
Cu300 Film Theory and Criticism
In order to develop a deep critical understanding of film and television and the ability to write about them, students will be introduced to major theoretical and aesthetic approaches including auteur theory, genre theory, semiotics, and spectatorship. Basic terminology, technical aspects, industry practices and social, political and cultural contexts will also be discussed.
Cu/So305 Sociology of Film
Cu/Ur312 Media and the Urban Environment
(See Sociology Department for course description.)
Cu315 Business and Professional Writing
How to write clear, readable prose in all forms of business and professional communications from letters to reports.
Cu340 Sportswriting
A study of the growth of this area of specialized journalism, including interviewing, reporting, and writing assignments for a variety of sports.
Cu350 Public Relations
Influencing public opinion is the major goal of public relations activities. This course examines the roles of opinion research, press agentry, product promotion, publicity, lobbying, public affairs, fund-raising and special events management in creating a favorable image for a client. Writing skills are emphasized. 
Cu352 Conversations with Writers
The goal of this course is to introduce students to the working habits and aesthetic ambitions of professional writers of books, screenplays, newspaper articles and other media content. Students will read writers' works, publicity and marketing material, then students will discuss the information with the authors at their work sites.
Cu371 Television Workshop
This course is designed to emulate a televisiion news environment. Students will perform various tasks - including stories' research and writing, videotaping and editing. Prerequisites: Cu271 and Cu272 or Cu205.
Cu400 Research Writing
An introduction to Communications research including quantitative and qualitative methods, focusing on ethical questions, and culminating in an investigative article or research paper
Cu419 Writing for Publication
This course is intended to teach students how to sell and publish their work, from freelance articles to book proposals. Students will be asked to survey markets for their writing, compose queries and proposals, and send them out to the appropriate publications.
Cu/El421 Fiction and Film
(See English Department for course description.)
Cu/El423 The American Film
(See English Department for course description.)
Cu/So/Ar454 Black Films
(See Sociology Department for course description.)
Cu495 Media Internship I
This course integrates study in a specialty area of media communications with a job experience in the field. Students will compare academic preparation to work place demands, and will think critically about choosing learning resources for the world of work.
Cu496 Media Internship II
This course integrates advanced study in a specialty area of media communications with a job experience in the field. Students are encouraged to think critically about media ethics and practice.

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