Winter 2017 Undergraduate Calendar

40-205. Introductory Photography
This introductory course in film and chemical photographic processes provides an opportunity for students to explore techniques and concepts within the medium of photography. Students will learn the basic technical skills of operating cameras, processing film, and making black and white prints, through a series of concerns specific to photography. (Prerequisite: 40-101 and 40-110 or 40-112 and Communication, Media and Film Major; students must have a 35mm adjustable film camera to complete this course.) (Also offered as Visual Arts 27-253.) (Lab fees may apply.)

40-209. Fundamentals of Sound Technology
This course introduces students to the principles of sound technology and message design appropriate for a variety of contexts. Students will apply relevant design, vocal and sound theory in conceptualizing and producing effective sound messages using contemporary technologies and software. (Prerequisite: 40-112) (2 lecture, 2 laboratory hours per week) (Also offered as 39-209)

40-210. Speech Communication to Inform
A beginning course designed to help the student to develop poise and confidence in communicating information. (Two lecture and one lab hours per week.) (Not available on an Audit basis.) (Also offered as 24-210)

40-213. Podcasting and Internet Media
This course introduces students to the craft of production for the Internet, specifically in the form of video and audio podcasts. Students will acquire skills in a variety of software applications to produce and circulate podcasts. Emphasis will also be placed on the creation of quality content through the examination of niche audiences and current practices in digital media production and distribution. (Pre-requisite: 40-101 and 40-112.) (2 lecture hours and 1 laboratory hour per week)

40-218. Digital Media Production I
In this project-based course, students will work in groups to write proposals, scripts and storyboards while also familiarizing themselves with the terminology, aesthetics, mechanics and equipment associated with producing, lighting, shooting and editing video for studio and location-based projects. (Prerequisite: 40-111 or 40-112; Restricted to Honours students in Communication, Media and Film or combined four-year Honours programs with Communication, Media and Film) (2 lecture, 2 laboratory hours per week)

40-219. Digital Media Production II
This course puts into practice concepts and skills learned in Digital Media Production I. Students pitch project ideas that are then selected based on merit and work in teams to research, write, shoot and edit digital media productions targeted to specific external screening venues. A variety of production techniques are explored appropriate for fiction, non-fiction, experimental, etc., genres. (Prerequisite: 40-218; Restricted to Honours students in Communication, Media and Film or combined four-year Honours programs with Communication, Media and Film) (2 lecture, 2 laboratory hours per week)

40-221. The Art of Photo-blogging
In this course students will develop and design photography-based blog projects that combine effective research and writing skills with the creative use of image capture as a tool for visual communication. Students will learn photographic techniques and image editing software as well as communication strategies, applicable Canadian copyright laws, web analytics and search engine optimization. (Prerequisite: 40-112 (2 lecture, 1 laboratory hour per week)

40-225. Media Literacy
A critical exploration of how the media contribute to the social construction of reality. Students will develop the skills and conceptual frameworks necessary to interpret and investigate the contemporary media environment with a particular focus on examples derived from Canadian informational/news sources and popular culture. Topics may include: media coverage of social and political issues, political economy of media/culture industries, media and democracy, media representation and stereotypes.

40-234. Research Methods in Communication
An introductory overview of research approaches, methods, and designs in communication studies. Students will learn about the theoretical grounding of quantitative, qualitative, and interpretive methods, and practice various methods to explore communication issues. (Prerequisites: 40-101) ( 2 lecture hours and 1 tutorial hour a week.)

40-240. Cinema History I (Pre-War)
The course charts the early history of the cinema from its inception to World War II: film shorts at the turn of the century, the silent film era, the introduction of sound, and the decline of the studio system. Films are examined as technical, industrial, commercial, artistic, and, most importantly, as historical artifacts. Industry, audience, and the development of cinematic language are viewed within an international framework and their local cultural context.

40-241. Cinema History II (Post-War)
The course examines films from the post-War period to the present: the heyday of the classical Hollywood narrative and challenges to its dominance from European neo-realism and the avant-garde film movement are considered. Films are viewed as influenced by and reflective of social upheaval of the sixties, as well as their consolidation within distinct but mutually influencing categories of mainstream and alternative cinema. An important consideration is how films can either paper over or expose social fractures along the lines of gender, race, sexuality, and nationalism.

40-243. Media Aesthetics
The course provides a basic set of principles and tools to understand the formal qualities of visual signification and the broader contours of visual culture. Students learn aesthetic and technical terms, rules, conventions, and social assumptions used to construct meaning through sound, images, or graphics in stills, film, television and the web. The course offers a grounding useful for both producers and consumers of visual images. (Prerequisite: 40-101 or 40-112).

40-245. Communication and Cultural Policy in Canada
This course surveys the historical development of communication and cultural policy in the Canadian context. Students will investigate particular culture industries (e.g. music, film, television, etc.) and key themes (nation-state, public sphere, globalization, media convergence) that have informed policy debates as well as the structure, performance and regulation of culture/media industries. Topics may include: the role of the State in cultural production, national culture, citizenship, identity and multiculturalism, representations of ‘Canada’ in the popular imagination. (Prerequisite: 40-101.)

40-260. Fundamentals of Writing for Media
This course provides grounding in the theory and practice of writing, editing and preparing textual materials for print, broadcast, public relations, new/social media and web contexts. Through practical assignments and lab exercises, students develop effective research, information-gathering, writing and editing skills. Topics may include: the impact and implications of technological change and media convergence, libel and copyright laws/policies and ethical practices in the digital age, public relations and strategic communications for non-profit groups and community organizations. (Prerequisite: 40-101 and at least 3rd semester standing) (2 lecture hours and 1 laboratory hour per week)

40-270. Speaking Truth to Power: Voice and Activism
An examination of contemporary struggles for social change with a particular focus on anti-consumerist and environmental justice campaigns. Students learn to create persuasive social justice messages. (Prerequisite: Semester 3 or above standing.) (Also offered as Dramatic Art 24-270, Social Justice Studies 38-270, and Labour Studies 54-270)

40-272. Theory of Message Design
An exploration of theories affecting message analysis and communication. Topics include persuasion, ethics, perception, attention, memory, and message analysis. Students will learn how to recognize formal features of messages and how to apply theory to practical message design situations. (Prerequisite: 40-101. Recommended: prior completion of a first-year Psychology course.)

40-275. Theories of Communication and Media
This course introduces students to various theorists and schools of thought that have shaped the discipline of communication/media studies within the Canadian context, traces the development of theoretical approaches to communication forms and processes and explores a variety of underlying philosophical perspectives and assumptions in communication and media theory. (Prerequisite: 40-101.) (2 lecture hours and 1 tutorial hour a week.)

40-290. Special Topics in Communication, Media and Film
Special Topics courses will be offered occasionally to meet a demonstrated academic/disciplinary need that cannot be satisfied by regular course offerings. (Prerequisite: 40-101) (May be repeated for credit if the topics differ.) (Prerequisite: 40-101.)

40-301. Digital Technologies and Everyday Life
This course surveys critical theories of technology with a focus on how evolving and emerging communication/digital technologies are received and adapted and how they shape practices in various institutional contexts and in everyday life. Topics may include: representations of technology, technologies and the organization/perception of space and time, privacy/surveillance, gender, labour, the environment and technology. (Prerequisites: 40-201 or 40-275.)

40-302. Popular Culture
Examines the relationship between popular culture and questions of economics and social and cultural politics, through an exploration of struggles over knowledge, power and authority manifest in popular cultural artifacts and processes. Intended to provide students with tools for critical evaluation of contemporary popular culture, including the constitution of social ideologies, values and representations through cultural artifacts. (Prerequisite: 40-275.)

40-304. Privacy, Surveillance and Security in the Digital Age
This course provides an historical examination of the conceptual apparatuses that have traditionally framed understandings of the right to privacy, critically assesses the capacities of the State and corporate entities to monitor digital activities and explores the social, political and economic implications of surveillance practices. Topics may include: user-generated surveillance, mobile technologies, cloud computing, geo-locating technologies, tracking software, and data mining in social media contexts. (Prerequisite: 40-201)

40-318. Field and Studio Sound Recording
An overview of the theoretical and practical aspects of audio including frequency range, khz, bits and file formats in accordance with industry standards (i.e. Pro-Tools). Students will learn advanced techniques and principles of sound mixing for music, video, games and web content. (Prerequisites:; Portfolio review and a 70% average in Communication, Media and Film Honours or Combined Honours Programs and permission of instructor.) (2 lecture, 2 laboratory hours per week)

40-319. Digital Documentary Production
This course examines theories, techniques and styles of modern documentary as well as other non-fiction forms such as the photo-essay. Students may investigate different sub-genres of the documentary approach and create productions/media campaigns that explore specific personal, social and/or community/campus related issues. Advanced research skills will be emphasized. Readings and in-class screenings will focus on the theory and practice of documentary for social change. (Prerequisites: 40-219 and 40-234; Portfolio review and a 70% average in Communication, Media and Film Honours or Combined Honours Programs and permission of instructor) (2 lecture, 2 laboratory hours a week)

40-320. Screenwriting Fundamentals
This course explores the theory and craft of the screenplay with a focus on writing for short film and video projects. A central goal of the class is to refine student filmmakers' storytelling and scripting skills and to impart the conventions of this specialized genre through writing assignments, discussion, and analysis of texts via screenings and readings. (Pre-requisites: admission to advanced production courses or permission of the instructor) (3 lecture hours)

40-322. Labour, Workplace and Communication
The course involves a critical exploration of the relationships between labour and information technology from a communication perspective. Both political economy and cultural studies approaches are used to analyze the everyday experiences of individuals in both their paid and unpaid labour. Issues examined may include Scientific Management and Fordism/Post-Fordism, globalization, electronic surveillance, the natural environment, and the intersection(s) of race/ethnicity, class, and gender. (Also offered as Labour Studies 54-322). (Prerequisites:40-275 or Labour studies majors must have at least semester 4 standing.) (Credit cannot be obtained for both 40-321 and 40-322.)

40-327. Digital Video Editing and Post-Production
This course provides an examination of the historical, aesthetic and theoretical aspects of editing and post-production. Through screenings, workshops, praxis-based pedagogical approaches and group assignments, students will explore various editing styles and acquire advanced editing skills in accordance with industry standard software. (Prerequisite: 40-219; Portfolio review and a 70% average in Communication, Media and Film Honours or Combined Honours Programs and permission of instructor) (2 lecture, 2 laboratory per week)

40-334. Methods of Mass Media Criticism
This course examines contemporary methodological approaches to the study of mass media artefacts, signifying systems and representational politics. Topics may include: content analysis, cultural studies, discourse/textual analysis, semiotics, genre study, feminist criticism, audience research, on-line ethnography, web-based inquiry. (Prerequisites: 40-234 or 40-275)

40-343. Cinema and/in Culture
This intermediate course on cinema focuses on shifting topics that underscore contemporary approaches to studying the culture and politics of cinema as a medium. Topics may include: film auteurs, film practice modes, genres, movements, national cinemas, representational politics of race, gender and sexuality; spectatorship/reception, star system, transnational productions/flows. (Prerequisites: 40-240 or 40-241).

40-350. Scriptwriting for Visual Media
This course explores the theory and craft of writing for visual media. With a focus on developing and applying concepts of visual storytelling and writing for production, students will generate original scripts for a variety of fiction and non-fiction genres and media platforms. Through writing assignments and analysis of texts via screenings and readings, emphasis will be placed on different script formats, storyline development, dialogue, theme, character arc and aesthetics. (Pre-requisites: 40-219 or 40-260 and at least 5th semester standing) (2 lecture hours and 1 hour lab)

40-360. Public Relations, Media and Society
This course examines the historical and contemporary role and influence of the public relations industry on media discourses and the shaping of public opinion. Students will critically explore the emergence of the PR industry; the art of "spin" and the engineering of consent; corporate and government PR; and the symbiotic relationship between PR and informational media. (Prerequisites: 40-101 and at least 5th semester standing)

40-361. Public Relations Today: Issues and Practices
This course explores the contemporary world of public relations. Through case studies and in-class exercises, students will assess a variety of strategies and techniques and apply them in the planning and execution of public relations campaigns deliverable across a variety of platforms. Topics may include: PR in the social media age; media relations, journalism and PR; PR and ethical considerations. (Prerequisite: 40-360)

40-364. Media, Technology and the Environment
This course explores the relationship between media practices, representations, communication technologies and the environment. Topics may include: media constructions of the environment; mainstream and alternative media coverage of environmental movements and issues; environmental impact of communication practices, technological advancements and consumer culture; environmental themes in advertisements, corporate greenwashing. (Prerequisite: 40-101 and at least 5th semester standing)

40-370. Alternative Media and Digital Activism
This course examines existing theory and scholarship on alternative media and media activism and explores the ways in which activists and citizen group’s use/have used “old” as well as new media and emerging technologies to challenge mainstream media narratives and express alternative views on a range of social and political issues. Special emphasis will be placed on the Canadian context. Topics may include: mainstream versus alternative media framing; historical roots of Canadian alternative media; media reform movements; participatory journalism; culture jamming; the tactics, strategies, aesthetics and goals of alternative/activist media. (Prerequisite: One of 40-201, 40-225, 40-270, 24-270 (Dramatic Art) or 54-270 (Labour Studies).

40-375. Critical Approaches to Media and Culture
This course explores contemporary theories and methods related to the critical study of media and culture including Marxian and neo-Marxian political economy, the Frankfurt School, Gramscian hegemony theory, structuralism, semiotics, cultural studies, social constructionism, postmodernism, poststructuralism, and feminism. Topics may include: political economy of media and the culture industries; the production, consumption, and circulation of cultural texts and artefacts; the materialities of communication and the politics and practices of representation. (Prerequisite:40-275.)

40-381. Advertising in Historical and Cultural Context
This course contextualizes advertising and branding within the history of capitalism and contemporary consumer culture. The course draws upon approaches from Marxism, sociology, feminism, and other critical perspectives. Topics may include: the historical rise of consumer culture, advertising’s reciprocal and structural relationship with media, controversial advertising categories, issues of representation and meaning and the ideological dimensions of advertising and branding. (Prerequisites: 40-101 and at least 5th semester standing)

40-382. Advertising in the New Media Era: Contemporary Issues and Practices
This course considers how “new media” formations including Internet, streaming, mobile, social, and user-generated media have altered the advertising industry and advertising practices. Topics may include: advertising’s structural influence over new media technologies and platforms, new media audiences/users/influencers, guerrilla marketing, advertising strategy, regulation and policy. Students will learn advertising skills and techniques required to propose, plan, and execute campaigns in the new/social media environment. (Pre-requisite: 40-381).

40-383 Children and the Mediated Marketplace
This course offers a critical approach to the study of children’s media, advertising, and consumer culture. Topics may include: issues of ideology and representation in children’s media and consumer culture, the social construction of childhood by market forces, and the impact of internet and mobile technology on the evolving nature of childhood. (Prerequisite: 40-101 or 40-225 and at least Semester 5 standing)

40-390 Special Topics in Media and Society
This Special Topics course will explore contemporary issues relevant to understanding the links between media institutions, cultural texts/forms and social practices. The specific focus will vary based on faculty expertise (Prerequisite: 40-275 and at least semester 4 standing). (May be repeated for credit if the topics differ.) (Prerequisites: 40-275 and at least semester 4 standing.)

40-398. Internship I
Application of communication skills and knowledge in work experience situations. Admission to the course is by consent and is available only to four-year Honours students. The course is graded by the Undergraduate Advisor on the basis of a written report plus other references. (Prerequisite: Semester 6 standing and approval of Undergraduate Advisor in Communication, Media and Film.)

40-399. Internship II
(Same description as 40-398.)

40-401. Advanced Topics in New Media and Digital Culture
This seminar provides an in-depth exploration of the diverse social, economic, political, cultural and artistic practices that constitute the contemporary new media landscape. Through an examination of web 2.0 technologies/digital platforms and their formations, structures, limits and possibilities, students will be engaged as both content consumers and producers. Topics may include: social networking as immaterial labour, art in the age of digital reproduction, cyber-identity/community, new media and public policy, digitally-mediated activism/social movements. (Prerequisite: 40-301 or 40-304)

40-403. Advanced Studies in Media Culture
This seminar explores various theoretical approaches to the study of media culture including semiotics, cultural ethnography, Critical theory, feminism, social constructionism, structuralism and postmodernism. Students will practically apply theoretical frameworks to an examination and interpretation of contemporary media forms and practices. (Prerequisites: 40-275 and one of 40-302, 40-334 or 40-375.)

40-419. Advanced Television Production
This course integrates advanced principles and practices of television studio production. Students will research, plan, write scripts, shoot and edit segments about the campus community and the region for broadcast on local cable television. This course may be repeated once for credit with permission of the instructor and the Undergraduate Advisor/Department Head. (Prerequisite: One of 40-219, 40-318, 40-319 or 40-327 or permission of instructor) (2 lecture, 2 laboratory hours per week)

40-423. Advertising/Marketing Campaign Production

This advanced course integrates knowledge and skills acquired in previous theory and production courses. Working in groups, students will obtain hands-on experience in the production of advertising/marketing campaigns for various delivery formats, including social media. The class will focus on graphic design programs, script writing, the digital editing of video, stills and audio, audience research and ethical standards in advertising. (Prerequisites: 40-219 and one of 40-318, 40-319 or 40-327 ; Portfolio Review and a 70% average in Communication, Media and Film Honours or Combined Honours Programs and permission of instructor) (2 lecture, 2 laboratory hours per week.)

40-424. Advanced Non-Fiction Media Production

This course integrates theories and practices of digital media with an emphasis on professional standards and skills. Students will plan, write, shoot, edit and compress news, documentary, and other short form non-fiction projects. This course may be repeated once for credit with permission of the instructor and the Undergraduate Advisor/Department Head. (Prerequisite: One of 40-219, 40-318, 40-319 or 40-327; Portfolio review and a 70% average in Communication, Media and Film Honours or Combined Honours Programs and permission of instructor) (2 lecture, 2 laboratory hours per week.)

40-425. Advanced Studies in the Sociology of News Media
This seminar course explores and investigates the role played by mass media in power relations and the social construction of reality from a critical political economy perspective. Topics may include: the political economy of mainstream media, including issues of media ownership and control; the intersections of media, corporate and governmental power; mainstream media coverage/representation of domestic and foreign affairs. (Prerequisite: 40-225 or permission of the instructor)



40-426. Advanced Message Design
Students will learn how to design communication units for information, training, and teaching situations, using a systematic procedure from instructional technology. Students will apply theories from communication, persuasion, and learning to determine needs, design a communication strategy, select appropriate media, and evaluate the effort. (Prerequisite: 40-272.) (3 lecture hours or 1 lecture hour and 2 lab hours a week.)

40-428. Senior Project

In this course, students may produce content across a range of new media platforms. Emphasis will be on demonstrating professional capabilities in the areas of critical thinking, proposal writing, project development, creation and distribution. The course synthesizes both theoretical and practical learning acquired throughout the program and offers students the opportunity to further advance their production portfolio. This course may be repeated once for credit with permission of the instructor and the Undergraduate Advisor/Department Head. (Prerequisites: One of 40-318, 40-319 or 40-327; Portfolio review and a 70% average in Communication, Media and Film Honours or Combined Honours Programs and permission of instructor) (2 lecture, 2 laboratory hours per week.)

40-436. Advanced Research Methods
This course provides an in-depth examination of quantitative and qualitative research methods appropriate to the investigation of communicative processes, traditional and new media/digital formations. Using one of more of the topics covered in the course, student groups will design and implement a primary research project that includes data collection, analysis and effective communication of results/findings. Topics may include: content analysis, textual analysis, focus groups, interviews, participant observation, social network analysis, online surveys, research ethics. (Prerequisite: 40-334.)

40-441. Documentary Film and Video I
An introduction to the history, theory, and practice of documentary film. The course provides an overview of the history of documentary with attention to artistic, technological, economic, and political influences and offers students the opportunity to put theoretical study into practice. (Prerequisites: Third-year standing and at least one of the following: 40-110, 40-240, 40-241.) (4 lecture hours a week.)

40-443. Advanced Film Theory and Criticism
This seminar course examines the changing theoretical and critical approaches to film, including issues in the production and reception of film, such as realism, adaptation, convention, signification, and culture. (Prerequisites: 40-240 and 40-241)

40-450. Border Culture
This course addresses the role of borders in contemporary global culture as both physical boundaries and affective conditions. In the context of the Windsor-Detroit border, students from the University of Windsor will exchange viewpoints based upon the experience of living in a border culture. Seminars and field trips will take up the topic of borders from a number of perspectives and contexts. Students will look at historical and contemporary ideas about borders that have been articulated in various disciplines: from political theory and cultural geography, to urban planning, art, literature, architectural and spatial theory. (Open to majors and non-majors.) (Prerequisites: 28-150 and semester 4 standing.) (Also offered as 28-450)

40-462. Communication Perspectives and Aboriginal People, Race and Ethnicity

Explores theoretical and practical communication issues of race and ethnicity and links these issues to the practice of social justice. Topics include: historical and critical implications of identity politics, media (mis-) representation, cultural policy, First Nations, multicultural and multiracial media production. (Prerequisites: 40-225 or 40-245, and third year standing.) (Sociology majors: 48-333 and two courses in Communication, Media, and Film.) 



40-463. Gender and Technology
This advanced seminar addresses issues related to gendered experiences with technology in the digital age through an examination of various theoretical debates and case studies. Topics may include: the historical gendering of technological skills; the social construction of technology and masculinity; impact of technology on the environment; critiques of techno-science; gendered representation of, and participation in, video games; gendered experiences of mobile phone and social media use. (Prerequisite 40-301 or 40-364)

40-476. Canadian Communication Thought
The course examines a range of thinkers and artists who have contributed to the various branches of communication and media studies in Canada, including media history and criticism, political economy, cultural studies, philosophies of technology, and media and digital arts. Commonalities and differences between first and second-generation Canadian theorists and artists will be discussed in relationship to theories and practices emanating from the United States and overseas. (Prerequisite: at least Semester 6 standing.)

40-489. Selected Topics in Media Production
An advanced exploration of selected topics related to production processes across a variety of media platforms. For individual projects (available only to four-year Honours students in Communication, Media and Film or four-year Honours students in Combined Programs with Communication, Media and Film), proposals must be submitted on appropriate forms and approved, prior to registration, by the Undergraduate Advisor and Head in Communication, Media and Film. This course may be offered as a regular class. (Prerequisites: Portfolio Review and a 70% average in Communication, Media and Film Honours or Combined Honours Programs) (Normally, 40-489 or 40-495 may be taken no more than a total of 2 times combined.)

40-490. Selected Topics in Communication/Media Studies
An advanced seminar that explores selected topics in the field of Communication/Media Studies. Topics and prerequisites may vary depending on the focus of the course. (Prerequisites:will normally require at least Semester 6 standing or permission of instructor.) (May be repeated for credit if the topics are different).

40-495. Directed Reading
Intended for students with special interest in areas not covered in sufficient depth by other courses. (To be taken only with permission of instructor and Department Head or delegate in Communication, Media and Film) (Normally, 40-489 or 40-495 may be taken no more than a total of two times combined.)

40-498. Internship III

Application of communication skills and knowledge in work experience situations. Admission to the course is by consent and is available only to four-year Honours students. The course is graded by the Undergraduate Advisor on the basis of a written report plus other references. (To be undertaken after the successful completion of relevant 300-level courses.) (Prerequisite: Semester 7 standing and approval of Undergraduate Advisor in Communication, Media and Film.)

40-499. Internship IV
Application of communication skills and knowledge in work experience situations. Admission to the course is by consent and is available only to four-year Honours students. The course is graded by the Undergraduate Advisor on the basis of a written report plus other references. (To be undertaken after the successful completion of relevant 300-level courses.) (Prerequisite: Semester 7 standing and approval of Undergraduate Advisor in Communication, Media and Film.)


DIGITAL JOURNALISM: COURSES