Module: Applying Communication Theory

Module Specifications..

Current Academic Year 2023 - 2024

Please note that this information is subject to change.

Module Title	Applying Communication Theory
Module Code	CM382
School	School of Communications
Module Co-ordinator	Semester 1: Neil O'Boyle Semester 2: Neil O'Boyle Autumn: Neil O'Boyle
Module Teachers	Neil O'Boyle
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	10
Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

None
Array

Description

This module introduces final year undergraduates to selected tenets of communication theory with a particular emphasis on how theories can be used as tools to interpret human and mediated communication. Student activities will include in-class debates, essays and seminar presentations. In addition to exploring theories of human communication in interpersonal interactions, relationships and groups, the module also examines theories of mediated communication (analogue and digital). Overall, the module critically reviews the conceptual foundations and dominant assumptions informing studies across the interdisciplinary field of communications. It retraces some of the threads that underlie contemporary scholarly approaches to the institutions, forms, patterns and styles through which communication takes place in the contemporary world.

Learning Outcomes

1. Understand and describe the philosophical underpinnings of communication theory
2. Describe and differentiate human communication in various contexts
3. Explain how media function within the overall evolution of human symbolic power as both instruments of social control/order and as agents of change
4. Explain how different historical situations shape the use of different technologies to disseminate knowledge about society
5. Research and write theoretically-informed assignments and seminar reports

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full-time hours per semester
Lecture	25	Weekly class contact
Assignment Completion	30	Seminar assignment
Independent Study	90	General research and reading
Assignment Completion	65	Essay (including library time)
Online activity	40	Use of course-related material on Moodle
Total Workload: 250

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Introduction and description of module
Introduction; major traditions of communication theory; varieties of human communication

Traditions of communication theory and the Socio-psychological tradition
Traditions of communication theory and the Socio-psychological tradition

The self and society
The self and society; Symbolic Interactionism

Interpersonal communication
Relational Dialectics Theory

Communication in groups
Symbolic Convergence Theory

Presentations and performances
The dramaturgical perspective

Mediated communication and mediatization
Mediated communication and mediatization

Media effects [Cultivation theory]
Media effects [Cultivation theory]

News and public opinion [Framing and agenda setting]
News and public opinion [Framing and agenda setting]

Critical approaches to communication [Encoding and decoding]
Critical approaches to communication [Encoding and decoding]

Participatory culture, protest and the public sphere
Participatory culture, protest and the public sphere

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment	100%	Examination Weight	0%

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Course Work Breakdown
Essay	End of term essay	70%	Week 12
Report(s)	Weekly analysis sheets	30%	n/a

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; 1 = A resit is available for all components of the module 2 = No resit is available for 100% continuous assessment module 3 = No resit is available for the continuous assessment component
This module is category 1

Indicative Reading List

E. Griffin: 2020, A First Look at Communication Theory, Tenth, McGraw-Hill., New York,
David Crowley & Paul Heyer: 2015, Communication in History: Technology, Culture and Society, Sixth, Routledge, London,
Balnaves, M., Hemelryk, S. and Shoesmith, D.S.: 2009, Media Theories and Approaches: A Global Perspective, Red Globe Press,
Frey, L. and Cissna, K.: 2009, Routledge Handbook of Applied Communication Research, Routledge, London,
G. Burton & R. Dimbleby: 0, Between Ourselves: An Introduction to Interpersonal Communication,
Littlejohn, Foss, and Oetzel: 2017, Theories of Human Communication, Eleventh, Waveland Press, New York,
Fiske, J.: 2011, Introduction to Communication Studies, Routledge, London,
Craig, R. and Mueller: 2007, Theorizing Communication: Readings Across Traditions., Sage, New York,

Other Resources

None

Programme or List of Programmes

CS	BA in Communication Studies

Date of Last Revision

08-OCT-10

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