Recent Courses
Workshop on Ethics and Standards in Creative Activity
Dr. Andy Opel and Dr. Donna Nudd developed a workshop for graduate students who are working in the creative realm. These workshops covered issues of informed consent/permissions release, copyright and fair use and strategies for receiving peer review. The workshops were presented to students in the College of Communication, the College of Theater, Dance and Visual Arts and the Film School. The workshops will be repeated again during the 2010-11 academic year. View workshop resources.
Documentary Video Production - COMM 4332/5325
From the newsreel footage of the civil rights movement to films such as The Thin Blue Line, documentary film and video has played a central role in shaping the lives of individuals and society as a whole. This class will emphasize the power of documentary and the potential to address issues of social significance. Given our privileged location in the capital city of one of the largest states in the nation, this class will encourage students to tap the political, social and cultural resources within Tallahassee, FL.
This class will explore the contemporary world of documentary video production with an overview of the history and major trends in documentary production. The course will combine critical viewing skills with practical instruction in documentary production. This class will be organized as a workshop, requiring weekly participation and collaboration among the class members. Just as students would expect to read great work in a writing workshop, we will view and critique a range of contemporary documentary work. Students will learn to critically “read” documentaries at the same time that they learn to critically “write” documentary in the form of a final finished piece that will be submitted to a film festival and possibly aired on WFSU-TV. Download Syllabus PDF • View Student Work
Media, Culture and the Environment - COMM 6400
From global warming to species extinction, our planet is facing large scale environmental change. These ecological concerns are often in direct conflict with modern industrialization. At the same time that our scientific understanding of the global environment is increasingly detailed and complex, we are progressively dependent on mediated information for our opinions and public policy decisions. News and entertainment media play a significant role in negotiating the tension between ecological sustainability and rising consumption and resource depletion.
This course will explore our mediated relationship with the natural world. Reading work from a range of theoretical perspectives - social science to post-structuralist – this graduate seminar will address the following questions: What do we mean by the terms “nature” and “environment?” How do we come to know about the natural world? What does the news media tell use about our global environment? What does commercial culture tell us? What do environmental groups tell us and how do they get their message out? How is our relationship to the natural world shaped by these representations?
Media, Culture and The Environment will explore how media influences culture and in turn how cultural practices regulate our use of natural resources. This course will address specific three content areas: 1) Current research on news media coverage of environmental issues, 2) Commercial culture’s relationship to the environment from green washing to green marketing, and 3) Media and communication strategies of environmental groups. In addition, this course will attempt to touch on the major themes currently debated within the sphere of “environmental communication.” This seminar will emphasize and encourage engaged scholarship that aims to understand and address this issue of global significance. Download Syllabus PDF
Qualitative Research Methods - COMM 6400-01
“Signs don’t say anything, they have to be read.” -- MCS Website
In our quest to unravel and understand culture and social behavior, a well rounded scholar is well served to have a variety of methodological tools at their disposal. Qualitative research covers a wide range of approaches that may help us make sense of the world in general and more specifically, communication practices and meaning making. Given the diversity of qualitative methods, this course is intended to introduce the dominant techniques and debates around qualitative methods and inspire your curiosity to pursue the finer points of any one method.
This seminar will provide an introduction to the theory and methods behind a range ofqualitative research methods and concepts including: Textual, Narrative and Discourse Analysis, In-Depth Interviewing, Participant Observation, Various Ethnographic Techniques, Grounded Theory, Focus Groups, Feminist Approaches, and Visual Analysis.
This seminar will address the linguistic turn in social theory and the resulting implications for research and analysis of cultural “texts.” Popular music will serve as a thread throughout the class, providing a site to examine from a range of methodologies. Each week, we will address theoretical issues, methodological techniques and applied methods. Download Syllabus PDF
Television Field Production - RTV 3260
This course is a video production class emphasizing the fundamental skills of single camera video field production including shooting, audio recording, lighting, and production planning.
This class, combined with RTV 3263 are the two pre-requisites for all the other production classes in the major. The fundamental skills taught in these two classes form the building blocks for all video production, whether your interests are sports, narrative, non-fiction, public affairs or experimental.
Narrative and Experimental Video Production - RTV 3221
RTV 3221 is an advanced workshop in single camera video production. This class will emphasize non-traditional narrative and experimental video production through the development process — from creative concept to final video product. We will examine a range of current and historical video and film work, focusing on work that is outside the Hollywood tradition. This class assumes students are very familiar with the Hollywood tradition and will offer some other historical and contemporary traditions to expand their knowledge of film history and theory. From abstract expressionism, avant-garde, to dogma 95, a range of filmmaking styles will be examined and students will have the opportunity to make pieces using some of the techniques derived from these genres. This class will attempt to balance theory and practice through regular technical workshops, script writing workshops and classroom discussions prompted by readings and film viewings. Download Syllabus PDF • View Student Work
Advocacy Video Production - RTV 6425
As television advertising expands to take up more and more programming time, we are increasingly surrounded by 30 second to one minute mini-narratives. Many of the ads we see are short stories where the product itself is difficult to determine. In addition to ubiquitous product ads, political advertising has taken on new influence with the rise of partisan political groups such as MoveOn.org and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. These groups played an active role in the most recent presidential election, and similar groups continue to produce short advocacy pieces on a range of issues from social security reform to oil drilling in Alaska.
This class explores the theory and practice of short form video production. The combined process of viewing material and producing original video will allow students to connect theory and practice as we explore the potential of short form video advocacy in 2005. In addition to production, students will examine the distribution possibilities for these videos by connecting with local TV broadcasters as well as exploring alternative media outlets. Topics covered in the course include the theory and practice of: culture jamming, political advertising and social marketing.