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Communication Extended Minor
This program, along with another minor or extended minor in a relevant department, may be completed as part of a Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences or Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology BA degree. An extended minor consists of the lower division requirements of a major and the upper division requirements of a minor in a subject area.
丁香园AV Requirements
Enrolment Limitations and 丁香园AV
丁香园AV is subject to enrolment limitations. Applicants will have a minimum 2.50 cumulative grade point average (CGPA) or transfer CGPA upon completion of the lower division requirements. A minimum 2.25 CGPA is required to remain in good standing in the program.
CMNS course enrolment requires a C- grade or better in each prerequisite course. Approval as a communication honours, major, extended minor, minor, or dialogue minor is required for entry into most communication upper division courses.
Program Requirements
Lower Division Requirements
Students complete the same lower division requirements as for the school鈥檚 major program as follows.
Students complete both of
An introduction to selected theories about human communication. This course is required for a major, honours or minor in communication. Breadth-Social Sciences.
An introduction to the forms, theories and institutions of communication as they relate to broader social change, with a focus on the political, economic and regulatory shifts characterizing Canadian and transnational media systems. This course is required for a major, honours or minor in communication.
and at least six 200 division CMNS courses (18 units), at least two of which are chosen from the following
An introduction to empirical research methods in diverse traditions of communication enquiry. Some methods recognize communication as everyday interactions; others analyze communication as a process; still others blend traditional scientific empiricism with analytical and critical methods derived from the arts and humanities. Topics include: ethics, paradigms, conceptualizing and operationalizing research, sampling, interviews, surveys, unobtrusive observation, content analysis, and the role of statistics in communication research. Prerequisite: CMNS 110 or 130. Quantitative.
Media and communication studies often utilize historical, governmental and corporate records. The course introduces the techniques necessary to analyze the primary source documents. Topics include: ethics, documentary discourse analysis, Canadian and international documentary searches on NGOs, governments, corporations; writing of policy briefs. Prerequisite: CMNS 110 or 130.
Examination of a wide range of approaches to research in media and cultural studies, including a discussion of ethical issues. Topics may include: historical methods, field work methods, textual analysis, case studies. Prerequisite: CMNS 110 or 130. Students who have credit for CMNS 286 in Spring 2004 may not take this course for further credit.
The remaining four 200 division CMNS courses must include at least one course from each of the following three areas of concentration.
* completion of this quantitative (Q) course satisfies half of the University's Q requirement for students admitted in fall 2006 or later (see Writing, Quantitative and Breadth Requirements below)
Media and Culture Concentration
Explores the history and contexts of media institutions, practices, texts and discourses with particular concern for the way they affect the meaning and experience of culture.
This course examines television, both as a medium of communication and an element of culture. Prerequisite: CMNS 110 and 130.
Focus on communication for social change; historical and contemporary perspectives in consumer culture; technology, media and popular culture; media and identity; and communication as public education. Prerequisite: CMNS 110 and 130.
An interdisciplinary examination of the significance of advertising as a social message system in our consumer society. The course proposes an analytical method for appreciating the changing styles and functions of advertising in the 20th century. Prerequisite: CMNS 110 and 130. Stduents with credit for CMNS 223 may not take this course for further credit. Writing.
Introduces students to the study of the relationship between public communication, information media practices and structures, and democracy. Examines the role of media and communication in existing and emerging democratic contexts, including print and electronic journalism, alternative media, public spheres, and the challenges of constructing and maintaining a democratic media and communication environment in Canadian and global contexts. Prerequisite: CMNS 130.
Political Economy and Policy Concentration
Explores the contested economic, political, and regulatory processes shaping media institutions and communication processes.
What do we mean when we talk about the 'cultural industries' today? This course explores the business structure and economics of the cultural sectors, the regulatory and policy frameworks, and their social and cultural contexts. Students are encouraged to develop, compare and contrast at least two sectors from the audio, print or visual industries. While the primary focus is on the Canadian case, students will be encouraged to look at other countries. Overriding themes explore the following: relationships between public and private sectors; independent and commercial creators; rights of creators versus distributors; specialty and general media; indigenous and global contents. Prerequisite: CMNS 130.
Examination of the political and economic processes that have generated the policies and structures of mass media, telecommunications and related industries; the relationship between the dichotomies of state and market, citizen and consumer, capitalism and democracy, global and local, and sovereignty and globalization in media industries and policies; overview of influences on State and international policies towards the media. Prerequisite: CMNS 110 and 130.
Technology and Society Concentration
Analyzes topics within the broader field of communication through a focus on information and communication technologies and the knowledge society from the standpoint of scholarship in science and technology studies.
An assessment of the social implications of developments in information technology from prehistory to the middle of the 20th century. Topics include: the origins of symbolic representation; the oral tradition; the significance of different systems of writing and numeration; the consequences of print; and the initial changes brought about by electronic media. Prerequisite: CMNS 110.
An introduction to new communication/information technologies, seen as new media of communication: the technologies, their uses, and the social issues arising from them. Prerequisite: CMNS 110 or 130. Students with credit for CMNS 253 may not take this course for further credit. Writing.
Upper Division Requirements
Students complete four upper division CMNS courses (and the lower division prerequisites, if any). Directed study and field placement courses may not be used to meet this requirement.
Writing, Quantitative, and Breadth Requirements
Students admitted to 丁香园AV beginning in the fall 2006 term must meet writing, quantitative and breadth requirements as part of any degree program they may undertake. See for university-wide information.
WQB Graduation Requirements
A grade of C- or better is required to earn W, Q or B credit
| Requirement |
Units |
Notes | |
| W - Writing |
6 |
Must include at least one upper division course, taken at 丁香园AV within the student’s major subject | |
| Q - Quantitative |
6 |
Q courses may be lower or upper division | |
| B - Breadth |
18 |
Designated Breadth | Must be outside the student’s major subject, and may be lower or upper division 6 units Social Sciences: B-Soc 6 units Humanities: B-Hum 6 units Sciences: B-Sci |
|
6 |
Additional Breadth | 6 units outside the student’s major subject (may or may not be B-designated courses, and will likely help fulfil individual degree program requirements) | |
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