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COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

SAMPLE COURSE DESCRIPTION

COURSE NUMBERING SYSTEM

GENERAL EDUCATION DESIGNATION

DEPARTMENTS OFFERING DIVERSIFICATION COURSES

Speech (SP)

College of Arts and Humanities

SP 151 Personal and Public Speech (3) (1 Lec, 2 1-hr Lab) Develops communication skills necessary to function effectively in today’s society. Students will enhance their communication skills in one-on-one situations, public speaking, and small group situations. Ideal for new majors and non-majors. DA

SP 170 Introduction to Nonverbal Communication (3) Beginning course on the fundamental components of nonverbal communication. Aspects of body movements, facial expressions, eye behavior, physical appearance, voice, touch, space, smell, time, and environmental features will be examined in a lecture/discussion format. Extensive practice in skills. DS

SP 181 Introduction to Interpersonal Communication (3) Introduction to basic principles of interaction between two people. Emphasis is on enhancement of skills in a variety of interpersonal contexts. DS

SP 185 Multicultural Communication Skills (3) Expose students to practical skills needed for effective intercultural communication. Offer guidelines for improvement in diverse cultural settings such as business, education, counseling, and healthcare. DS

SP 200 Speaking Skills for Prospective Teachers (3) Theory and activities for competence in speaking skills used in classroom; interview, discussion, lecture, etc.

SP 251 Principles of Effective Public Speaking (3) Combined lecture/laboratory providing extensive practice in preparing and presenting effective public speeches with special emphasis on organization, outlining, audience analysis, analytical reasoning, and delivery skills. DA

SP 280 Interviewing (3) Principles and practice; training in informational, persuasive, employment, appraisal, and research interviewing. Pre: one of 151, 170, 181, 185, 251 or 301; or consent. NI

SP 301 Introduction to Speech Communication Theories (3) Introduction to the theoretical perspectives that are the foundations of the speech communication discipline. Pre: one of 151, 170, 181, 185, or 251; or consent. DS

SP 302 Research Methods (3) Introduction to methods of inquiry in the field of speech. Topics include research design and problem formulation, sampling, analytic and observational techniques, and data interpretation. SP major only. Pre: 200-level speech course (or concurrent) or consent. DS

SP 321 Speech for Classroom Teachers (3) Analysis of and practice in using major models of speech communication in the classroom. Role of speech in various academic disciplines as needed by teachers. Pre: one of 151, 170, 181, 185, 200, 251 or 301; or consent.

SP 333 Storytelling (3) Aesthetic communication through storytelling for entertainment and education. Oral tradition; analysis of story types; techniques of preparation and presentation; performance. Pre: one of 151, 170, 181, 185, 231, 251 or 301; or consent. DA

SP 335 Story Theater (3) Techniques and procedures for staging and performing narrative fiction. Pre: one of 151, 170, 181, 185, 231, 251 or 301; or consent. DA

SP 351 Professional Presentations (3) Extends application of public speaking skills to professional contexts: group sales, press conferences, and corporate annual reports. Emphasis on organization, preparation, and delivery. Pre: 251 or consent.

SP 352 Group Decision-Making and Leadership (3) Study of decision-making within the small group. Effects of organization, leadership, membership, and goals on achieving group purposes. Pre: one of 151, 170, 181, 185, 251 or 301; or consent.

SP 353 Argumentation and Debate (3) Adapting communication theory to forensic strategies for social action. Practice in formal argument. Pre: one of 151, 170, 181, 185, 251 or 301; or consent.

SP 361 Leadership Skills (3) Principles and practices of organizational speech and its relationship to networks, leadership, power, conflict, cultures, and other contemporary views of organizational work, change, and development. Pre: one of 151, 170, 181, 185, 251 or 301; or consent. DS

SP 364 Persuasion (3) Theories, concepts, strategies, and processes of persuasion and social influence in contemporary society. Focus on analyzing, developing, and resisting persuasive messages. Pre: one of 151, 170, 181, 185, 251 or 301; or consent. DS

SP 370 Verbal Communication (3) Roles of language: perception and assumption in human relationships; relation of language symbols to emotion and attitudes. Pre: upper division standing or consent. DS

SP 380 Family Communication (3) Focuses on the role of interaction patterns (both constructive and destructive) in the evolution of family communications. The impact of family dynamics upon these interaction patterns is given equal attention. Pre: one of 151, 170, 181, 185, 251 or 301; or consent. DS

SP 381 Interpersonal Relations (3) Theory and research on the development, maintenance, and termination of interpersonal relationships. Pre: one of 151, 170, 181, 185, 251 or 301; or consent. DS

SP 385 Culture and Communication (3) Survey of major factors affecting interpersonal communication between members of different cultures. Emphasis upon interaction between U.S. and Asian-Pacific peoples. Pre: one of 151, 170, 181, 185, 251 or 301; or consent. DS

SP 386 Special Topics in Culture and Communication (3) Contemporary research and theory on intercultural communication. Pre: one of 151, 170, 181, 185, 251 or 301; or consent. DS

SP 390 Interrogation and Interviewing (3) Survey of theory and research on the communicative demands of obtaining reliable information from others primarily in the areas of military intelligence and law enforcement. Pre: one of 151, 170, 181, 185, 251 or 301; or consent. DS

SP 395 Research on Speech Behavior (3) Survey of research on speech behavior. Verbal and nonverbal data collection; analysis of research data. Students design and implement a research project. Repeatable three times. Pre: 301 and 302. DS

SP 399 Internship (V) Analysis and application of speech/communication knowledge and behaviors in organizational settings. Repeatable up to six credits. A-F only. Pre: consent.

SP 454 Political Communication (3) Survey of interpersonal and mass communication theories in the political context. Topics may include communication in public opinion processes, elections, debates, political campaigning and advertising. Pre: upper division standing or consent. DS

SP 455 Conflict Management (3) Examination of the theories, assumptions, practices, models, and techniques of managing interpersonal conflicts. Pre: one of 151, 170, 181, 185, 251, 301 or 381. DS

SP 464 Analysis of Public Communication (3) Analysis of communication in public settings; perspectives on the study of argumentative strategy and structure in public messages (debates, political or public service ads). Pre: 364 or consent. DS

SP 470 Nonverbal Communication (3) Understanding communication beyond the words themselves. Review of theory and research on gestures, facial expressions, touch, personal space, and physical appearance. Pre: 151, 170, 181, 185 or 251; or consent. DS

SP 481 Relational Management (3) Survey and critical discussion of current theory and research in relational management literature. Focus on conversation management, deception, jealousy, privacy, communication of emotions. Pre: 301 or 302 (or concurrent), and 381; or consent. DS

SP 490 The Helping Relationship (3) Theory and application of personal and interpersonal elements affecting communication of human-service professionals. Supervised practice, video lab. Pre: one of 151, 251 or 301 and PSY 100. (Cross-listed as PSY 477) DS

SP 493 Teaching Speech (6) For speech majors who lead, under supervision, a freshman seminar section of speech. Pre: senior standing and consent.

SP 495 Health Communication (3) Develop understanding of how speech communication functions to facilitate or inhibit the delivery of health care in a variety of contexts. Focus on compliance process, physician-patient interaction, nurse-physician interaction. Pre: 364 or 381, or consent. DS

SP 499 Directed Reading (V) Pre: consent of department chair and instructor.

SP 500 Master’s Plan B/C Studies (1) Enrollment for degree completion. Repeatable two times. Pre: master’s Plan B candidate and consent.

SP 601 Theories in Speech Communication (3) Major theoretical foundations; humanistic and social scientific perspectives. Examination of the research and the development of different models of human communication. SP major only. Pre: graduate standing in SP, or consent.

SP 602 Research Methods in Speech (3) Design and analysis of quantitative research in speech. Focus on measurement issues, research design, descriptive and inferential statistics. SP major only. Pre: graduate standing in SP, or consent.

SP 620 Practicum for Instructional Communication (V) Combined seminar and lecture/discussion format on techniques and procedures for teaching speech skills and their related components in a laboratory setting. CR/NC only. Repeatable one time. SP major only. Pre: graduate standing in SP, or consent.

SP 660 Business Communication (3) Analysis of communication issues in business through discussion of verbal/nonverbal messages, interpersonal relationships, conflict, and persuasion. Focus on interviewing, group communication, and public speaking skills. Pre: 601 (or concurrent) or 602 (or concurrent), or consent.

SP 664 Persuasion and Social Influence (3) Theories of persuasion and resistance to persuasion; assessment of attitudes and measurement of change. Pre: 601 (or concurrent) or 602 (or concurrent) or consent.

SP 670 Message Processing (3) Theories of human message processing. Effects of verbal and nonverbal codes, channels, and message forms on encoding and decoding. Pre: 601 (or concurrent) or 602 (or concurrent); or consent.

SP 681 Relational Communication (3) Major models and theories of interpersonal speech communication; research on interpersonal relationships; interaction and functions of human discourse. Pre: 601 (or concurrent) and 602 (or concurrent); or consent.

SP 699 Directed Research (V) Repeatable unlimited times. Only three credits can count toward degree.

SP 700 Thesis Research (V) Repeatable three times.

SP 702 Researching Relational Communication (3) Methodological and analytical issues of research related to relational communication. Focus on repeated measures, multivariate analysis, longitudinal analysis, and reliability and validity issues. Pre: 602 or consent.

SP 721 Approaches to Instructional Communication (3) Speech communication theories and models in instructional environment; emphasis on development training in educational settings. Pre: 601 (or concurrent) or 602 (or concurrent), or consent.

SP 752 Group Decision-Making (3) Theory, concepts, research, and application of small group interaction and decision-making. Pre: 601 (or concurrent) or 602 (or concurrent), or consent.

SP 764 Seminar in Persuasion and Influence (3) Contemporary research in persuasion and influence. Repeatable two times. Pre: 664 (or concurrent) or consent.

SP 770 Issues in Message Processing (3) Contemporary research in verbal and nonverbal message processing. Repeatable one time. Pre: 601 (or concurrent) or 602 (or concurrent), or consent.

SP 781 Seminar in Relational Communication (3) Contemporary research in interpersonal relations. Repeatable one time. Pre: 681 or consent.

SP 785 Research on Intercultural Communication (3) Functional approach to the study of speech communication in intercultural settings. Examination of culture-based variables and their impact on social influence, relational management, and message processing. Repeatable one time. Pre: 664, 670 or 681; or consent.

SP 795 Seminar in Health Communication Research (3) Contemporary interpersonal and/or public communication issues in health communication research. Topics include speech communication functions such as information management, interpersonal influence, relational management, emotional management, social influence. Repeatable one time. Pre: 664, 670 or 681; or consent.