Rhetoric and Public Discourse

Bachelor of Arts - Communication Studies; Rhetoric and Public Discourse Option

College Humanities & Sciences

Catalog Year: 2015-2016

Degree Specific Credits: 48

Required Cumulative GPA: 2.0

Note: To graduate with a degree in Communication Studies, the student must complete 36 COMX (COMM) credits with 18 of those credits in courses numbered 300 or above. Students must also complete an approved statistics course. For the Rhetoric option, students must complete an additional 12 credits of Allied courses to reach 48 total degree credits. A maximum of 6 credits in COMX 312 (COMM 360) and a maximum of 6 credits in COMX 398 (COMM 398) may count toward a major in communication studies.

Lower Division Core Courses

Rule: Must complete all of the following courses:

Note: Must complete COMX 111A, 2 other lower division COMX courses, and 16 university credits to move from Pre-Comm to Comm. Pre-comm majors are not eligible to take upper division courses.

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description COMX 111A - Intro to Public Speaking
Offered every term. Preparation, presentation, and criticism of speeches. Emphasis on the development of public speaking techniques through constructive criticism. Credit not allowed for both COMM 111A and COM 160A.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 115S - Intro to Interpersonal Communc
Offered autumn and spring. An overview of the process of human communication with special emphasis on analyzing communication patterns and improving interpersonal communication skills. Credit not allowed for both COMM 110S and COM 150S.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 220S - Intro to Organizational Comm
Offered yearly. Theory and research on communication in organizations. Focus on topics such as productivity, power, culture, socialization, technology and globalization covering a wide range of organizations including corporations, government, educational institutions, non-profit agencies and media organizations.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 240H - Intro to Rhetorical Theory
Offered yearly. An overview of rhetorical theory including an exploration of classical rhetoric, British and Continental rhetorical theory, and contemporary theories of language and persuasion.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 12 Total Credits Required

Upper Division Core Courses

Rule: Must complete the following subcategories

6 Total Credits Required

Research

Rule: Must complete the following course

Note: Students taking COMX 460 in the fall or spring semester will also be required to take COMX 461, Communication Research Seminar. Those taking COMX 460 in summer are exempt from this requirement.

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description COMX 460 - Research Methods
Offered autumn and spring. Open only to majors in COMM. Prereq. grade of C- or better in EDU 421 or EDLD 486 or PSYX 222 or SOCI 202 or STAT 216. Introduction to the major types of communication research and the foundations of quantitative research methods.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 3 Total Credits Required

Upper Division Writing

Rule: Must complete 1 of the following courses

Note: One of these courses is required to complete the upper division writing requirement in the major. This counts towards the total credits needed for the major.

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description COMX 347 - Rhetoric Nature & Environmtlsm
Offered every other year. Same as ENST 377. Not open to PCOM. Survey of rhetorical texts that shape public understanding of nature and environmental issues. Analysis of a range of historical and contemporary environmental texts using theoretical concepts from the rhetorical tradition.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 413 - Comm & Conflict-Writing
Offered yearly. Not open to PCOM. Conceptual and practical discussions of communication and conflict in interpersonal relationships, organizational settings and overall cultural milieu. Fulfills Upper-Division Writing requirement for Communication Studies majors. Credit is not allowed for both COMX 413 and COMX 412.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 414 - Comm in Personal Relationshps
Offered yearly. Prerequisite, COMX 115S or consent of instructor. Not open to PCOM. An examination of the functions, types, and historical context of close personal relationships with an in-depth study of the role of communication in friendships and romantic relationships.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 421 - Comm in Non-Profit Organizatns
Offered yearly. Not open to PCOM. Focuses on issues in nonprofit organizational communication at macro and micro levels. Topics include: organizational identity, change processes, public relations, fund-raising, advocacy, socialization, stress and burnout, board management and professionalization.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 422 - Communication and Technology
Offered every other year. Not open to PCOM. This course takes a critical look at the influence of communication technologies on organizational communication. Students will examine how the world of work is changing due to new technologies and explore the social and ethical implications of technical innovation, adoption and use.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 424 - Risk Crisis & Comm
Offered every other year. Not open to PCOM. This course explores the communicative dynamics that both prevent and cause organizational crisis. Through case studies, the class examines how people plan, communicate and make good decisions in high-risk situations, as well as how to manage crisis public relations effectively.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 445 - Rhetorical Criticism and Theor
Offered yearly. Not open to PCOM. Introduction to study of rhetorical criticism and theory. Current theoretical and methodological issues and approaches including traditional criticism, experiential criticism, dramatism, narrative criticism, feminist criticism, postmodern criticism.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 447 - Rhetorical Constrctn of Woman
Offered every other year. Not open to PCOM. Explores the rhetoric surrounding contemporary women's social "activism" in the U.S. Topics include women's rights, women's liberation, consciousness raising as a rhetorical form, reproductive rights, sexuality, and intersections between gender, race, and class.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 449 - Rhetoric of Women's Activism
Offered every other year. Not open to PCOM. Explores the rhetoric surrounding contemporary women's social "activism" in the U.S. Topics include women's rights, women's liberation, consciousness raising as a rhetorical form, reproductive rights, sexuality, and intersections between gender, race, and class.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 3 Total Credits Required

Rhetoric Option

Rule: Must complete the following subcategories

27 Total Credits Required

Major Courses

Rule: Must complete at least 4 of the following courses

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description COMX 241 - Persuasive Communication
Offered yearly. The use of communication in attitude and behavior change as experienced in personal, organizational, and public contexts.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 242 - Argumentation
Offered autumn and spring on the Mountain campus, offered intermittently on the Missoula College campus. Development of argumentation skills and critical judgment in decision-making and debate. Includes criticism, construction, presentation, and refutation of spoken and written arguments.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 343 - Persuasive Speaking and Critic
Offered yearly. Prereq., COMM 111A or consent of instructor. Not open to PCOM. The persuasive process through the criticism and creation of speeches and other rhetorical artifacts emphasizing the role persuasion plays in creating and shaping our culture.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 347 - Rhetoric Nature & Environmtlsm
Offered every other year. Same as ENST 377. Not open to PCOM. Survey of rhetorical texts that shape public understanding of nature and environmental issues. Analysis of a range of historical and contemporary environmental texts using theoretical concepts from the rhetorical tradition.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 349 - Comm Consump & Climate
Offered every other year. Same as CCS 349. Not open to PCOM majors. Analyzes consumption as a communication practice, investigates discourses that promote consumption, and illuminates environmental impacts on consumption.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 380 - Gender and Communication
Offered yearly. Not open to PCOM. The meaning of gender in our culture. Examines how gender is displayed and perpetuated through social institutions such as the media and through our private and public verbal and nonverbal interactions.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 445 - Rhetorical Criticism and Theor
Offered yearly. Not open to PCOM. Introduction to study of rhetorical criticism and theory. Current theoretical and methodological issues and approaches including traditional criticism, experiential criticism, dramatism, narrative criticism, feminist criticism, postmodern criticism.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 447 - Rhetorical Constrctn of Woman
Offered every other year. Not open to PCOM. Explores the rhetoric surrounding contemporary women's social "activism" in the U.S. Topics include women's rights, women's liberation, consciousness raising as a rhetorical form, reproductive rights, sexuality, and intersections between gender, race, and class.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 449 - Rhetoric of Women's Activism
Offered every other year. Not open to PCOM. Explores the rhetoric surrounding contemporary women's social "activism" in the U.S. Topics include women's rights, women's liberation, consciousness raising as a rhetorical form, reproductive rights, sexuality, and intersections between gender, race, and class.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 12 Total Credits Required

Allied Courses

Rule: Must complete at least 4 of the following courses

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description ANTY 122S - Race and Minorities
Offered autumn. Analysis of the development and concept of race as a social category and the processes of cultural change within and between ethnic groups.
 3 Credits
Show Description CCS 103X - Intro Climate Change:Sci & Soc
Offered autumn. This is an introductory and foundational course on the scientific and social dimensions of global climate change. The goal of this course is to provide students with a basic understanding of the fundamental scientific, social, political and technological issues arising from rapid climatic change. As a result, it provides students with a breadth of knowledge and builds connectedness across these varied dimensions of the complex global issue.
 3 Credits
Show Description COUN 242 - Intimate Relationships
Offered autumn and spring semester. This course covers the fascinating, multi-faceted world of intimate relationships and explores the topic from empirical and theoretical perspectives. The examination of intimate relationships in this course will look at the subject through cultural, biological, social and developmental lenses and will explore specific topics such as attraction, communication, friendship, sexuality, love, conflict, power and violence, loss, social cognition, and repairing relationships.
 3 Credits
Show Description COUN 475 - Forgiveness & Reconcilia
Offered spring.  Survey of the theory and practice of healing fractured relationships at the individual and community levels, treating historical and personal issues from philosophical, psychological and religious perspectives drawn from several diverse cultures.
 3 Credits
Show Description ECNS 433 - Economics of the Environment
Offered intermittently.  Prereq., ECNS 201S. Outlines a theoretical framework for the analysis of environmental problems, including concepts of market failure and externalities, materials balance and property rights. The policy implications of this analytical model are explored for a range of topics including pollution and the preservation of natural environments and species.  Formally cross-listed with EVST 440.
 3 Credits
Show Description ECNS 445 - Int Env Econ & Clim Change
Offered autumn every other year. Same as CCS 445. Prereq., ECNS 201S. An introduction to the economics of various policy approaches towards climate change and other international environmental issues such as trans-boundary pollution problems, international trade and the environment and pollution haven hypothesis.
 3 Credits
Show Description ENST 230H - Nature and Society
UM campus course offered spring. Explores the relationship between ideas about nature and the development of political and social ideas, institutions, and practices, primarily in western (Euro-American) society. Complements ethics offerings in philosophy aimed at environmental studies majors.
 3 Credits
Show Description ENST 367 - Envr Politics & Policies
Offered autumn. Foundation in public lands history, bedrock environmental laws, policy processes and institutions.  Research and analysis of current environmental and natural resource policy issues.  Focus is domestic illustrated by case studies.
 3 Credits
Show Description ENST 420 - US Environmental Movement
Offered Intermittently.  Study of the environmental movement as a social movement.  Examination of different approaches to environmental protection and restoration in view of the movement’s historical roots and contemporary debates. 
 3 Credits
Show Description FILM 103L - Introduction to Film
Offered every term. The history and development of the film medium. Emphasis on critical analysis of selected classic or significant films.
 3 Credits
Show Description HSTA 102H - American History II
(AM) Offered spring.  A comprehensive introductory history of the U.S. since 1877. Lecture-discussion. Credit not allowed for both 102H and 104H.
 4 Credits
Show Description HSTA 262 - Abolitionism
(AM) Same as AAS 262. Offered spring.  Interdisciplinary, historical perspective on early 19th century movement to abolish slavery and racial discrimination in the United States.
 3 Credits
Show Description HSTA 321 - America in Crisis
(AM) Offered autumn. This era in U.S. history was marked by a series of crises: the contested transition to modernity during the 1920s, the Great Depression, and World War II and its aftermath.  This course will explore how Americans responded to these crises, why they responded to them the way they did, and how their responses altered the society in which they lived.
 3 Credits
Show Description HSTA 322 - American History: WWII to Pres
(AM) Offered spring.  The Cold War and its consequences, the civil rights revolution, affluence and anxiety, counter-culture, political radicalism, feminism, the Nixon years, Watergate and after.
 3 Credits
Show Description HSTA 370H - Wmn Amer Colonial to Civil War
Offered autumn.  Interpretive overview of major themes and events in U.S. womens history to 1865. Same as WGS 370H.
 3 Credits
Show Description HSTR 272E - Terrorism:Viol Mod Wrld
(WRLD) Offered autumn.  Prereq., lower-division course in Perspective 5 or consent of instr. The rise and spread of terrorism in the modern world, from the French Revolution to the present.
 3 Credits
Show Description HSTR 302 - Ancient Greece
(EU) Offered intermittently. Same as MCLG 301H. Greek history from the earliest times through the Macedonian ascendancy, based on the writings of the Greek historians. Cannot receive credit for both HSTR 302 and MCLG 301H.
 3 Credits
Show Description HSTR 364 - Environmental History
(AM) Offered intermittently. Prereq., lower-division course in Perspective 5 or consent of instr. A history of the human-nature interaction in the United States.
 3 Credits
Show Description HSTR 384 - Hist Internat Human Rights
(WRLD) Offered intermittently.  A treatment of the powerful global influence of visions of human rights upon the historical and contemporary world in which movements such as abolitionism, women's rights, humanitarian law, racial equality, decolonization and democratization, and the impact of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
 3 Credits
Show Description LIT 110L - Intro to Lit
Offered every term. Study of how readers make meaning of texts and how texts influence readers. Emphasis on interpreting literary texts: close reading, critical analysis and effective writing.
 3 Credits
Show Description MAR 101L - Intro to Media Arts
Offered every term. Overview of the media arts and their interaction, integration and development in the creation of story beginning with the early years of photography and movie-making through the introduction of radio and television up to the digital revolution.
 3 Credits
Show Description NASX 405H - Gndr Iss in Native Amer Stdies
Offered intermittently.  Same as WS 342H.  Focus on American Indian gender relations and their cultural continuity and historical evolution. National in scope with concentration on certain tribes. Group analysis of contemporary gender issues relevant to Native American peoples.
 3 Credits
Show Description NRSM 449E - Climate Change Ethics/Policy
Offered autumn. Same as CCS 449E. This course focuses on the ethical dimensions of climate change policy. It will cover the following major topics: (1) climate change, personal and collective responsibilities, (2) ethics, climate change and scientific uncertainty, (3) distributive justice and international climate change negotiations, (4) intergenerational justice and climate change policy.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 112E - Intro Ethics and Environment
Offered intermittently.  An introductory-level ethics course with a special interest in the natural environment.  The course will (a) introduce students to the three classical traditions in ethics - virtue, Kantianism, and utilitarianism, (b) ground these theories in questions about the moral status of non-humans and our moral duties to non-humans, (c) include an applied section of the course that will cover animal welfare, biotechnology, and other current topics.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 235 - Intro to Logic: Induction
Offered intermittently. Prereq., PHL 233 or equivalent, or consent of instr.  A study of the formal principles of reasoning from evidence. 
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 422 - Environmental Philosophy
Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing and PHL 210E, or consent of instr. Critical exploration of selected philosophical and literary texts pertinent to the ethics of human relationships with the natural environment.
 3 Credits
Show Description PSCI 250E - Intro to Political Theory
Offered spring. Analysis of the various attempts (from Plato to Marx) to explain, instruct, and justify the distribution of political power in society. Emphasis is placed upon those theories whose primary concern is to define the nature of the "good" society.
 3 Credits
Show Description PSCI 342 - Media, Public Opinion, Polling
Offered intermittently. Prereq., PSCI 210S. Study of the role played by mass media in shaping public opinion, policy agendas, and governmental institutions.
 3 Credits
Show Description PSCI 352 - American Political Thought
Offered spring. Prereq., PSCI 250E or consent of instr. The study of representative political thinkers is used to illustrate the theme of American democracy as a multifaceted experiment with self-government.
 3 Credits
Show Description PSCI 355 - Theories of Civil Violence
Offered autumn. Prereq., junior standing or consent of instr. Survey of the theoretical literature on civil violence, its causes and consequences. Analysis of violence as a political technique and of counter measures designed to prevent or control it.
 3 Credits
Show Description PSCI 444 - Am Political Participation
Offered intermittently. Prereq., PSCI 210S. Examination of the individual and institutional factors affecting voter turnout, the influences on voter decision making, and non-electoral forms of participation in the United States.
 3 Credits
Show Description PSCI 471 - American Constitutional Law
Offered autumn. Prereq., junior standing or consent of instr. Survey of U.S. Supreme Court's interpretation of the U.S. Constitution's provisions on separation of powers, federalism, civil rights, and civil liberties.
 3 Credits
Show Description PSCI 474 - Civil Rights Seminar
Offered spring. Prereq., PSCI 471 or consent of instr. Intensive analysis, discussion, and writing about key U.S. Supreme Court constitutional cases on expression, religion, privacy, criminal justice, and discrimination.
 3 Credits
Show Description S W 323 - Women & Soc Action Amer
Offered intermittently. Prereq., one of SW 100, SOCI 101S, or ANTY 101H or consent of instr. Same as WS 323. Focus on women’s experiences of and contributions to social change in North, South and Central America in the mid to late-20th century. Through case studies, testimonials, discussions with activists and Internet connections examine social constructions of gender, compare forms of social action in diverse cultural, political and historical contexts, link practice to theories of social participation, and reflect on lessons learned from women’s experiences.
 3 Credits
Show Description S W 324 - Gender and Welfare
Offered intermittently. Prereq., SW 100 or consent of instr. Same as WGS 324. Exploration of the relationship between gender ideologies and the development of social welfare policies. Examination of historic and contemporary social welfare policies, practices and debates in the United States through a gender lens.
 3 Credits
Show Description S W 455 - Social Gerontology
Offered autumn. Examination of the field of social gerontology, including an examination of the major bio/psycho/social/cultural/spiritual theories of aging, the service system, social and health issues, family and care giving dynamics, social policy, and end of life concerns.
 3 Credits
Show Description SOCI 220S - Race, Gender & Class
Offered autumn. Same as WGS 220S. Analysis of the intersecting structure and dynamics of race, gender and class. Focus on power relationships, intergroup conflict and minority-group status.
 3 Credits
Show Description SOCI 325 - Social Stratification
Offered intermittently. Prereq., SOCI 101S or SOCI 220S or SOCI 275S. The origins, institutionalization and change of class, status, prestige, power and other forms of social inequality. Special attention to the effects of stratification on individuals.
 3 Credits
Show Description SOCI 350 - The Community
Offered intermittently. Prereq., SOCI 101S. The study of families, peer groups, neighborhoods, voluntary associations, power structures, social classes and large scale organizations as they come together in local communities.
 3 Credits
Show Description SOCI 470 - Environmental Sociology
Offered autumn. Introduction to environmental sociology and the social dimensions of environmental change.  Case studies of major environmental problems as applications of environmental sociological perspectives.
 3 Credits
Show Description SOCI 485 - Political Sociology
Offered spring odd-numbered years. Prereq., junior or senior standing. Analysis of political theory and behavior; social bases of power and policy determination; institutional interrelationships; intellectuals and ideologies; political trends and change; political participation and membership.
 3 Credits
Show Description WGSS 163L - Hist/Lit Persp Women
Offered spring. Formerly PHL 151H, LS 119H, WGS 119H, WGGS 163H. This is an introduction to the discipline and scope of Western thought from antiquity to the present focusing on women as the subject rather than men. The objective of the course is to provide an understanding and critical appreciation of seminal texts by and about women through readings, class discussion and written assignments.
 3 Credits
Show Description WGSS 263S - Women's and Gender Studies
Offered autumn. Broad overview of gender and women's issues from a social science perspective. Relevant topics related to the sociological and psychological aspects of gender across culture are explored, including masculinity, femininity, violence, reproductive health, cultural diversity in the expression of gender, issues in sexual orientation, and media contributions to these issues.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 12 Total Credits Required

Additional Major Electives

Rule: May take additional COMX courses to achieve 36 COMX degree credits.

Statistics

Rule: Must complete 1 of the following courses

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description EDU 421 - Statistical Procedures in Educ
Prereq., M 115 or equiv. or consent of instr. Same as HHP 486. Concepts and procedures characterizing both descriptive and inferential statistics. Awareness of common statistical errors.
 3 Credits
Show Description PSYX 222 - Psychological Statistics
Offered every term. Prereq., PSYX 120; M 115, M 162 or 171. Application of statistical techniques to psychological data. Credit not allowed for both PSYX 222 and SOCI 202.
 3 Credits
Show Description SOCI 202 - Social Statistics
Offered every term. Prereq., or coreq. M 115, Sociology majors only, or consent of instr. Application of descriptive and inferential statistical techniques to sociological data. Required of all majors.
 3 Credits
Show Description STAT 216 - Introduction to Statistics
Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., M 115 (preferred), or one of M 121, 132, 151, 162 or 171, or ALEKS placement >= 4. Introduction to major ideas of statistical inference. Emphasis is on statistical reasoning and uses of statistics.
 4 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 3 Total Credits Required