Brock University Undergraduate Calendar

COURSES

Aboriginal Studies (ABST)

Adult Education (ADED)

Applied Language Studies (APLS)

Astronomy (ASTR)

Biochemistry (BCHM)

Biology (BIOL)

Biotechnology (BTEC)

Canadian Studies (CANA)

Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCST)

Chemistry (CHEM)

Community Health Sciences (CHSC)

Child and Youth Studies (CHYS)

Classics (CLAS)

Communications (COMM)

Computer Science (COSC)

Dramatic Arts (DART)

Economics (ECON)

Education (all courses) (EDUC)

English (ENGL)

Entrepreneurial Studies (ENTR)

Environment (ENVI)

Earth Sciences (ERSC)

Film Studies (FILM)

Finance (FNCE)

French (FREN)

Great Books/Liberal Studies (GBLS)

Geography (GEOG)

German (GERM)

Greek (GREE)

History (HIST)

International Studies (INTL)

Italian (ITAL)

Information Technology Information Systems (ITIS)

Japanese (JAPA)

Labour Studies (LABR)

Latin (LATI)

Linguistics (LING)

Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures (MAND)

Mathematics (MATH)

Management (MGMT)

Marketing (MKTG)

Modern Languages, Literatures and Culture (MLLC)

Music (MUSI)

Neuroscience (NEUR)

Nursing (NUSC)

Organizational Behaviour and Human Relations (OBHR)

Oenology and Viticulture (OEVI)

Operations Management (OPER)

Popular Culture (PCUL)

Physical Education and Kinesiology (PEKN)

Philosophy (PHIL)

Physics (PHYS)

Political Science (POLI)

Portuguese (PORT)

Psychology (PSYC)

Recreation and Leisure Studies (RECL)

Russian (RUSS)

Science (SCIE)

Sociology (SOCI)

Spanish (SPAN)

Sport Management (SPMA)

Tourism Studies (TOUR)

Visual Arts (VISA)

Women's Studies (WISE)

Writing (WRIT)

Communications Courses

COMM 0N01

Co-op Work Placement I

First co-op work placement (4 months) with an approved employer.

Restriction: open to COMM Co-op students.

COMM 0N02

Co-op Work Placement II

Second co-op work placement (4 months) with an approved employer.

Restriction: open to COMM Co-op students.

COMM 0N03

Co-op Work Placement III

Third co-op work placement (4 months) with an approved employer.

Restriction: open to COMM Co-op students.

COMM 0N90

Co-op Training and Development

Provides a framework for the development of learning objectives by students for individual work terms. Includes orientation to the co-op experience, goal setting, career planning, resume preparation and interview skills preparation.

Lectures, presentations, site visits, 2 hours per week.

Restriction: open to COMM Co-op students.

COMM 1F90

Introduction to Communications

Approaches and issues in communications from both humanities and social science perspectives. Topics include the cultural use of symbols and signs, qualitative and quantitative mass media analysis, critical analysis of texts, the cultural character of the Canadian media and the impact of the media and media institutions upon society.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

COMM 2F50

Communications Theory

Systems theory, semiotic and cognitive approaches to message production and reception, symbolic interactionism and other constructivist approaches, interpersonal and group communication theories, communications analysis and theories of the mass media and their functions in society.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Prerequisite: one of COMM 1F90, FILM 1F94, PSYC 1F90, SOCI 1F90 or permission of the instructor.

COMM 2F92

Popular Narrative

(also offered as ENGL 2F92 and PCUL 2F92)

Archetypal and mythic dimensions of popular literary genres such as the detective novel, Gothic fiction, science fiction, the romance novel; comparison and contrast with other media.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Prerequisite: one of COMM 1F90, one ENGL credit numbered 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99, FILM 1F94 or permission of the instructor.

COMM 2F95

Introduction to Digital Imaging

(also offered as VISA 2F95)

Basic concepts in two dimensional image creation and manipulation for print and the web. Systematic overview and project-based use of fundamental graphic software including Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, PageMaker and Dreamweaver.

Lectures, lab, 4 hours per week.

Restriction: open to COMM (single or combined) and VISA (single or combined) majors until date specified in BIRT guide.

Prerequisite: COMM 1F90 or VISA 1P97 (1F96) or permission of the instructor.

Note: enrolment limited to 15 students. Material fee required. Students may need additional materials, which they must supply.

COMM 2F98

Canadian Public Administration

(also offered as LABR 2F98 and POLI 2F98)

Political, legal and managerial dimensions of public administration. Topics include the structure and management of public organizations; government reform; political-bureaucratic relations; pressure groups; personnel and budgetary processes; the policy process; ethics and accountability.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Prerequisite: one of COMM 1F90, LABR 1P91 and 1P92, one POLI credit numbered 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor.

Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in COMM (POLI) 3F51 and POLI 3P50.

COMM 2M90-2M99

Special Studies in Communications

Topics selected on the basis of specific areas of instructional expertise and student interest.

COMM 2P15

Communications Research Methods

Introduction to qualitative and quantitative methods for communi-cations research.

Lectures, lab, 3 hours per week.

Prerequisite: COMM 1F90 or permission of the instructor.

Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in COMM (SOCI) 2F10.

COMM 2P20

Introduction to Popular Culture

(also offered as FILM 2P20 and PCUL 2P20)

Historical, theoretical and critical approaches to various forms of popular culture (e.g., film, music, television, literature, periodicals and advertising).

Lectures, seminar, lab, 4 hours per week.

Prerequisite: one of COMM 1F90, CANA 1F91, FILM 1F94 or permission of the instructor.

COMM 2P21

Canadian Popular Culture

(also offered as FILM 2P21 and PCUL 2P21)

Survey of the media in Canada. Studies in the popular arts, with special reference to the ways in which institutions (e.g., CBC, NFB) and selected artists identify and express a Canadian cultural imagination.

Lectures, seminar, lab, 4 hours per week.

Prerequisite: COMM 2P20 or permission of the instructor.

COMM 2P22

Media and Sport

(also offered as PCUL 2P22 and SPMA 2P22)

Representation of sport in film, television and advertising. Topics may include issues of race, gender, business, politics and ideology in both professional and non-professional sports.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Restriction: open to COMM (single or combined) PCUL and SPMA majors with a minimum of 5.0 overall credits or permission of the instructor.

COMM 2P54

Documentary Film

(also offered as FILM 2P54 and SOCI 2P54)

History, theory, aesthetics and cultural implications of documentary film and other media.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week; plus weekly film lab.

Restriction: open to COMM (single and combined) and SOCI (single and combined) majors until date specified in BIRT guide.

Prerequisite: one of FILM 1F94, COMM 1F90, SOCI 1F90 or permission of the instructor.

Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in COMM (FILM/SOCI) 2F54.

COMM 2P55

Interpersonal Communication

(also offered as SOCI 2P55)

Perspectives on human communication including both verbal and non-verbal communication.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Prerequisite: COMM 1F90 or SOCI 1F90 or permission of the instructor.

Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in RECL 3P14.

COMM 2P56

Canadian Cinema

(also offered as FILM 2P56)

Critical and historical study of Canadian cinema.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week; plus weekly film lab.

Prerequisite: one of FILM 1F94, COMM 1F90, or permission of the instructor.

Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in COMM (FILM) 2F97.

COMM 2P70

Politics and Popular Music

(also offered as MUSI 2P70, PCUL 2P70 and POLI 2P70)

Political context and content of popular music. Topics may include theoretical perspectives on popular culture/popular music; the relationship of popular music to public policy, race and gender, popular movements and political identity; political economy of the music business.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

COMM 2P90

Computer-Mediated Communication

Nature of computer-mediated communication (CMC) and its role in social, educational and interpersonal contexts. Practicum component will introduce the technology and the methodologies, which are essential to explore the potential of CMC.

Lectures, seminar, lab, 4 hours per week.

Prerequisite: COMM 1F90 or permission of the instructor.

COMM 2P91

Hypertext: Reading and Writing in New Spaces

Theory, philosophy and politics of Hypertext as a communicative mode. Topics include critical theory in a Hypertext context, changing perceptions of reader narrative, new forms of Hypertext fiction and Hypertext compared with other electronic textuality.

Lectures, seminar, lab, 4 hours per week.

Prerequisite: COMM 2P90 or permission of the instructor.

COMM 2P94

Popular Cinema

(also offered as FILM 2P94 and PCUL 2P94)

Popular cinema as art and institution with emphasis on film genres and cultural contexts.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week; plus weekly lab.

Prerequisite: FILM 1F94.

COMM 3F10

Media Psychology

(also offered as PSYC 3F10)

Psychological aspects of media as entertainment and information, including social factors and cultural environments (e.g. sex, violence, sports, music, news, talk shows).

Lectures, lab, 3 hours per week.

Restriction: open to COMM (single or combined) and PSYC (single or combined) majors until date specified in BIRT guide. Students must have a minimum of 8.0 overall credits.

Prerequisite: COMM 1F90 or PSYC 1F90 or permission of the instructor.

COMM 3F28

Basic Production: Video

(also offered as FILM 3F28)

Introduction to the theory and practice of video techniques: critique of video and production work.

Workshops, seminar, 3 hours per week; additional production time as required.

Restriction: permission of the department.

Prerequisite: two FILM credits and permission of the instructor.

Note: enrolment limited to 15 students. Materials fee required.

COMM 3F71

Internship in Communications Industries

Internships with an emphasis on the economic and social contexts of media organizations, businesses and technology systems.

Tutorial, 3 hours per week; plus internship placement time.

Restriction: open to COMM (Business Communications, Communications Policy and Information Technology stream) majors with a minimum of 10.0 overall credits, a minimum 70 percent major average, a minimum 60 percent non-major average and permission of the Undergraduate Program Adviser.

Note: enrolment limited to a maximum of 15 students.

COMM 3P01

Directed Reading

Tutorial combined with one or more research papers or projects in an area of Communication Studies of mutual interest to the student and instructor.

Restriction: permission of the Undergraduate Program Adviser.

Note: students are responsible for arranging their course with a faculty member in consultation with the Undergraduate Program Adviser and must submit a written proposal signed by the faculty member to the Undergraduate Program Adviser before registration.

COMM 3P16

Mass Media

(also offered as PCUL 3P16 and SOCI 3P16)

Introduction to methods of media analysis. Comparison of theoretical and methodological approaches to mass media content, structures, institutions and audiences. Analysis of relations among media, culture and society with reference to Canadian examples.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Prerequisite: one of COMM 2F50, 2P21, SOCI 2P11 and 2P13 (2F10) or permission of the instructor.

COMM 3P17

Politics and the Mass Media in Canada

(also offered as PCUL 3P17 and POLI 3P17)

Canadian mass media and their relationship to the political process.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Prerequisite: COMM 2F50 or one POLI credit numbered 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor.

COMM 3P20

Television Studies

(also offered as FILM 3P20 and PCUL 3P20)

Historical, theoretical and critical approaches to television.

Lectures, seminar, lab, 4 hours per week.

Prerequisite: one of COMM 2P20 and 2P21, FILM 2F90 or permission of the instructor.

Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in COMM 3F50.

COMM 3P21

Canadian Television

(also offered as FILM 3P21 and PCUL 3P21)

Historical theoretical and critical approaches to Canadian television.

Lectures, seminar, lab, 4 hours per week.

Prerequisite: COMM 3P20 or permission of the instructor.

Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in COMM 3F50.

COMM 3P33

Psychology of Intergroup Behaviour

(also offered as PSYC 3P33)

Social psychological theories and research in the area of intergroup relations and intergroup conflict. Topics include realistic conflict theory, social identity theory, social exchange, relative deprivation and research on intergroup perceptions and attitudes. Current issues/controversies and implications for the resolution of intergroup conflict.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Restriction: open to COMM (single or combined) and PSYC (single or combined) majors until date specified in BIRT guide. Students must have a minimum of 8.0 overall credits or 3.0 PSYC credits above PSYC 1F90.

Prerequisite: PSYC 1F90

COMM 3P54

Issues in Documentary Film

(also offered as FILM 3P54 and SOCI 3P54)

Advanced studies in selected aspects of documentary film and other media.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week; plus weekly film lab.

Prerequisite: COMM 2P54.

Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in COMM (FILM/SOCI) 2F54.

COMM 3P56

Issues in Canadian Cinema

(also offered as FILM 3P56)

Advanced studies in selected aspects of Canadian cinema.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week; plus weekly film lab.

Prerequisite: COMM 2P56.

Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in COMM (FILM) 2F97.

COMM 3P62

Practicum in Business Communications

Practical managerial applications to business communications. Topics include integration of the communication mix and the design and implementation of a communications strategy.

Lectures, lab, 3 hours per week.

Restriction: open to COMM (Business Communications stream) majors with a minimum of 9.0 overall credits.

COMM 3P63

Desktop Publishing and Design

(also offered as WRIT 3P63)

Practicum in desktop publishing, layout and design.

Lectures, lab, 3 hours per week.

Prerequisite: COMM 2F50 or one WRIT credit numbered 2(alpha)00 or above or permission of the instructor.

COMM 3P65

Organizational Communication

Critical examination of the theories and practices relating to the process of communication in various organizational contexts.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Prerequisite: COMM 2F50.

COMM 3P74

Geography and Gender

(also offered as GEOG 3P74 and WISE 3P74)

Work of feminist geographers. Relationship between gender and space with respect to the organization of the city, architecture of the home, design of the shopping mall, the media, fear, homelessness, gentrification and employment.

Lectures, seminar, 4 hours per week.

Prerequisite: one of COMM 2P20 and 2P21, GEOG 2P02, 2P03, 2P06, WISE 2P90 (2F90), 2P91 or permission of the instructor.

COMM 3P80

Psychology of Interpersonal Behaviour

(also offered as PSYC 3P80)

Social psychology of interpersonal attraction and relationships, as studied through experimental, correlational and longitudinal designs. Reinforcement, exchange, attributional, equity and balance models. Levels of relationships. Aspects of the maintenance and dissolution of relationships and of interpersonal psychopathology.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Restriction: open to COMM (single or combined) and PSYC (single or combined) majors until date specified in BIRT guide. Students must have a minimum of 8.0 overall credits or 3.0 PSYC credits above PSYC 1F90.

Prerequisite: PSYC 1F90.

Note: PSYC 2F30 recommended.

COMM 3P88

Words in the Mind

(also offered as PSYC 3P88)

Focus on the mental lexicon, including basic components, vocabulary, theories of meaning, metaphors and meaning, selecting and recognizing words in communication.

Lectures, lab, 3 hours per week.

Restriction: open to COMM (single or combined) and PSYC (single or combined) majors until date specified in BIRT guide. Students must have a minimum of 8.0 overall credits or 3.0 PSYC credits above PSYC 1F90.

Prerequisite: one of COMM 1F90, LING 1F94, PSYC 1F90 or permission of the instructor.

COMM 3P90

Advanced Topics in Computer-Mediated Communication

Explorations of topics such as virtual communities, cyber-identity/identities and cyber-spirituality.

Lectures, lab, seminar, 4 hours per week.

Prerequisite: COMM 2P90 or permission of the instructor.

COMM 3P92

Technology and Culture

(also offered as FILM 3P92 and PCUL 3P92)

Studies in the effects of technological change on cultural forms and the representations of technology in different media.

Lectures, lab, seminar, 4 hours per week.

Prerequisite: COMM 2P20 or 2P21 or permission of the instructor.

COMM 3P93

Media and Minorities

(also offered as PCUL 3P93 and SOCI 3P93)

Relations between mass media and minority groups in society including dominant representations and stereotypes of cultural, racial and sexual minorities and minority group access to alternative forms of media production.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week; plus weekly lab.

Prerequisite: one of COMM 2F50, COMM 2P21, SOCI 2P11 and 2P13 (2F10) or permission of the instructor.

COMM 3P96

Issues in Popular Culture

(also offered as FILM 3P96 and PCUL 3P96)

Specialized studies in different media, or the role of different media in specific social, historical or theoretical contexts.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week, plus weekly lab.

Prerequisite: COMM 2P20 and 2P21 or FILM 2F90 or permission of the instructor.

COMM 3P97

Gender and Film

(also offered as FILM 3P97 and WISE 3P97)

Gendered narratives in classical Hollywood cinema to the late 1950s, with emphasis on film constructions of femininity and masculinity, and the implications of spectatorship and ideology within classical film.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week, plus weekly film lab.

Prerequisite: one of COMM 2P20 and 2P21, FILM 2F90, WISE 1F90 and 2P91, or permission of the instructor.

Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in COMM 3F97.

COMM 3P98

Screened Women

(also offered as FILM 3P98 and WISE 3P98)

Woman-centred films from early to contemporary cinema by women directors from different countries, contextualized in issues of feminist film theory and paradigm shifts in female representation, ideology and spectatorship.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week, plus weekly film lab.

Prerequisite: one of COMM 2P20 and 2P21, FILM 2F90, WISE 1F90 and 2P91 or permission of the instructor.

Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in COMM 3F97.

COMM 3Q99

Media: Fantasy and Reality

(also offered as PSYC 3Q99)

Media images and reality, the role of absorption as well as other personality and cognitive aspects of the experience of reality vs. fantasy, virtual reality, computer effects and images.

Lectures, lab, 3 hours per week.

Restriction: open to COMM (single or combined) and PSYC (single or combined) majors until date specified in BIRT guide. Students must have a minimum of 8.0 overall credits or 3.0 PSYC credits above PSYC 1F90.

Prerequisite: COMM 1F90 or PSYC 1F90 or permission of the instructor.

COMM 4F80

Directed Reading

Directed individual or group reading in an area of communications studies.

Restriction: permission of the Undergraduate Program Adviser.

Note: students are responsible for arranging their course with a faculty member in consultation with the Undergraduate Program Adviser and must submit a written proposal signed by the faculty member to the Undergraduate Program Adviser before registration. The reading may not be on the topic or with the faculty member of the student's COMM 4F99 thesis.

COMM 4F99

Honours Thesis

Thesis to be based on individual study and research carried out under the supervision of a faculty adviser.

Restriction: open to COMM (single or combined) majors with a minimum of 14.0 overall credits, a minimum 70 percent major average, a minimum 60 percent non-major average, approval to year 4 (honours) and permission of the Undergraduate Program Adviser.

Note: to register in the honours thesis, the student must consult the Undergraduate Program Adviser about topics, department regulations and the selection of an adviser.

COMM 4P17

Canadian Cultural and Communications Policy

(also offered as PCUL 4P17)

Historical perspectives on the development of government policies affecting the arts, cultural industries, public and private broadcasting in Canada.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Restriction: open to COMM (single or combined) majors and PCUL (single or combined) majors with approval to year 4 (honours) or permission of the instructor.

COMM 4P22

Technology, Change and Curriculum

Impact of technology and the information age on society and schools and the need to reflect resulting changes in school curriculum.

Lectures, 3 hours per week.

Restriction: open to COMM (Infor-mation Technology stream) majors with approval to year 4 (honours) and permission of the Undergraduate Program Adviser.

Note: enrolment limited.

COMM 4P23

Research on Popular Culture

(also offered as PCUL 4P23 and SOCI 4P23)

Advanced research seminar on the relations between mass media and popular culture. Topics vary with the interests of instructor and students.

Seminar, 3 hours per week.

Restriction: open to COMM (single or combined), PCUL (single or combined) and SOCI (single or combined) majors with approval to year 4 (honours) or permission of the instructor.

Prerequisite: COMM 2P20 or 3P16 (2P23) or permission of the instructor.

COMM 4P30

Theories of Mass Culture

(also offered as FILM 4P30 and PCUL 4P30)

Studies in cultural theory and its application to mass media texts, with special reference to the work of the Frankfurt School, French Structuralism and British Cultural Studies.

Lectures, lab, seminar, 4 hours per week.

Restriction: open to COMM (single or combined), FILM (single or combined) and PCUL (single or combined) majors with approval to year 4 (honours) or permission of the instructor.

Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in COMM (FILM/PCUL) 4F30.

COMM 4P31

Theories of the Visible

(also offered as FILM 4P31 and PCUL 4P31)

Central 20th-century developments in the theories of visibility and their relevance to the field of media studies.

Lectures, lab, seminar, 4 hours per week.

Restriction: open to COMM (single or combined), FILM (single or combined) and PCUL (single or combined) with approval to year 4 (honours) or permission of the instructor.

Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in COMM (FILM/PCUL) 4F30.

COMM 4P32

Comparative Mass Media

(also offered as POLI 4P32)

Selected problems concerning the mass media and the political process in Canada and other countries.

Seminar, 3 hours per week.

Restriction: open to COMM (single or combined) and POLS (POLI) (single or combined) majors with a minimum of 14.0 overall credits and either a minimum major average of 70 percent and a minimum non-major average of 60 percent or approval to year 4 (honours).

Prerequisite: COMM 3P17 or POLI 2F30 or permission of the instructor.

COMM 4P50

Ethnography of Communication

Anthropological approaches to cultural variations in communications, particularly verbal communication. Purposes to which speech is put and the way it is organized for these purposes in different cultural contexts.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Restriction: open to COMM (single or combined) majors with approval to year 4 (honours) or permission of the instructor.

COMM 4P51

Language and Power

Role of language in the creation and maintenance of ideology and power structures. Topics include political rhetoric, religious discourse, language in the professions (e.g., law, medicine).

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Restriction: open to COMM (single or combined) majors with approval to year 4 (honours) or permission of the instructor.

COMM 4P55

Advertising, Mass Media and Culture

(also offered as HIST 4P55 and PCUL 4P55)

Historical research into the development of Canadian advertising practices in an international context. Examination of the cultural and economic impact of advertising on the mass media, as well as the role of advertising in the formation of a consumer culture.

Seminar, 3 hours per week.

Restriction: open to COMM (single or combined), HIST (single or combined) and PCUL (single or combined) majors with approval to year 4 (honours) or permission of the instructor.

COMM 4P60

Directed Project in Information Technology

Supervised information technology, related project through placement in a publicly or privately funded organization.

Restriction: open to COMM (Infor-mation Technology stream) majors with approval to year 4 (honours) and permission of the Undergraduate Program Adviser.

Note: enrolment limited.

COMM 4V50-4V59

Research in Communications Studies

Special topics in communications studies.

Seminar, 3 hours per week.

Restriction: open to COMM (single or combined) majors with approval to year 4 (honours) or permission of the instructor.