Mar 28, 2024  
2022-2023 Academic Catalog 
    
2022-2023 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Department of Communication Arts


The Department of Communication Arts offers a broad spectrum of majors designed to meet a variety of career possibilities for students interested in communication, media, and performance. Specifically, Communication Studies and Theatre are offered on the Statesboro and Armstrong campuses; while Multimedia Film and Production, Multimedia Journalism, and Public Relations are offered in Statesboro. Faculty within all majors are committed to providing programs and classes through which students develop life and professional skills by crafting oral and written presentations adapted to specific audiences; designing communication programs and campaigns; creating performance and design work, and enhancing critical analysis and problem-solving. Students work together and with faculty on research projects, state-of-the-art productions, events, campaigns, online news outlets, and films, which are recognized at conferences and festivals regionally and nationally.

Undergraduate

Students graduating with a B.A. degree in Theatre will be able to:

  • Analyze and think critically about text, performance, and production.
  • Apply fundamental skills in developing a character through performance techniques.
  • Identify and apply the aesthetic properties of style in the development of a theatrical design.
  • Assess and apply appropriate directing approaches and methodologies.
  • Recognize a wide selection of the theatre repertory, including the principal eras, genres, and cultural sources.

Students earning a B.S. in Communication Studies will be able to:

  • Develop a research prospectus employing appropriate methodologies to study their stated communication research question and/or hypothesis regarding human communication behavior.
  • Develop an analysis of a communication artifact utilizing an appropriate rhetorical criticism model.
  • Utilize current events as data for analysis of arguments in persuasive communication.
  • Demonstrate an awareness of ethical standards as they relate to persuasive communication.
  • Recognize the importance of culture and its impact on the reception of communication messages.

Students earning a B.S. in Multimedia Film and Production will be able to:

  • Employ discipline-specific formatting and writing standards and strategies in composing audio, TV and film scripts.
  • Identify and employ proper techniques through critical thinking towards utilization of discipline specific technology in the creation of effective audio-visual stories for appropriate media platforms.
  • Analyze and evaluate multiple platform productions for content and storytelling effectiveness, as well as for appropriateness to designated audiences, aesthetic values, and/or diverse representation.
  • Identify and analyze historical and/or continually affecting changes in the multimedia industries.
  • Identify, research and analyze the influences and role of ethical, legal, and/or social issues within the multimedia discipline.

Students earning a B.S. in Multimedia Journalism will be able to:

  • Create news stories at a professional level, using appropriate media platforms.
  • Apply critical thinking skills in selecting relevant sources, collecting necessary information, and synthesizing complex information for mass audiences.
  • Critique and to correct news content for accuracy, fairness, grammatical correctness, aesthetic values and appropriateness for diverse audiences.
  • Analyze and evaluate the potential legal and ethical implications of journalistic communication.
  • Differentiate historical and current patterns in media coverage, to critique those patterns of coverage, and to assess relationships between media coverage and societal issues.

Students earning a B.S. in Public Relations will be able to:

  • Analyze organizational problems and utilize primary and secondary research methods to develop solutions to those problems.
  • Construct public relations plans and collaterals integrating public relations principles and theories.
  • Apply techniques and historical developments within the discipline with current practices in public relations.
  • Assess and evaluate key legal concepts and ethical implications related to public relations communication and research.

Graduate

The Professional Communication and Leadership degree focuses on written and verbal communication within the lens of leadership. It is a degree developed to prepare students as a working professional or for further study in the areas of communication, critical thinking, and leadership. Students of the program become familiar with communication strategies, technical editing, diverse contexts, and leadership in the public arena.

Reflecting the missions of Georgia Southern University and the College of Arts and Humanities, the Communication Arts and Writing and Linguistics departments foster a culture of close engagement with students, combining theory with practice, and extending the learning environment beyond the classroom to promote life-long learning and growth.

Programs

    Undergraduate Program(s)Undergraduate Minor(s)Master’s Program(s)Graduate Certificate(s)