COMM 2400 Discourse, Culture, and Identities

Instructor Contact:

Name: Tajshen Campbell, Ph.D.

Email: tajshen.campbell@colorado.edu

About the Course:

This course examines how aspects of talk (e.g., turn-taking, speech acts, narratives, dialect, and stand indicators) link with identities (e.g., ethnic and racial, age, gender, work-related, and persona). Considers how communication is central to constructing who people are and examines social controversies related to talk and identities.

Approved for GT-SS3. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: human diversity.

Objectives:

The objectives of this course are:

1. Analyze everyday communication by labeling discourse practices
2. Explain how identity is constructed and challenged in communication
3. Explain why a particular situation is a communication dilemma and offer a rationale for how you would navigate it to achieve your goals
4. Understand the cultural and rhetorical dimensions of interaction.

Required Texts:

• Movie Streaming Sites: We will watch a few movies over the 14 weeks of this course. You’ll need to able to access these. Some of them may available on Canvas. Others can be found on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and iTunes.
• Textbook: Tracy, K. & Robles, J. (2013). Everyday talk: Building and reflecting identities (2nd ed). New York: Guilford Press.
• Supplemental Readings available on Canvas

Grading (out of 1000 points):

• Reading and Concept Quizzes (200 pts.)
• Praxis Essays (200 pts.)
• Weekly Engagement (150 pts.)
• Exams (250 pts.)
• Email Analysis Paper (50 pts.)
• Interaction Analysis Project (150 pts.)