Instructor:       R.B. Bookwalter; SH 244, 696-2815, bookwalt@marshall.edu

Time:               Wednesdays 6:30-9:00 pm

Location:         SH 261

Objectives:       This seminar is designed to examine in depth the literature in the field of interpersonal communication.  Students will trace the roots of the discipline and classify the current threads in interpersonal communication theory and research through a review of current journals in the field. 

Methods:          I see a graduate seminar as a chance for you to develop your research skills.  Interpersonal communication is a broad discipline and no text or reading list can do justice to the works published in the field over the past 40 years.  I will provide some general questions for you to explore each week and you will be responsible for researching those questions, identifying at least two articles each week which shed light on our questions, and reviewing the articles you uncovered in class each week.  You will be expected to provide an annotation of your articles to be disseminated to your classmates.  In this way we will inform each other and cover much more ground than would be possible with a standardized reading list.  Class discussions are the primary learning tool in this course.  Be ready with comments and questions each week and I’m sure that we’ll have lively and enlightening discussions.

Requirements:

1.         A short paper defining your current understanding of interpersonal communication.  25 points.

2.         A major term paper exploring in depth a topic (chosen by you and approved by me) related to our coursework. 100 points.

3.         A midterm exam, eliciting your understanding of major themes in the course.  50 points.

4.         Annotations for each article you uncover in your research (copies to be provided for all seminar participants).  50 points.

Grades:           Grades will be determined according to the following scale:

A = 205-225; B = 185-204; C = 165-184; D = 145-164.

CMM 673: Course Outline  Fall 2009

August 26

Introduction and Overview of the Course

September 2  

What do we study in interpersonal communication?

September 9

Who is getting published in the journals and where are they from?                         Paper 1 Due

September 16

NO CLASS.  Dr. Bookwalter will be out of town at a meeting.                                               

September 23

What are the earliest references you can find to “interpersonal communication”?

September 30

What were the subjects of early interpersonal communication research?

October 7       

What new threads are emerging?  What should be studied?                                    Midterm Exam

October 14     

Student Threads:  What can you conclude from extant research?

October 21     

Student Threads: What controversies/competing perspectives play out in the literature?

October 28     

Student Threads: What unanswered questions linger?

November 4   

How could these unanswered questions be addressed?

November 11 

NO CLASS.  NCA Convention this week.

November 18 

What study would you propose?

November 25

NO CLASS.  Thanksgiving (in more ways than one)

December 2

Conclusions and Evaluation

December 9

Final Papers Due