Return to Table of Contents

General Comments on SPE/CSD 314L

 
Each of us witnesses and participates in communicative acts on a daily
basis.  We use and employ different modes of communication while listening to lectures, reporting goings-on to our parents, and catching up with our friends.  In this sense, communication is not usually a tool we employ self-consciously but as part of the natural course of our social lives.  In other words, we use language and communication as we live our lives but rarely do we have the opportunity to observe how and in what ways the rest of our lives effect communication.  In this class we will begin to do just that--examine some of the ways in which culture and society influence our communication and, conversely, the ways in which our communication affects the culture in which we live and the kind of society in which we choose to live. 


Also, in this course, our definition of language will be somewhat larger than what you may hear in other communication courses. Most courses that emphasize one perspective in communication, e.g., courses in rhetorical studies, organizational or interpersonal communication, are based upon a specific view of language use. The view of language use discussed in these courses assumes that everybody uses what is considered to be the "standard form" of a language while communicating with each other in public or private settings. In reality, however, we each speak a different variation of the standard form. These variations are shaped by different social milieus and colored by individual preferences. This course will take notice of use of such social or individual variations in different communication situations.

Some key issues raised in this class include:

  •  What is the relationship between language and communication?
  •  What is culture and how does it influence the ways we communicate?
  •  Does communication have an impact on culture?
  •  How does the language we use influence the way we perceive ourselves and the way others perceive us?
  •  What kinds of roles do we expect of others in communicative situations?
  •  How does the notion of context help us better understand communication?
While these issues frame the general overview of the course, throughout the semester I will give various assignments to help you observe, discover, and report on your own and others' communicative expectations.  That is, how your beliefs and attitudes influence the ways you communicate on a day-to-day basis. The field of communication is both a scholarly investigation into how communication works but also a practical one in which the better you are able to observe and recognize communication values, the better you will be able to appreciate the differences and similarities which make you a better communicator.


Please feel free to bring your questions to class, and to come by during my office hours.  If my office hours conflict with something in your schedule, speak to me after class, call or email, and we can arrange a more convenient time.
Return to Top of Page


Return to Course Syllabus Table of Contents
1 September 1999 The College of Communication
The Department of Communication Studies
The University of Texas at Austin