Communications

Code Course Description
CMNS 1104

Foundations of Intercultural Communication

This face-to-face course presents the foundational knowledge and skills needed to improve students’ abilities to communicate effectively in intercultural contexts. The course examines basic concepts in Intercultural Communication and emphasizes the identification and application of basic Intercultural Communication skills. Barriers to effective Intercultural Communications are identified and strategies for overcoming them explored. The course has a strong applied focus and will be particularly useful for students who are or wish to be in frequent contact with people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
CMNS 1110

Workplace Writing for Applied Community Studies

Communications 1110 is designed for students intending to enroll in the Classroom and Community Support Worker, Child and Youth Care Counsellor, Community Social Service Worker, or Early Childhood Education programs. Instruction is adapted for workplace settings in the social services fields. Assignments focus on specific workplace writing tasks, with emphasis given to particular writing strategies tailored to particular purposes and readers: summary, correspondence, memoranda, and Project Brief.
CMNS 1111

Workplace Communications for Selected Programs

Communications 1111 is designed for students in selected programs including Hearing Instrument Practitioner (HEAR) and Veterinary Technology (VTEC). Instruction is adapted for workplace settings appropriate to each program area. Assignments are drawn from a number of possible components: correspondence, memoranda, reports, social media, and other program-related documents. Course work also includes instruction in writing strategies for effective on-the-job communication, and may include instruction in oral communications situations as oral presentations, employment interviews, and meetings.
CMNS 1115

Business Communication

This course helps to prepare students for written business communication tasks required in the workplace. Through analysis, discussion and practice, students learn the purposes of business communication and how to recognize and use informational, persuasive, analytical and researched writing. They develop skills in using audience-based strategies to produce clear and concise business communication in a variety of forms. They also acquire and practise the research skills of identifying, summarizing and citing sources.
CMNS 1125

Public Speaking

This highly interactive course presents the foundational skills and knowledge that students need to prepare and deliver effective oral presentations. Students examine basic speech communications theory, practice vocal, verbal, and non verbal speech delivery skills, and gain knowledge of expository and persuasive organizing patterns. They experiment with appropriate physical and electronic visual aids to complement their presentation, and become familiar with a variety of speech formats. A workshop approach is taken, and learning activities are oriented toward small groups. Students must be competent in articulating and enunciating spoken English. This course emphasizes participation and performance.
CMNS 1135

Professional Communication for Engineering Students

In this introductory course, students will learn the fundamentals of the communication and teamwork skills required in an engineering career. Students will learn how to use the writing process to produce informative and persuasive research papers, emails, résumés, cover letters, and presentations. Students will also learn strategies for communicating effectively and persuasively with different audiences, addressing political, ethical, and social issues facing engineers.

CMNS 1210

Communicating and Working Effectively in Groups

In this highly interactive course, students gain knowledge and develop skills that contribute to effective group functioning. They examine selected theory, concepts and models related to small group communication. In the roles of group member and leader they experiment with skills and structured tools for understanding and managing group dynamics and conflict.
CMNS 1216

Interpersonal Skills for the Workplace

This highly interactive course provides opportunities for students to develop teamwork, interpersonal, speaking and listening, problem solving, and leadership skills in a face-to-face setting. Core components include foundational interpersonal communications theory, verbal and non-verbal communications skills, basic conflict management, group dynamics, and ethical interpersonal behaviour. Course work may also include instruction in oral presentations, interviews and meetings.
CMNS 1217

Intercultural Communication in the Workplace

This highly interactive, face-to-face course provides an understanding of the interpersonal communication skills required to develop constructive relationships in the multicultural workplace. In the first part of the course, selected foundational theory, sources of interpersonal difference and barriers to understanding are examined. The latter part of the course emphasizes workplace application of cross-cultural interpersonal communication skills and strategies. Leadership, small group communication, and professional and ethical
issues in the multicultural workplace are investigated.
CMNS 1220

Communication and Social Change

This course is an introduction to the forms, theories, and institutions of communication as they relate to broader social change challenges. Students will engage with issues related to the study of communications, technology, and social change, with a specific focus on the social and cultural dimensions of media, ownership, development, and conflict. Students will address contemporary issues in and around themes of change and be encouraged to explore the role of media in social movements, international development, politics, democracy, capitalism, and global change.
CMNS 1221

Introduction to Media and Communication Studies

The aim of this course is to provide an introduction to a range of theories that seek to explain why we communicate as we do. The course establishes a general overview of the field of Communications from both theoretical and historical viewpoints. We will examine the rise of technology studies in Media and Communication Studies and consider the way in which communication technologies (from speech to the Internet) have refashioned both human consciousness and culture. Focus will also be given to specific sub-fields within the area of communications, including the study of popular culture, media analysis, film studies, advertising, and the political economy of communication.
CMNS 1276

Professional Communication for Arts Entrepreneurs

This course helps students to develop the communication skills required by arts entrepreneurs, including building their online professional portfolio, enhancing their online presence through social media and other promotional tools, writing grant applications and proposals, and building relationships through networking.

CMNS 2115

Advanced Business Communication

This advanced course builds on knowledge and skills acquired in CMNS 1115: Business Communication. Through genre analysis, classroom discussion and intensive practice, students develop skill in producing credible, professional business communication documents (reports, proposals, plans) and related supporting material (online and print). They gain a broad repertoire of strategies, tools and techniques for managing, writing, editing and presenting complex business documents. Working in pairs or teams, they also strengthen their skills in collaborative writing and improve their understanding of its prevalence and importance in the workplace.
CMNS 2125

Advanced Public Speaking

This highly experiential course builds on skills and concepts acquired in Communications 1125: Public Speaking to give advanced study and practice in preparing and delivering extemporaneous and scripted speeches. One of the primary focuses of this course is to connect public speaking to the workplace and to venues outside of the classroom for effective presentations. Students study advanced theoretical principles of public speaking and gain experience in preparing, delivering, and evaluating public discourse. Students also learn strategies for preparing and managing the question and answer period.

CMNS 2200

Global Media and Communication

This course examines global transformations in media and communications. Students will use analytical tools to theorize globalization and its processes in the context of historical and contemporary events. Focus will be on shifting trends in the global media landscape in the news, film, and television industries.
CMNS 2223

New Media and Society

This course offers an introduction to the social, political, economic, and cultural aspects of new media. Tracing the evolution of new media from tools of mass communication to key players in the new information society, focus is given to key communication concepts that students can use to critically evaluate new media's ability to create political, economic, and social change. The ideas of "new media" will first be situated historically and set up as manifestations of different kinds of power. The course will then examine contemporary debates around new media practices and platforms. Students will be encouraged to examine their own new media practices alongside new and emergent trends.
CMNS 2316

Managing Interpersonal Conflict

This interactive course presents foundational knowledge and skills needed to understand and manage interpersonal conflict. Through individual and group self-reflection, students will consider selected theory, fundamental skills, and basic attributes required to effectively analyze and engage with interpersonal conflict in various settings.

CMNS 2317

Intercultural Conflict in Interpersonal Relationships

This face-to-face interactive course presents knowledge and skills for understanding and managing intercultural conflict in interpersonal relationships. Through focused interaction and reflection, students will consider selected skills, attributes and theories required to effectively analyze and engage intercultural conflict in interpersonal relationships in a variety of settings. Interpersonal conflict knowledge and skills, intercultural factors influencing conflict, and conflict resolution strategies for intercultural situations will be addressed. This course has a strong applied focus.
CMNS 3000

Communication Professions

This course provides an introduction to the roles, practices, and contexts of professional communicators, with an emphasis on professional writing and professional readiness.
CMNS 3100

Language, Institutions, and Power

This course gives students practice in using analytical approaches to the study of language and power to examine how language constructs ideology, institutions, and identity in the contexts of enduring struggles (e.g. struggles over human rights for prisoners, gays, women, the homeless, people with disabilities, language and cultural identity, and the environment). Readings on the theoretical perspectives that inform these approaches are combined with applications to enduring struggles between less powerful groups and institutions (e.g. the penal system, the law, governments, the medical system, corporations, the scientific community, and academia). Students leave the course with analytical tools that would be relevant in a wide range of disciplines as vehicles of inquiry and research, and with knowledge that will contribute to their civic and social awareness.
CMNS 3102

Language Studies for Professional Communication

This course introduces theories of language relevant to the professional communicator’s craft. Students will focus on ways to identify different styles of writing, to understand the relationship between style and content, and to predict readers’ responses to texts. They will learn to analyze communication tasks from these perspectives and to assess written texts for their readability and their appropriateness in different contexts.

CMNS 3103

Research Report and Proposal Writing

This course provides students with experience in producing client-based analytical research reports and proposals. Students will be introduced to the wide variety of primary and secondary research resources available to them. They will develop skills in gathering and managing information to prepare for researched writing tasks. They will work through the typical process for producing a research report and proposal: developing the scope of work; completing field-based and theoretical research tasks; collating data; organizing material; and ultimately producing a reader-based, purposeful, and useful document.

CMNS 3200

Professional Editing

This course develops skills in proofreading, copy editing, and structural and stylistic editing, including the process by which editors work with writers. Students are expected to have a good understanding of English grammar and usage.
CMNS 3316

Interpersonal Conflict: Advanced Practices

This advanced course supports students’ development in managing interpersonal conflict with particular emphasis on one-to-one and multi-party disputes. Active problem-solving with an eye toward negotiation and mediation is emphasized. Students explore how conflict emerges in groups, and the roles and responsibilities of leaders to influence, prevent and manage interpersonal conflict.

CMNS 3400

Document Design

This course introduces the basic principles of two-dimensional design, including balance and visual dynamics, layout, publication design, and typography. Students are expected to have prior experience with an industry-standard page-layout software program and some familiarity with graphics software. They will build on their experience to produce small documents and then to create a series of projects suitable for portfolio inclusion. They will gain some understanding of print production technology and procedures, including how to communicate with other print professionals, estimate costs, and deal with digital output.
CMNS 3401

Visual Communication

This course introduces students to the theories and techniques of visual communication. The course examines the physical properties of perception and its application in the broader context of communication studies. It explores the scope and possibilities of imagery in modern technology and culture. It also includes an introduction to methodologies for studying visual conventions and analyzing visual media. Students will apply these methodologies to both formal and vernacular examples ranging from presentation graphics to information design to graffiti.
CMNS 3500

Technical Communication

This course develops an understanding of how technical communication projects (such as software manuals and policy and procedures manuals) are planned, written, and produced for online, print, and video delivery. Beginning with an analysis of objectives and audience, students will prepare a number of effective and professionally produced technical communication projects using industry-standard software programs. The focus of the course is on content development with an opportunity to produce a project for industry clients. Students will also be introduced to key trends and issues (ethical, cultural, technological, and economic) for technical communicators.

CMNS 3501

Writing and Developing Websites

This course focuses on content development for the web. Students will gain an understanding of how websites are planned, written, and produced. Beginning with an analysis of objectives and audience, students will work in teams to produce a client-based website using industry-standard software programs. Students will also be introduced to key trends, issues, and developments (ethical, cultural, technological, and economic) in the field.

CMNS 3502

Social Media & Reputation Management

This course prepares students to manage the social media presence and reputation of an organization. Students will learn about media analysis, evaluation, and selection, as well as how to construct guidelines for organizational social media use and audience engagement. This involves completing a communications audit of an organization’s social media presence, developing audience archetypes, constructing a social media style guide, and planning to deploy the guidelines and strategies developed. Students will learn how to write in multiple different online persona voices and how to protect and defend an organization’s reputation online.
CMNS 3600

Writing for Online and Print Magazines

This course develops the skills needed to write for online and print magazines as well as blogs. Students will learn to analyze publications, develop story ideas, submit queries, and research and write opinion columns and profiles. Emphasis will be given to the strategies and practicalities of freelance writing as a career.
CMNS 3700

Strategic Public Relations

This course introduces the fundamentals of strategic communications and public relations practice for the professional communicator. Students will learn communications planning, communications campaign analysis, public relations writing, and effective communication strategies for crisis communications scenarios. Students will also learn about the functions of public relations including media, employee, community, consumer, and government relations.
CMNS 3800

Special Topics in Professional Communication

This course examines a special topic in professional communication chosen to highlight a theoretical, historical, technological, thematic, or practical focus. Readings will include theory, criticism, and applied research, and will introduce students to a range of perspectives on the topic.
CMNS 3900

Professional Experience

This course helps prepare students for a professional communication career by providing the supervised and evaluated experience required for the Post-Degree Diploma in Professional Communication.

Students may work in a communication role for an employer or complete a communication project for a client.

CMNS 3901

Directed Studies in Professional Communication

This course provides students with an opportunity to pursue a specific applied research interest. The course will require (a) a review and analysis of relevant published theoretical or applied research readings and articles, and (b) original related research or a project in the field of professional communication.

Directed studies are supervised and evaluated by an assigned faculty member.

Students must apply to the program coordinator for approval of their proposed directed studies.
CMNS 4000

Communication Practice & Portfolio

In this capstone course, students participate in a supervised professional experience and develop their final graduation portfolio (online and print). Students may work in a communication role for an employer or complete a communication project for a client. They produce a plan for generating contract work or securing a position as a professional communicator. They also complete a final project (group or individual) that demonstrates their skill as a professional communicator.