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Overview

Major FocusCareer Outlook

Major Focus

By interpreting the images and messages of contemporary media, communications studies explores why we communicate the way we do and how we create meaning. Communications scholars investigate the central relationship of communication to technology, social change, and the political process. If you are interested in a deeper view of topics such as popular culture, online media, and advertising, then communications is what you’re looking for.

Career Outlook

Communications students not only develop their oral and written communication skills, but also gain a strong understanding of the ways in which media and information shape society. As our online world continues to expand, communications students will be prepared to work in a broad range of areas including business, human resources, news or entertainment media, marketing, and public relations.

Course Descriptions

Select a course below to see full descriptions. (#) Indicates amount of credits per course

CMNS 110 Introduction to Communications Studies (3)

The main goal of Communications Studies is to critically assess the images and messages of contemporary media. How do they create meaning? Do they enlarge or restrict our understanding of the world? This course introduces a range of perspectives that seek to explain why we communicate as we do, including a general overview of communications theory and its historical development. Specific fields within the area of communication will also be explored, including: the study of popular culture, media analysis, advertising, journalism, and the political economy of communication.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 098

Transfers to:

SFU CMNS 110 (3)
UVIC HUMA 1XX (1.5)
UNBC ENGL 1XX (3)

CMNS 130 Communication and Social Change (3)

How have the internet and social media influenced Canadian society? To what extent have historical and contemporary developments in communications technology changed the way we do business, discuss politics, and become global citizens, and what issues have resulted? This course critically examines the role of communication in social change in the forms and institutions through which we communicate. In particular, we will discuss theoretical perspectives on the relationship between communication and the major political, economic and regulatory shifts that characterize Canadian and transnational media systems. Different eras of mass communication and leading approaches to its evolution will also be introduced.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 098, CMNS 110 is recommended

Transfers to:

SFU CMNS 130 (3)
UVIC HUMA 1XX (1.5)
UNBC ENGL 1XX (3)

CMNS 230 Cultural Industries: Canada and the World (3)

This course explores the meaning of “cultural industries” such as film, sound recording, publishing etc. and their influence on current Canadian and international communications experiences. Students will consider the impact of the digital world on the economic, political and social aspects of media sectors including news, film, music, and gaming. In addition, students will critically analyze different cultural industries as a product of the relations between for-profit businesses, regulatory structures, and social dynamics, as well as their role in society today.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 099, CMNS 110,CMNS 130 is recommended

Transfers to:

UBCV Arts 1st (3)
UNBC ENGL 1XX (3)
TRU CMNS 2XXX (3)

CMNS 253 Introduction to Information and Communications Technology and New Media (3)

This course explores developments in the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in digital media. Much more than simple tools that facilitate our use of media platforms, ICTs are now distinct spaces in which part of our lives take place. This course critically analyzes the cultural, economic, political, and social shifts related to our use of technology as well as our understanding of its nature. Students will employ different methods, as well as critiques, of the use of news and social media platforms in order to strengthen a holistic approach to new media in the digital context. Social issues that arise from the use of technology will also be discussed.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 099, CMNS 110, CMNS 130 is recommended

Transfers to:

UBCV ELEV 2nd Does not meet the English/Communication requirement for any program
UNBC ENGL 1XX (3)
TRU CMNS 2200 (3)

Faculty

Pamela Tudge (MA, BA)

Instructor

Pamela Tudge (MA, BA)

Instructor

Pamela Tudge is an educator in the departments of Sociology and Communication Studies at Alexander College. She is concurrently pursuing her Ph.D. at Concordia University. With a career spanning over 15 years, her scholarship and teaching encompass diverse domains, including food studies, environmental science, new media, and social movements. Her ongoing research initiatives employ innovative methodologies rooted in design and historical analysis to delve into the cultural interpretations surrounding domestic food practices and food waste within the Canadian context. Prior to her tenure at Alexander College and Concordia University, Tudge played a pivotal role in various academic institutions, facilitating research programs such as McGill’s GeoThink, a national initiative that utilizes geospatial web and interactive media to address climate change issues.

Caio Cardoso (PhD, MA, BA)

Instructor

Caio Cardoso (PhD, MA, BA)

Instructor

Dr. Caio Cardoso holds a PhD in Contemporary Communications and Culture from UFBA – Federal University of Bahia in 2020 and earned a master’s degree on the same topic from UFBA in 2016. He also earned his bachelor’s degree in Communications/Journalism from UFJF – Federal University of Juiz de Fora in 2014.

He teaches Communications courses at Alexander College and is always looking for ways to foster meaningful debates about current issues in his classes. His main objective is to help students understand the relationship between social dynamics and communications in a warm and collaborative space. In his courses different opinions and experiences will be challenged and the students will form knowledge autonomously.

Expertise and Experience

Before coming to Canada, Dr. Cardoso taught several courses in journalism and media studies, including media ethics, and was an editor and photographer for a news magazine specialize in gender and diversity.

Dr. Cardoso’s research focuses mainly on surveillance as an ethical value in journalism and other interactions on the digital platforms (like social media), the impact of diverse media forms on different societies and different ways of consuming/sharing contents online.

Contact him through LinkedIn.

Melanie Qian

Instructor

Melanie Qian

Instructor

Melanie received an M.A. double degree from Simon Fraser University and Communication University of China, both focusing on global communications. Her research interests include culture, Chinese media systems, reality television, and the political economy of communication. She is interested in understanding the interrelationship between communication and culture, as well as how one influences the other. She hopes to foster cross-cultural and intercultural understandings between the West and the East and to help people from different cultural backgrounds to live together more harmoniously.

Nick Gandolfo-Lucia

Instructor

Nick Gandolfo-Lucia

Instructor

Nick Gandolfo-Lucia holds an MA in Geography from the University of British Columbia and a BA in English Literature from Haverford College. His MA thesis investigates the historical geography of flooding and flood control infrastructures in the Lower Mainland, arguing that contemporary flood problems trace back to 19th-century processes of settler colonialism. Currently, he is researching the relation between the expansion of financial products in contemporary capitalism and the rise of new media forms.

Resources

Canadian Communication Association/Association canadienne de communication

The Canadian Association of Journalists/L’Association Canadienne des Journalistes

CBC – Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Media Education Foundation

UNESCO : Communication and Information Sector

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