Speech 418 - Communication and Social Change (Three semester hours)

The study of the role of communication and mass media in social change. Emphasis is given to the mass media as a prime component for change, although community action and interpersonal approaches are included. Students investigate methods employed by opinion leader and change agents to accomplish specific goals. Variables addressed include how media defines and disseminates information about issues, how advertising promotes or rejects issues, how lifestyles are portrayed with respect to issues, and how mass media ownership and regulatory policies affect the communications act.