CMST 214 - Gender and Communication

Credits: 5
Explores gender and the communication process in a contemporary context; examining privilege, conflict, gender stereotypes, media, and cultural patterns of interaction on the self and in interpersonal relationships. Uses communication theory to explain gender phenomena, and stereotypes, with an emphasis on improving communication competence. Addresses communication’s role in creating and sustaining patterns of gender identity that are interdependent among other social and cultural identities such as race, class, ability, religion, etc.

Enrollment Requirement: Eligible for ENGL& 101 or instructor consent.

Course Outcomes:
Students who successfully complete this class will be able to:

Compare theories of gender communication.
Analyze gender as an element of culture and communication.
Recognize gender as one of many interrelated social identities.
Identify how communication practices construct gender identities and gendered experiences.
Assess the construction, maintenance, and reinforcement of gender within mass media systems.
Reflect on gendered communication practices within their own lives.
Evaluate communication practices that establish and maintain privilege as a part of gender identity.

Program Outcomes

Create messages appropriate to audience, purpose, and context.
Form, analyze, and assess beliefs while demonstrating intellectual humility and respect towards the beliefs of others.

College-wide Outcomes

Critical Thinking -Critical thinking finds expression in all disciplines and everyday life. It is characterized by an ability to reflect upon thinking patterns, including the role of emotions on thoughts, and to rigorously assess the quality of thought through its work products. Critical thinkers routinely evaluate thinking processes and alter them, as necessary, to facilitate an improvement in their thinking and potentially foster certain dispositions or intellectual traits over time.