COMM 1:
Introduction to Communication
Our world is being transformed by media technologies that change how we interact with one another and perceived the world around us. These changes are all rooted in communication practices, and their consequences touch on almost all aspects of life. In COMM 1 we will examine the effects of media technologies on psychological life, on industry, and on communities local and global through theorizing and demonstrations and critiques of a wide range of communication products and services.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
COMM 1B:
Media, Culture, and Society (AMSTUD 1B)
The institutions and practices of mass media, including television, film, radio, and digital media, and their role in shaping culture and social life. The media's shifting relationships to politics, commerce, and identity.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
COMM 3:
Democracy and Disagreement (CSRE 31, HISTORY 3C, PHIL 3, POLISCI 31, PSYCH 31A, PUBLPOL 3, RELIGST 23X, SOC 13)
Each class will be focused on a different topic and have guest speakers. This class will be open to students, faculty and staff to attend and also be recorded. Deep disagreement pervades our democracy, from arguments over immigration, gun control, abortion, and the Middle East crisis, to the function of elite higher education and the value of free speech itself. Loud voices drown out discussion. Open-mindedness and humility seem in short supply among politicians and citizens alike. Yet constructive disagreement is an essential feature of a democratic society. This class explores and models respectful, civil disagreement. Each week features scholars who disagree - sometimes quite strongly - about major policy issues. Students will have the opportunity to probe those disagreements, understand why they persist, and to improve their own understanding of the facts and values that underlie them.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
4 times
(up to 4 units total)
COMM 104W:
Reporting, Writing, and Understanding the News
Techniques of news reporting and writing. The value and role of news in democratic societies. Gateway class to journalism. Prerequisite for all COMM 177/277 classes. Limited enrollment. Preference to COMM majors.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
COMM 106:
Communication Research Methods (COMM 206)
(Graduate students register for COMM 206. COMM 106 is offered for 5 units, COMM 206 is offered for 4 units.) Conceptual and practical concerns underlying commonly used quantitative approaches, including experimental, survey, content analysis, and field research in communication. Pre- or corequisite: STATS 60 or consent of instructor. (Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center)
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-AQR
COMM 107S:
Communication, Identity, and Context
Speaking, reading, and writing are integral parts of everyday life. In this course, students not only examine how identities and contexts shape each of these communicative acts, but will also learn to develop different context-dependent voices in speaking and writing exercises. The course will emphasize four main learning goals for students. One, students will be introduced to communication as a concept and a field by learning a selection of communication theories. Two, students will understand how different media influence communication, both in content and structure of messages. Three, students will explain how different social identities and contexts influence people's reading, writing, and speaking. Four, students will practice different styles of reading, writing, and speaking according to various hypothetical audience expectations and genre restrictions. In addition to weekly readings and frequent small homework assignments, students will be asked to propose (by week six) a final project (due week eight) in which they compare texts from a genre of choice and then emulate them in their own original work.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3
COMM 108:
Media Processes and Effects (COMM 208)
(Graduate students register for COMM 208. COMM 108 is offered for 5 units, COMM 208 is offered for 4 units.) The process of communication theory construction including a survey of social science paradigms and major theories of communication. Recommended: COMM 1 or PSYCH 1.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
COMM 114S:
Technologies and Well Being
This course provides an introduction to how the dynamics and properties of computer-mediated communication influence well-being. We will discuss foundational communication theories and research to examine how technologies like social media, smartphones, and AI influence the communication process. Outcomes include both positive and negative effects. Throughout, we will focus on the complexities of developing and executing media effects research.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3
COMM 116:
Journalism Law (COMM 216)
(Graduate students register for 216. COMM 116 is offered for 5 units; COMM 216 is offered for 4 units.) Laws and regulation impacting journalists. Topics include libel, privacy, news gathering, protection sources, fair trial and free press, theories of the First Amendment, and broadcast regulation. Prerequisite: Journalism M.A. student or advanced Communication major. Email instructor for permission to enroll. Preference for enrollment will be: Communication majors and co-terms, then seniors from other disciplines. Total enrollment in COMM 116/216 combined will be limited to 20. Students pursuing a degree from the COMM department as an undergraduate or Masters student must take C116/216 and for a letter grade. All other students taking the class as an elective may also elect to take the class on either a grade or S/NC basis.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
COMM 120W:
The Rise of Digital Culture (AMSTUD 120, COMM 220)
(Graduate students register for 220. COMM 120W is offered for 5 units, COMM 220 is offered for 4 units.From Snapchat to artificial intelligence, digital systems are reshaping our jobs, our democracies, our love lives, and even what it means to be human. But where did these media come from? And what kind of culture are they creating? To answer these questions, this course explores the entwined development of digital technologies and post-industrial ways of living and working from the Cold War to the present. Topics will include the historical origins of digital media, cultural contexts of their deployment and use, and the influence of digital media on conceptions of self, community, and state. Priority to juniors, seniors, and graduate students.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
COMM 122:
Trust and Safety (CS 152, INTLPOL 267)
Trust and Safety is an emerging field of professional and academic effort to build technologies that allow people to positively use the internet while being safe from harm. This course provides an introduction to the ways online services are abused to cause real human harm and the potential social, operational, product, legal and engineering responses. Students will learn about fraud, account takeovers, the use of social media by terrorists, misinformation, child exploitation, harassment, bullying and self-harm. This will include studying both the technical and sociological roots of these harms and the ways various online providers have responded. The class is taught by a practitioner, a professor of communication, a political scientist, and supplemented by guest lecturers from tech companies and nonprofits. Cross-disciplinary teams of students will spend the quarter building a technical and policy solution to a real trust and safety challenge, which will include the application of AI technologies to detecting and stopping abuse. For those taking this course for CS credit, the prerequisite is CS106B or equivalent programming experience and this course fulfills the Technology in Society requirement. Content note: This class will cover real-world harmful behavior and expose students to potentially upsetting material.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
COMM 124:
Truth, Trust, and Tech (COMM 224)
(Graduate students enroll in COMM 224. COMM 124 is offered for 5 units, COMM 224 is offered for 4 units.) NOTE: offered only at Stanford in New York winter quarter 2022-23. Deception is one of the most significant and pervasive social phenomena of our age. Lies range from the trivial to the very serious, including deception between friends and family, in the workplace, and in security and intelligence contexts. At the same time, information and communication technologies have pervaded almost all aspects of human communication, from everyday technologies that support interpersonal interactions to, such as email and instant messaging, to more sophisticated systems that support organization-level interactions. Given the prevalence of both deception and communication technology in our personal and professional lives, an important set of questions have recently emerged about how humans adapt their deceptive practices to new communication and information technologies, including how communication technology affects the practice of lying and the detection of deception, and whether technology can be used to identify deception.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
COMM 125:
Perspectives on American Journalism (AMSTUD 125, COMM 225)
An examination of American journalism, focusing on how news is produced, distributed, and financially supported. Emphasis on current media controversies and puzzles, and on designing innovations in discovering and telling stories. (Graduate students register for COMM 225. COMM 125 is offered for 5 units, COMM 225 is offered for 4 units.)
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
COMM 128:
Back to the Future: Media, Art, and Politics in the 1980s (AMSTUD 128B, COMM 228, COMM 328, HISTORY 258A, HISTORY 358A)
(COMM 128 is offered for 5 units, COMM 228 is offered for 4 units. COMM 328 is offered for 3-5 units.)This seminar covers the intersection of politics, media and art in the U.S. from the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Topics include globalization and financialization; the rise of the New Right; the personalization of media technology, from television to computing; postmodernism and political art; feminism, queer, and sex-positive activism; identity politics and the culture wars. Open to juniors, seniors, and graduate students.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
COMM 132:
Just Algorithms? Race, Regressions, and Resistance
What does it mean to say that algorithms are racist? If they can be, what are the stakes? Who is accountable? And what are the levers for change? Students will explore these questions as they learn about multiple forms of algorithmic oppression throughout the past and present.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
COMM 135W:
Deliberative Democracy and its Critics (AMSTUD 135, COMM 235, COMM 335, ETHICSOC 135F, POLISCI 234P, POLISCI 334P)
This course examines the theory and practice of deliberative democracy and engages both in a dialogue with critics. Can a democracy which emphasizes people thinking and talking together on the basis of good information be made practical in the modern age? What kinds of distortions arise when people try to discuss politics or policy together? The course draws on ideas of deliberation from Madison and Mill to Rawls and Habermas as well as criticisms from the jury literature, from the psychology of group processes and from the most recent normative and empirical literature on deliberative forums. Deliberative Polling, its applications, defenders and critics, both normative and empirical, will provide a key case for discussion.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI
COMM 138:
Deliberative Democracy Practicum: Applying Deliberative Polling (COMM 238)
In this course, students will work directly on a real-world deliberative democracy project using the method of Deliberative Polling. Students in this course will work in partnership with the Center for Deliberative Democracy at Stanford, a research center devoted to the research in democracy and public opinion around the world. This unique practicum will allow students to work on an actual Deliberative Polling project on campus. In just one quarter, the students will prepare for, implement, and analyze the results for an Deliberative Polling project. This is a unique opportunity that allows students to take part in the entire process of a deliberative democracy project. Through this practicum, students will learn and apply quantitative and qualitative research methods. Students will explore the underlying challenges and complexities of what it means to actually do community-engaged research in the real world. As such, this course will provide students with skills and experience in research design in deliberative democracy, community and stakeholder engagement, and the practical aspects of working in local communities. This practicum is a collaboration between the Center for Deliberative Democracy and the Haas Center for Public Service. CDD website: http://cdd.stanford.edu; Hass Center website: https://haas.stanford.edu. Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center for Public Service.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-AQR, WAY-SI
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 15 units total)
COMM 138A:
America in One Room: Research Practicum (COMM 238A)
In 2019, Stanford's Deliberative Democracy Lab brought together a national random sample of 523 Americans to deliberate on five major policy issues before the American electorate. We called it America in One Room (A1R). Using the methodology of a Deliberative Poll developed by Professor James Fishkin, the experiment recorded many significant changes in opinion after the participants deliberated, and a substantial decline in partisan polarization. This pattern of change in opinion and depolarization has been evidenced in two subsequent A1R's, in 2021 on Climate and Energy and in June 2023, on options for democratic reform in the US. This research practicum will expose students to the theory and methodology behind these grand experiments and offer students an opportunity to analyze and interpret data?both qualitative (the transcripts from the actual citizen deliberations) and quantitative (the statistical results of the deliberative polls). Students' research and analysis will advance the work of this vital collaborative research project and where possible, joint publications could be pursued. Note, in addition to the weekly course meetings, the teaching team highly recommends scheduling weekly office hours to have dedicated time for individual/group practicum projects.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
COMM 140X:
Solving Social Problems with Data (DATASCI 154, EARTHSYS 153, ECON 163, MS&E 134, POLISCI 154, PUBLPOL 155, SOC 127)
Introduces students to the interdisciplinary intersection of data science and the social sciences through an in-depth examination of contemporary social problems. Provides a foundational skill set for solving social problems with data including quantitative analysis, modeling approaches from the social sciences and engineering, and coding skills for working directly with big data. Students will also consider the ethical dimensions of working with data and learn strategies for translating quantitative results into actionable policies and recommendations. Lectures will introduce students to the methods of data science and social science and apply these frameworks to critical 21st century challenges, including education & inequality, political polarization, and health equity & algorithmic design in the fall quarter, and social media, climate change, and school choice & segregation in the spring quarter. In-class exercises and problem sets will provide students with the opportunity to use real-world datasets to discover meaningful insights for policymakers and communities. This course is the required gateway course for the new major in Data Science & Social Systems. Preference given to Data Science & Social Systems B.A. majors and prospective majors. Course material and presentation will be at an introductory level. Enrollment and participation in one discussion section is required. Sign up for the discussion section will occur on Canvas at the start of the quarter. Prerequisites: CS106A (required), DATASCI 112 (recommended as pre or corequisite). Limited enrollment. Please complete the interest form here: https://forms.gle/8ui9RPgzxjGxJ9k29. A permission code will be given to admitted students to register for the class.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-AQR, WAY-SI
COMM 149F:
Technology and Fascism: History of a Paradox (FEMGEN 149)
In the cultural imagination, technological innovation has often been associated with social progress. But the history of fascism reveals the multitude of ways that technologies have been harnessed by, and have themselves helped shape, reactionary movements and regimes. In this course, we will explore the multifaceted relationship between technology and fascism, with a particular focus on the role of gender and race. We will approach these topics from a range of angles, drawing from the fields of history, gender studies, science and technology studies, and media studies. We will also engage with a wide range of technologies, from radio to guns to the birth control pill; and with a broad range of "fascisms," from the 20th century regimes of Italy and Germany to the online Manosphere. Ultimately, we will illuminate and untangle the strategic and symbolic roles of technologies as they relate to reactionary politics.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
COMM 153D:
Ensemble Sonification of Temporal Data (MUSIC 153D)
An ensemble course with research components for making data-driven music. Improvised and composed pieces make use of large, time-based data sets chronicling humans' digital-life and real-life experiences, and explore how temporal data can be transformed into live musical performances. Data sets will include the Human Screenome Project and the music will go where it goes following the group's ears and instincts. A series of workshops with guest musicians will continue throughout the year and group members will be able to take part beyond the course.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
10 times
(up to 30 units total)
COMM 154:
The Politics of Algorithms (COMM 254, CSRE 154T, SOC 154, SOC 254C)
(Graduate students enroll in 254. COMM 154 is offered for 5 units, COMM 254 is offered for 4 units.) Algorithms have become central actors in today's digital world. In areas as diverse as social media, journalism, education, healthcare, and policing, computing technologies increasingly mediate communication processes. This course will provide an introduction to the social and cultural forces shaping the construction, institutionalization, and uses of algorithms. In so doing, we will explore how algorithms relate to political issues of modernization, power, and inequality. Readings will range from social scientific analyses to media coverage of ongoing controversies relating to Big Data. Students will leave the course with a better appreciation of the broader challenges associated with researching, building, and using algorithms.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
COMM 158:
Censorship and Propaganda (COMM 258)
(Graduate students enroll in COMM 258. COMM 158 is offered for 5 units, COMM 258 is offered for 4 units.) While the internet and other digital technologies have amplified the voice of ordinary citizens, the power of governments and other large organizations to control and to manipulate information is increasingly apparent. In this course, we will examine censorship and propaganda in the age of the internet and social media. What constitutes censorship and propaganda in the digital age? Who conducts censorship and propaganda, and how? What are the consequences and effects of censorship and propaganda in this era of information proliferation? How have censorship and propaganda changed from previous eras? Students will take a hands-on, project-based approach to exploring these questions.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
COMM 159B:
Shaping America's Future: Exploring the Key Issues on Our Path to the 2024 Elections (EDUC 64, SOC 64)
Join us for an immersive speaker series that delves into the core of American democracy. Prominent figures from a range of politic, business, foreign policy, academia, and media will analyze the implications of the 2024 elections and the challenges our nation faces. Led by James Steyer, founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, explore topics such as harnessing the power of AI responsibly, addressing climate change at various levels, strengthening commitments to democracy and voting rights, safeguarding youth from the impacts of social media and technology on mental health, and ensuring accountability for wealth disparities. This series will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the elections and the broader American political landscape.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
COMM 162:
Campaigns, Voting, Media, and Elections (AMSTUD 162B, COMM 262, POLISCI 120B)
(Graduate students enroll in COMM 262. COMM 162 is offered for 5 units, COMM 262 is offered for 4 units.) This course examines the theory and practice of American campaigns and elections. First, we will attempt to explain the behavior of the key players -- candidates, parties, journalists, and voters -- in terms of the institutional arrangements and political incentives that confront them. Second, we will use current and recent election campaigns as "laboratories" for testing generalizations about campaign strategy and voter behavior. Third, we examine selections from the academic literature dealing with the origins of partisan identity, electoral design, and the immediate effects of campaigns on public opinion, voter turnout, and voter choice. As well, we'll explore issues of electoral reform and their more long-term consequences for governance and the political process.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
COMM 164:
The Psychology of Communication About Politics in America (COMM 264, POLISCI 124L, POLISCI 324L, PSYCH 170, PUBLPOL 164)
Focus is on how politicians and government learn what Americans want and how the public's preferences shape government action; how surveys measure beliefs, preferences, and experiences; how poll results are criticized and interpreted; how conflict between polls is viewed by the public; how accurate surveys are and when they are accurate; how to conduct survey research to produce accurate measurements; designing questionnaires that people can understand and use comfortably; how question wording can manipulate poll results; corruption in survey research.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
COMM 172:
Media Psychology (COMM 272)
(Graduate students register for COMM 272. COMM 172 is offered for 5 units, COMM 272 is offered for 4 units.) The literature related to psychological processing and the effects of media. Topics: unconscious processing; picture perception; attention and memory; emotion; the physiology of processing media; person perception; pornography; consumer behavior; advanced film and television systems; and differences among reading, watching, and listening.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
COMM 176:
Advanced Digital Journalism Production (COMM 276)
(Graduate students register for 276. COMM 176 is offered for 5 units, COMM 276 is offered for 4 units.) In-depth reporting and production using audio, images and video. Focus on an in-depth journalism project with appropriate uses of digital media: audio, photography, graphics, and video. Topics include advanced field techniques and approaches (audio, video, still) and emphasis on creating a non-fiction narrative arc in a multimedia piece of 10-12 minutes. Comm 104 or some reporting experience OR audio/video production experience. Contact instructor: jrnicol@stanford.edu
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
COMM 177A:
Advanced Data Journalism (COMM 277A)
In this course, students will learn about and experiment with a variety of advanced data and computational techniques used in the news industry to hold powerful individuals and institutions to account. Topics may include geospatial analysis, image classification and entity extraction. Students will learn how these techniques are used to develop and tell stories, and then apply that knowledge in small-scale, novel exercises.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
COMM 177B:
Big Local Journalism: a project-based class (COMM 277B)
(COMM 177B is offered for 5 units, COMM 277B is offered for 4 units.) This class will tackle data-driven journalism, in collaboration with other academic and journalistic partners. The class is centered around one or more projects rooted in local data-driven journalism but with potential for regional or national journalistic stories and impact. Students work in interdisciplinary teams to negotiate for public records and data, analyze data and report out stories. Some of the work may be published by news organizations or may be used to advance data journalism projects focused on public accountability. Students will gain valuable knowledge and skills in how to negotiate for public records, how to critically analyze data for journalistic purpose and build out reporting and writing skills. Students with a background in journalism (especially data journalism), statistics, computer science, law, or public policy are encouraged to participate. Enrollment is limited. May be repeated for credit. (Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center)
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
COMM 177C:
Environmental Journalism (COMM 277C, EARTHSYS 177C, EARTHSYS 277C)
Practical, collaborative, hands-on exploration of environmental journalism as an agent of change. Students learn how to identify and execute engaging and impactful stories about environmental science, policy, and justice through critique of environmental journalism pieces and extensive workshopping of each other's work. Emphasis on a just transition to climate adaptation and mitigation through elevating marginalized voices by using the tools and practices of journalism to spur positive change. Limited class size, preference to Environmental Communication and Journalism MA students. Prerequisite: EARTHSYS 191/291, COMM 104W, or consent of instructor. Admission by application only (https://forms.gle/C84WQRqbTFtuEfM49). Email instructor Chloe Peterson-Nafziger with any questions; chloepn.biosphere@gmail.com. Meets Earth Systems WIM requirement. (Graduate students enroll in EARTHSYS 277C/COMM 277C for 4 units; Undergraduates enroll in 177C for 5 units.)
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
COMM 177D:
Specialized Writing and Reporting: Narrative Journalism (COMM 277D)
(Graduate students register for COMM 277D. COMM 177D is offered for 5 units, COMM 277D is offered for 4 units.) How to report, write, edit, and read long-form narrative nonfiction, whether for magazines, news sites or online venues. Tools and templates of story telling such as scenes, characters, dialogue, and narrative arc. How the best long-form narrative stories defy or subvert conventional wisdom and bring fresh light to the human experience through reporting, writing, and moral passion. Prerequisite: 104 or consent of instructor.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
COMM 177I:
Investigative Watchdog Reporting (COMM 277I)
Graduate students register for COMM 277I. COMM 177I is offered for 5 units, COMM 277I is offered for 4 units.) Learn how to apply an investigative and data mindset to journalism, from understanding how to background an individual or entity using online databases to compiling or combining disparate sets of information in ways that unveil wrongdoing or mismanagement. Focuses on mining texts, tracking associations, and using visualizations. Stories produced apply investigative techniques to beat reporting, breaking news, and long form journalism. Instructor permission required for freshmen and sophomores. (Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center)
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
COMM 177SW:
Specialized Writing and Reporting: Sports Journalism (COMM 277S)
(Graduate students register for COMM 277S. COMM 177SW is offered for 5 units, COMM 177S is offered for 4 units.) Workshop. An examination of American sports writing from the 1920's Golden Age of Sports to present. Students become practitioners of the sports writing craft in an intensive laboratory. Hones journalistic skills such as specialized reporting, interviewing, deadline writing, creation of video projects, and conceptualizing and developing stories for print and online.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
COMM 177T:
Building News Applications (COMM 277T)
(Graduate students register for 277T. COMM 177T is offered for 5 units, COMM 277T is offered for 4 units.) This course introduces students to the process of building interactive web applications and visualizations for the news. Students will study examples from the news industry and gain proficiency in a range of technical languages, skills and tools: version control, HTML, CSS, Javascript, Python, web protocols, and web hosting and deployment. Class exercises and projects will focus on the use of these technologies to produce applications that tell a story and engage the public. Students must have basic proficiency in Python, SQL and the Unix shell.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 15 units total)
COMM 177Y:
Specialized Writing and Reporting: Foreign Correspondence (COMM 277Y)
(Graduate students register for COMM 277Y. COMM 177Y is offered for 5 units, COMM 277Y is offered for 4 units.) Study how being a foreign correspondent has evolved and blend new communication tools with clear narrative to tell stories from abroad in a way that engages a diversifying American audience in the digital age. Prerequisite: COMM 104W, COMM 279, or consent of instructor.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE, WAY-SI
COMM 184:
Race and Media (COMM 284)
(Graduate students register for 284. COMM 184 is offered for 5 units, COMM 284 is offered for 4 units.) This course explores the co-construction of media practices and racial identity in the US. We will ask how media have shaped how we think about race. And we will explore the often surprising ways ideas about race have shaped media practices and technologies in turn. The course will draw on contemporary debates as well as historical examples and will cover themes such as representation and visual culture, media industries and audience practices, and racial bias in digital technology.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
COMM 186W:
Media, Technology, and the Body (COMM 286)
(Graduate and coterm students must register for COMM 286. COMM 186W is only for undergraduates and is offered for 5 units, COMM 286 is offered for 4 units.) This course considers major themes in the cultural analysis of the body in relation to media technologies. How do media and information technologies shape our understanding of the body and concepts of bodily difference such as race, gender, and disability? We will explore both classic theories and recent scholarship to examine how technologies mediate the body and bodily practices in various domains, from entertainment to engineering, politics to product design.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
COMM 195:
Honors Thesis
Qualifies students to conduct communication research. Student must apply for department honors thesis program during Spring Quarter of junior year.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 5
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 15 units total)
Instructors: ;
Bailenson, J. (PI);
Christin, A. (PI);
Fishkin, J. (PI);
Hamilton, J. (PI);
Hancock, J. (PI);
Harari, G. (PI);
Iyengar, S. (PI);
Krosnick, J. (PI);
Li, X. (PI);
Pan, J. (PI);
Ram, N. (PI);
Reeves, B. (PI);
Turner, F. (PI)
COMM 199:
Individual Work
For students with high academic standing. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-5
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Bailenson, J. (PI);
Brenner, R. (PI);
Christin, A. (PI);
Fishkin, J. (PI);
Hamilton, J. (PI);
Hancock, J. (PI);
Harari, G. (PI);
Iyengar, S. (PI);
Krosnick, J. (PI);
Li, X. (PI);
Migielicz, G. (PI);
Nguyen, D. (PI);
Pan, J. (PI);
Phillips, C. (PI);
Pomerantz, G. (PI);
Ram, N. (PI);
Reeves, B. (PI);
Tumgoren, S. (PI);
Turner, F. (PI);
Wheaton, J. (PI);
Zacharia, J. (PI);
Liu, S. (GP)
COMM 199C:
Major Capstone Research
Supervised research with a faculty member of the Department of Communication to fulfill COMM major capstone requirement. See https://comm.stanford.edu/major for prerequisites of individual COMM faculty. For permission number to enroll, email a brief research proposal including the expected number of hours per week to the prospective faculty advisor.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 3
Instructors: ;
Brenner, R. (PI);
Fishkin, J. (PI);
Hamilton, J. (PI);
Hancock, J. (PI);
Harari, G. (PI);
Iyengar, S. (PI);
Krosnick, J. (PI);
Li, X. (PI);
Migielicz, G. (PI);
Pan, J. (PI);
Persily, N. (PI);
Phillips, C. (PI);
Pomerantz, G. (PI);
Ram, N. (PI);
Reeves, B. (PI);
Tumgoren, S. (PI);
Turner, F. (PI);
Wheaton, J. (PI);
Zacharia, J. (PI)
COMM 206:
Communication Research Methods (COMM 106)
(Graduate students register for COMM 206. COMM 106 is offered for 5 units, COMM 206 is offered for 4 units.) Conceptual and practical concerns underlying commonly used quantitative approaches, including experimental, survey, content analysis, and field research in communication. Pre- or corequisite: STATS 60 or consent of instructor. (Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center)
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
COMM 208:
Media Processes and Effects (COMM 108)
(Graduate students register for COMM 208. COMM 108 is offered for 5 units, COMM 208 is offered for 4 units.) The process of communication theory construction including a survey of social science paradigms and major theories of communication. Recommended: COMM 1 or PSYCH 1.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
COMM 216:
Journalism Law (COMM 116)
(Graduate students register for 216. COMM 116 is offered for 5 units; COMM 216 is offered for 4 units.) Laws and regulation impacting journalists. Topics include libel, privacy, news gathering, protection sources, fair trial and free press, theories of the First Amendment, and broadcast regulation. Prerequisite: Journalism M.A. student or advanced Communication major. Email instructor for permission to enroll. Preference for enrollment will be: Communication majors and co-terms, then seniors from other disciplines. Total enrollment in COMM 116/216 combined will be limited to 20. Students pursuing a degree from the COMM department as an undergraduate or Masters student must take C116/216 and for a letter grade. All other students taking the class as an elective may also elect to take the class on either a grade or S/NC basis.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
COMM 220:
The Rise of Digital Culture (AMSTUD 120, COMM 120W)
(Graduate students register for 220. COMM 120W is offered for 5 units, COMM 220 is offered for 4 units.From Snapchat to artificial intelligence, digital systems are reshaping our jobs, our democracies, our love lives, and even what it means to be human. But where did these media come from? And what kind of culture are they creating? To answer these questions, this course explores the entwined development of digital technologies and post-industrial ways of living and working from the Cold War to the present. Topics will include the historical origins of digital media, cultural contexts of their deployment and use, and the influence of digital media on conceptions of self, community, and state. Priority to juniors, seniors, and graduate students.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
COMM 224:
Truth, Trust, and Tech (COMM 124)
(Graduate students enroll in COMM 224. COMM 124 is offered for 5 units, COMM 224 is offered for 4 units.) NOTE: offered only at Stanford in New York winter quarter 2022-23. Deception is one of the most significant and pervasive social phenomena of our age. Lies range from the trivial to the very serious, including deception between friends and family, in the workplace, and in security and intelligence contexts. At the same time, information and communication technologies have pervaded almost all aspects of human communication, from everyday technologies that support interpersonal interactions to, such as email and instant messaging, to more sophisticated systems that support organization-level interactions. Given the prevalence of both deception and communication technology in our personal and professional lives, an important set of questions have recently emerged about how humans adapt their deceptive practices to new communication and information technologies, including how communication technology affects the practice of lying and the detection of deception, and whether technology can be used to identify deception.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
COMM 225:
Perspectives on American Journalism (AMSTUD 125, COMM 125)
An examination of American journalism, focusing on how news is produced, distributed, and financially supported. Emphasis on current media controversies and puzzles, and on designing innovations in discovering and telling stories. (Graduate students register for COMM 225. COMM 125 is offered for 5 units, COMM 225 is offered for 4 units.)
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
COMM 228:
Back to the Future: Media, Art, and Politics in the 1980s (AMSTUD 128B, COMM 128, COMM 328, HISTORY 258A, HISTORY 358A)
(COMM 128 is offered for 5 units, COMM 228 is offered for 4 units. COMM 328 is offered for 3-5 units.)This seminar covers the intersection of politics, media and art in the U.S. from the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Topics include globalization and financialization; the rise of the New Right; the personalization of media technology, from television to computing; postmodernism and political art; feminism, queer, and sex-positive activism; identity politics and the culture wars. Open to juniors, seniors, and graduate students.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
COMM 230A:
Digital Civil Society (CSRE 230A)
This class takes a global perspective and historical approach to understanding digital civil society in democracies. 'Civil society' includes social movements, philanthropists, unions, nonprofits, informal associational life, individual activism, and cooperatives, among others. Students will interrogate how civil society is evolving in a world of pervasive digitization and data collection. This year's syllabus divides the class into three "clusters" of topics: Elections, Culture and Community, and Company Towns. Through these clusters we will study tech workers unionizing, digital ID systems, disinformation, voting and democracy in digital times, the human labor behind content moderation, digitization's effects on intellectual property and creativity, and community efforts to shift corporate and/or government power. Class includes guest speakers and an optional field trip.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
COMM 235:
Deliberative Democracy and its Critics (AMSTUD 135, COMM 135W, COMM 335, ETHICSOC 135F, POLISCI 234P, POLISCI 334P)
This course examines the theory and practice of deliberative democracy and engages both in a dialogue with critics. Can a democracy which emphasizes people thinking and talking together on the basis of good information be made practical in the modern age? What kinds of distortions arise when people try to discuss politics or policy together? The course draws on ideas of deliberation from Madison and Mill to Rawls and Habermas as well as criticisms from the jury literature, from the psychology of group processes and from the most recent normative and empirical literature on deliberative forums. Deliberative Polling, its applications, defenders and critics, both normative and empirical, will provide a key case for discussion.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
COMM 238:
Deliberative Democracy Practicum: Applying Deliberative Polling (COMM 138)
In this course, students will work directly on a real-world deliberative democracy project using the method of Deliberative Polling. Students in this course will work in partnership with the Center for Deliberative Democracy at Stanford, a research center devoted to the research in democracy and public opinion around the world. This unique practicum will allow students to work on an actual Deliberative Polling project on campus. In just one quarter, the students will prepare for, implement, and analyze the results for an Deliberative Polling project. This is a unique opportunity that allows students to take part in the entire process of a deliberative democracy project. Through this practicum, students will learn and apply quantitative and qualitative research methods. Students will explore the underlying challenges and complexities of what it means to actually do community-engaged research in the real world. As such, this course will provide students with skills and experience in research design in deliberative democracy, community and stakeholder engagement, and the practical aspects of working in local communities. This practicum is a collaboration between the Center for Deliberative Democracy and the Haas Center for Public Service. CDD website: http://cdd.stanford.edu; Hass Center website: https://haas.stanford.edu. Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center for Public Service.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 15 units total)
COMM 238A:
America in One Room: Research Practicum (COMM 138A)
In 2019, Stanford's Deliberative Democracy Lab brought together a national random sample of 523 Americans to deliberate on five major policy issues before the American electorate. We called it America in One Room (A1R). Using the methodology of a Deliberative Poll developed by Professor James Fishkin, the experiment recorded many significant changes in opinion after the participants deliberated, and a substantial decline in partisan polarization. This pattern of change in opinion and depolarization has been evidenced in two subsequent A1R's, in 2021 on Climate and Energy and in June 2023, on options for democratic reform in the US. This research practicum will expose students to the theory and methodology behind these grand experiments and offer students an opportunity to analyze and interpret data?both qualitative (the transcripts from the actual citizen deliberations) and quantitative (the statistical results of the deliberative polls). Students' research and analysis will advance the work of this vital collaborative research project and where possible, joint publications could be pursued. Note, in addition to the weekly course meetings, the teaching team highly recommends scheduling weekly office hours to have dedicated time for individual/group practicum projects.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
COMM 254:
The Politics of Algorithms (COMM 154, CSRE 154T, SOC 154, SOC 254C)
(Graduate students enroll in 254. COMM 154 is offered for 5 units, COMM 254 is offered for 4 units.) Algorithms have become central actors in today's digital world. In areas as diverse as social media, journalism, education, healthcare, and policing, computing technologies increasingly mediate communication processes. This course will provide an introduction to the social and cultural forces shaping the construction, institutionalization, and uses of algorithms. In so doing, we will explore how algorithms relate to political issues of modernization, power, and inequality. Readings will range from social scientific analyses to media coverage of ongoing controversies relating to Big Data. Students will leave the course with a better appreciation of the broader challenges associated with researching, building, and using algorithms.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
COMM 258:
Censorship and Propaganda (COMM 158)
(Graduate students enroll in COMM 258. COMM 158 is offered for 5 units, COMM 258 is offered for 4 units.) While the internet and other digital technologies have amplified the voice of ordinary citizens, the power of governments and other large organizations to control and to manipulate information is increasingly apparent. In this course, we will examine censorship and propaganda in the age of the internet and social media. What constitutes censorship and propaganda in the digital age? Who conducts censorship and propaganda, and how? What are the consequences and effects of censorship and propaganda in this era of information proliferation? How have censorship and propaganda changed from previous eras? Students will take a hands-on, project-based approach to exploring these questions.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
COMM 262:
Campaigns, Voting, Media, and Elections (AMSTUD 162B, COMM 162, POLISCI 120B)
(Graduate students enroll in COMM 262. COMM 162 is offered for 5 units, COMM 262 is offered for 4 units.) This course examines the theory and practice of American campaigns and elections. First, we will attempt to explain the behavior of the key players -- candidates, parties, journalists, and voters -- in terms of the institutional arrangements and political incentives that confront them. Second, we will use current and recent election campaigns as "laboratories" for testing generalizations about campaign strategy and voter behavior. Third, we examine selections from the academic literature dealing with the origins of partisan identity, electoral design, and the immediate effects of campaigns on public opinion, voter turnout, and voter choice. As well, we'll explore issues of electoral reform and their more long-term consequences for governance and the political process.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
COMM 264:
The Psychology of Communication About Politics in America (COMM 164, POLISCI 124L, POLISCI 324L, PSYCH 170, PUBLPOL 164)
Focus is on how politicians and government learn what Americans want and how the public's preferences shape government action; how surveys measure beliefs, preferences, and experiences; how poll results are criticized and interpreted; how conflict between polls is viewed by the public; how accurate surveys are and when they are accurate; how to conduct survey research to produce accurate measurements; designing questionnaires that people can understand and use comfortably; how question wording can manipulate poll results; corruption in survey research.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
COMM 272:
Media Psychology (COMM 172)
(Graduate students register for COMM 272. COMM 172 is offered for 5 units, COMM 272 is offered for 4 units.) The literature related to psychological processing and the effects of media. Topics: unconscious processing; picture perception; attention and memory; emotion; the physiology of processing media; person perception; pornography; consumer behavior; advanced film and television systems; and differences among reading, watching, and listening.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
COMM 273D:
Public Affairs Data Journalism I
Even before the ubiquity of Internet access and high-powered computers, public accountability reporting relied on the concerted collection of observations and analytical problem-solving. We study the methods, and the data, used to discover leads and conduct in-depth reporting on public affairs, including election finance and safety regulations. Students gain practical experience with the digital tools and techniques of computer-assisted reporting. Prerequisite: Only open to Journalism M.A. students.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 8 units total)
COMM 274D:
Public Affairs Data Journalism II
Learn how to find, create and analyze data to tell news stories with public service impact. Uses relational databases, advanced queries, basic statistics, and mapping to analyze data for storytelling. Assignments may include stories, blog posts, and data visualizations, with at least one in-depth project based on data analysis. Prerequisites: COMM 273D or Journalism M.A. student.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 8 units total)
COMM 275:
Multimedia Storytelling: Reporting and Production Using Audio, Still Images, and Video
Multimedia assignments coordinated with deadline reporting efforts in COMM 273 from traditional news beats using audio, still photography, and video. Use of digital audio recorders and audio production to leverage voice-over narration, interviews, and natural sound; use of digital still cameras and audio to produce audio slideshows; and the combination of these media with video in post-production with Final Cut Pro. Prerequisite: Only open to Journalism M.A. students. Corequisite: COMM 273. Email instructor for permission.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
COMM 276:
Advanced Digital Journalism Production (COMM 176)
(Graduate students register for 276. COMM 176 is offered for 5 units, COMM 276 is offered for 4 units.) In-depth reporting and production using audio, images and video. Focus on an in-depth journalism project with appropriate uses of digital media: audio, photography, graphics, and video. Topics include advanced field techniques and approaches (audio, video, still) and emphasis on creating a non-fiction narrative arc in a multimedia piece of 10-12 minutes. Comm 104 or some reporting experience OR audio/video production experience. Contact instructor: jrnicol@stanford.edu
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
COMM 277A:
Advanced Data Journalism (COMM 177A)
In this course, students will learn about and experiment with a variety of advanced data and computational techniques used in the news industry to hold powerful individuals and institutions to account. Topics may include geospatial analysis, image classification and entity extraction. Students will learn how these techniques are used to develop and tell stories, and then apply that knowledge in small-scale, novel exercises.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
COMM 277B:
Big Local Journalism: a project-based class (COMM 177B)
(COMM 177B is offered for 5 units, COMM 277B is offered for 4 units.) This class will tackle data-driven journalism, in collaboration with other academic and journalistic partners. The class is centered around one or more projects rooted in local data-driven journalism but with potential for regional or national journalistic stories and impact. Students work in interdisciplinary teams to negotiate for public records and data, analyze data and report out stories. Some of the work may be published by news organizations or may be used to advance data journalism projects focused on public accountability. Students will gain valuable knowledge and skills in how to negotiate for public records, how to critically analyze data for journalistic purpose and build out reporting and writing skills. Students with a background in journalism (especially data journalism), statistics, computer science, law, or public policy are encouraged to participate. Enrollment is limited. May be repeated for credit. (Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center)
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
COMM 277C:
Environmental Journalism (COMM 177C, EARTHSYS 177C, EARTHSYS 277C)
Practical, collaborative, hands-on exploration of environmental journalism as an agent of change. Students learn how to identify and execute engaging and impactful stories about environmental science, policy, and justice through critique of environmental journalism pieces and extensive workshopping of each other's work. Emphasis on a just transition to climate adaptation and mitigation through elevating marginalized voices by using the tools and practices of journalism to spur positive change. Limited class size, preference to Environmental Communication and Journalism MA students. Prerequisite: EARTHSYS 191/291, COMM 104W, or consent of instructor. Admission by application only (https://forms.gle/C84WQRqbTFtuEfM49). Email instructor Chloe Peterson-Nafziger with any questions; chloepn.biosphere@gmail.com. Meets Earth Systems WIM requirement. (Graduate students enroll in EARTHSYS 277C/COMM 277C for 4 units; Undergraduates enroll in 177C for 5 units.)
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
COMM 277D:
Specialized Writing and Reporting: Narrative Journalism (COMM 177D)
(Graduate students register for COMM 277D. COMM 177D is offered for 5 units, COMM 277D is offered for 4 units.) How to report, write, edit, and read long-form narrative nonfiction, whether for magazines, news sites or online venues. Tools and templates of story telling such as scenes, characters, dialogue, and narrative arc. How the best long-form narrative stories defy or subvert conventional wisdom and bring fresh light to the human experience through reporting, writing, and moral passion. Prerequisite: 104 or consent of instructor.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
COMM 277I:
Investigative Watchdog Reporting (COMM 177I)
Graduate students register for COMM 277I. COMM 177I is offered for 5 units, COMM 277I is offered for 4 units.) Learn how to apply an investigative and data mindset to journalism, from understanding how to background an individual or entity using online databases to compiling or combining disparate sets of information in ways that unveil wrongdoing or mismanagement. Focuses on mining texts, tracking associations, and using visualizations. Stories produced apply investigative techniques to beat reporting, breaking news, and long form journalism. Instructor permission required for freshmen and sophomores. (Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center)
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
COMM 277S:
Specialized Writing and Reporting: Sports Journalism (COMM 177SW)
(Graduate students register for COMM 277S. COMM 177SW is offered for 5 units, COMM 177S is offered for 4 units.) Workshop. An examination of American sports writing from the 1920's Golden Age of Sports to present. Students become practitioners of the sports writing craft in an intensive laboratory. Hones journalistic skills such as specialized reporting, interviewing, deadline writing, creation of video projects, and conceptualizing and developing stories for print and online.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
COMM 277T:
Building News Applications (COMM 177T)
(Graduate students register for 277T. COMM 177T is offered for 5 units, COMM 277T is offered for 4 units.) This course introduces students to the process of building interactive web applications and visualizations for the news. Students will study examples from the news industry and gain proficiency in a range of technical languages, skills and tools: version control, HTML, CSS, Javascript, Python, web protocols, and web hosting and deployment. Class exercises and projects will focus on the use of these technologies to produce applications that tell a story and engage the public. Students must have basic proficiency in Python, SQL and the Unix shell.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 15 units total)
COMM 277Y:
Specialized Writing and Reporting: Foreign Correspondence (COMM 177Y)
(Graduate students register for COMM 277Y. COMM 177Y is offered for 5 units, COMM 277Y is offered for 4 units.) Study how being a foreign correspondent has evolved and blend new communication tools with clear narrative to tell stories from abroad in a way that engages a diversifying American audience in the digital age. Prerequisite: COMM 104W, COMM 279, or consent of instructor.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
COMM 279:
News Reporting & Writing Fundamentals
Learn beat reporting and writing skills including source development, interviewing, and story structure for news and features. Emphasis on developing news judgment, clear writing skills, and an ability to execute stories on deadline. Exercises and assignments mimic a newsroom. Students pursue local beats with a focus on public issues and complement written pieces with relevant data analyses and multimedia components. Prerequisite: Only open to Journalism M.A. students. Corequisite: COMM 275.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 8 units total)
COMM 280:
Immersive (VR/AR) Journalism in the Public Sphere
The immersive space (cinematic VR, virtual reality, and augmented reality) is journalism's newest and most exciting reporting and storytelling tool. We survey best practices and methods in this emerging medium and learn 360-degree video production and postproduction. Teams will illuminate issues and provoke conversation in the public sphere. Prerequisite: Preference to Journalism M.A. students. Please contact instructor for permission number to enroll.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
COMM 281:
Exploring Computational Journalism (CS 206)
This project-based course will explore the field of computational journalism, including the use of Data Science, Info Visualization, AI, and emerging technologies to help journalists discover and tell stories, understand their audience, advance free speech, and build trust. This course is repeatable for credit; enrollment priority given to students taking it for the first time.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 9 units total)
COMM 284:
Race and Media (COMM 184)
(Graduate students register for 284. COMM 184 is offered for 5 units, COMM 284 is offered for 4 units.) This course explores the co-construction of media practices and racial identity in the US. We will ask how media have shaped how we think about race. And we will explore the often surprising ways ideas about race have shaped media practices and technologies in turn. The course will draw on contemporary debates as well as historical examples and will cover themes such as representation and visual culture, media industries and audience practices, and racial bias in digital technology.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
COMM 286:
Media, Technology, and the Body (COMM 186W)
(Graduate and coterm students must register for COMM 286. COMM 186W is only for undergraduates and is offered for 5 units, COMM 286 is offered for 4 units.) This course considers major themes in the cultural analysis of the body in relation to media technologies. How do media and information technologies shape our understanding of the body and concepts of bodily difference such as race, gender, and disability? We will explore both classic theories and recent scholarship to examine how technologies mediate the body and bodily practices in various domains, from entertainment to engineering, politics to product design.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
COMM 289P:
Journalism Thesis
MA thesis course. Focuses on development of in-depth journalism project, culminating in work of publishable quality.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 2-4
COMM 290:
Media Studies M.A. Project
Individual research for coterminal Media Studies students.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-2
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 4 units total)
Instructors: ;
Bailenson, J. (PI);
Christin, A. (PI);
Fishkin, J. (PI);
Frankel, G. (PI);
Grimes, A. (PI);
Hamilton, J. (PI);
Hancock, J. (PI);
Harari, G. (PI);
Iyengar, S. (PI);
Krosnick, J. (PI);
Li, X. (PI);
Pan, J. (PI);
Ram, N. (PI);
Reeves, B. (PI);
Tumgoren, S. (PI);
Turner, F. (PI);
Liu, S. (SI)
COMM 299:
Individual Work
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-4
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Bailenson, J. (PI);
Brenner, R. (PI);
Christin, A. (PI);
Fishkin, J. (PI);
Hamilton, J. (PI);
Hancock, J. (PI);
Harari, G. (PI);
Iyengar, S. (PI);
Krosnick, J. (PI);
Li, X. (PI);
Migielicz, G. (PI);
Pan, J. (PI);
Phillips, C. (PI);
Pomerantz, G. (PI);
Ram, N. (PI);
Reeves, B. (PI);
Tumgoren, S. (PI);
Turner, F. (PI);
Wheaton, J. (PI);
Zacharia, J. (PI);
Liu, S. (GP)
COMM 308:
Graduate Seminar in Political Psychology (POLISCI 321, PSYCH 284)
For students interested in research in political science, psychology, or communication. Methodological techniques for studying political attitudes and behaviors. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
for credit
COMM 311:
Theory of Communication
Basic communication theory for first-year Ph.D. students in the Department of Communication. Introduction to basic writings and concepts in communication research. The goal is an introduction to issues in the field that are common in communication research. First half of the class will emphasize classic literature about field organization, history and theory. Second half will emphasize contemporary theory in areas that students select. Email instructor for permission to enroll.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-5
COMM 314:
Ethnographic Methods (SOC 319)
This course offers an introduction to the practice and politics of ethnographic fieldwork. It provides a "how to" of ethnographic research, in which students will conduct an ethnographic project of their own, complemented by weekly readings and discussions. In the process, we will discuss the theory and epistemology of fieldwork, along with the practicalities and politics of fieldwork in different domains. We will examine different stages of ethnographic research (entering the field, conducting and recording fieldwork, exiting the field and writing it up), different methods (observations, interviews, "going along"), as well as distinct styles of ethnographic work (virtual ethnography, organizational ethnography, narrative ethnography, etc.). The course will serve as a participative workshop for students to exchange field notes, share practical advice, and consolidate their research interests. Email instructor for permission to enroll.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-5
COMM 318:
Quantitative Social Science Research Methods
An introduction to a broad range of social science research methods that are widely used in PhD work. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-5
COMM 322:
Advanced Studies in Behavior and Social Media
This course will focus on advanced research on social media with an emphasis on interpersonal dynamics. The course will emphasize key theories from psychology and communication that bear on behavior and social media. Students will develop a research project in the course that draws on one of the primary methods from the social media space. Email instructor for permission to enroll.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-5
| Repeatable
5 times
(up to 25 units total)
COMM 324:
Language and Technology
In this course we develop a model of how language reflects social and psychological dynamics in social media and other technologically-mediated contexts. The course lays out the main stages of analyzing language to understand social dynamics, including using theory to identify key discourse features, feature extraction, and classification and prediction. The course will draw on action-oriented language approaches to understand how people use language (e.g., grounding and joint action models), and then build on this approach to understand how discourse features from natural language can be used to answer questions from a wide range of social science questions, and ultimately, to the design of new technologies. Email instructor for permission to enroll.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
COMM 328:
Back to the Future: Media, Art, and Politics in the 1980s (AMSTUD 128B, COMM 128, COMM 228, HISTORY 258A, HISTORY 358A)
(COMM 128 is offered for 5 units, COMM 228 is offered for 4 units. COMM 328 is offered for 3-5 units.)This seminar covers the intersection of politics, media and art in the U.S. from the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Topics include globalization and financialization; the rise of the New Right; the personalization of media technology, from television to computing; postmodernism and political art; feminism, queer, and sex-positive activism; identity politics and the culture wars. Open to juniors, seniors, and graduate students.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
COMM 335:
Deliberative Democracy and its Critics (AMSTUD 135, COMM 135W, COMM 235, ETHICSOC 135F, POLISCI 234P, POLISCI 334P)
This course examines the theory and practice of deliberative democracy and engages both in a dialogue with critics. Can a democracy which emphasizes people thinking and talking together on the basis of good information be made practical in the modern age? What kinds of distortions arise when people try to discuss politics or policy together? The course draws on ideas of deliberation from Madison and Mill to Rawls and Habermas as well as criticisms from the jury literature, from the psychology of group processes and from the most recent normative and empirical literature on deliberative forums. Deliberative Polling, its applications, defenders and critics, both normative and empirical, will provide a key case for discussion.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
COMM 339:
Questionnaire Design for Surveys and Laboratory Experiments: Social and Cognitive Perspectives (POLISCI 421K, PSYCH 231, PUBLPOL 339)
The social and psychological processes involved in asking and answering questions via questionnaires for the social sciences; optimizing questionnaire design; open versus closed questions; rating versus ranking; rating scale length and point labeling; acquiescence response bias; don't-know response options; response choice order effects; question order effects; social desirability response bias; attitude and behavior recall; and introspective accounts of the causes of thoughts and actions.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
COMM 345:
Personality Expression in Digitally Mediated Contexts
Digital devices (e.g., computers, smartphones, wearables) and platforms (e.g., social media sites, forums, virtual worlds) mediate much of our daily life. Each time we use digital media for communication, information seeking, or entertainment, we leave behind psychologically revealing digital footprints. In this course, we will explore how digital footprints can be used to understand individual differences in thinking, feeling, and behaving. Class activities and assignments will require students to apply the concepts to their own research projects. Course enrollment limited to PhD-level students.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-5
COMM 346:
Advanced Topics on Individual Differences in Media Psychology
This will be a project-based course for graduate students to take a deep dive on a specific topic within media psychology. All topics will share an underlying focus on individual differences. Example topics include: describing individual differences in use of digital devices (e.g., computers, smartphones, wearables) and platforms (e.g., social media, forums, virtual worlds), explaining what may be driving such differences (e.g., psychological factors, contextual factors), applying and developing methodological approaches for understanding and assessing mediated personalities, and exploring applications of psychologically tailoring media to peoples characteristics and contexts. Students will work collaboratively with the instructor and other students in the course to produce a novel work by the end of the quarter.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
5 times
(up to 15 units total)
COMM 355B:
Theories of Culture, Media, and Institutions (SOC 355)
This course presents a selection of influential ways of thinking about culture, media, technology, and institutions in contemporary societies. It is organized around different disciplinary and methodological traditions, including symbolic interactionism, Foucault, Bourdieu, feminist theory, neo-institutionalism, the sociology of translation, the e/valuation perspective, and racial capitalism, with a specific focus on how these concepts shed light on the interplay between media, culture, and institutions.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-5
COMM 361:
Law of Democracy (POLISCI 327C)
Combined with LAW 7036 (formerly Law 577). This course is intended to give students a basic understanding of the themes in the legal regulation of elections and politics. We will cover all the major Supreme Court cases on topics of voting rights, reapportionment/redistricting, ballot access, regulation of political parties, campaign finance, and the 2000 presidential election controversy. The course pays particular attention to competing political philosophies and empirical assumptions that underlie the Court's reasoning while still focusing on the cases as litigation tools used to serve political ends. Elements used in grading: Class participation and one day take home final exam. (POLISCI 327C; LAW 577)
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
COMM 363:
Governance of the Internet
Internet platforms like Google and Facebook play an enormous role in our online speech and information environment today. This class will review the laws that shape platforms' decisions about online content, with a primary focus on intermediary liability laws like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), Communications Decency Act Section 230 (CDA 230), and the EU's eCommerce Directive. The majority of course material will be from the U.S., but some will explore international models and in particular laws in the European Union. Some classes will explore the impact of related areas of law, including privacy law, and some will go beyond current legal models to explore forward-looking legislative and policy proposals. Important themes of the class include Constitutional and human rights constraints on intermediary liability laws; legal limits (or lack thereof) on platforms' enforcement of privatized speech rules under their Community Guidelines or Terms of Service; global enforcement of national laws requiring platforms to remove content; and tensions between the goals of intermediary liability law and those of privacy, competition, and other legal frameworks. Students will be encouraged to think pragmatically about the legal, operational, and product design choices platforms may make in response to particular laws, drawing on the instructor's experience handling such questions as Associate General Counsel at Google. Students will be responsible for (1) posting six reading response comments or questions to a class discussion board (these are due before class meets on six class days of your choice, they can be very brief and informal); (2) participating in class discussion, potentially including discussion of points raised in your written questions; and (3) completing a final examination.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
COMM 365:
Longitudinal Data Analysis in Social Science Research (PSYCH 289)
This course offers a project-based orientation to methodological issues associated with the analysis of multivariate and/or longitudinal data in the social sciences. General areas to be covered include the manipulation/organization/description of the types of empirical data obtained in social science research, and the application/implementation of multivariate analysis techniques to those data. Students will, through hands-on analysis of their data, acquire experiences in the formulation of research questions and study designs that are appropriately tethered to a variety of advanced analytical methods.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
for credit
COMM 369:
Measurement and the Study of Change in Social Science Research (PSYCH 253)
This course is a survey of methodological issues associated with the measurement of psychological constructs and processes of change. General areas to be covered include use of latent variable models (structural equation modeling), classical test theory, generalizability theory, principal component analysis, factor analysis, item response theory and how these models facilitate and/or constrain the study of change processes. Students will work through application/implementation of the models through hands-on analysis of simulated and empirical data, acquire experiences in the formulation of research questions and study designs that are appropriately tethered to the different theoretical perspectives invoked by the different models.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
COMM 372G:
Seminar in Psychological Processing
Media and Mental Health is the topic for the Comm 372G seminar in Winter Quarter 2022. The seminar will focus on new ways to define media interactions that can be linked to mental health, taking advantage of new methods and computational analytics that provide granular details about media use. We will consider both the role of media in diagnosing mental illness, as well as how media use may change the onset, course and treatment of mental illness. We will discuss and write about psychiatric illnesses including bipolar disorder, suicide and suicidal ideation, post-traumatic stress disorders, anxiety, attention disorders, addiction, schizophrenia, post-partem depression, obsessive-compulsive disorders and eating disorders. Dr. Thomas Robinson (MD, Stanford Medical School) will join in instruction, and mental health experts will provide briefings on different diagnoses. The main focus of discussions (and writing), however, will be on media and technology content, applications, contexts, functions, sequences, rhythms, applications and services. We will be guided by new work and data from the Screenomics Lab that records moment-by-moment changes in screen use (see screenomics.stanford.edu for background). The seminar is open to MA and PhD students across the university, and with permission of the instructor, to advanced undergraduates.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-5
| Repeatable
for credit
COMM 380:
Curriculum Practical Training
Practical experience in the communication industries. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. Meets requirements for Curricular Practical Training for students on F-1 visas. (Staff). F-1 international students enrolled in this CPT course cannot start working without first obtaining a CPT-endorsed I-20 from Bechtel International Center (enrolling in the CPT course alone is insufficient to meet federal immigration regulations).
Terms: Sum
| Units: 1-5
| Repeatable
4 times
(up to 20 units total)
Instructors: ;
Bailenson, J. (PI);
Christin, A. (PI);
Fishkin, J. (PI);
Hamilton, J. (PI);
Hancock, J. (PI);
Iyengar, S. (PI);
Krosnick, J. (PI);
Li, X. (PI);
Pan, J. (PI);
Ram, N. (PI);
Reeves, B. (PI);
Turner, F. (PI)
COMM 387:
Bodies as Technology: Media History Between Human and Machine
This course explores the mutual definition of human bodies and technical systems in the historical development and use of media technologies across scientific and cultural domains. Drawing on scholarship in media studies, history of science/technology, and STS, we will examine how bodies and machines were imagined and configured relative to one another and how these complex entanglements both shaped and were shaped by new media technologies and practices. Limited to PhD students or with consent of the instructor.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-5
COMM 399:
Advanced Individual Work
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-9
| Repeatable
for credit
(up to 72 units total)
Instructors: ;
Bailenson, J. (PI);
Christin, A. (PI);
Fishkin, J. (PI);
Hamilton, J. (PI);
Hancock, J. (PI);
Harari, G. (PI);
Iyengar, S. (PI);
Krosnick, J. (PI);
Li, X. (PI);
Migielicz, G. (PI);
Pan, J. (PI);
Phillips, C. (PI);
Pomerantz, G. (PI);
Ram, N. (PI);
Reeves, B. (PI);
Turner, F. (PI);
Wheaton, J. (PI);
Zacharia, J. (PI)
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 0
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Bailenson, J. (PI);
Brenner, R. (PI);
Christin, A. (PI);
Fishkin, J. (PI);
Hamilton, J. (PI);
Hancock, J. (PI);
Harari, G. (PI);
Iyengar, S. (PI);
Krosnick, J. (PI);
Li, X. (PI);
Migielicz, G. (PI);
Pan, J. (PI);
Phillips, C. (PI);
Ram, N. (PI);
Reeves, B. (PI);
Tumgoren, S. (PI);
Turner, F. (PI);
Zacharia, J. (PI)
COMM 802:
TGR Dissertation
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 0
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Bailenson, J. (PI);
Christin, A. (PI);
Fishkin, J. (PI);
Hamilton, J. (PI);
Hancock, J. (PI);
Harari, G. (PI);
Iyengar, S. (PI);
Krosnick, J. (PI);
Li, X. (PI);
Pan, J. (PI);
Ram, N. (PI);
Reeves, B. (PI);
Turner, F. (PI)
