James Baumann, PhD

Courses Taught

• Survey of Human Communication
  • Introduction to human communication theory in a variety of communication contexts including but not limited to interpersonal, small group and public speaking. Apply these theories and skills in oral presentations, group projects, and formal papers.
• Media & Society 
  • Study ethics, rights, responsibilities and the place of mass media in social change and social planning.
• Organizational Communication
  • Emphasizes planning, organization and control. Examines how systems work, role of internal communication, flow, content, interpretation of messages, problem-solving, avoiding communication breakdowns, changing attitudes, motivation, leveling, interpreting management's point of view. Investigates internal and external types of communication, dyads, interviewing and counseling, selling and persuading.
• Cases & Research in Public Relations
  • This course introduces students to social scientific and interpretive methods used when conducting communication research. Students will use the concepts covered to construct meaningful and measurable research questions, select an appropriate method, and present the information as part of a final project.
• Media Law
  • Provides understanding of historical, legal and ethical issues involved in freedom of expression. Principles and case studies in communication law, constitutional guarantees, libel, privacy, contempt, privilege, copyright, regulatory agencies, and public policy. Discussion of major court decisions in each area of communication law and historical/political climate out of which the cases emerged provide the framework of the course. Junior/Senior status.