Communication Theory
SPC 3210
Florida International University
College of Architecture + The Arts
Communication Arts Department
Professor T. J. Lakin
Phone: 305/348-1984 (Department)
Fax: 305/348-6272
Email: tlakin@fiu.edu
University Drop Date:
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK
West, Richard L.; Turner, Lynn H. (2014). Introducing Communication Theory. Fifth Edition.
McGraw-Hill Education. ISBN 978-0-07-353428-2.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
You are about to embark on an exciting and challenging journey of exploring communication
theories. We will look at 32 different theories that have been developedto describe, interpret,
understand, and sometimes critique processes involved in human communication. This course
will help you to see what constitutes a theory and how communication is explained through the
lens of different theories. We will discuss and compare philosophical assumptions, theoretical
concepts and explanatory frameworks of quite a variety of communication theories. You will be
exposed to the original research and try your hand at understanding and critically assessing
various communication studies. We will also seek to apply the communication theories to
explaining communication processes that constitute your everyday life.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
By the conclusion of this course you will be able to:
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Understand essential features of 32 current theories that explain processes in
interpersonal, group, organizational, public, media, intercultural, and gender
communication.
Learn about a philosophical and conceptual framework for each theory and demonstrate
interrelationships among different theories.
Research, analyze, explain, and present a specific communication theory.
Apply communication theories to the life outside the classroom.
INSTRUCTOR EXPECTATIONS AND POLICIES
Attendance:Regular attendance is mandatory. An excused absence is defined as one that can be
documented in writing and is due to a medical problem with the student or immediate family,
death in the student’s immediate family, or formal involvement in an officially recognized
university sponsored event. Please notify me at the beginning of the semester of any religious
holidays that you will observe during the time of this class, and I will excuse the absences
connected to those holidays. I allow three unexcused absences without any penalty. Starting
with the forth absence half a letter grade will be deducted from your final grade. If you fail to
attend when you are scheduled to make a presentation, you will receive no grade for the
assignment. However, if you know you cannot avoid the absence, please inform me as soon as
you know of your absence and we can try to figure something out.
Tardiness:You will be expected to arrive at class on time. Tardiness in not acceptable and will
result in a reduction of your grade. Two “lates” are equivalent of 1 absence and you are
permitted 1 unexcused absence. Leaving class early is counted the same as a tardy. If you are
tardy, notify me at the break or after class so the absence can be changed to a tardy.
Cell phones/laptop computers/tablets: You are not allowed to use any of these electronic
devices during the class unless specifically requested by the instructor. Make sure your phone is
on “silent” as soon as the class starts.
Assignments: All assignments must be your original work not presented in any other previous
classes or events. Plagiarism and cheating are serious violations of your responsibilities and I will
have to report any of those to the FIU administration. Please see your Student Handbook for
more on cheating and plagiarism. All the written assignments (speech analysis, crisis speech
manuscript, and motivational speech outline) need to be submitted through turnitin.com by the
posted deadline.
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E-mail:I very often send out e-mails about the class, assignments, my feedback, and possible
changes in the schedule. You are expected to check your university e-mail account on a regular
basis not to miss important information.
Blackboard:It is each student’s responsibility to make sure that they have access to Blackboard
and check it regularly. Grades, assignments and general course announcements will all be
posted on Blackboard.
CODE OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
The Code of Academic Integrity was adopted by the Student Government Association.
Allstudents are expected to adhere to a standard of academic conduct, which demonstrates
respect for themselves, their fellow students, and the educational mission of the University. All
students are deemed by the University to understand that if they are found responsible for
academic misconduct, they will be subject to the Academic Misconduct procedures and
sanctions, as outlined in the Student Handbook.
TURNITIN.COM and Grademark
Your written assignment for this course must be submitted to Turnitin.com by the posted
deadline (a week after your presentation in class). Assignments submitted by any other means
or after the deadline will not be evaluated.
Turnitin.com drop boxes will be available in the Ecampus Blackboard learning management
system.
Once your assignment has been uploaded successfully to Turnitin.com, you will receive a
confirmation receipt. Please keep this confirmation number for future reference. Within a few
hours, your assignment will also be assigned an originality/similarity percentage. For further
information as to how the similarity/originality percentage is calculated and why it is important,
please go to http://turnitin.com/en_us/training/student-training
Within two weeks after the assignment’s deadline has passed, you will receive written feedback
on your assignment. The written comments on your assignment are accessible using the
GradeMark function within Turnitin.com. If you do not know how to access the written
comments using the GradeMark function, please go to
http://turnitin.com/en_us/training/student-training
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Documents submitted to a Turnitin.com drop box in this course cannot be retracted or revised
once submitted.
POLICY FOR ASSIGNING AN INCOMPLETE “I” GRADE
An incomplete grade is a temporary symbol given for work not completed because of serious
interruption not caused by the student's own negligence. An incomplete must be made up as
quickly as possible, but no later than two consecutive semesters after the initial taking of the
course or it will automatically default to an "F" or the grade that the student earned in the
course.
There is no extension of the two-semester deadline. The student must not register again for the
course to make up the incomplete. Students who have incomplete grades on their records must
remove the incomplete by the end of the fourth week of the term in which they plan to
graduate. Failure to do so will result in a cancellation of graduation.
Incompletes are awarded only if the student has completed most of the course work. If a
student misses a significant portion of the course work, he/she should drop the course. If the
drop period has ended, the student may petition for a withdrawal—this requires the student to
un-enroll in all of their courses for that semester.
Incompletes are not to be used because a student took on too many credits and they cannot
complete everything that is now required of them.
In such cases where the course instructor determines that it is appropriate to award a student a
grade of "I" (incomplete) the following steps must be followed.
Using an Official University Form the course instructor will report the following:
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
The grade earned by the student to date;
The missing work and the percentage of the final grade it represents (this requires the
details of the specific missing assignment);
The date the instructor expects the missing work to be submitted or in the case of an
examination made up;
The justification for awarding the grade of "I";
Have the student sign the form;
Submit this form to the Department Chair and Dean and maintain a copy for instructor
records and provide a copy for the student;
Upon satisfying the requirements for a grade the instructor will sign off on the form and
attach it to the change of grade form she or he will submit.
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DISABILITY CLAUSE
Students with disabilities, as defined by law, have the right to receive needed accommodations if
their disabilities make it difficult to perform academic tasks in the usual way or in the allotted
time frame. In order to receive accommodation, however, students with must register with
Disability Resource Center:
University Park Campus, GC 190
Voice: (305) 348-3532
TTY: (305) 348-3852
Fax: (305) 348-3850
Email: drcupgl@fiu.edu
SEXUAL HARASSMENT POLICY
Please refer to the Florida International University Policy on Sexual Harassment at
http://hr.fiu.edu/index.php?name=sexual_harassment
RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY POLICY
The University's policy on religious holydays as stated in the University Catalog and Student
Handbook will be followed in this class. Any student may request to be excused from class to
observe a religious holyday of his or her faith. Let me know if any of such absences at the
beginning of the semester.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
The Communication Arts Studio in VH 230 at MMC and HL 155 BBC is available for you to
practice your presentation and perfect your delivery skills. You may wish to videotape yourself
before making your presentation in class. The website for the Communication Arts Studio is:
http://communicate.fiu.edu
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The Center for Excellence in Writing is available to assist you with your writing skills. The Center
is located in the Green Library, Room 125. (Biscayne Bay Campus - Library, 1st Floor). The
website for the Center is: http://writingcenter.fiu.edu/
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
Please read the weekly calendar carefully. You are fully responsible for completing the
assignments by the posteddeadline. This requires that you read ahead as some assignments may
take you more time and research than others. The course will consist of the following
assignments:

Reading assignments: The lecture and our discussion will be based on the reading
assigned for the day (book chapter(s) or article(s)). You are responsible for completing
the reading before that lecture.

Quizzes:There will be five quizzes throughout the semester. Each of the quizzes will cover
one of the key divisions of the course: communication theory in general, interpersonal
communication, group and public communication, mass communication, and
communication in cultural context.

Final exam: The exam will consist of three essay questions drawn from a pool of seven
questions, all of which will be distributed by the end of September.

Application Log: After you read a chapter describing a communication theory (Chapters
5-36), you are required to make a specific application of the theory to your own life and
experience. Write 1-3 paragraphs about it, and post this blog entry to the Blackboard.
Think of this assignment as a way to find practical value of each theory. What framework
does the theory provide to help you understand your or other people’s communication
practices? What prediction does it make for the future? How can you use this theory and
the conceptual tools that it offers? Can it help you to improve or advance your personal
life, your relationships, your professional or educational experience, your role in the local
or global society?
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Research Project: On August 27th you will select one of 30 course theories to study in
depth. Your choice may be informed by your personal interests, previous familiarity with
the theoretical concepts, and the abstracts of theories in Appendix A of your textbook.
Two students will be responsible for each of the 30 theories. Two of you will be
responsible for a coordinated presentation on your theory during the lecture (when the
theory is scheduled to be presented). In exactly one week after your presentation in
class, each of you will need to submit an 8-10 page paper reporting your research. All the
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papers should be submitted through turnitin.com. A more detailed description of this
assignment will be posted on the Blackboard.
GRADING
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
WEIGHTS
Quizzes
20%
Application Log
25%
Research project presentation
10%
Research project report
25%
Final exam
10%
Participation
10%
TOTAL
100%
EVALUATION
A
AB+
B
94 - 100%
90 - 93%
87 - 89%
84 - 86%
BC+
C
C-
80 - 83%
77 - 79%
74 - 76%
70 - 73%
D+
D
DF
67 - 69%
64 - 66%
60 - 63%
<60%
COURSE CALENDAR
I reserve the right to modify, add, or delete assignments based upon circumstances of the semester.
DUE DATES
MODULES
ASSIGNMENTS
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WEEK 1
Course
introduction
Framework for
Communication
Theory
Framework for
Communication
Theory

Read Chapter 1

Read Chapter 2:
Framework for
Communication
Theory
Framework for
Communication
Theory

Read Chapter 3

Read Chapter 4
Quiz on
communication
theory.
Interpersonal
Communication.
Interpersonal
Messages.
Symbolic
Interactionism.
Interpersonal
messages.
Coordinated
Management of
Meaning (CMM).
Expectancy
Violations Theory


Read Chapter 5
WEEK 2
WEEK 3


Read Chapter 6;
Watch the interview with Barnett Pearce at
http://www.afirstlook.com/media/video_4.mp4


Read Chapter 7;
Watch the interview with JudeeBurgoon at
http://www.afirstlook.com/media/video_6.mp4

Read Chapter 8;

Read Chapter 9;
WEEK 4
Relationship
Development.
Social Penetration
Theory.
Uncertainty
Reduction Theory.
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
Watch the interview with Chuck Berger at
http://www.afirstlook.com/media/video_13.mp4
and respond to questions at page 119.
Social Information 
Processing Theory. 
Read Chapter 10.
Watch the interview with Joe Walther at
http://www.afirstlook.com/media/video_14.mp4
WEEK 5
Relationship
Maintenance.
Relational
Dialectics
Communication
Privacy
Management
Theory.
The Interactional
View.


Read Chapter 11;
Watch the interview with Leslie Baxter at
http://www.afirstlook.com/media/video_11.mp4


Read Chapter 12;
Watch the interview with Sandra Petronio at
http://www.afirstlook.com/media/video_17.mp4

Read Chapter 13;
Social Judgment
Theory.
Elaboration
Likelihood Model.
Cognitive
Dissonance
Theory.
Review
Interpersonal
Communication
theories.

Read Chapter 14;

Read Chapter 15;

Read Chapter 16;
Quiz on
Interpersonal
Communication
division.
Introduction to
Group and Public
Communication
Group and Public
Communication.
Functional
Perspective on

Prepare for the quiz on interpersonal
communication.


Read Chapter 17;
Watch the interview with Randy Hirokawa at
http://www.afirstlook.com/media/video_8.mp4
WEEK 6
WEEK 7
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Group Decision
Making.
Symbolic
Convergence
Theory.

Read Chapter 18;
Organizational
Communication.
Cultural Approach
to Organizations.
Communicative
Constitution of
Organizations.
Critical Theory of
Communication in
Organizations.

Read Chapter 19;

Read Chapter 20;


Read Chapter 21;
Watch the interview with Stan Deetz at
http://www.afirstlook.com/media/video_5.mp4
Public Rhetoric.
The Rhetoric of
Aristotle.
Dramatism.

Read Chapter 22;

Read Chapter 23;
Narrative
Paradigm.
Review Group and
Public
Communication
theories.

Read Chapter 24;
Quiz on Group and
Public
Communication
Theories.
Introduction to
Mass
Communication.
Media Ecology.

Prepare for the quiz on Group and Public
Communication.

Read Chapter 25;
Semiotics.

Read Chapter 26;
Cultural Studies.

Read Chapter 27;
WEEK 8
WEEK 9
WEEK 10
WEEK 11
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Uses and
Gratifications.
Cultivation Theory.

Read Chapter 28;


Read Chapter 29;
Respond to questions at page 373;
Agenda-Setting
Theory.
Review Mass
Communication
theories.
Quiz on Mass
Communication
theories.
Introduction to
theories of
communication in
cultural context.
Intercultural
Communication.
Communication
Accommodation
Theory.


Read Chapter 30;
Watch the interview with Max MaCombs at
http://www.afirstlook.com/media/video_2.mp4

Prepare for the quiz on the Mass Communication
theories.


Read Chapter 31;
Watch the interview with Howie Giles at
http://www.afirstlook.com/media/video_18.mp4
Face-negotiation
Theory.


WEEK 12
WEEK 13
Speech Codes
Theory.
Read Chapter 32;
Watch the interview with Stella Ting-Toomey at
http://www.afirstlook.com/media/video_7.mp4
 Read Chapter 33;
 Watch the interview with Gerry Philipsen at
http://www.afirstlook.com/media/video_12.mp4
No class
WEEK 14
Gender and
Communication.
Genderlect Styles.
Standpoint
Theory.

Read Chapter 34;

Read Chapter 35;
Muted Group
Theory.


Read Chapter 36;
Watch the interview with CherisKramarae at
http://www.afirstlook.com/media/video_10.mp4
WEEK 15
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Review of theories
of communication
in cultural context.
Quiz on the
theories of
communication in
cultural context.
Common Threads
in Communication
Theories.
Review for the
final exam.

Prepare for the quiz on the theories of
communication in cultural context.

Read Chapter 37.

Prepare for the final exam.
WEEK 16
Final exam.
Review the final
exam and the
research projects.
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