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Program Description
The idea of a more just society is a shared value and goal across the university. The Communication and Social Justice minor is designed to bring students from different disciplines who share that commitment together and provide them with the communication skills they need to achieve a more just social world. There are two parts of a curriculum that students must take to achieve the minor. They will take 3 courses (9 credits) on social justice subject matter drawn from a transdisciplinary list, one of which must be a 400-level course. Then, they will take three communications skills courses (9 credits) that will help them communicate that subject matter more effectively. The first, a basic production course on how to shoot, record, edit or launch multimedia content (either COMM 270, COMM 283 or LA 235N). The second, a course on digital communication strategies, and finally a capstone course that will apply the skills from the first two courses and supervise students in the creation and launch of a digital communications campaign that will further the causes they are passionate about. Completion of the minor will help further an ongoing conversation about the importance of a just society and prepare students to be effective multimedia communicators.
What is Communication and Social Justice?
The Communication and Social Justice minor is for students who would like to learn to communicate their commitment and passion for social justice to the general public to help further causes that they care about. Students will draw from their knowledge base in their home majors and learn to create media assets and multi-media campaigns designed to persuade. Completion of the minor will prepare students to create and utilize media campaigns, skills which translate well into any chosen field today.
You Might Like This Program If...
You care about helping to foster a more just society and want to learn to communicate in today's media system. In a world dominated by media, knowing how to create and utilize different forms of media will serve any student well in their chosen field.
Program Requirements
| Requirement | Credits |
|---|---|
| Requirements for the Minor | 18 |
Requirements for the Minor
A grade of C or better is required for all courses in the minor, as specified by Senate Policy 59-10. In addition, at least six credits of the minor must be unique from the prescribed courses required by a student's major(s).
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Prescribed Courses | ||
| Prescribed Courses: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| COMM 232 | Communication Strategies for Social Justice | 3 |
| COMM 432 | Social Justice Media Project | 3 |
| Additional Courses | ||
| Additional Courses: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| Select three courses from the following list of department approved courses. One course must be at the 400 level. | 9 | |
Introduction to Asian American Studies  | ||
| Diversity, Pedagogy, and Visual Culture | ||
| Black Freedom Struggles | ||
| Racism and Sexism | ||
| Afro-Latin America: Race and Revolution | ||
| Black Liberation and American Foreign Policy | ||
| Identities, Power and Perceptual Pedagogies in Teaching and Learning | ||
| Women, Gender, and Feminisms in Africa | ||
| Poverty in Africa | ||
| Globalization and Its Implications | ||
| America in the 1960s: An Introduction | ||
| LGBTQ+ Identity, Culture and The Arts | ||
| Human Sexuality as a Health Concern | ||
| Community, Local Knowledge, and Democracy | ||
| Labor in the Global Economy | ||
| Ethics, Justice, and Rights in World Literature | ||
| Media and Democracy | ||
| Gender, Diversity and the Media | ||
| Cultural Aspects of the Mass Media | ||
| Race, Crime, and Justice | ||
| Corrections in America | ||
| Women and the Criminal Justice System | ||
| Educational Reform and Public Policy | ||
| Education and Public Policy | ||
| Introduction to Disability Studies in the Humanities | ||
| Inequality: Economics, Philosophy, Literature | ||
| Introduction to LGBTQ Studies | ||
| Mapping Identity, Difference, and Place | ||
| Chicana and Chicano Cultural Production: Literature, Film, Music | ||
| Insect Connections: Insects, Globalization and Sustainability | ||
| Visions of Nature | ||
| Geography of Race, Class, and Poverty in America | ||
| Geographies of Justice | ||
| Globalization | ||
| CONTEMPORARY URBAN ISSUES AND SOCIAL JUSTICE FRAMEWORKS | ||
| Communities and Families | ||
| The History of the Israel-Palestine Conflict (1917-Present) | ||
| History of Welfare and Poverty in the United States | ||
| The Post-World War II Civil Rights Movement | ||
| Lesbian and Gay History | ||
| Introduction to Latina/o Studies | ||
| Introduction to U.S. Latina/o History | ||
| Latinx Gender and Sexuality Studies | ||
| Youth Cultures in Latin(a/o) America | ||
| Gender Matters | ||
| Race, Racism, and Diversity | ||
| Medical and Health Care Ethics | ||
| Winning Political Support Through Persuasion | ||
| Rights in America | ||
| Gender and Politics | ||
| The Politics of Human Rights | ||
| Sex, Race, & Justice: The U.S. Supreme Court and Equality | ||
| Ethics of Climate Change | ||
| Social Problems | ||
| Race, Ethnicity and Culture | ||
| Critical Race Theory in the Humanities and Social Sciences | ||
| Race and Public Policy | ||
| World Population Diversity | ||
| Social Change | ||
| Sociology of Sexuality | ||
| Race, Gender, and Employment | ||
| Supporting Courses and Related Areas | ||
| Supporting Courses and Related Areas: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| Select 3 credits from the following: | 3 | |
| Introduction to Multimedia Production | ||
| Television Field Production | ||
| Media, Social Justice, and the Public Humanities | ||
Academic Advising
The objectives of the university's academic advising program are to help advisees identify and achieve their academic goals, to promote their intellectual discovery, and to encourage students to take advantage of both in-and out-of class educational opportunities in order that they become self-directed learners and decision makers.
Both advisers and advisees share responsibility for making the advising relationship succeed. By encouraging their advisees to become engaged in their education, to meet their educational goals, and to develop the habit of learning, advisers assume a significant educational role. The advisee's unit of enrollment will provide each advisee with a primary academic adviser, the information needed to plan the chosen program of study, and referrals to other specialized resources.
READ SENATE POLICY 32-00: ADVISING POLICY
University Park
Bellisario College Academic Advising
204 Carnegie Building
University Park, PA 16802
814-865-1503
commadvisor@psu.edu
Contact
University Park
DEPARTMENT OF ADVERTISING/PUBLIC RELATIONS
220 Carnegie Building
University Park, PA 16802
rkp5645@psu.edu