CMS 375 - Meaning and Communication

This course examines the assignment of meaning to verbal behavior, especially conversational exchange. Researchers have paid special attention to the ways in which words and actions take on meaning in context. We will focus on the full communicative event involving talk, i.e., context, pragmatics, grammatical structures, conversational structures, and types of meaning. A central question of the course is: How do people interpret what other people say? The course makes use of close reading and discussion of theory as well as the collection and analysis of naturally occurring spontaneous spoken and written discourse.

Prerequisite(s): CMS 102.
Co-requisite(s):
Credits: 3

Course Typically Offered:
Course Type: Communication & Media Studies