These are the courses I have taken
COMMUNICATION
The aim of this course is to provide a general introduction to a range
of theories that seek to explain why we communicate as we do. The first
part of the course deals with communication in the context of
face-to-face interaction, focussing on such considerations as the nature
of spoken language, the varieties of non-verbal communication we use,
and how the Self is "created" in the process of communication. We will
also examine the scope and structure of animal communication systems in
comparison to our own.
The second part of the course looks at communication media as
technological extensions of language and culture. Our main concern will
be to examine the ways in which the media package information in ways
unique to each medium. For example, we will consider the idea that
writing and print have given us perceptions of the world that differ
significantly from those of non-literate cultures. We will also look at
the "electronic wave" in communication, and examine the way in which the
electronic media, from the telegraph to the computer, have refashioned
both human consciousness and culture.
Finally, we will critically assess the images and messages of
contemporary media. How do they create meaning? Do they enlarge our
understanding of the world, or influence us to think about it in
increasingly narrow ways?
CMNS 130 - EXPLORATIONS IN MASS COMMUNICATION
Bob Everton
An introduction to the role of mass media and mediated communications
(radio, television, telephone, fax, data transmissions,
telecommunications) in Canadian society.
This course is a requirement for an Honours, a Major, Minor, or Extended
Minor in Communication.
Paul Reynolds
Prerequisites
45 or more credit hours including at least two lower division courses in Communication. Recommended: LING260 and/or
SA101.
Overview
Effective communication between individuals, nations, cultures, etc. depends upon shared understanding and expectations
regarding signs and sign-systems through which information is structured and exchanged. Increasingly, North Americans
engaged in international activity today find themselves needing to communicate with non-Western counterparts whose
expectations regarding interaction and communication differ significantly from their own.
In this seminar we will survey and interpret universals and variations in signification and sign interpretation in international
communication. We will consider perspectives from which to identify and articulate differences as well as universal patterns in
sign interpretation and communication in international relations, and particularly in development co-operation, economic and
trade relations. Throughout the seminar, comparative and contrastive examples will be drawn from sign systems and
communication practices current in the Asia-Pacific region.
Required Texts
McLaren, Margaret, Interpreting Cultural Differences: The Challenge of Intercultural Communication. Norfolk, UK:
Peter Francis Publishers, 1998.
Samovar, Larry A. and Richard E. Porter, Intercultural Communication: A Reader
(9th edition). Toronto: Wadsworth, 1999.
CMNS 261 - DOCUMENTARY RESEARCH IN COMMUNICATION
Donald Gutstein
The purpose of this course is to help communication students develop
skills in finding and interpreting print and electronic documents,
skills you will need for other communication courses. It is a course in
which you ‘learn by doing,’ so the bulk of the mark (75 percent) derives
from research assignments. The course begins with a study of corporate
research, since corporations are key players in communication
industries. We look at basic forms of corporate organization, print and
electronic sources of information, financial information and
communication/information industries. Then we enter a general discussion
of libraries and documents and survey the resources we use to do
communication research: computer databases, the Internet, and the
library's print and electronic resources. Next we discuss the types of
documents produced by government, the non-profit sector and the courts.
The course ends with a discussion of access to information and how
knowledge gained in this course can empower citizens.
Prerequisites:
CMNS 110 or CMNS 130. Unix computer account at SFU.
Required Texts:
Rubin, R.B., Rubin, A.M., & Piele, L.J. (2000). Communication Research:
Strategies and Sources, (5th ed.). Belmont CA: Wadsworth.
Course Notes will be available for purchase in class at a cost of about
$10.
We will make extensive use of SFU Library's databases and the Internet.
Most databases and documents can be found in SFU Library's Reference
section on the third floor. You will need a Unix account to take this
course.
Course Organization:
A two-hour weekly lecture presents the background concepts and sources
necessary to do the assignments. A one-hour weekly tutorial (held in the
5th floor seminar room in the library) is available to provide group and
one-on-one help in undertaking the assignments.
Donald Gutstein
Do Canada's news media serve the public interest? What role should
journalism play in a democratic society? Does corporate concentration
muffle freedom of expression? What factors influence the news we see and
hear? Are there blind spots and double standards in mainstream news
reporting? This course introduces students to journalism as a crucial
institution in Canada. It does not teach the basic techniques of
journalism. Rather, it surveys the Canadian news system and examines the
social, political, economic and technological forces which shape and
constrain news production in the modern Canadian news organization.
Prerequisite:
CMNS 130
Course texts and readings
Robert Hackett & Richard Gruneau with Donald Gutstein, Timothy Gibson,
and NewsWatch Canada, (1999). The Missing News: Filters and Blind Spots
in Canada's Press. Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Peter Desbarats, (1996). Guide to Canadian News Media (2nd ed.).
Toronto: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
A course reader of additional readings is available for purchase from
the SFU Bookstore. A copy of these readings will be kept on two-hour
Reserve in the Library.
One or two additional readings that are not in the course reader will
also be available on two-hour Reserve.
Students are encouraged to read and/or watch the news on a regular
basis.
Bob Hackett
Prerequisite
CMNS 230 or 235
Overview
Most of what we know, or think we know, about the political world derives from the news media, usually "mainstream" or
mass media, but also, though less often, from a variety of "alternative" or more specialized media outlets. This course concerns
influences on, and characteristics of, the news as a socially influenced discourse with important political and ideological
implications.
The course first overviews theories about what organizational and social forces influence the news. It then focusses on the ways
that news texts might function ideologically. Finally, we ask to what extent, and in what ways, news can be considered a
democratic form of communication -- and whether alternatives are desirable or possible.
Required Texts
(NOTE: In addition to the required texts, students are asked to purchase a custom courseware package available from the
Bookstore.)
John Hartley, Understanding News. Routledge, 1982.
Robert Hackett and Yuezhi Zhao, Sustaining Democracy? Journalism and the Politics of Objectivity. Toronto:
Garamond, 1998.
*One other text to be announced.
This course provides an intensive examination of the major aspects of book publishing in Canada in a contemporary context.
The topic is not commonly studied, and the basic materials are not easily available. Many of them are industry and government
reports, and the basic text is an Ontario Royal Commission's Report, which is out-of-print! The study guide and reader will
provide the information you need.
The topics to be covered are:
Overview of Book Publishing.
Books and Culture.
The Book Trade in Canada.
Contracts/Copyright/Intellectual Property/Rights.
Marketing and Promotion.
Libraries and Books.
Government Support for Publishing.
PREREQUISITE:
At least 60 credit hours. CMNS 230 recommended.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
None.
GEOGRAPHY
GEOG 100 - Introduction to Human Geography
Ivor Winton
This course offers an introduction to the field of human geography. Not
the only introduction possible, of course, but a reasonably typical one.
Its focus is the theme of humans shaping their world--both the processes
involved and the patterns that result. Since the earth is our home,
there is good reason to ask what we make of it.
REQUIRED TEXT:
Edward F. Bergman Human Geography. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall,
1995.
GEOG 111 - World Problems in Geographic Perspective
Global issues such as population and development, hunger, armed
conflict, nationalism, and degradation of the natural environment
provide the focus for this course. It will be suggested that the best
way of making sense of these crises is from a geographically and
historically informed perspective. Such an holistic and
interdisciplinary perspective alerts us to the interconnectedness of the
world, the power relations that exist between "core" and "periphery"
areas, issues of scale, and the links between society and the
environment.
GEOG 241 - SOCIAL GEOGRAPHY
Dr. B. Pitman
Social geographers have traditionally focused upon the spatial incidence
of various kinds of social problems, using maps to create geographies of
crime, poverty, housing, health, education, drug and alcohol abuse,
prostitution, etc. Contemporary social geographers, however, are
increasingly insisting on the importance of space in the very
constitution of social life. This new focus draws attention to the ways
in which space is drawn into the formation and maintenance of social
hierarchies, social inclusions and exclusions, and social problems
themselves.
The purposes of this course are to explore the major conceptual
traditions in social geography and to review a number of major social
issues from a contemporary social geographical perspective.
GEOG. 327-4 Geography of Tourism and Outdoor Recreation
CRIMINOLOGY
DR. P. L. BRANTINGHAM
An introduction to criminological research that is intended to develop the student's research and analytical skills. Specifically,
the course will focus on the theory of inquiry, the logic, and structure of criminological inquiry, research design, data gathering,
analysis and reporting. (Lecture/Tutorial)
Research Methods in Criminology will give the student an appreciation of how research is done in Criminology. The emphasis will be on social science research techniques. The course will cover the formulation of research questions, the choosing of a research design, the testing of hypotheses, and the measurement, collection and analysis of data. The course is designed to prepare the student for statistics (either Math 101 or Psych 210) and the Advanced Undergraduate Methods course (Crim
320).
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Michael Maxfield & Earl Babbie (1998). Research Methods for Criminal Justice and Criminology, 2nd Edition. Belmont, Ca.: Wadsworth.
KINESIOLOGY
Mr. Stephen Brown
The purpose of the course is:
- to examine health from a holistic perspective, in which health is viewed as the product of physical, psychological, and social well-being.
- to make students aware of the role of personal behaviours (such as diet, exercise, stress management, and drug use) in one's health status
- to improve students' abilities to evaluate health information.
A variety of factors which influence health will be considered, including genetic makeup, environment, nutrition, physical activity, hygiene, drugs, intimate relationships, occupation,
socioeconomic status, health care delivery system, and aging.
Required texts:
Insel, P.M. et al., (1998). Core Concepts in Health, Brief Eighth Edition. Mountain View, Calif.: Mayfield Publishing. ISBN 1-55934-915-8.
Prerequisite:
None. A background in science is not required.
FRENCH
PREREQUISITE: Never to have studied French.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is for complete beginners. It will give them a base in understanding, speaking, reading and writing
simple French. Emphasis will be placed on communicative skills. Attending class regularly is crucial.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS:
Golding, Jeantet. C'est ça! McGraw-Hill, 1995. ISBN: 0-07-0023695-X.
Golding, Jeantet. Workbook/Lab Manual.
PHILOSOPHY
Peter Horban
REQUIRED TEXT:
Philosophy of Religion: An Anthology, Third Edition, ed. by Louis Pojman, Wadsworth
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Philosophy of religion is one of the branches of philosophy. In this respect it resembles philosophy of science, philosophy of law, and philosophy of language. It should be noted that this course must not be confused with a course in comparative religions, or with a course in the history of the major
religions. Neither is it to be confused with a course in theology, that being a discipline within a particular religion. Philosophy of religion studies the justification for and the implications of certain basic religious beliefs from a perspective which lies outside of the subject matter of any particular faith. This does not mean that one cannot be religious and do philosophy of religion. But it does mean that the religious person does philosophy of religion in the same way (using the same tools and techniques) as the nonreligious person.
The main topics to be studied in this course include: arguments for and against the existence of God, the problem of evil, faith and reason, problems of religious language, the attributes of omniscience and omnipotence, the concept of miracles, religious experience, and death and immortality.
Throughout the course, the Judeo-Christian tradition will serve as a backdrop for our discussion of the above issues. This is because most of us are more familiar with this general background than with any other, and because the bulk of the philosophical literature in the western analytic tradition is set in this framework.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Students will be required to write two papers worth 10% and 20% respectively, a midterm exam worth 30%, and a final exam worth 40% of the grade for the course.
This page hosted by 
Get your own Free Home Page