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COM 380: Communication EthicsTexts and Course Information - Fall, 2002Tuesday/Thursday - 3:55PM-5:15PMDr. Foulger | ||||
Semester Syllabus | Lecture Notes | Course Bibliography | Approved Department Course Syllabus |
The first amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides strong protections for our communication. It protects our interpersonal communication (freedom of speech), our communication in social collectives (freedom of religion and assembly), and our "mass" communication (freedom of the press). With these rights come responsibilities. These responsibilities are sometimes a matter of law (not yelling "fire" in a theatre), but they are more often a matter of personal responsibility that is rooted in morality and ethics.
This course examines the moral and ethical responsibilities we have as participants in various communication media and contexts. During this course students will develop a toolbox of decision templates that can be used to make better decisions about the messages they:
- create as reporters, broadcasters, public relations professionals, copywriters, managers, and relationship partners
- enable as producers, directors, camera operators
- interpret as readers, viewers, audiences, and relationship partners.
Anderson, James A. and Englehart, Elaine E. The Organizational Self and Ethical Conduct: Sunlit Virtue and Shadowed Resistance. Thomson Learning, 2000.
Leslie, Larry Z. Mass Communication Ethics: Decision Making in Post-Modern Culture. Houghton Mifflin, 2000.