Speech Communication 102
Introduction to Speech Communication
Spring 2004
COURSE INFORMATION
Professor: Daniel O'Keefe
Office: 123 Lincoln Hall
Office hours: 10 W and by appt.
Office telephone: 244-1599
Messages: 333-2683
Mailbox: 244 Lincoln Hall
Email: dokeefe@uiuc.edu
Assistants: Joshua Barbour
Michelle Hals
Office: 8-O Lincoln
Hall
Office: 8-O Lincoln Hall
Office hours:
TBA
Office hours: TBA
Office telephone:
333-9107
Office telephone: 333-9107
Messages:
333-2683
Messages: 333-2683
Mailbox: 244 Lincoln Hall
Mailbox: 244 Lincoln Hall
Email: barbour@uiuc.edu
Email: hals@uiuc.edu
General course description:
This course provides a general overview of theory and research on human
communication. It surveys basic structures and processes of communication
(such as language and nonverbal communication), important functions and effects
of messages (such as persuasion and identity management), and various media and
contexts of communication (e.g., conversation, mass communication media, and
organizational settings). The course serves as a broad introduction to
basic concepts, principles, findings, and methods in the behavioral-scientific
study of communication. For a detailed course outline, click here.
Roles of lectures, readings, and quiz sections:
Course materials consist of lectures, readings, and quiz-section material. The readings can be found in a packet of photocopied articles, available at Dup-It Copy Shop, 808 S. Sixth St., Champaign (337-7000). For a list of readings, click here .
Lectures present detailed reviews and analyses of research bearing on each topic treated in the course, with particular attention to the relationship between claims (e.g., hypotheses or explanations) and the available research evidence. Lectures supplement but do not duplicate the readings; readings supplement but do not duplicate the lectures. Most of the content of the course is available only in lectures, and students are responsible for learning the detailed content of each lecture. Readings consist primarily of representative studies (exemplifying major research questions and approaches), but also include research reviews and theoretical treatments (which summarize and analyze a body of research).
Because the lectures present a substantial body of detailed information and analyses, students are encouraged to use the quiz sections as opportunities to ask questions and seek any needed clarification of lectures and readings. Additional supplementary material for topics covered in the course is also presented in the quiz sections.
Following each lecture, a study guide is posted online here. The study guides can be useful not only
in preparing for the hourly exams, but also as a check on the adequacy of one's
note-taking.
Graded assignments:
One's course grade is based on three hourly examinations and a final examination. The examinations cover lectures, readings, and material discussed in quiz sections.
The three hourly examinations are multiple-choice exams. Each hourly exam counts for 25% of the course grade.
The final examination is an essay exam, written at the scheduled final exam period. The questions on the final examination are drawn from a pool of questions made available during the last week of class. The final examination counts for 25% of the course grade.
It is assumed that examinations will be completed when required. No
make-up examinations will be administered, except in cases of documented
medical or family emergency. When such problems are encountered, notify
your teaching assistant (or, failing that, Professor O'Keefe) at the earliest
possible time; appropriate documentation will be needed. Without an
acceptable excuse, a missed examination will receive a failing grade (F).
Course grading:
One's course grade will be determined by the (weighted) average of the
grades on the individual assignments. Each assignment will receive a
letter grade, with numerical equivalents as follows:
A = 4.0 A- = 3.667
B+ = 3.333 B =
3.0 B- = 2.667
C+ = 2.333 C =
2.0 C- = 1.667
D+ = 1.333 D =
1.0 D- = 0.667
F = 0.0
So, for example, a student who receives a B- on the first hourly, a C on the second hourly, an A- on the third hourly, and a B on the final exam would have a course average of 2.8335. (2.667 + 2.0 + 3.667 + 3.0 = 11.334; 11.334/4 = 2.8335.)
To convert the course average into a course grade, the following scale will apply:
course average course grade
4.0000
A+
3.8335 and
up A
3.5000 and
up A-
3.1665 and
up B+
2.8335 and
up B
2.5000 and
up B-
2.1665 and
up C+
1.8335 and
up C
1.5000 and
up C-
1.1665 and
up D+
0.8335 and
up D
0.3335 and
up D-
below
0.3335
F
So, for example, a student with a course average of 2.8335 would receive a course grade of B.
However, in no case is one's course grade determined by a single
multiple-choice exam question. At the end of the semester, the raw scores
on the hourly exams are reviewed. If the circumstance is such that having
answered correctly one additional question (that is, just one additional
question on just one hourly exam) would have yielded a higher course grade,
then the student receives the higher course grade.
General course outline: ( For a more detailed course outline, click here. )
I. Foundational structures and
processes of communication
A. Language
structures
B. Language and
thought
C. Expression and
meaning
D. Language
acquisition
E. Nonverbal
behavior and communication
F. Speech acts
G. Inference in
communication
H.
Perspective-taking
I. Coda:
concepts of communication
II. Functions and effects of communication
A. Identities and
identity management
B. Argument and
argument structure
C. Persuasion and
social influence
D. Social support
E. Mass media
news/information
F. Mass media
entertainment
III. Forms and contexts of communication
A. Conversation
B. Writing and
print
C. Electronic
media
D. Culture and
communication
E. Organizational
communication
Some dates of interest:
Hourly exam #1: Friday 20 February
Hourly exam #2: Friday 2 April
Hourly exam #3: Friday 30 April
Final exam questions available: Monday 3 May
Final examination period: 8-11 a.m., Friday 14 May