CMN 529 1 - Seminar Communication Theory - Social Support

Campus: Urbana-Champaign

Description:

Special topics in communication theory and research. Course Information: May be repeated to a maximum of 16 hours. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

Special Instructions:

This graduate seminar will explore social support (the emotional and instrumental assistance people receive from friends, family, coworkers, and others). We will examine social support research and theory from a communication perspective, while also providing a brief overview of other perspectives (e.g., psychology, sociology). This seminar focuses on identifying and understanding how supportive communication contributes to psychological, physical, health, and social outcomes. We will consider both how support is communicated and how people develop a sense of being supported. We will discuss theoretical perspectives on the content of supportive messages (e.g., what makes a -good- supportive message-), the structure of supportive interactions, and the properties of supportive relationships. Along with theoretical and empirical readings, we will use one of Lisa-s data sets of transcribed social support conversations between two college students to facilitate a hands-on experience o

Option 1

Course Level: Graduate

Credit: 4

Term(s): Fall