BA in Communication Studies - Rhetorical Studies

This program curriculum is designed to facilitate student mastery of theory and research, to enhance communication skills, and to enhance student preparation for a variety of careers or for graduate study. Communication studies examines communication in human affairs and the symbolic processes through which humans interact by focusing on five basic behaviors associated with communication: analysis of self and others, effectively using and responding to verbal messages, effectively using and responding to non-verbal messages, listening and responding appropriately, and appropriately adapting messages to others. The emphasis on rhetorical studies is based on the foundational assumption that communication is influential in the formation and growth of every culture. Only through intensive study, analysis, and critique of various circulating discourses (e.g., public speeches, visual messages, popular culture, resistance movements, embodied actions, and legislation/policies) can an individual comprehend and meaningfully contribute to the development of culture. To that end, UNT's emphasis in Rhetoric offers theoretical and applied education, through historical/critical and qualitative research, designed to explore the power of communication in co-creating their understanding of the worlds in which they live.