Advanced Theories in Communication (3 credits)
This course is designed to acquaint students with the construction, development, verification, and application of communication theories. Students will have opportunities to discuss and reflect on communication theories in depth.
Critical and Cultural Theory (3 credits)
This course is designed to familiarize students with critical and cultural theories. Topics include semiotics, ideology, subjectivity, differences, gender, race, postmodernism, media technology and so on.
Advanced Quantitative Research Methods in Social Sciences (3 credits)
This course is an advanced level course for quantitative methods in social sciences. It is designed to provide students with opportunities to apply advanced research methods to resolve the research questions in communication.
Advanced Qualitative Research Methods in Social Sciences (3 credits)
This course aims to teach students to understand advanced qualitative research methods in social science, through in-depth reading, discussions, and practical assignments. The overall curriculum content mainly includes research method’s historical evolution, epistemology, theoretical background, and essence. The course also will analyze the literature and implementation process of various qualitative research.
Current Topics in Communication Studies (3 credits)
This course provides overview and critical interpretation of the frontiers in communication theory and research. The main topics covered include game studies, digital economy studies, digital labor studies, health communication studies, gender studies, and identity studies. The goal is to get students familiar with the frontier research, and critically inspect contemporary socio-cultural phenomena.
Advanced Social Statistics (3 credits)
This course covers how to use advanced statistics to analyze social science data. On the assumption that the students have basic statistics knowledge, it mainly introduce classical measure theories and the latest statistical methods, such as multivariate analysis, classification data analysis, time series analysis, and structural equation modeling.
Political Communication (3 credits)
Political communication mainly analyzes the interactive effect of politics and media in contemporary society. This course mainly studies how politicians, trade unions, pressure groups, non-governmental organizations, and terrorist organizations use the media to influence politics, especially the propaganda techniques in political elections. It also investigates political media content and its effect, including political advertising, marketing, public relations, and organizations of different levels, such as communication practices of grassroots movements, government and international entities.
Video Games and Society (3 credits)
The course analyzes text in video games, game production, the functions of video games, and relevant game theories and research methods.
Media, Culture and Society (3 credits)
It is a trans-disciplinary course which focuses on social changes under the influence of media. It also aims to explore the political and economic influences caused by new media technology. This course will introduce how media bring in different cultures and how the adoption confronts local culture and traditional social value. Media, culture and social interaction are the essential parts of the curriculum.
Research Methods in Visual Communication (3 credits)
This course is designed to lecture on the research methods that students will use in analyzing and interpreting visual images. The methods include visual content analysis, psychoanalysis, semiotic analysis, visual discourse analysis, etc.
Researching Inequality in the Media (3 credits)
This course aims to introduce an overview of media inequality research. In particular, the process aims to analyze a series of consecutive social inequality issues, such as gender, race, ethnicity, social class, and physical fitness, reported in the media to find out how these issues are perceived and dealt with through the media in modern society. In addition, the critical perspectives of media studies that addressed various social inequality issues and research methods used in each study are also discussed at the same time.
Body and Embodiment Studies (3 credits)
This course will introduce basic theories on body studies including structuralism, theory of practice, phenomenology and etc. The bodily experiences whether pain, emotion (for instance joy, pleasure and anger) will be one of the focus of the debates. Students will be asked to read to date researches especially local research works. Variant perspectives such as anthropology will be introduced to deepen the understandings.
Special Topics in Cultural Studies (3 credits)
This course discusses special topics in cultural studies. Emphasis will be given to scholarship in contemporary China. It serves as an introduction to the current literature in the field of Chinese cultural studies, and guides student to reflect on relevant topics.
Academic Activities (1 credits)
The students must participate in at least ten academic events recognized by the faculty, including talks, seminars and academic visit. The students should also submit a report of no less than 800 words after each participation and have every report graded by the adviser. It aims to cultivate students’ comprehensive qualities, broaden their academic horizons, and galvanize innovative thinking.
Dissertation (12 credits)
Students must submit dissertation for PhD degree (no less than 100,000 words, excluding footnotes, endnotes, and reference) and pass oral defense. Students must write the dissertation in accordance with the guidelines for dissertation for PhD degree.
