Welcome to the course COMM 234 Introduction to Public Relations.
In this first online contact, I will discuss the contents of the course, the learning material we will be using and the grading elements.
By the way, we will be using PR for public relations during the whole course.
But before we start, I’d like to introduce myself.
1 – Personal introduction
My name is José Carlos del Ama.
Although I originally come from Spain, I have spent the most important part of my life and academic career in Germany. I received my PhD from the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz.
Before I came to the United States in 2003, I had been teaching and researching in Spain at the Universidad de Navarra (Pamplona) and in Germany at the above mentioned university.
My emphasis areas of teaching and research are
public relations and advertising,
public opinion,
mass Communication,
persuasive communication,
new technologies and
Web publishing.
More information about the instructor, you can become in this link:
2 – Readings
We will not use any textbook in this course. All the information you need will be available in the corresponding learning units.
3 – About the Contents
The class will have two clearly differentiated parts.
The first two weeks of the course, we will approach public relations from a theoretical and historical perspective.
We will, first of all, try to define what Public Relations is.
Then, we will go in depth into the historical development of the PR professional practice.
In this first part of the course, we will also deal with the main theories that try to explain how the communication process in PR works.
Finally, we will finish this first section of the course with an analysis to the social-psychological phenomenon called public opinion, which is extremely relevant to understand the relevance of public relations in contemporary society.
The second part of the course will have a more practical orientation.
We will start analyzing the importance of Mass Media in PR.
Then, we will discuss the role of PR in specific areas and situations:
- Crisis management
- Philanthropy
- Community Relations
- Sponsoring
- Environment
- Political Communication
This course will be reading intensive. In order to success in it, you will need to read the contents on the different leaning modules. Be aware that you will need to process a significant amount of information in a brief period of time. The content of one whole term will be compressed in five – I repeat the adjective – intensive weeks.
In addition to the readings, you will need to watch the film Thank You for Smoking. The movie is available at CCSU’s library and most public libraries in the area. You can also rent it through Amazon Prime for $3.99. One of the essay questions in the 2nd quiz will be about this movie. Even though I recommend watching the entire film, I have created a Web-site with the key scenes of the movie, which you can find in learning unit 3.
4- Grading Elements:
| 1st Quiz | 20% |
| 2nd Quiz | 20% |
| 3rd Quiz | 20% |
| Final Exam | 30% |
| Participation | 10% |
The three quizzes and the final exam will have the same format: Multiple choice and short answer questions. The quizzes will cover the contents of the learning modules for every week. The final exam includes the contents of the whole course.
You will have 90 minutes to complete every quiz and 3 hours for the final exam.
Given the particular nature of summer courses – we have to cover a huge amount of information in only five weeks – I will give you a 24 hour window to take exams. Quizzes and final exam will be open following dates:
- 1st Quiz – June 5th
- 2nd Quiz – June 12th
- 3rd Quiz – June 19th
- Final Exam – June 26th
The examinations will be available the whole day. Still, keep in mind that the time to complete the exam is limited (90 minutes for the quizzes and 3 hours for the final exam). When you begin the assignments, time starts running.
If you have any technical issue during the completion of the exam, please contact immediately the help desk to report the incident (860 832 1720).
The participation grade will be based on the discussions forums and the quality and quantity of your entries. Every week, I will post a discussion subject related to the contents of the corresponding learning modules. The link to the discussion forum appears in the home page of the course.
5 – “Contac the instructor” and office hours
I will be regularly answering your questions. Please, use the “contact the instructor” category in Blackboard Learn for questions related to this course.
I will also schedule individual virtual meetings for those students who want a more personal interaction with the instructor. Please contact me through the Blackboard Learn message system to make an appointment.
Good luck!