The Health and Social Change Communication track centers on how to influence positive behavioral and social change through effective communication messages and campaigns. Topics covered in the courses in this track include audience analysis, marketing communication and the selection of media channels. It is particularly valuable for individuals with career interests in the health, non-profit and public sectors.
Courses in the Health and Social Change Communication track include:
CMGT 510—Communication, Values, Attitudes, and Behavior
Theory and research on value and attitude formation and change; consequences for communication and behavior.
CMGT 511—Patient-Provider Communication: Interpersonal Experience, Message Design, and Informal Technology
Connections between health providers’ communication and patients’ well-being; consultation language, nonverbal behavior, physical settings, design of media messages, information technologies in patient education and care.
CMGT 520—Social Roles of Communication Media
How mass media shape public images of groups, channel political power, promote consumption of goods. Social and political theories as tools in evaluating media impact. (Duplicates credit in former CMGT 520).
CMGT 541—Integrated Communication Strategies
Communication strategies for product marketing and advertising; communication’s role in developing domestic and international marketplaces; practical applications of persuasion theory.
CMGT 548—Issues in Children’s Media
Historical review of children’s programming; programming genres; ethical and business issues of marketing to children; children’s uses of various media.
CMGT 575—Advocacy and Social Change in Entertainment and the Media
Examines how diverse groups (i.e., governmental agencies, advertisers, health organizations, advocacy groups, actors, social scientists) attempt to influence audiences through entertainment and traditional media channels.
CMGT 581—Media in Social Services: Design and Evaluation of Campaigns
Theory and research issues in the use of media for changing behavior in health, public safety, welfare, and other areas of social services.
CMGT 583—Social Marketing and Entertainment Education
Theoretical foundations of social marketing and entertainment education; uses of dramatic serials, telenovelas and animation to promote human rights; program design, evaluation.
CMGT 587—Audience Analysis
Fundamental principles of audience research; critique of existing methodologies; implications for global audiences and mass media markets.