Editing Communication Theory Development (Fall 2025) (section)

== Assignments ==

Your assignments consist of three groups of projects: (1) weekly response papers and participation in class discussion, (2) a small number of colloquium reports (likely 3), and (2) a final research project. Your grade in the course will be assessed in the [[#Grading and Assessment]] section of this page.

There will be no exams or quizzes. Unless otherwise noted, all assignments are due at the end of the day (i.e., 11:59pm on the day they are due).

=== Reading Responses ===

;Deliverables: (1) Post a new message in the appropriate [https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1828104/discussion_topics the discussion board in Canvas]; (2) Respond to at least one of your classmates before class.
;Due Date: (1) the day before class before 6pm (on any day with reading); (2) the day of class by 10am (on a day with reading)
;Maximum length: 500 words

For each day of class, you are expected to write a response to the readings for that day. In terms of content, reading responses offer you an opportunity to engage the readings by identifying common or conflicting premises, thinking through potential implications, and/or critiquing the claims being made. Note that reading responses should not simply repeat the authors’ arguments, but should instead interpret, analyze, synthesize, or counter them. A good response paper will include minimal summarizing, at most, and focus more on responding to ideas. Justify your reflections with evidence from the text and beyond; for example, don't just say what you wonder about or find interesting without explaining why you find it interesting. At the end of your reading responses, you should include at least two questions about the readings that you would like the class to discuss.

In addition to posting your response to the discussion board, please read all of your classmates’ responses before class. These reading responses will serve as a starting point for class discussion each day, so you are expected to use them in that way during class sessions.

Response papers should be '''no longer than 500 words'' (one single-spaced page), and must be posted to the dedicated Canvas discussion board by '''6pm the day of before class''' (i.e., on Sundays and Tuesday). Please respect this maximum to manage the workload for yourself and others. So everyone will have a chance to incorporate them into their readings, After you post your reflection, please read all of your classmates’ responses before class and ''briefly'' respond to a minimum of two of your classmates’ posts '''before 6pm on the day of class''' and nominate at least one question for discussion.

Reading responses will be assessed based on the following four-item rubric:

* '''Demonstrating fluency in the full range of assigned readings:''' Your response should show that you have carefully read the assigned readings for the day. Do you refer to and quote from the assigned texts? Do you draw connections or point to contradictions across the readings, placing the readings in conversation with each other? Although you do not need to give every article equal attention, it will be hard to establish that you have read the material if you only mention one of the assigned articles.
* '''Engaging in critical thinking:''' Your reading response should offer insightful critical remarks about the assigned readings, make unique and edifying discoveries about the relationship between theories introduced in the readings, apply the concepts you find in the readings to your own research interests or to current events, and/or extend the points made in the readings in important ways.
* '''Supporting class discussion:''' Your response should attempt to support our discussion. Concretely, this means that your write-up must include at least 2 question that could be used to prompt discussion in class. Be prepared to introduce that question to the class discussion as well as respond thoughtfully to your classmates’ discussion prompts in class—whether or not you have nominated them for discussion. You will also be expected to respond in the forum to nominate a classmates question for discussion. 
* '''Communicating clearly and on time:''' Your response should be well written, largely (or entirely) free of stylistic errors, and submitted before the deadline.

=== Colloquium Reports ===

As a graduate student, you are expected to attend research talks that are sponsored by the department and assess the work that you see presented there, whether the speaker is in your chosen area or not. This class is designed to help you learn to do that.

For the purposes of this class, you are expected to watch these talks and then write up a report on the speaker’s development of theory in their research presentation. Each report should be 800-1200 words in length, and should identify the epistemological assumptions under which the researcher is operating, as well as discuss the strengths and weaknesses in their theory use and/or theory building. They will be due on the Friday of the week ''after'' each talk (i.e., about 10 days after the talk).

There is actually only one colloquium scheduled for the fall, so I'm going to assign a second talk by our department's newest faculty members in a different on-campus seminar series:

* [https://csss.uw.edu/seminars Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences Seminar] with Jisoo Kim (UW) on Wednesday, October 22 12:30-1pm in Savery Hall (SAV) 409
* Department of Communication Colloquium with [https://murrow.wsu.edu/directory/wsu-profile/jennifer.henrichsen/ Jenn Henrichsen (WSU)] on Wednesday November 12, 3:30-5pm in the Communications Building (CMU) 126

Both talks should be recorded, but I ''strongly'' recommend you attend both in person.

=== Final Project ===

;Presentations of paper due dates: December 3 (last day of class) 
;Paper due date: Friday, December 12, 2025 at 11:59pm PDT via Canvas
;Maximum Length: 4500 words of text, excluding references (~15-18 pages double-spaced)
;Deliverables: Turn in [https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1828104/assignments the appropriate Canvas dropbox]

In your final project, I'm asking you to identify a communication topic or issue that is of scholarly interest to you and consider how all four of the epistemological approaches to theorizing introduced in the course (that is, the post-positivist, interpretive, humanities, and critical research paradigms) can be used to better explain, understand, complicate and critically intervene in it.

Examples of topics or issues used in successful final papers in COM 500 in the past include:

* Motivating effective and sustainable collaboration across difference;
* The portrayal of Asian-Americans in contemporary television and film;
* The progressive workplace brand as a corporate public relations strategy;
* Communication of voter fraud conspiracies in the U.S.;
* Supportive communication practices around anticipated prolonged life stressors.

Your analysis should evaluate the various ways in which the epistemologies and common ways of theorizing within them can be compared by assessing how your selected topic/issue has been and could be theorized within each epistemology. In writing your essay, identify the commonalities as well as the most salient differences between the epistemologies you select; the aims, values, and assumptions of each; the theory-development practices in communication scholarship they reflect; and the implications of these commonalities and differences for theorizing this issue/topic. Draw on material that we read about epistemologies and specific areas as appropriate.

A successful final paper will not simply tell us what other scholars have said. An excellent paper will demonstrate fluency with the material we have covered in class by engaging critically, creatively, and synthetically. Although it is fine to briefly review the literature on the topic or issue you have identified, keep in mind that I am going to assess your work exclusively in terms of how you engage with the course material in proposing new projects around your chosen subject from each of the four research paradigms. Please format your papers and all references according to the latest version of a style guide commonly used in communication research, such as APA or Chicago Style.

In addition to the written papers, students will each give an oral presentation outlining their final paper work during the final week of the quarter. You are expected to use slides to assist in that presentation. Your instructor and classmates will provide feedback that will help you shape and improve your paper.

=== Grading and Assessment ===

The [[User:Benjamin Mako Hill/Assessment#Writing Rubric|writing rubric section]] of [[User:Benjamin Mako Hill/Assessment|the detailed page on assessment]] gives the rubric I will use to evaluate both your [[#Weekly Response Papers]] and your [[#Final Projects]].

Your participation in the course will be assessed using my detailed [[User:Benjamin Mako Hill/Assessment#Participation Rubric]]. Please also pay close attention to [[User:Benjamin Mako Hill/Assessment#Maintaining Participation Balance|the section on maintaining participation balance]].

I have put together a very detailed page that describes [[User:Benjamin Mako Hill/Assessment|the way I approach assessment and grading]]—both in general and in this course. Please read it carefully I will assign grades for each of following items on the UW 4.0 grade scale according to the weights below:

* Reading Responses: 30% 
* Participation in class discussion: 20%
* Colloquium reports: 15%
* Oral presentation of final paper: 5%
* Final paper: 30%