Our Mission
Given the role of free expression as central to both civic engagement and democratic participation, the Department of Communication, Journalism and Philosophy aims to develop and cultivate active, informed, and discerning citizens. To that end, our department collectively emphasizes study of the means by which messages are created, articulated and consumed by individuals as they participate in their private, public and professional lives.
Who we are and what we do
Our students have the opportunity to study historical and contemporary theories of persuasive, interpersonal and organizational communication, the basic philosophical issues that drive Western thought, and historical and contemporary issues and practices of journalism, and put this knowledge into practice through the creation and delivery of public speeches, critical analysis of acts of communication through challenging research projects grounded in a range of theories, and through the practice of print, broadcast and on-line journalism in the community.
Our program supports two distinct majors and four minors. The Communication major offers students the opportunity to focus on traditional communication studies or the study of philosophy as it relates to communication. The journalism major provides students with insight into the historical and contemporary roles of journalism in democratic societies and hands-on education in the practices of print, broadcast and on-line journalism. The department offers minors in Communication, Philosophy, Print Journalism and Broadcast Journalism.
In the department, we value:
• free expression
• civic engagement
• co-curricular programs and entities such as the Equinox, the student newspaper
• interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary scholarly work
• the development, analysis and presentation of persuasive arguments
• the development of skills to research, create and disseminate news and information
• diversity in our curriculum and in our community
• service learning
• an ethical decision-making citizenry