Degree Requirements
2024 - 2025 Catalog
We have the following degrees:
Journalism major leading to BA degree
A major in journalism leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree requires completion of at least 53 credits, including at least 34 credits in journalism and mass communications, and at least 72 credits outside the department.
- Courses required for the major: JOUR 101, 201, 202, 258, 301, 344, 356, POL 203, and at least two credits of internship (JOUR 451-452)
- Diversity of Experience: Take one course chosen from the following: ECON 231, 232, 233; ENGL 262, 359, 361, 366; HIST 253, 260, 268; JOUR 266, 268; PHIL 235, 238, 242, 243, 244, 254; POL 250, 255, 292; POV 101; SOAN 228, 268, 280, or when appropriate, CBSC 296; students may also petition the department head for approval of another course that meets this requirement.
- Completion of one of the following sequences:
a. Journalism
i. One course chosen from JOUR 280, 371, 372, 395
ii. One course chosen from JOUR 208, 220, 230 or 341
iii. Either JOUR 351 or 362
iv. Completion of a minor other than mass communications or of four additional courses of at least three credits at the 200 level or above in another discipline.
b. Business Journalism
i. Required courses: ACCT 100, ECON 100, JOUR 371, 372
ii. Take either: JOUR 351 or 362
iii. One additional course in economics at the 200 level or above
iv. Three additional courses of at least three credits at the 200 level or above in accounting, business administration, or economics, including one course with an international focus selected from among the following: BUS 305, 330, 333, 335, 337, 357, 390; ECON 233, 259, 270, 271, 280, 288, 356, and, when appropriate, ECON 295, ECON 395, or other courses with approval of the department head
- Courses required for the major:
- JOUR 101 - Introduction to Mass Communications
Credits 3 Prerequisite first-year or sophomore class standing This course serves as a gateway for both majors and non-majors to examine the role that the mass media play in society. The course examines the pervasiveness of mass media in our lives, and the history and roles of different media and their societal functions, processes, and effects. Students learn to tell the difference between fact and opinion and examine the links among theory, research and professional experience, while analyzing the ethics, methods, and motivations of the media and the expectations of their audiences. We discuss how media cover diversity issues and evaluate the policies and freedoms that guide and shape the mass media and the news media in the United States. Students complete the course as better informed consumers and interpreters of mass media and their messages.
- JOUR 201 - Introduction to News Writing
Credits 3 Prerequisite JOUR 101 Students are taught the principles and techniques of information gathering and news writing, with emphasis on fulfilling the role of the news media in a democratic society. Extensive laboratory work enables students to prepare assignments for online and other digital media, while stressing accuracy, clarity and skepticism in reporting and writing.
- JOUR 202 - Introduction to Digital Journalism
Credits 3 Prerequisite JOUR 201 Concepts and practices of news gathering and presentation in a multimedia, interactive environment. Combines classroom instruction with a converged news media lab in which students contribute to a website, television newscast, and newspaper. The laboratory requirement is limited to three sessions during the term, as arranged with the instructor.
- JOUR 258 - Beat Reporting
Credits 6 Prerequisite JOUR 202 Using the community as the laboratory, students develop competence in the principles and techniques of reporting and writing news for online, broadcast and social media in a democratic society. Working on assigned beats, students learn source development, news judgment, information gathering, news presentation and time management. Work is published and aired on the Rockbridge Report website and newscast.
- JOUR 301 - Law and Communications
Credits 3 Prerequisite at least junior class standing An examination of the development of First Amendment jurisprudence, the law of defamation, privacy, access, free press-fair trial, journalists' privilege, obscenity and pornography. The case study approach is used, but the emphasis is on the principles that underlie the landmark cases. This course can serve as an introduction to and preparation for further studies in communications law and/or the legal system in general.
- JOUR 344 - Ethics of Journalism
Credits 3 Prerequisite at least junior class standing A study of the moral issues arising from the practice of modern journalism and communications. Includes examination of philosophical and theoretical foundations of ethics, the place and role of journalism in the larger society, and moral choices in the newsroom. Topics include: First Amendment freedoms, privacy, confidentiality of sources, conflicts of interest, cooperation with law enforcement, free press/fair trial, photojournalism, and issues of accountability.
- JOUR 356 - Investigative Reporting
Credits 4 Prerequisite JOUR 258 and either JOUR 351 or JOUR 362 The principles and techniques of developing and creating enterprising, heavily researched journalistic work for the mass media. Students produce in-depth work that they showcase on a website. Extensive group work is required.
- POL 203 - State and Local Government
FDR SS2 Social Science - Group 2 Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite at least sophomore class standing An introduction to the structures and functions of United States subnational governments, with particular emphasis on the policy-making process and on the relationships between policy makers and the public. Computer-assisted analysis of survey-research data is included.
and at least two credits of internship from
- JOUR 451 - News Internship
Credits 1 Prerequisite instructor consent Professional service, arranged and supervised individually, with newspapers, radio and television stations, online news sites, or other news media or business institutions, as appropriate.
- JOUR 452 - News Internship
Credits 2 Prerequisite instructor consent Professional service, arranged and supervised individually, with newspapers, radio and television stations, online news sites, or other news media or business institutions, as appropriate.
- Diversity of Experience:
- ENGL 262 - Literature, Race, and Ethnicity
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3-4 Prerequisite completion of FDR:FW requirement A course that uses ethnicity, race, and culture to develop readings of literature. Politics and history play a large role in this critical approach; students should be prepared to explore their own ethnic awareness as it intersects with other, often conflicting, perspectives. Focus will vary with the professor's interests and expertise, but may include one or more literatures of the English-speaking world: Chicano and Latino, Native American, African-American, Asian-American, Caribbean, African, sub-continental (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka), and others.
- ENGL 359 - Literature by Women of Color
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite an English course numbered between 201 and 295 and another English course numbered between 222 and 299 This course focuses on the intersection of race and gender as they meet in the lives and identities of contemporary women of color via literature: African-Americans, Native Americans, Chicanas, Asian-Americans, and mixed bloods, or 'mestizas.' Our readings, discussions and writings focus on the work that coming to voice does for women of color, and for our larger society and world. Students read a variety of poetry, fiction, and autobiography in order to explore some of the issues most important to and about women of color: identity, histories, diversity, resistance and celebration. Literary analyses-i.e., close readings, explications and interpretations-are key strategies for understanding these readings.
- ENGL 361 - Native American Literatures
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite an English course numbered between 201 and 295 and another English course numbered between 222 and 299 A study of American Indian literature, primarily from the 20th century but including some historical and prehistorical foundations (oral storytelling, early orations and essays). Texts and topics may vary, but this course poses questions about nation, identity, indigenous sovereignty, mythology and history, and the powers of story as both resistance and regeneration. Readings in poetry, fiction, memoir, and nonfiction prose. Authors may include Alexie, Harjo, Hogan, Erdrich, Silko, Chrystos, Ortiz, LeAnne Howe and Paula Gunn Allen.
- ENGL 366 - African-American Literature
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite an English course numbered between 201 and 295 and another English course numbered between 222 and 299 A focused engagement with the African-American literary tradition, from its beginnings in the late 18th century through its powerful assertions in the 21st. The focus of each term's offering may vary; different versions of the course might emphasize a genre, author, or period such as poetry, Ralph Ellison, or the Harlem Renaissance.
- HIST 260 - Introduction to African American History from 1877
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 An intensive study of the African-American experience from 1877 to the present. Special emphasis is given to the development of black intellectual and cultural traditions, development of urban communities, emergence of the black middle class, black nationalism, the civil rights era, and the persistence of racism in American society.
- HIST 268 - Building a Suburban Nation: Race, Class, and Politics in Postwar America
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Together, the overdevelopment of the suburbs and the underdevelopment of urban centers have profoundly shaped American culture, politics and society in the post-WWII period. This course examines the origins and consequences of suburbanization after 1945. Topics include the growth of the national state, the origins and consequences of suburbanization, the making of the white middle class, the War on Poverty, welfare and taxpayers rights" movements, "black power," and how popular culture has engaged with questions about race and class. In the process of understanding the historical roots of contemporary racial and class advantage and disadvantage, this course will shed new light on contemporary public policy dilemmas.
- JOUR 266 - Cross-Cultural Documentary Filmmaking
Credits 3 The United States is a melting pot of nationalities and cultures. As people move to the U.S. from other countries they go through cross-cultural adaptation, and identity becomes an issue for everyone. Students in this course work in three-person teams to produce five-minute documentaries on cross-cultural adaptation by an ethnic community in our region or by selected international students at Washington and Lee. Students are expected to immerse themselves in learning about the home countries and current communities of their subjects. The course includes instruction in the techniques of documentary film-making, allowing students to develop their writing, storytelling, shooting and editing skills.
- JOUR 268 - The Framing of Race in Mass Media
Credits 3 This course examines how the news media cover race and ethnicity. How accurate is the portrayal of racial and ethnic groups? How do news media deal with clichés, ignorance and fear when it comes to differences? Do they offer a comprehensive and contextual view? The course highlights some of the best examples of reporting on race and ethnicity and how such reporting delves into the complexity of culture that can educate and surprise.
- PHIL 238 - Existentialism: Meaning and Existence
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Overview of existential thought in the 19th and 20th centuries. The course presents core existentialist thinkers and their critics - e.g. Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Fanon, Heidegger, Camus - and explores important existential themes such as human experience, anxiety, freedom, authenticity, and absurdity.
- PHIL 242 - Social Inequality and Fair Opportunity
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 An exploration of the different range of opportunities available to various social groups, including racial, ethnic and sexual minorities, women, people with low incomes, and people facing poverty. Topics include how to define fair equality of opportunity; the social mechanisms that play a role in expanding and limiting opportunity; legal and group-initiated strategies aimed at effecting fair equality of opportunity and the theoretical foundations of these strategies; as well as an analysis of the concepts of equality, merit and citizenship, and their value to individuals and society.
- PHIL 243 - Martin Luther King Jr.: Poverty, Justice, and Love
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Same as POV 243. This course offers students the opportunity to examine the ethics and theology that informed the public arguments about poverty made by one of the 20th century's most important social justice theorists and activists, Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the competing views of his contemporaries, critics, forebears, and heirs. The course asks the following questions, among others: How do justice and love relate to one another and to poverty reduction? What role should religion play in public discussions and policies about poverty and justice? Are the dignity and the beloved community King championed the proper goal of anti-poverty efforts?
- PHIL 244 - Feminist Social and Political Philosophy
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Same as WGSS 244. This course critically examines the gender norms that pervade our identities, govern our everyday behavior, and organize our social life. Questions addressed may include: What is gender? In what ways does it affect the quality of people's lives? Is gender difference natural? Is it valuable? Can it contribute to, or interfere with, human flourishing? Can a gendered society be just? What can any of us do to promote good relations among people of different genders?
- PHIL 254 - Philosophy of the Family: Beyond Tradition
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 This course considers philosophical issues raised by family as a social institution and as a legal institution. Topics addressed include the social and personal purposes served by the institution of family, the nature of relationships between family members, the various forms that family can take, the scope of family privacy or autonomy, and how family obligations, mutual support, and interdependency affect individual members of families.
- POL 250 - Race and Equality
FDR SS2 Social Science - Group 2 Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite POL 100, POL 111, or AFCA 130 A study of important black figures in American political thought. The course focuses on the intellectual history of black Americans but also considers contemporary social science and public policies dealing with race in America.
- POL 255 - Gender and Politics
FDR SS2 Social Science - Group 2 Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite POL 100, POL 105, or POL 111 This course investigates the gendered terms under which women and men participate in political life. Attention is given to the causes of men's and women's different patterns of participation in politics, to processes that are likely to decrease the inequalities between men's and women's political power, and the processes by which society's gender expectations shape electoral and institutional politics. The different effects of gender on the practice of politics in different nations are compared, with a special emphasis placed on advanced industrial democracies.
- POL 292 - Topics in Politics and Film
FDR SS2 Social Science - Group 2 Distribution Credits 4 This course examines how film and television present political issues and themes.
- POV 101 - Poverty and Human Capability: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite has not completed POV 103 An exploration of the nature, scope, causes, effects and possible remedies for poverty as a social, moral, political and policy, economic, legal, psychological, religious, and biological problem. The course focuses on domestic poverty but also considers poverty as a global problem.
- SOAN 228 - Race and Ethnic Relations
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 3 An examination of why and how society creates and maintains racial and ethnic boundaries in the US. We discuss some of the crucial questions, which include: What conditions constitute a privileged group and an oppressed group? Why and how do racial/ethnic minority groups, the poor, and women experience discrimination, oppression, and exclusion in social life? Is there any racial discrimination against privileged racial/ethnic groups? How can ordinary people, policymakers, and social scientists contribute to improving race and ethnic relations among different social groups in the US?
- SOAN 268 - Migration, Identity, and Conflict
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite SOAN 102, POV 101, or POL 105 Same as POL 268. This course focuses on the complex relationship between migration, political institutions, group identities, and inter-group conflict. The course is a hybrid of a seminar and research lab in which students (a) read some of the key social-scientific literature on these subjects, and (b) conduct team-based research making use of existing survey data about the integration of migrant populations into various polities.
- SOAN 280 - Gender and Sexuality
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 3 This class will investigate gender and sexuality cross-culturally. We will give special consideration to biology, cultural variation, intersectionality, and power. Engaging with a comparative and transnational approach to gender and sexuality, we will examine theoretical, ethnographic, literary, and audiovisual works. Students will have the option to choose either a creative project or a research paper for their final project, as they will produce programming ideas for healthy sexual culture on our campus.
or when appropriate,
- CBSC 296 - Spring-Term Topics in Cognitive and Behavioral Science
(PSYC 296)
FDR SS3 Social Science - Group 3 Distribution Credits 3-4 Topics and prerequisites vary with instructor and term. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
- Completion of one of the following sequences:
- Journalism
- Take one course chosen from:
- JOUR 280 - Covering Courts and the Law
Credits 3 Prerequisite at least sophomore class standing Courthouses make the best beats by providing a window on what is important to the American people. This course introduces students to the U.S. court system, its players, language and impact on the public at large. Students learn how to identify newsworthy legal stories, read court documents, and make sense of them in order to write clear, compelling, fair and accurate news stories for mass audiences.
- JOUR 371 - Financial News
Credits 3 Prerequisite at least junior class standing Required for the business journalism sequence and appropriate as an elective for journalism, strategic communication, and business administration majors. Reporting and writing techniques for journalists who cover Wall Street and publicly-traded companies. Students learn reporting fundamentals of financial statements, researching corporate documents, and data analysis using the Bloomberg terminal, and how to write industry analysis and narratives.
- JOUR 372 - Reporting on the Economy
Credits 3 Prerequisite at least junior class standing Reporting and writing techniques used by journalists who cover global economics. Students learn basics of the reporting and analysis of Federal Reserve reports, economic indicators, and data via the Bloomberg terminal and other resources. Writing emphasizes storytelling about people behind the numbers of the wealth and wage gaps, consumer trends, and worker issues in the global supply chain.
- JOUR 395 - Specialty Reporting
Credits 3 Prerequisite JOUR 201 and at least junior class standing An advanced reporting course in which students develop expertise in a particular area of public significance. Topics rotate as faculty resources allow, and are likely to include education, politics, environment, religion, or education. Through reporting and writing, students learn about key institutions, terms, and sources related to the particular field. They learn how to identify newsworthy stories and write clear, compelling, fair, and accurate news stories for mass audiences.
- JOUR 280 - Covering Courts and the Law
- Take one course chosen from:
- JOUR 220 - Social Media: Principles and Practice
Credits 3 Prerequisite JOUR 201 In this course, students dive deep into social media, learning how to use it as thoughtful and ethical professionals, and examining its growing roles in society, politics, identity, and relationships. Students get hands-on experience in producing news for social media by running a multi-platform social news service. They also learn how to plan a strategic social media campaign, how to use metrics to analyze social media effectiveness, and how to use social media in reporting.
- JOUR 230 - Data-Driven Storytelling
Credits 3 Prerequisite JOUR 101 The ability to gather, analyze, and tell clear and compelling stories with data is becoming one of the most valuable skills in professional communication. More than just learning new tools, it is a different way of thinking about the building blocks of stories and information. Students apply the values and practices of journalistic storytelling to data, learning how to gather it, break it down, report on it, contextualize it, and display it in clear, creative, engaging ways. Students learn data analysis and visualization in R and apply what they learn to a full-term, news-style data storytelling project.
- JOUR 341 - Multimedia Storytelling Design
Credits 3 Prerequisite at least junior class standing Have you ever wondered how news organizations put together their Pulitzer Prize-winning interactive stories? This course introduces students to tools that help them imagine, design, and create powerful interactive features with audio, video, graphics, and words on the cutting edge of journalism and mass communications. Students learn web design and programming skills using HTML CSS and JavaScript. This course is for students with little or no coding experience but who want to know how they did that.
- JOUR 220 - Social Media: Principles and Practice
- Take either:
- JOUR 351 - Editing for Print and Online Media
Credits 3 Prerequisite JOUR 201 The principles and techniques of editing copy for digital and print media, with emphasis on clarity of thought, legal and moral responsibilities, and effective communication. Classroom work and assignments includes production of publications for both journalism and strategic communication majors, using InDesign, among other applications and software.
or
- JOUR 362 - Producing for Broadcast and Online Media
Credits 4 Prerequisite JOUR 258 Preparation for leadership roles in electronic media. Extensive work in decision-making and management in the newsroom through television news producing and Internet content construction.
- JOUR 351 - Editing for Print and Online Media
- Completion of a minor other than mass communications or of four additional courses of at least three credits at the 200 level or above in another discipline.
- Take one course chosen from:
- Business Journalism
- Required courses:
- ACCT 100 - Introduction to Accounting
Credits 3 An introduction to accounting for both internal and external purposes. Students cover the fundamental principles of financial accounting (external) and an introduction to how companies process financial information in order to disclose it to the public. The course also investigates how managers prepare information for internal purposes (managerial accounting). Financial accounting is guided by external requirements, while managerial accounting generally is not.
- ECON 100 - Introduction to Economics
FDR SS1 Social Science - Group 1 Distribution Credits 3 Economics is the study of how a society (individuals, firms, and governments) allocates scarce resources. The course includes a survey of the fundamental principles used to approach microeconomic questions of consumer behavior, firm behavior, market outcomes, market structure, and microeconomic policy, and macroeconomic questions of performance of the aggregate economy, including unemployment, inflation, growth, and monetary and fiscal policies. Open only to students who have not taken ECON 180, ECON 180A, ECON 101 and/or ECON 102. Retake allowed only with instructor consent and if space allows after the first round of registration.
- JOUR 371 - Financial News
Credits 3 Prerequisite at least junior class standing Required for the business journalism sequence and appropriate as an elective for journalism, strategic communication, and business administration majors. Reporting and writing techniques for journalists who cover Wall Street and publicly-traded companies. Students learn reporting fundamentals of financial statements, researching corporate documents, and data analysis using the Bloomberg terminal, and how to write industry analysis and narratives.
- JOUR 372 - Reporting on the Economy
Credits 3 Prerequisite at least junior class standing Reporting and writing techniques used by journalists who cover global economics. Students learn basics of the reporting and analysis of Federal Reserve reports, economic indicators, and data via the Bloomberg terminal and other resources. Writing emphasizes storytelling about people behind the numbers of the wealth and wage gaps, consumer trends, and worker issues in the global supply chain.
- ACCT 100 - Introduction to Accounting
- Take either:
- JOUR 351 - Editing for Print and Online Media
Credits 3 Prerequisite JOUR 201 The principles and techniques of editing copy for digital and print media, with emphasis on clarity of thought, legal and moral responsibilities, and effective communication. Classroom work and assignments includes production of publications for both journalism and strategic communication majors, using InDesign, among other applications and software.
or
- JOUR 362 - Producing for Broadcast and Online Media
Credits 4 Prerequisite JOUR 258 Preparation for leadership roles in electronic media. Extensive work in decision-making and management in the newsroom through television news producing and Internet content construction.
- JOUR 351 - Editing for Print and Online Media
- One additional course in economics at the 200 level or above
- Three additional courses of at least three credits at the 200 level or above in:
accounting, business administration, or economics, including one course with an international focus selected from among the following:
- BUS 305 - Seminar in International Business
Credits 3-4 Offered from time to time when interest is expressed and departmental resources permit. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. Preference to BSADM or JMCB majors during the first round of registration.
- BUS 390 - Supervised Study Abroad
Credits 4 Prerequisite instructor consent These upper-level courses cover topics of current interest in business administration for which international travel provides a unique opportunity for enhancing understanding. Emphasis changes from year to year. Prerequisites as specified by the instructor and approval of the International Education Committee.
- ECON 259 - Supervised Study Abroad: The Environment and Economic Development in Amazonas
Credits 4 Prerequisite instructor consent Amazonas is a huge Brazilian state of 1.5 million sq. kilometers which retains 94 percent of its original forest cover. This course examines the importance of the forest for economic development in both the formal and informal sectors of the economy, and how policies can be develop to promote both environmental protection and an increase in the quality life in both the urban and rural areas of Amazonas. The learning objectives of this course integrate those of the economics and environmental studies majors. Students are asked to use economic tools in an interdisciplinary context to understand the relationships among economic behavior, ecosystems and policy choices. Writing assignments focus on these relationships and look towards the development of executive summary writing skills. Spring Term Abroad course.
- ECON 270 - International Trade
Credits 3 Prerequisite ECON 100, ECON 101, ECON 180, or ECON 180A Specialization of production, the gains from trade, and their distribution, nationally and internationally. Theory of tariffs. Commercial policy from the mercantilist era to the present. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Transnational economic integration: the European Community and other regional blocs.
- ECON 271 - International Finance
Credits 3 Prerequisite ECON 100, ECON 180, or ECON 180A; or both ECON 101 and ECON 102 International monetary arrangements, balance-of-payments adjustment processes, and the mutual dependence of macroeconomic variables and policies in trading nations. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), international investment, and the World Bank. International cooperation for economic stability.
- ECON 280 - Development Economics
Credits 3 Prerequisite ECON 100, ECON 180, or ECON 180A; or both ECON 101 and ECON 102 A survey of the major issues of development economics. Economic structure of low-income countries and primary causes for their limited economic growth. Economic goals and policy alternatives. Role of developed countries in the development of poor countries. Selected case studies.
- ECON 288 - Supervised Study Abroad
Credits 4 Prerequisite instructor consent For advanced students, the course covers a topic of current interest for which foreign travel provides a unique opportunity for significantly greater understanding. Likely destinations are Europe, Latin America, Africa, or Asia. Emphasis and location changes from year to year and is announced each year, well in advance of registration. This course may not be repeated. Other prerequisites as specified by the instructor(s).
- ECON 356 - Economics of the Environment in Developing Countries
Credits 3 Prerequisite ECON 203 and either ECON 255 or ECON 280 This course focuses on the unique characteristics of the relationship between the environment and the economy in developing nations. Differences in economic structure, political structure, culture, social organization and ecosystem dynamics are emphasized as alternative policies for environmental and resource management are analyzed.
and, when appropriate,
- ECON 295 - Special Topics in Economics
Credits 3-4 Prerequisite ECON 100, ECON 180, or ECON 180A; or both ECON 101 and ECON 102 Course emphasis and prerequisites change from term to term and are announced prior to preregistration. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. A maximum of nine credits chosen from all special topics in economics courses may be used, with permission of the department head, toward requirements for the economics major. Prerequisites may vary with topic. Preference to ECON majors during the first round of registration. Other majors are encouraged to add to the waiting list after registration re-opens for all class years.
- ECON 395 - Special Topics in Economics
Credits 3-4 Prerequisite ECON 203 Course emphasis and prerequisites change from term to term and will be announced prior to preregistration. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. A maximum of nine credits chosen from all special topics in economics courses may be used, with permission of the department head, toward requirements for the economics major. Prerequisite varies with topic. Prerequisite: ECON 203.
and other courses with approval of the department head
- BUS 305 - Seminar in International Business
- Required courses:
Take one course chosen from the following:
Strategic Communication major leading to a BA degree
A major in strategic communication leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree requires completion of at least 50 credits, including at least 26 credits in journalism and mass communications and at least 72 credits outside the department.
1. Courses required for the major: JOUR 101, 201, 227, 273, 301, 330, 345
2. Statistics: SOAN 218
3. Diversity of Experience: Take one course chosen from the following: ENGL 262, 359, 361, 366; HIST 253, 260, 268; JOUR 266, 268; PHIL 235, 238, 242, 243, 244, 254; POL 250, 255, 292; POV 101; SOAN 228, 268, 280; or, when appropriate, CBSC 296; students may also petition the department head for approval of another course that meets this requirement.
4. Take either: JOUR 202 or BUS 321
5. One course chosen from: JOUR 220, 230, 341, 351, 362, 365, 371, 372
6. One course chosen from: JOUR 325, 331, 344; BUS 370, 371
7. Two credits of internship from: JOUR 451, 452, 461, 462
8. Completion of a minor other than mass communications or of four additional courses of at least three credits at the 200 level or above in another discipline.
9. Completion of a portfolio in the senior year for assessment.
- Courses required for the major:
- JOUR 101 - Introduction to Mass Communications
Credits 3 Prerequisite first-year or sophomore class standing This course serves as a gateway for both majors and non-majors to examine the role that the mass media play in society. The course examines the pervasiveness of mass media in our lives, and the history and roles of different media and their societal functions, processes, and effects. Students learn to tell the difference between fact and opinion and examine the links among theory, research and professional experience, while analyzing the ethics, methods, and motivations of the media and the expectations of their audiences. We discuss how media cover diversity issues and evaluate the policies and freedoms that guide and shape the mass media and the news media in the United States. Students complete the course as better informed consumers and interpreters of mass media and their messages.
- JOUR 201 - Introduction to News Writing
Credits 3 Prerequisite JOUR 101 Students are taught the principles and techniques of information gathering and news writing, with emphasis on fulfilling the role of the news media in a democratic society. Extensive laboratory work enables students to prepare assignments for online and other digital media, while stressing accuracy, clarity and skepticism in reporting and writing.
- JOUR 227 - Public Relations Writing
Credits 3 Prerequisite JOUR 201 A writing course to teach the many forms of persuasive writing used by public relations practitioners to reach diverse audiences. Through frequent writing assignments and revisions, students master the art of press releases, media pitches, media alerts, features, public service announcements, newsletters, press kits, backgrounders, and coverage memos for appropriate media outlets. Students are exposed to social media and video skills as well as writing.
- JOUR 273 - Principles of Public Relations
Credits 3 Prerequisite JOUR 227 This class focuses on understanding what public relations is and what those who practice public relations do. Students examine the origins of public relations, the nature and role of public relations, the major influences that affect organizational behavior, the ethics of public relations, and the professional development of public-relations professionals. Emphasis is placed on the planning, writing, and management functions, working with media and developing effective public-relations strategies.
- JOUR 301 - Law and Communications
Credits 3 Prerequisite at least junior class standing An examination of the development of First Amendment jurisprudence, the law of defamation, privacy, access, free press-fair trial, journalists' privilege, obscenity and pornography. The case study approach is used, but the emphasis is on the principles that underlie the landmark cases. This course can serve as an introduction to and preparation for further studies in communications law and/or the legal system in general.
- JOUR 330 - Communication Theory and Research Methods
Credits 3 Prerequisite JOUR 101; major or minor in Journalism, Strategic Communication, or Mass Communications; and at least sophomore class standing An examination of the major bodies of communication theory within a media framework and the process of conducting research within that framework. Regarding theory, we cover both social/behavioral and cultural/critical perspectives and their historical development. Regarding methods, we cover both the general process of forming and measuring a research question or hypothesis in communication research as well as the particulars of some of the central methods of communication research.
- JOUR 345 - Media Ethics
Credits 3 Prerequisite JOUR 201 and at least junior class standing This course enables students to explore ethical challenges that arise within the various communication practices of contemporary media: journalism, public relations, advertising, documentary film, blogging and fictional programming. The course offers a grounding in moral reasoning and an understanding of professional ethics as an evolving response to changing social and industrial conditions in the media industries.
- Statistics:
- SOAN 218 - Basic Statistics in the Social Sciences
Credits 3 Introductory statistics course designed to help students become good consumers of statistics, but especially geared for students interested in sociology, archeology, and anthropology. Topics include descriptive and inferential statistics, sampling, and regression analysis. Students also get practical experience with cleaning and analyzing real world secondary data.
- Diversity of Experience:
- ENGL 262 - Literature, Race, and Ethnicity
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3-4 Prerequisite completion of FDR:FW requirement A course that uses ethnicity, race, and culture to develop readings of literature. Politics and history play a large role in this critical approach; students should be prepared to explore their own ethnic awareness as it intersects with other, often conflicting, perspectives. Focus will vary with the professor's interests and expertise, but may include one or more literatures of the English-speaking world: Chicano and Latino, Native American, African-American, Asian-American, Caribbean, African, sub-continental (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka), and others.
- ENGL 359 - Literature by Women of Color
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite an English course numbered between 201 and 295 and another English course numbered between 222 and 299 This course focuses on the intersection of race and gender as they meet in the lives and identities of contemporary women of color via literature: African-Americans, Native Americans, Chicanas, Asian-Americans, and mixed bloods, or 'mestizas.' Our readings, discussions and writings focus on the work that coming to voice does for women of color, and for our larger society and world. Students read a variety of poetry, fiction, and autobiography in order to explore some of the issues most important to and about women of color: identity, histories, diversity, resistance and celebration. Literary analyses-i.e., close readings, explications and interpretations-are key strategies for understanding these readings.
- ENGL 361 - Native American Literatures
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite an English course numbered between 201 and 295 and another English course numbered between 222 and 299 A study of American Indian literature, primarily from the 20th century but including some historical and prehistorical foundations (oral storytelling, early orations and essays). Texts and topics may vary, but this course poses questions about nation, identity, indigenous sovereignty, mythology and history, and the powers of story as both resistance and regeneration. Readings in poetry, fiction, memoir, and nonfiction prose. Authors may include Alexie, Harjo, Hogan, Erdrich, Silko, Chrystos, Ortiz, LeAnne Howe and Paula Gunn Allen.
- ENGL 366 - African-American Literature
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite an English course numbered between 201 and 295 and another English course numbered between 222 and 299 A focused engagement with the African-American literary tradition, from its beginnings in the late 18th century through its powerful assertions in the 21st. The focus of each term's offering may vary; different versions of the course might emphasize a genre, author, or period such as poetry, Ralph Ellison, or the Harlem Renaissance.
- HIST 260 - Introduction to African American History from 1877
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 An intensive study of the African-American experience from 1877 to the present. Special emphasis is given to the development of black intellectual and cultural traditions, development of urban communities, emergence of the black middle class, black nationalism, the civil rights era, and the persistence of racism in American society.
- HIST 268 - Building a Suburban Nation: Race, Class, and Politics in Postwar America
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Together, the overdevelopment of the suburbs and the underdevelopment of urban centers have profoundly shaped American culture, politics and society in the post-WWII period. This course examines the origins and consequences of suburbanization after 1945. Topics include the growth of the national state, the origins and consequences of suburbanization, the making of the white middle class, the War on Poverty, welfare and taxpayers rights" movements, "black power," and how popular culture has engaged with questions about race and class. In the process of understanding the historical roots of contemporary racial and class advantage and disadvantage, this course will shed new light on contemporary public policy dilemmas.
- JOUR 266 - Cross-Cultural Documentary Filmmaking
Credits 3 The United States is a melting pot of nationalities and cultures. As people move to the U.S. from other countries they go through cross-cultural adaptation, and identity becomes an issue for everyone. Students in this course work in three-person teams to produce five-minute documentaries on cross-cultural adaptation by an ethnic community in our region or by selected international students at Washington and Lee. Students are expected to immerse themselves in learning about the home countries and current communities of their subjects. The course includes instruction in the techniques of documentary film-making, allowing students to develop their writing, storytelling, shooting and editing skills.
- JOUR 268 - The Framing of Race in Mass Media
Credits 3 This course examines how the news media cover race and ethnicity. How accurate is the portrayal of racial and ethnic groups? How do news media deal with clichés, ignorance and fear when it comes to differences? Do they offer a comprehensive and contextual view? The course highlights some of the best examples of reporting on race and ethnicity and how such reporting delves into the complexity of culture that can educate and surprise.
- PHIL 238 - Existentialism: Meaning and Existence
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Overview of existential thought in the 19th and 20th centuries. The course presents core existentialist thinkers and their critics - e.g. Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Fanon, Heidegger, Camus - and explores important existential themes such as human experience, anxiety, freedom, authenticity, and absurdity.
- PHIL 242 - Social Inequality and Fair Opportunity
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 An exploration of the different range of opportunities available to various social groups, including racial, ethnic and sexual minorities, women, people with low incomes, and people facing poverty. Topics include how to define fair equality of opportunity; the social mechanisms that play a role in expanding and limiting opportunity; legal and group-initiated strategies aimed at effecting fair equality of opportunity and the theoretical foundations of these strategies; as well as an analysis of the concepts of equality, merit and citizenship, and their value to individuals and society.
- PHIL 243 - Martin Luther King Jr.: Poverty, Justice, and Love
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Same as POV 243. This course offers students the opportunity to examine the ethics and theology that informed the public arguments about poverty made by one of the 20th century's most important social justice theorists and activists, Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the competing views of his contemporaries, critics, forebears, and heirs. The course asks the following questions, among others: How do justice and love relate to one another and to poverty reduction? What role should religion play in public discussions and policies about poverty and justice? Are the dignity and the beloved community King championed the proper goal of anti-poverty efforts?
- PHIL 244 - Feminist Social and Political Philosophy
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Same as WGSS 244. This course critically examines the gender norms that pervade our identities, govern our everyday behavior, and organize our social life. Questions addressed may include: What is gender? In what ways does it affect the quality of people's lives? Is gender difference natural? Is it valuable? Can it contribute to, or interfere with, human flourishing? Can a gendered society be just? What can any of us do to promote good relations among people of different genders?
- PHIL 254 - Philosophy of the Family: Beyond Tradition
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 This course considers philosophical issues raised by family as a social institution and as a legal institution. Topics addressed include the social and personal purposes served by the institution of family, the nature of relationships between family members, the various forms that family can take, the scope of family privacy or autonomy, and how family obligations, mutual support, and interdependency affect individual members of families.
- POL 250 - Race and Equality
FDR SS2 Social Science - Group 2 Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite POL 100, POL 111, or AFCA 130 A study of important black figures in American political thought. The course focuses on the intellectual history of black Americans but also considers contemporary social science and public policies dealing with race in America.
- POL 255 - Gender and Politics
FDR SS2 Social Science - Group 2 Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite POL 100, POL 105, or POL 111 This course investigates the gendered terms under which women and men participate in political life. Attention is given to the causes of men's and women's different patterns of participation in politics, to processes that are likely to decrease the inequalities between men's and women's political power, and the processes by which society's gender expectations shape electoral and institutional politics. The different effects of gender on the practice of politics in different nations are compared, with a special emphasis placed on advanced industrial democracies.
- POL 292 - Topics in Politics and Film
FDR SS2 Social Science - Group 2 Distribution Credits 4 This course examines how film and television present political issues and themes.
- POV 101 - Poverty and Human Capability: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite has not completed POV 103 An exploration of the nature, scope, causes, effects and possible remedies for poverty as a social, moral, political and policy, economic, legal, psychological, religious, and biological problem. The course focuses on domestic poverty but also considers poverty as a global problem.
- SOAN 228 - Race and Ethnic Relations
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 3 An examination of why and how society creates and maintains racial and ethnic boundaries in the US. We discuss some of the crucial questions, which include: What conditions constitute a privileged group and an oppressed group? Why and how do racial/ethnic minority groups, the poor, and women experience discrimination, oppression, and exclusion in social life? Is there any racial discrimination against privileged racial/ethnic groups? How can ordinary people, policymakers, and social scientists contribute to improving race and ethnic relations among different social groups in the US?
- SOAN 268 - Migration, Identity, and Conflict
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite SOAN 102, POV 101, or POL 105 Same as POL 268. This course focuses on the complex relationship between migration, political institutions, group identities, and inter-group conflict. The course is a hybrid of a seminar and research lab in which students (a) read some of the key social-scientific literature on these subjects, and (b) conduct team-based research making use of existing survey data about the integration of migrant populations into various polities.
- SOAN 280 - Gender and Sexuality
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 3 This class will investigate gender and sexuality cross-culturally. We will give special consideration to biology, cultural variation, intersectionality, and power. Engaging with a comparative and transnational approach to gender and sexuality, we will examine theoretical, ethnographic, literary, and audiovisual works. Students will have the option to choose either a creative project or a research paper for their final project, as they will produce programming ideas for healthy sexual culture on our campus.
or when appropriate,
- CBSC 296 - Spring-Term Topics in Cognitive and Behavioral Science
(PSYC 296)
FDR SS3 Social Science - Group 3 Distribution Credits 3-4 Topics and prerequisites vary with instructor and term. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
- Take either:
- JOUR 202 - Introduction to Digital Journalism
Credits 3 Prerequisite JOUR 201 Concepts and practices of news gathering and presentation in a multimedia, interactive environment. Combines classroom instruction with a converged news media lab in which students contribute to a website, television newscast, and newspaper. The laboratory requirement is limited to three sessions during the term, as arranged with the instructor.
or
- BUS 321 - Multimedia Design and Development
Credits 3 Prerequisite at least junior class standing This course is an introduction to the process of creating digital content for business purposes. We will focus on designing multimedia content using tools such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe XD, Figma, Premiere Pro, and WordPress. Students will conduct research on potential users, learn essential design principles, strategize about how and where their content will be distributed, and practice using design tools to create text, video, audio, and interactive content. Planning, usability, project management, and content strategy are central to this hands-on course.
- One course chosen from:
- JOUR 220 - Social Media: Principles and Practice
Credits 3 Prerequisite JOUR 201 In this course, students dive deep into social media, learning how to use it as thoughtful and ethical professionals, and examining its growing roles in society, politics, identity, and relationships. Students get hands-on experience in producing news for social media by running a multi-platform social news service. They also learn how to plan a strategic social media campaign, how to use metrics to analyze social media effectiveness, and how to use social media in reporting.
- JOUR 230 - Data-Driven Storytelling
Credits 3 Prerequisite JOUR 101 The ability to gather, analyze, and tell clear and compelling stories with data is becoming one of the most valuable skills in professional communication. More than just learning new tools, it is a different way of thinking about the building blocks of stories and information. Students apply the values and practices of journalistic storytelling to data, learning how to gather it, break it down, report on it, contextualize it, and display it in clear, creative, engaging ways. Students learn data analysis and visualization in R and apply what they learn to a full-term, news-style data storytelling project.
- JOUR 341 - Multimedia Storytelling Design
Credits 3 Prerequisite at least junior class standing Have you ever wondered how news organizations put together their Pulitzer Prize-winning interactive stories? This course introduces students to tools that help them imagine, design, and create powerful interactive features with audio, video, graphics, and words on the cutting edge of journalism and mass communications. Students learn web design and programming skills using HTML CSS and JavaScript. This course is for students with little or no coding experience but who want to know how they did that.
- JOUR 351 - Editing for Print and Online Media
Credits 3 Prerequisite JOUR 201 The principles and techniques of editing copy for digital and print media, with emphasis on clarity of thought, legal and moral responsibilities, and effective communication. Classroom work and assignments includes production of publications for both journalism and strategic communication majors, using InDesign, among other applications and software.
- JOUR 362 - Producing for Broadcast and Online Media
Credits 4 Prerequisite JOUR 258 Preparation for leadership roles in electronic media. Extensive work in decision-making and management in the newsroom through television news producing and Internet content construction.
- JOUR 365 - The Broadcast News Magazine
Credits 3 Prerequisite JOUR 201 The principles and techniques involved in developing and creating enterprising longer-form journalistic work for a converged environment, principally television and digital media. Students research, write, and produce news and feature packages similar to those of network television news magazines for broadcast on the local cable-access channel.
- JOUR 371 - Financial News
Credits 3 Prerequisite at least junior class standing Required for the business journalism sequence and appropriate as an elective for journalism, strategic communication, and business administration majors. Reporting and writing techniques for journalists who cover Wall Street and publicly-traded companies. Students learn reporting fundamentals of financial statements, researching corporate documents, and data analysis using the Bloomberg terminal, and how to write industry analysis and narratives.
- JOUR 372 - Reporting on the Economy
Credits 3 Prerequisite at least junior class standing Reporting and writing techniques used by journalists who cover global economics. Students learn basics of the reporting and analysis of Federal Reserve reports, economic indicators, and data via the Bloomberg terminal and other resources. Writing emphasizes storytelling about people behind the numbers of the wealth and wage gaps, consumer trends, and worker issues in the global supply chain.
- One course chosen from:
- JOUR 325 - Crisis Communications
Credits 3 Prerequisite JOUR 201 and at least junior class standing A case-study approach to current methods of forecasting problems and responding effectively to crises and consequences in the public and private sectors. Topics include identifying and communicating effectively with stakeholders during crises, effective media-relations strategies during emergencies, building an effective crisis-response plan, regaining public credibility following a crisis, and avoiding public relations mistakes during litigation.
- JOUR 331 - Health and Environmental Communication
Credits 3 Prerequisite JOUR 101, JOUR 201 This course introduces students to theoretical concepts in and practical applications of health and environmental communication, which are presented as distinct yet entwined fields of study and professional opportunity. As core skill developed, students learn and understand a) overlapping political, economic, and socio-cultural discourses related to health and the environment across cultures; b) the implications of these discourses on a variety of outcomes for humans, non-humans, and the planet; and c) job opportunities to make a difference as strategic communicators and journalists. As highlight, students will assume the positionality of stakeholder
groups in dedicated class sessions to advocate for particular health and environmental outcomes while negotiating and resisting those by other groups. - JOUR 334 - Leading Public Relations Campaigns
Credits 3 Prerequisite JOUR 273 In this course - the most advanced stratcomm degree track - students are assigned to a team of peers and work exclusively with on community client over the term. Looking beyond the grounds of the university, students regard themselves as public relations professionals; they mobilize critical thinking, project management, teamwork, and creative strategy to deliver an original research campaign that meets client needs. In addition to navigating all phases of a PR campaign, students routinely practice verbal communication, advancing their presentation skills.
- BUS 370 - Integrated Marketing Communications
Credits 4 Prerequisite instructor consent Nature and contributions of the elements of marketing communications (e.g., advertising, sales promotions, the Web) in creating brand equity and stimulating demand. A project-oriented course with an emphasis on the strategic application of concepts resulting in an integrated communication plan for products and/or services. Course has a complementary lab component to teach technical skills and reinforce concepts via practicum.
- BUS 371 - Creative Strategic Planning
Credits 4 Prerequisite at least sophomore class standing Strategic planning (also called account or brand planning) is a philosophy of consumer research that fully incorporates the consumer in strategic developments. The course includes the types of qualitative techniques traditionally associated with social sciences (e.g., anthropology, sociology and psychology) in order to arrive at a brand (or other) strategy. The students must think creatively, independently, and interdependently as they apply the variety of research techniques, develop the strategic recommendations and present and defend both the research and recommendations. In addition to research techniques, students receive an orientation in relevant software (video editing, photo manipulation) and learn effective and persuasive presentation skills. The course is project-based, and the course culminates in the opportunity to present their work to the client (usually an advertising/marketing professional) for whom they've been working the course of the term. May be taken twice for degree credit. Preference to BSADM or JMCB majors during first round of registration.
- Two credits of internship from:
- JOUR 451 - News Internship
Credits 1 Prerequisite instructor consent Professional service, arranged and supervised individually, with newspapers, radio and television stations, online news sites, or other news media or business institutions, as appropriate.
- JOUR 452 - News Internship
Credits 2 Prerequisite instructor consent Professional service, arranged and supervised individually, with newspapers, radio and television stations, online news sites, or other news media or business institutions, as appropriate.
- JOUR 461 - Communications Internship
Credits 1 Prerequisite instructor consent Professional service, arranged and supervised individually, in public relations, advertising, corporate communications, or other mass media-related businesses, as appropriate.
- JOUR 462 - Communications Internship
Credits 2 Prerequisite instructor consent Professional service, arranged and supervised individually, in public relations, advertising, corporate communications, or other mass media-related businesses, as appropriate.
- Completion of a minor other than mass communications or of four additional courses of at least three credits at the 200 level or above in another discipline
- Completion of a portfolio in the senior year for assessment
Take one course chosen from the following: