This course is a survey of theoretical approaches to the study of communication at work, with a focus on the application of these models to real-life situations through case studies and observational assignments. Topics will include classic and contemporary theories of management, organizational culture, systems theories, collaboration and conflict, communicating across cultural difference in organizations, the construction of professional identity, emotional labor, technologically-mediated communication and power and resistance in organizational discourse.

Too often news and images of the Middle East are one-dimensional, confined to the language of political crises and war. This introductory course will introduce students to the poetry, literature and film of the Middle East, and some of the history, theory and purposes behind those art forms. We will examine some of the defining issues of the contemporary Middle East and how they are expressed and represented in creative forms. Specifically, we will explore religion in Iran, colonialism in North Africa and the Levant, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the cultural, political and economic impact of oil in the Arabian Gulf countries, and how these issues have affected the Middle East as a region and the West as a whole. Activities will include workshops and written assignments on required texts. For a final project, students can either design a curriculum unit suitable for K-12 schools or compile a bibliography or resource list on a specific topic and genre. This course is appropriate for educators, MIT students and undergraduate students interested in politics, history, cultural studies and education.