Our program focuses on systematic efforts to persuade the public in political and commercial arenas.  As we study such campaigns, we will address the overall objective of understanding the interplay of public relations, marketing, advertising, discourse, ideology and the media and applying that understanding in collaborative work. This work includes seminar discussions, workshops, campaign participation, presentations, research projects and creating your own campaign.

Specific learning objectives for winter quarter:

By the end of winter quarter, students should be able:

• To demonstrate a deep understanding of propaganda
• To identify marketing, advertising and public relations strategies from the perspective of propaganda
• To apply the fundamentals of marketing, advertising and public relations
• To analyze and apply discourse concepts used in commercial campaigns, particularly semiotics, prosody, paralinguistics, and pragmatic meaning.
• To demonstrate ability in applying media technologies, including sound and image recording, image editing, and print layout
• To develop an appreciation of the role of strategy in media campaigns
• To learn how to create a strategic media campaign
• To collaborate productively 

Work for the quarter:

• Seminar preparation.  You will carefully read the assigned text and write a seminar paper due at the first seminar in which the text is discussed.
• Media watch.  You will regularly read a distinguished national newspaper.
• Case study presentation.  In groups of five you will present one case study analysis to the class, using the case study packets available in the bookstore, you will carefully read each case before a team presents it, and you will participate in simulated press conference panels.
• Case study evaluation.  You will write a brief evaluation of each presentation you observe.
• You will complete the research paper assigned in fall quarter using APA format.
• You will attend media workshops, which will provide instruction in Palmcorder use, sound recording and editing, Photoshop, Pagemaker, I-Movie, and Dreamweaver. Advanced students may also study Final Cut Pro. You will use these in your campaign presentation.
• In your case study group, you will design and complete a strategic media campaign, aimed at addressing the case problem uncovered in your case analysis, and you will present this campaign to the class.  In addition to media elements, the campaign will include a strategy paper, prepared by the group.