MC 6013 - Persuasion in Mass Communication (3) F

This course focuses on the scholarship related to persuasion via various modalities and media which seeks to influence the attitudes, beliefs, values, opinions, and behaviors of targeted audiences. Persuasion includes intentional communicated attempts to influence beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, behaviors, or it may be an unintended result of other communication content or mediated effects of communication. Understanding persuasion is a foundational aspect for effective communication in professional communication contexts such as advertising, advocacy, crisis and emergency communication, health communication, public relations, and risk communication. This course covers core scholarly concepts, starting with classical thoughts, contemporary theories, and social scientific research findings related to understanding the nature of persuasion including traditional and emerging academic theories.