SPCM 420 - Political Communication

This course engages citizenship by exposing ourselves to the rhetoric of political campaigns and practicing the skills required to sustain democracy: participation, open-minded consideration, critical reflection, and the formation and justification of political judgment. We examine the rhetoric of political campaigns, critically assessing the communication of candidates and campaigns, as well as the rhetorical nature of political journalism. The course focuses on contemporary U.S. national political discourse; however local and/or historical information is addressed as needed.

This course can be applied towards:

• Fire and Emergency Services Administration (B.S.)
• Liberal Arts (B.A.)

Textbooks and Materials

Textbooks and materials can be purchased at the CSU Bookstore unless otherwise indicated.

Required

• Everything You Think You Know about Politics . . . And Why You're Wrong., 1st Ed. (2000)
  Kathleen Hall Jamieson
  ISBN: 978-0465036271
• Uncivil Wars: Political Campaigns in a Media Age, 2nd Ed. (2008)
  Thomas A Hollihan
  ISBN: 978-0312478834

Instructors

Kristin Slattery
kristin.slattery@colostate.edu