Humanities & Communication, B.A.

Want to establish broad knowledge, communication skills, creative talents, critical thinking abilities and multicultural awareness that will make you widely employable? Looking for an incredibly interdisciplinary and adaptable major that combines dozens of traditional fields of study?

Humanities & Communication majors gain broad knowledge, multicultural communication skills, creative talents, and outstanding writing and critical thinking abilities for the 21st-century workplace. Our major integrates traditional disciplines within humanities and communication with contemporary fields and explores how these fields interrelate.

You will study across the various disciplines in order to gain an integrated understanding of world issues and problems, and you will apply your knowledge ethically, critically, and creatively toward the fulfillment of concrete personal and social goals and needs.

Required Courses

In order to graduate, you will also need to complete your general education and university requirements .

All HCOM majors must complete the following courses. In addition to a core set of courses (and options) HCOM majors must select a concentration area, completing all the required courses as described below for a particular concentration. One course, unless otherwise indicated, must be an approved research or theory intensive course, indicated as (RTI) in the course lists below.

Students may not double count an HCOM core course and a concentration course, nor may they double count a concentration course for a required area within the major core.

Complete all of the following courses:
HCOM 300 - Major ProSeminar Units: 2
HCOM 475 - Senior Capstone Units: 4
Complete one of the following courses:
HCOM 312 - Deliberation and Advocacy Units: 4
HCOM 317S - Advanced Composition, Composition Theories, Service Learning Units: 5
Complete one of the following Ethical and Effective Communication courses:
HCOM 304 - Relational Ethics Units: 3
HCOM 310 - Free Speech & Responsibility Units: 4
HCOM 321 - Introduction to Rhetoric and Culture Units: 4
Complete one of the following Social and Cultural Analysis courses:
HCOM 343 - Race and Gender Justice Units: 3
HCOM 353 - California At Crossroads Units: 3
HCOM 369 - Asian American History Units: 3
HCOM 393 - Race and Ethnicity in the United States Units: 3
Complete one of the following Engaged Creative Practice courses:
HCOM 328 - Latina Life Stories Units: 4
HCOM 329 - Auto/Biografias Units: 4
HCOM 330 - Intro Creative Writing Units: 4
HCOM 371 - Community Journalism Studies Units: 4
Complete one of the following Humanistic Inquiry courses:
HCOM 301 - Ways Of Knowing Units: 3
HCOM 327 - Survey American Literature Units: 4
HCOM 362 - Constitutional History Units: 3
Complete one of the following Service Learning courses:
HCOM 307S - Soc Impct Of Mass Media SL Units: 5
HCOM 317S - Advanced Composition, Composition Theories, Service Learning Units: 5
HCOM 339S - Creative Writing and Service Learning Units: 5
HCOM 340S - Topics in Social Movements Service Learning Units: 5
HCOM 350S - Oral Hist/Comm Mem SL Units: 5 (RTI)
HCOM 432S - Social Action Writing Units: 5 (RTI)
*Students may take HCOM 317S to fulfill both the GWAR and Upper Division Service Learning major requirements.
Complete at least 2 units from the following courses:
HCOM 408 - Fact or Fiction? Units: 1
HCOM 419 - Digital Publishing Practicum Units: 2
HCOM 470 - Graduate Admissions Workshop Units: 2
HCOM 471 - Professional Writing Workshop Units: 2
HCOM 474 - Research Methods Units: 2-4
HCOM 476 - Advanced Public Speaking Workshop Units: 1-2
HCOM 477 - Communication in Everyday Life Units: 2

Concentrations

Complete the following courses in your chosen area of concentration.

Please note: Twelve (12) of the units taken to complete a concentration (all of which are upper division) may not be used in fulfillment of other minors or concentrations.

Communication Studies Concentration

Creative Writing & Social Action Concentration

English Studies Concentration

English Subject Matter Preparation Program Concentration

Ethnic and Gender Studies Concentration

Historical Studies Concentration

Journalism and Media Studies Concentration

Legal Studies Concentration

Philosophy and Applied Ethics Concentration

Learning Outcomes

MLO 1: Ethical and Effective Communication

Understand communication theories and apply them to create and interpret messages–and evaluate their ethics and effectiveness–in diverse contexts.

MLO 2: Social and Cultural Analysis

Understand and evaluate how social identities including ethnicity, race, class, religion, gender, sexuality, and/or ability might influence [relate to] people’s lived experiences, their cultural production and practices, and the social problems that shape their contexts.

MLO 3: Engaged Creative Practice

Develop competency in creative practice, such as creative writing, journalism, and/or media projects and community storytelling, that responds to a social issue and engages the public.

MLO 4: Humanistic Inquiry

Apply inquiry-based methods informed by humanistic traditions to investigate, interpret, and critique diverse ideas and texts.