DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION

585 MANOOGIAN HALL

WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY
(313) 577-2943 FAX (313) 577-6300
COURSE SYLLABUS
COM 8000: Introduction to Ph.D. Studies
Fall, 2014
Course Website (Moodle): http://tools.comm.wayne.edu/moodle/login/index.php
INSTRUCTOR: Prof. Loraleigh Keashly
585 Manoogian
(313) 577-2648 (V)
(313) 577-6300 (F)
Internet: l.keashly@wayne.edu
LOCATION: 581 Manoogian
TIME: Tuesdays, 2-5 P.M.
OFFICE HOURS: Tuesdays, 10-12 .
Or by appointment
REQUIRED READINGS: On course site and class schedule
Course objective.
This course is designed to develop your identity as a communication scholar by
focusing on understanding the traditions of the discipline, the worldviews that underlie
these various traditions, and defining and locating your identity as a scholar in this field.
We are utilizing the model of becoming a faculty member and the three legged stool
that is faculty identity (research, teaching and service). Because this is a research degree,
a focus in this course is the development of your research identity and program, so a
notable proportion of this course will be spent here. We will also explore the teaching and
service aspects of the scholarly life as well. An underlying theme for this course is
pulling back the veil on academic life so that you can intentionally and knowledgeably
engage in your professional development as a scholar.
Specific Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, each student will:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the core traditions of the discipline of
communication and the worldviews that underlie these traditions:
2. Demonstrate the ability to identify important questions within their area of
research interest and make the case for how they can be explored and addressed;
3. Develop and articulate their own identity as a communication scholar in terms of
research, teaching and service goals and experiences;
4.
Course design
This class is a seminar and thus by its nature, it is interactive. Assigned readings,
specific activities/tasks and large group discussion will form the basis for the course.
Course website
The website associated with this course uses an open-source course management
software known as Moodle. You must be registered to use it. Emails were sent to your
WSU accounts with instructions on how to register. Once registered, you can develop
your profile including pictures. At the Moodle site, you will be able to upload your
journals and papers, retrieve information, check to see what is coming up in class, and
also review previous assignments.
Evaluation/Grading
20% Participation
5% Inside the Scholars Studio interview
50% Research proposal (40) and presentation (10)
25% E-portfolio (research, teaching, service, professional)
1. Attendance & participation (20%)
The very nature of this class requires you to attend each class, on time, and
actively engage in the discussion of the concepts and processes raised in the readings and
in class and the various assignments and activities. This requires you to do the assigned
readings and activities and come prepared to discuss them in class.
Another aspect of participation, particularly in a scholarly community, is peer review. We
have a responsibility, indeed a commitment to providing our colleagues with review and
constructive feedback on their work. So you will be expected to provide peer review of
your colleagues work. We will discuss this in more detail as opportunities arise.
2. Inside the Scholars Studio (5%)
One of the most powerful ways we have of discerning the paths along which we
wish to walk as scholars is to observe and understand the variety of paths and models
that scholars take in their careers. To this end, several department faculty will engage the
class in conversations about their work, their paths, and share advice re how to make it
all happen. Using the model of Inside the Actors Studio, each student will choose a
faculty member (this person can not be their advisor; preferably someone from a different
research area or tradition than the students) and interview him/her about their work and
career path. This interview will occur in two parts: 1) a pre-interview with the faculty
member and 2) an interview with the faculty member in front of the class. The
questions/areas to be explored include:
1. How would you describe your research identity? How to express their research
identity with plain language?
2. What is the field that you interest? (craig related)
3. How did you come to the path you are on currently with your work? How did you
get interested in this work? Where did you get the ideas (also dissertation)? Did
you consider alternative career or plan B?
4. Where did you start, how did you get here, what are the opportunities and
challenge that you faced?
5. What are your current projects? What do you hope to come out of them?
6. How would you describe your writing process?
7. Words of advice regarding becoming/being a scholar? What are that we should be
concerned on this path about being a scholar?
8. How they do their work-life balance?
9.
In the pre-interview, I would suggest you talk with the faculty member about these five
questions so you can develop a strong sense of them. Then in the in-class interview, you
explore these five areas as you wish in the context of a 30 minute period 20 minutes for
the interview and 10 minutes for questions. My plan is that we will video record these
interviews to preserve the knowledge gained.
This interview assignment is worth 5% of your final grade. The due date will
depend upon faculty availability to come to the class.
3. Research proposal (50% - 40% written; 10% presentation)
A key requirement for being a faculty member is research and scholarship. It is a
key focus of the doctoral program. A scholar needs to be able to articulate the landscape
of a particular area of communication interest, identify and integrate theoretical and
empirical work, identify key questions deserving of exploration and examination, and
develop ways to gather and examine information in service of addressing that question.
Then these learnings and understandings need to be shared with others for consideration,
critique, and further development and refinement, and continued development of the area.
And the way we share this is through talking (presenting) and writing (publishing).
This assignment will mirror this process, albeit in a somewhat expedited way given the
timeframe of the course. It will also jumpstart your doctoral program by having you
immersed in research and writing right away. The proposal is broken down into five
steps, with each step (and the associated product) to be delivered throughout the term.
The steps/elements are as follows:
1. area of research interest (5) October 7
2. annotated bibliography of relevant/key sources (5) October 14
3. literature review (10) - November 18
4. identification of research question(s)(10) November 25
5. prelim design for a study (10) Dec 16 (compare and contrast two methods; select
one and why)
While each element will be evaluated initially, the feedback provided by your peers and
by me is intended to help the overall final product to be thorough, grounded in relevant
literature, well-organized and clear. Ultimately the final evaluation of the proposal will
rest on the entire product.
NB: note that an integrative literature review and a proposed research agenda can be a a
valuable conference presentation and subsequent publication.
The full research proposal is due on Monday, December 15
th
by 5 p.m., posted to the
course website. This proposal is worth 40% of your final grade in the course.
Presenting our thinking and projects orally to our peers is a traditional way of developing
our scholarship as we do with conference and symposia. For the research proposal
presentation, each student will give a 30 minute presentation on their research area and
questions. This will involve a 20 minute presentation and 10 minutes for questions and
feedback. The presentation occurs before your preliminary design for a study and the
final product are due. This is to mirror the process of how we develop our ideas and
thinking by discussing and getting feedback from our peers. Thus, the questions and
feedback given by your peers and by me will be useful for you in developing your study
and refining the case you are making. The presentations will occur on November 25 and
December 2. We will invite faculty and graduate students to be in the audience.
The presentation is worth 10% of your final grade in the course.
4. E-portfolio (25%)
A key and ongoing activity in a faculty members life is the development of a
portfolio that reflects who we are in terms of research, teaching and service and more
broadly our identity as scholars. We put together these portfolios for consideration in
applying for positions and for tenure and promotion. I want you to become familiar with
this process and its various products. The very process of doing this will help you
discover what is important to you, the threads in your work, and where you want to go. In
the age of internet, it seems you can find out just about anything about anyone. So lets
be deliberate and thoughtful about what you put out there.
Thus, throughout this course you will develop content for an e-portfolio structured
around 4 aspects of our scholarly lives: research, teaching, service, and professional
development. The assignments and activities you will do throughout the course will
produce the content for your e-portfolio. There will be four elements or components
1. research narrative identity and interests (10)
i. Wordle to describe you
ii. Statement of research identity and interests.
iii. Specific projects (in progress, completed)
2. teaching philosophy and classes (5)
3. service (5)
4. professional/personal career goals; types of positions and working environment
interested in (5)
Dr. Karen McDevitt, a faculty member in Media Arts and Studies, and a new media
technology guru will talk with the class about this form of self-portrayal. There are also
readings that will be helpful in this process and will be made available on the website.
You will decide how best to present them to create an informative and engaging depiction
of who you are at this point in time. This will ultimately be a living document for you to
update and change as you grow and change in your goals and identities.
Your e-portfolio is due December 17 at 5 p.m. uploaded to the course website
More Info on Grading:
Incompletes: Incompletes are reserved for extraordinary circumstances such
as personal emergencies that can be documented. An incomplete is granted
when in the judgment of the instructor a student can successfully complete
the work of the course without attending regular class sessions. Incompletes,
which are not converted to a letter grade within one year, will automatically
revert to an F (failing grade).
Withdrawing from Class: Students who withdraw from a course after the
end of the 4th week of class will receive a grade of WP, WF, or WN.
WP will be awarded if the student is passing the course (based on work
due to date) at the time the withdrawal is requested
WF will be awarded if the student is failing the course (based on work
due to date) at the time the withdrawal is requested
WN will be awarded if no materials have been submitted, and so there is
no basis for a grade
Students must submit their withdrawal request on-line through Pipeline. As
the instructor, I must approve the withdrawal request before it becomes final,
and students should continue to attend class until they receive notification via
email that the withdrawal has been approved. Students who stop attending
but do not request a withdrawal, will receive an automatic F (failing grade).
Grade Appeals: The college policy for appealing a final grade can be found at:
http://www.cfpca.wayne.edu/files/FinlGradeAppeal.pdf
Late assignments: Assignments/papers submitted past the due date and time
without an authorized extension from the instructor given prior to the submission
deadline will lose 5% of the value of the assignment immediately and an additional
5% of its value for each subsequent 24 hour period. For example, if the assignment
is worth 20% and it is turned in past the due date and time but within 24 hours of the
deadline, the assignment will have lose 1 out of 20 marks. So if the assignment is
evaluated as 17/20, with the late penalty, it will become 16/20. If the assignment is
2 days late, then the score will become 15/20 and so on.
If you are not able to submit a paper/assignment on time, you need to notify the
instructor prior to the deadline to request an extension. Depending on the
circumstances, the extension may or may not be granted. If you cannot get the
assignment in on time due to an emergency, you need to provide evidence as soon
as possible of the nature of this emergency in order to avoid a late penalty.
Policy Statements
Moodle and email: As noted above, we will use Moodle for submission of papers and
journals and sharing of other information. Thus, please check the site regularly for any
updates or announcements.
Also, I will send out email to you through the addresses that you register on our Moodle
course website. Since the university sends electronic communication only through the
WSU email system, if you are using other accounts, it is your responsibility to either
check your WSU account on a regular basis for information or to forward your WSU
account to your other account.
Cell Phones: All cell phones are to be turned off/on vibrate during class time.
Disabilities: Wayne State University provides support and reasonable accommodations
for persons with disabilities. If you are a student with a disability and need any special
accommodations you must let me know before the end of the second week of class. In
order to qualify for special accommodations, you must contact Student Disability
Services at 1600 David Adamany Library (313) 577-1851 FAX (313) 577-4898
eas@teadmin.sa.wayne.edu.
Plagiarism/Academic Dishonesty: Materials that are clearly not the student's own work
or which are not appropriately documented will be subjected to close scrutiny. All acts of
academic dishonesty including cheating and plagiarism will be treated as violations of
appropriate student conduct and will be subject to disciplinary action. The University
Due Process Policy can be found at: http://www.doso.wayne.edu/judicial/index.htm.
It is important that you maintain academic integrity, especially with regard to plagiarism
by citing all sources (including internet) for facts and ideas used in papers and oral
presentations, at the point in the text where information was used (not simply at the end
in references); follow any standard, consistent citation style. If you wish to use a
writers own words, you must quote them appropriately which means they are to be
enclosed in quotation marks or set in from the rest of the text and the author, date, and
page number are to be included. Changing one or two words or a slight rephrasing does
not alter your responsibility to note the source of the ideas. If you use anothers words
or ideas without appropriate citation, this is considered plagiarism. If I find evidence
of plagiarism, you will be given a 0 (zero) for the assignment. This information will be
reported to the Director of Graduate Studies for your program. If there is evidence of
plagiarism on a second assignment, you will automatically receive an F for the course.
Religious Observances: It is Wayne States policy to respect the faith and religious
obligations of students, faculty and staff. Students with exams or classes that conflict
with their religious observances should notify me well in advance so that we can work
out a mutually agreeable alternative.
Class meetings
All meetings are on Tuesdays from 2-5 P.M. in 581 Manoogian.
INTRODUCTION TO DOCTORAL STUDIES IN COMMUNICATION
September 2 And so it begins; on being a doctoral student; Resources!!!
Required readings:
Croxall, B. (2010). An open letter to new graduate students. The
Chronicle of Higher Education (online version), August 19, 2010.
Roberts-Miller, T. (2014) 9 to 5. Inside Higher Education, August
25, 2014.
Rojas, F. (2011) Grad skool rulz: Everything you need to know
about Academia from admissions to tenure.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/93455;
Schiappa, E. (2009). Professional development during your
doctoral education. Washington, DC: National Communication
Association.
Dept. of Communication Ph.D. Handbook (2014)
Visitors:
Karen Wiest Graduate Career Services, Graduate School
Keith Brown, President, GSA getting involved in the department.
Ongoing Assignments:
1. Finding the perfect job in the perfect place (job ad search) due
Nov 11
2. Plan of Work completion due no later than Dec 16
3. Creating an online presence: E-portfolio due Dec 17
1. Your Wordle due September 9, 2014
2. Research Identity statement initial due September 30,
revised due October 7
4. Research proposal (Dec 15) & presentation (Nov 25 or Dec 2),
1. Area of research interest due October 7
2. annotated bibliography due October 14
3. Literature review due November 18
4. identification of research question due November 25
5. Preliminary design of a study due December 15.
5. Inside the Scholars Studio interviews with dept. faculty
Activity for Sept 9 class: Defining communication your own, a
faculty member of your choice, and a senior doctoral student.
Summarize and come prepared to discuss

September 9 Conceptualizing communication: How to define
communication
Required reading:
Nilsen, T. R. (1957). On defining communication. Speech Teacher,
6, 10-17.
Dance, F. E. X. (1970). The concept of communication. Journal
of Communication, 20, 201-210.
Visitor: Karen McDevitt e-portfolio discussion
September 16 Traditions of Communication Study
Craig, R. T. (1999). Communication theory as a field.
Communication Theory, 9, 119-161.
Myers, D. (2001). A pox on all compromises: Reply to Craig
(1999). Communication Theory, 11, 218-230.
Craig, R. T. (2001). Mending my metamodel, mending Myers.
Communication Theory, 11, 231-240.
Cooren, F. (2012). Communication theory at the center:
Ventriloquism and the communicative constitution of reality.
Journal of Communication, 62, 1-20.
September 23 The worldviews (assumptions) undergirding communication
study
Required reading:
Anderson, J. A., & Baym, G. (2004). Philosophies and philosophic
issues in communication, 1995-2004. Journal of Communication,
54, 589-615.
Pfau, M. (2008). Epistemological and disciplinary intersections.
Journal of Communication, 58, 597-602.
Mumby, D. K. (1997). Modernism, postmodernism, and
communication studies: A rereading of an ongoing debate.
Communication Theory, 7, 1-28.
September 30 Thinking about being an academic Scholarship & Research
- Identifying a long-term research interest
Required reading:
Hample, D. et al. (2008). Issue forum: Breadth and depth of
knowledge in communication. Communication Monographs, 75,
111- 135.
Craig, R. T. et al. (2007). Issue forum: Theorizing communication
problems. Communication Monographs, 74, 103-130.
Timmerman, C. E. et al. (2009). Issue forum: Has communication
research made a difference. Communication Monographs, 76, 1-
19.
Dempsey, S. et al. (2011). What is the role of the communication
discipline in social justice, community engagement, and public
scholarship? A visit to the CM Caf. Communication Monographs,
2, 256-271.
Example: Lutgen-Sandvik, P. & Tracy, S.J. (2012). Answering
five questions about workplace bullying: How communication
scholarship provides thought leadership for transforming abuse at
work. Management Communication Quarterly, 26(1), 3-47.
Assignment: Initial Research Identity statement due
discussion in class
October 3 Deadline for CSCA conference submissions
October 7 Thinking about being an academic Scholarship & Research
- generating ideas for research, identifying the question(s)
Assignment: Revised research identity statement; Area of
research interest due.
Activity for October 14 class : Take your research question/idea
and identify at least two different methods that have been used;
Prepare a brief (no more than 5 minutes) presentation on it.
Example: Sias (2009) on Peer Relationships (see Moodle site for
reading)
October 14 Thinking about being an academic Scholarship & Research
- Designing and conducting the research; Choosing the method
(s)
- The proposal
- IRB
- External Funding search (OVPR; Library)
Assignment: annotated bibliography of relevant sources for
research paper due
Activity for October 21 class identify two journals that would
be suitable for your work and the reasons why they would be
appropriate. Be prepared to share and discuss. 10 literatures
October 21 Thinking about being an academic Scholarship & Research
- writing, presenting, publishing
- Peer review process experiences from the trenches; on the
giving and receiving end.
Required reading:
Hanitzch, T. (2013). Writing for Communication Theory.
Communication Theory, 23, 1-9.
Neuman, W. R., Davidson, R., Joo, S-H., Park, Y. J., & Williams,
A. E. (2008). The seven deadly sins of communication research.
Journal of Communication, 58, 220-237.
Visitors:
- faculty talking about their experiences being reviewed and as
reviewers.
Activity for October 28 class - identify courses would like to
teach and complete teaching request form (advisor input)
October 28 Thinking about being an academic Teaching, Advising,
Mentoring
Required reading:
Schiappa (2009) chapter on teaching and teaching portfolio
Select faculty teaching philosophy statements (posted to Moodle
site)
- teaching philosophy, student evaluations
- looking at faculty teaching philosophies
November 4 Thinking about being an academic Service and Community
Engagement
- involvement in professional associations
- involvement in university
- involvement in community
Activity for November 11 class bring copy of your CV +
My perfect job in the perfect place summary
November 11 Job Search CV, application, job talk, interviewing, negotiating.
Required reading:
Schiappa (2009) chapter on the job search
- search experiences from the trenches Fred Vultee, Kat
Maguire, Lee Wilkins (as chair)
November 18 The multiple facets of being an academic personal and
professional issues;
- work-life issues.
November 25 Presentations of research topics & questions
- 30 minute total; 20 min max on content; 10 min
questions/feedback
Assignment: Identification of research questions due
December 2 Presentation of research topics and questions
- 30 minute total; 20 min max on content; 10 min
questions/feedback
December 15 Research proposal due include the preliminary design of a
study;
5 p.m., upload to course website
December 16 Approved draft of Plan of Work due hand in to instructor
December 17 E-Portfolio due, 5 p.m. uploaded to course website.

Toulman