Course Descriptions
COM206 / Desktop Publishing [3-0, 3 cr.]
Theory and exercises in editing, transferring and merging text, graphics and photographs. Use of computer programs to create, design and print various types of publications as well as websites and blogs.
Prerequisite: Knowledge of computer operations
COM213 / Introduction to Public Relations [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course is an introduction to the principles and practices of public relations in light of the new changes in media. Students will learn the process of public relations through the examination of various types of PR campaigns, with emphasis on specific case-studies. They will also engage in the organization and implementation of a PR event.
Prerequisite: ENG101 / English I
COM214 / News Writing and Reporting [3-0, 3 cr.]
This class covers the principles of reporting and writing for various media—newspapers magazines and online (including blogging and Twitter). It explores the structural and conceptual characteristics of journalistic reports. The class covers news sources, field work/assignments, research, interview techniques, news values and journalistic writing.
Prerequisite: ENG101 / English I
COM218 / Arabic News Writing and Reporting [3-0, 3 cr.]
This class covers the principles and practices of news gathering and writing for the Arabic-language media. It introduces students to different styles of writing for news agencies, newspapers, magazines, radio, TV and the web.
Prerequisites: ARA201 / Appreciation of Arabic Literature or any ARA2—/3— equivalent course
COM222 / Introduction to Audiovisual Media [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course examines the distinctive character of different media forms and guidelines for choosing which medium or combination of media is best for a given communication project. Through a series of exercises, the course covers the conceptual underpinnings as well as offering an experiential tour of the creative language, aesthetics, and basic techniques of audiovisual production.
Prerequisite: ENG101 / English I, or concurrently
COM224 / Social Media [3-0, 3 cr.]
The course focuses on how the Internet, social media and mobiles contribute to the way media are designed, created, shared and understood. It explores the social, economic, historical and technological influences on new media and how such media shape journalism, politics, business/marketing and civic engagement. Students learn to create content optimized for the Internet and to build social media campaigns.
Prerequisite: ENG101 / English I
COM225 / The Art of Film [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course is a study of the formal and aesthetic fundamentals of the film medium. It covers the viewing and written analysis of important films.
Prerequisite: ENG102 / English II
COM235 / Studio Television Production [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course is an introduction to the principles and practices of single and multiple camera television production.
Prerequisite: COM222 / Introduction to Audiovisual Media
COM237 / TV/Film Workshop [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course deals with the different technical aspects of broadcast and film production. The course may be repeated and taken more than once when content differs.
Prerequisite: COM235 / Studio TV Production
COM238 / Drama Workshop [1-3, 3 cr.]
This workshop covers various aspects of theatrical activities including actor’s skills, designing scenery, properties, lighting, sound, costumes, make-up etc. This course may be taken more than once with different content.
COM241 / Introduction to Acting [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course is an introduction to the actor’s technique and performer’s skills, exploring the elements necessary to begin training as an actor. Focus on physical and vocal exercises, improvisations, and scene study.
COM242 / Introduction to the Art of Theater [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course is an introduction to the theater, from its ancient origins to the present, its history, literature, genres, styles, and other related topics.
Prerequisite: ENG101 English I, or concurrently
COM244 / Introduction to Technical Stagecraft [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course is an introduction to the development of the theatre house, from its ancient formation to the present. Students will explore technical theatre production processes including theatre design principles, scenery construction, fundamentals of stage mechanics, lighting and sound, along with house management procedures.
COM247 / Theater in Performance [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course is about experiencing theatre making processes leading to a major theatre production. Student participation will include taking major roles as researchers, actors, or team members in key positions as actors, managers, designers or operators under the direction of a faculty member.
COM249 / Theater in Lebanon and the Arab World [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course covers the world of Lebanese Theatre in particular and Arab Theatre in general from its earliest founders, troupes and organizations until its modern festivals and avant-garde productions.
COM251 / Interpersonal Communication [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course helps to increase students’ understanding, and implementation, of effective interpersonal communication behaviors. The course examines the basic verbal, and nonverbal, elements affecting communication among individuals, within the family, peer group, and work contexts. Topics include strategy development, relationship and conversation management, defensive communication, and cultural and gender issues in communication style.
COM314 / Investigative Journalism [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course is an overview of the principles, skills and tools of investigative reporting for audiovisual, print and online media. Students review and critique major investigative pieces. They learn the history of investigative reporting and its role in society, culture and politics, study various investigative techniques, become familiar with key online and offline sources and ultimately produce a multi-platform investigative story.
Prerequisite: COM214 / News Writing and Reporting
COM315 / Journalism Editorial Desk [3-0, 3 cr.]
The course focuses on the knowledge and skills required in a specific journalistic field or topic. The course may be repeated, and taken more than once, if the topics differ.
Prerequisite: COM214 / Reporting and Writing for News Media
COM319 / Media and Society [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course studies forms of mass media communications as elements/products of cultural, political, and economic processes. The approach is interdisciplinary, drawing on a variety of theories and methods of media studies and analysis such as semiotics, linguistics, philosophy, political economy, and cultural studies.
Prerequisite: ENG202 / Sophomore Rhetoric
COM324 / History and Theory of Film [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course is a review of selected cinematic milestones and foundational theories in the history of motion pictures, with an emphasis on their relevance/ contribution to contemporary cinema.
Prerequisite: COM225 / The Art of Film
COM326 / Writing for TV and film [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course covers the principles and techniques of writing for film and TV genres and formats.
Prerequisite: COM222 / Introduction to Audiovisual Media
COM329 / Media Law & Ethics [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course explores legal and ethical principles, case studies, and mass media regulation in Lebanon. It includes comparative regional and international perspectives both with respect to major legal and ethical issues related to the media.
Prerequisite: ENG202 / Sophomore Rhetoric
COM330 / Arab and International Media [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course covers the development and particularities of some Arab and world communication systems and examines the effect of such history and practice on media content. Media systems are examined as reflections of their socio-cultural environment and as agents affecting society at the same time. (Given in English).
Prerequisite: COM319 / Media and Society
COM332 / Editing [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course focuses on the use of computer technology to edit video footage in creating documentary and dramatic TV programs. Prerequisite: COM235 / Studio TV Production, or concurrently
COM335 / Advanced TV Production [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course covers advanced TV production in the studio and on location. Emphasis is on planning and directing dramatic programs (sit-coms and similar complex TV formats).
Prerequisites: COM235 / Studio TV Production and COM326 /Writing for TV and Film concurrently.
COM337 / Creative Dramatics [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course is a study of the principles and methods of developing original dramatizations with children. Play and values of creative playing will be examined. Students will be guided on a journey in imagining, storytelling, improvising, and reflecting on human experiences through dramatic exercises.
Prerequisite: ENG102 / English102 or consent of instructor.
COM342 / Play Production I [3-0, 3 cr.]
This is a 3-credit theatre production course that extends over two consecutive semesters. During the first semester students study the structure of a one-act play, the theories and methods of staging and participate in as many stage productions on campus as possible. Whilst during the second semester students direct a one-act play and produce a prompt book which documents the work process in detail.
Prerequisite: COM242 / Introduction to the Art of Theatre.
COM343 / Advanced Acting Techniques [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course covers the advanced scene study. It includes multiple scenes to clarify character development throughout a single script.
Prerequisite: COM241 / Introduction to Acting
COM345 / Modern Drama [3-0, 3 cr.]
The development of the contemporary theater from Ibsen to the present, as studied in selected European and American plays. Prerequisite: COM242 / Introduction to the Art of Theater or consent of instructor.
COM361 / Broadcast Journalism [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course introduces students to the production of news programs for broadcast media, covering stages such as news gathering, writing, shooting, editing and distribution. It introduces students to the technologies used in production and transmission, and helps them think critically about the process involved.
Prerequisites: COM222 / Introduction to Audiovisual Media; CoOM329 / Media Law and Ethics; COM214 / Reporting and Writing for News Media or COM235 / Studio TV Production
COM422 / Journalism Workshop [3-0, 3 cr.]
This class is an intensive, computer-assisted, writing-oriented course in a laboratory setting. It involves the production of online and print versions of the LAU Tribune, the university’s student newspaper. Students learn hands-on about the different phases of online journalism production from newsroom management to reporting, writing, editing, multimedia uses, blogging and online distribution and promotion.
Prerequisites: COM314 / Investigative Journalism and COM361 / Broadcast Journalism
COM428 / Narrative and Documentary Film [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course covers the principles and techniques of both narrative and documentary film production. Students will plan, write, direct, and produce a short film.
Prerequisites: COM255 / Art of Film, COM326 / Writing for TV& Film, and COM335 / Advanced TV Production
COM442 / Play Production II [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course is a study of the theatrical major movements. It covers the analysis and the structure of the three-act play, and involves the production of a full-length play and the documentation of the process in a prompt book. Prerequisites: COM342 / Play Production I and COM343 / Advanced Acting, or concurrently
COM451 / Media Research Methods [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course introduces students to the major research methodologies, communication theories, and topics of study, within media research. Theories, models, and methods are applied towards the development and writing of a research paper. Students examine qualitative (mainly discourse analysis and semiotics) and quantitative (e.g., content analysis and audience surveys) methods of media research employed when studying the media (texts, audiences, and production processes).
Prerequisites: COM319 / Media and Society; senior standing
COM488 / Special Topics in Media [3-0, 3 cr.]
This course offers an in-depth analysis of relevant topics in the field of audiovisual media, theatre and journalism. With a change of content/topic, students can take it more than once for credit.
Prerequisite: English 202 / Sophomore Rhetoric or consent of instructor
COM499 / Internship [1-0, 1 cr.]
The internship course covers professional communication work, in an off-campus setting, appropriate to the student’s emphasis program, in order to provide experience not available in the curriculum. Gaining an insider’s perspective, students will explore the organizational set-up and operations of media institutions. They will compare those existing settings with the media and communication principles they acquired during their coursework. Students may work for print or broadcast (Radio/TV) media, as well as in theater, film or media research institutions.
Prerequisite: Senior standing.
Music
MUS101 / Music Appreciation [3-0, 3 cr.]
The course covers a selective survey of Western and non-Western musical traditions in order to understand various musical practices through emphasizing important composers’ life and work. The course teaches students the sonic dimensions of music and the rich variety of meanings and functions that are implicated in musical sounds.
MUS201 / Fundamentals of Music [0-3, 3 cr.]
This course covers the basic principles of note values, clef-reading rhythms, scales, writing on the music staff, sight singing, and dictation. It entails a practical experience through playing of the recorder.
MUS202 / Chorale [0-3, 1 cr.]
This course is an experience in singing the sacred and secular music of all the major periods. It entails three rehearsals per week, and public performances, on and off-campus. Up to three credits may be earned, in three separate semesters. Admission to this course is by audition. This course is offered every semester.
MUS311 / Survey of Western Music [0-3, 3 cr.]
This course is a survey of the development of Western music from ancient times, through the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods, to the 20th century, and contemporary forms of musical expression. CDs and tapes illustrate the forms, styles, and characteristics of the Periods and composers. Emphasis on the place and the influence of music as a part of general culture are covered.
MUS312 / Survey of Middle Eastern Music [0-3, 3 cr.]
This course is a survey of the historical sources, and the development of the underlying principles, forms, modes, and rhythms, of Middle Eastern music. The course includes CDs and tapes, and, whenever possible, live vocal or instrumental performances, to illustrate important styles, modes, and instrumentation. Music is studied in the context of the general Middle Eastern culture.
Physical Education (PED) in the Department
PED231 / Modern Dance [0-2, 1 cr.]
This course emphasizes body integration, loco-motor skills, dynamic variety and musicality.
PED232 / Folk Dance [0-2, 1 cr.]
This course involves the development of coordination and grace, rhythmic awareness, and emphasis on international understanding.