COM 3119 International Communication
This course is designed to provide students with both theoretical and practical insights into the field of international communication. Throughout the semester, students will gain familiarity with major debates, contemporary challenges, and core perspectives shaping this area of study, while also exploring how political, cultural, social, psychological, and economic contexts shape communication systems and content. Topics covered include the operations of media institutions, the practice of journalism, the dynamics of national media markets, and the interactions across borders. Special attention will be given to the media landscapes of Hong Kong and mainland China, situating them within broader global communication processes. Students will also be trained to apply theoretical concepts to their own research, design and carry out data collection using suitable methods, and respond to scholarly questions in a rigorous way. Finally, they will develop their ability to present and communicate research outcomes effectively in professional settings.
COM 5105 Media Economics and Financial Management
Do you think that the media have an impact on stock market prices and financial markets? This course aims to introduce students to significant concepts and issues in the emerging field of media economics and financial markets. The field of media economics and financial markets (i.e., financial communication) draws upon theories, research, and practices from multiple sources of scholarship such as communication, behavioral finance, economics, as well as wealth and risk management, to understand the role of media in the evolving landscape of traditional finance, financial technologies, media, and stock markets. The course will provide both theoretical insights and practical knowledge.
COM 5104 Research Methods for Communication and New Media
This course is designed to provide training on research methods in communication and new media. It aims to:
- Examine basic concepts of communication research;
- Introduce specific data collection methods such as survey, content analysis, experimental design and qualitative methods;
- Practice statistical techniques including sampling, descriptive and inferential analyses;
- Oral and written presentation of research results
By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to read and evaluate professional and academic research reports; design and implement research projects; perform statistical data analysis; write up research reports; and present research findings in a professional manner.
Applied Risk Communication for the 21st Century at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Title of Module: Communication Technologies and Social Media: Lessons for Risk Communication.
More than any other public health crisis in recent memory, the pandemic emphasizes the necessity of effective health and risk communication. This applied program will provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to design effective risk communication messages that improve communication outcomes, increase trust in your organization, reduce public anxiety, and help key stakeholders make better decisions.
Leading experts will draw on both previous pandemics to illustrate concepts in the program and explore implications for practice. This includes:
- Explicitly discussing misinformation and disinformation in the context of COVID-19
- How to effectively communicate risk during the emergence of an infectious disease
- Analyzing a case study on providing COVID-19 information to vulnerable communities
The specific module on social media and risk communication taught by Dr. Edmund W. J. Lee aims to equip public health professionals to understand the current social media and health communication landscape, and to utilize various social media analytics tools to leverage on publicly available “big data” for ethical and effective population health monitoring.
Link to register: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/ecpe/programs/applied-risk-communication-for-the-21st-century/
CS 4037 Audience Research Methods
This course is designed to provide students with tools to study audience characteristics and the impact of communication on receivers. The course centers around two main research methods that are widely used by academics and practitioners: survey research and focus group study (as well as in-depth interviews and other related methods). Students will learn how to design and plan research projects using these two types of methods. They will also learn how to analyze data and present the findings in both oral and written formats.
CS 4150 Health Communication
This course is designed to introduce students to significant concepts and issues in the field of health communication. Health communication encompasses theories, research, and practices based on multiple sources of scholarship such as communication, public health, and social psychology. The primary objective of this course is to provide you with knowledge and skills for communicating health in a wide range of contexts.
To this end, the course content is organized into three parts. The first part of the course presents theoretical frameworks guide health communication practice. The second part introduces health communication strategies and tactics. For the last part of the course, we will devote time to develop health campaigns as a group project applying the principles and skills learned in class.
CS 4131 Risk Communication
This course introduces the theory, core concepts, and practice of communication about hazards and risks. Key principles of risk communication are used across a variety of arenas including public health, environmental communication, disaster management, and corporate management. In this course students will attain competencies in understanding core concepts and theories of risk communication and applying these theories to develop a robust risk communication campaign. Emphasis is placed on students’ active participation in exploring and applying concepts that inform risk communication in a global society.
CS 4322 Financial Communication: Media, Fintech, and Financial Markets
This course introduces students to significant concepts and issues in the emerging field of financial communication. The field of financial communication draws upon theories, research, and practices from multiple sources of scholarship such as communication, behavioral finance, economics, and wealth and risk management. In the course, students will learn about the different financial asset classes (e.g., equities, options, futures, commodities, and forex) and emerging fintech products, examine the relationship between media and the financial markets, and design effective campaigns to improve public awareness and financial literacy. The course will provide both theoretical insights and practical knowledge in the field of media and financial markets, as well as enable students to be more effective in designing financial literacy campaigns and become a more financially savvy investor.
CS5005 The Power of the Media: Myth and Reality
In the modern world, media occupy a significant portion of an average person’s day. They also exert great power, swaying public opinion, changing people’s values and teaching them all sorts of things, both good and bad. This course is intended to provide a critical evaluation of media by investigating the content of media messages, the characteristics of media consumers, and the mechanisms that underlie various types of media effects.
It will introduce students to basic concepts in social science research and communication study, briefly review the history of media research, and examine some of the most common types of media effects. In its survey of media effects, the course will cover most prominent communication theories that help to explain the who, what, where, and why of media influence.
The goal is for students to have deeper understanding of the extensiveness and limitations of media effects and to be able to critically assess claims of media impact.
Edmund W. J. Lee 