COMM 400: Narrative and Identity

Course Description

This class explores the role that communication plays through storytelling in the creation and management of the complex identities people inhabit at various levels of society. We examine the ways in which personal, family, subcultural, organizational, mass mediated, and intercultural and transnational narratives can affect the shaping and reshaping of individual and group identities. This includes the study of multiple identities as members of families, communities, civil societies, and businesses, and those that involve different social locations like gender, race, and ethnicity. Students will learn theoretical tools and examine case studies to better understand the communicative aspects of identity creation and recreation. Students will write their own narratives about personal identity changes and present them through blogs, podcast episodes, or recorded oral presentations. (YR).