Courses

• MET HC 758: Media Relations for Health Communicators
  Students learn publicity techniques used in mass media communication, including working with daily and weekly newspapers, magazines, radio, television, film and online media. The course will examine the principles and practices of working with mass media "gatekeepers" to accomplish campaign objectives as well as strategies and tactics for communicating directly with audiences through new media. Students will develop knowledge and skills related to the production and use of media relations tools with a focus on health communication. Case studies will be employed to understand the challenges and opportunities inherent in working with mass media as well as the special demands and practices associated with crisis communication. The course will also explore the emerging role of interactive and social media. [ 4 cr.]
• MET HC 759: Health Communication
  Health communication is an emerging field in which professional communicators inform, influence and motivate individual, institutional, and public audiences about important health issues. This course examines theories of interpersonal, organizational, and mass communication relevant to the professional communicator in the health field. Reviews strategies of persuasion, the relationship between attitudes and behavior, and the changing nature of health and health delivery in the United States, and evaluates successful and unsuccessful health information campaigns.
• MET HC 760: Research Methods for Health Communicators
  Introduces students to the methodology of communication research. Particular attention will be paid to pre- and post-campaign communication research. The course includes both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Student will learn the nature of scientific logic, computer literature searches, research design, questionnaire construction, sampling, measurement techniques, and data analysis. The course will also explore the use of focus groups, experiments, surveys, and content analysis to inform and evaluate health communication campaigns.
• MET HC 761: Advanced Writing for Health Communicators
  Clear and persuasive writing is arguably the most fundamental tool in the contemporary health communicator's toolbox. Essential writing qualities including clarity, cohesion, and concision will be emphasized throughout this course alongside advanced grammar, sentence structure and writing mechanics. The course aims to build advanced writing knowledge and skill upon the foundation each student brings to the classroom. Students will be exposed to a variety of traditional and online writing formats common to the field of health communication. Students will be required to analyze diverse audiences and refine writing strategies, style, vocabulary and levels of formality to accommodate each audience. Requires extensive writing, rewriting and editing assignments.
• MET HC 762: Visual Communication in the Digital Health Age
  Over the past two decades, the power of visuals in learning and retention has been increasingly recognized -- attributing as much as 80% of retention to information that is visually communicated. In a recent study, 85% of working professionals agreed that creative thinking is critical for problem-solving in their career, and 71% say creative thinking should be taught as a course, like math and science. The efficacy of the use of visual symbols has also been recognized for bridging language barriers in health care settings. This course provides health communication professionals the fundamental principles of design and how these relate to effective communication, particularly in health education and delivery applications. Course lectures and resources will guide students from visual design theory, straight through content creation and measuring effectiveness of visual messaging. Students will explore various media and tools used to create digital images and get hands-on practice in the image editing process. Topics include conceptual design, critical thinking in the creation of practical design, how design relates to industry, human perception and the visual process, and the use of symbols for immediacy and to bridge cultural and literacy divides. In addition to exploring popular digital vehicles for visual storytelling, such as infographics, data visualization, video and mobile, the course will also present real- world challenges, such as ethics and regulations in digital communications, as well as business processes.
  Expenditures for this course include textbooks and a 2-month subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud applications; cost of resources approx. $200. Specific details about subscription options will be included in the course materials section of Syllabus prior to class start. Course also requires access to a smartphone with camera and video capability or a digital camera/video.
• MET HC 763: Social Media Strategies and Tactics for Health Communicators
  The course examines how healthcare organizations are tapping the power of social media to listen, learn, engage and act. This course helps students understand the power and importance of this fundamental shift in communication, and how savvy health care organizations are turning this shift into a strategic advantage. Together, we will examine the impact of the communication technology revolution on the field of health marketing and communication. Through extensive readings, case studies, project assignments, hands-on use of social media and weekly discussions, students will explore the extraordinary health communication challenges and opportunities driven by social media -- as well as the new and daunting problems and threats social media present to healthcare organizations. Students will learn how social media is used in health care and why using it effectively and efficiently has become a necessary skill for many health care professionals. As part of this course, students have the opportunity to earn the Mayo-Hootsuite Social Media Basics Certification, and participate in the Mayo Clinic Social Media Network community.
• MET HI 101: The History of Western Civilization I
  Surveys the development of Western society and culture from a.d. 1000 to the French Revolution of 1789. Topics include the development of medieval European society and culture, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the scientific revolution, absolutism, enlightened despotism, and eighteenth-century rationalism.
• MET HI 102: The History of Western Civilization II
  A survey of Western society from the French Revolution through World War II, including the Industrial Revolution, nineteenth-century nationalism and imperialism, the rise of working-class movements, international rivalries, and ideological conflict in the twentieth century.
• MET HI 300: The American Immigrant Experience
  Immigration has made and is remaking America. All Americans, or their ancestors, were at one time immigrants. This course provides a historical survey of this immigration. The first half of the course explores eighteenth- and nineteenth-century immigration movements; the second half focuses on the twentieth century.
• MET HI 342: History of America at War
  This course surveys the history of America at war from pre-conquest Native American warfare to modern times. It covers colonial-era traditions, the Revolutionary War, 19th century wars with Britain, Mexico, and Spain, the Civil War, the two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and modern wars in the Greater Middle East. Attention is paid to varying military traditions, military culture and capabilities, from backwoods skirmishing to set-piece battles, to total war on a global scale, to today's fighting against irregular enemies employing evolving combat doctrines and assets. Documentary and other films will enhance class discussion of the evolution of American warfare and of Americans at war.
• MET HI 373: History of Boston
  The foundations, development, and "fate" of Boston since the colonial period. Explores the architecture, geography, social structure, and economic development of the city, as well as political changes.
• MET HI 395: Film and History
  This course deals with international films about revolution and war, their origins, social consequences, and legacies. It considers films from and about Japan, Africa, India, the Americas and Europe. It explores "the angle of vision" problem in history: who should we trust more, eye-witness accounts, great film recreations, novelists, or traditional historians? Who gets us closest to the "truth" of the human experience and condition?
• MET HI 476: Special Topics: The American Presidency
  This course will focus on the changing institution of the American Presidency from 1901 to the present. As it examines the policies and personalities of modern U.S. presidents from Theodore Roosevelt to Barack Obama, this course will pay special attention to the evolving concept of the "imperial presidency" over the past century. We will also consider how changes in our political culture, driven by the rapid evolution of new communication technologies, have transformed the office of the presidency.
• MET HS 201: Introduction to Nutrition
  Reviews basic concepts in nutrition including the function of nutrients and the effects of deficiencies and excesses. These basic concepts are then applied to current issues throughout the lifecycle including the role of diet in malnutrition, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and weight management. Dietary guidelines for prevention of chronic disease are stressed.
• MET HU 221: Major Authors I
  Introduction to major works of ancient and medieval European literatures that influenced later Continental, English, and American literature: the Bible, Homeric epic, Greek Tragedy, Virgil's Aeneid, and Dante's The Divine Comedy.
• MET HU 400: Great Works of the Modern Era
  The 20th century presented the most accelerated period of social evolution in human history: two World Wars were fought; technology developed at a dazzling pace; psychological exploration and scientific discovery assailed traditional conceptions of religion and the nature of reality; the relation of the individual to society fluctuated as new social and political models originated. Our main focus will be the literature and film within this time frame, but parallel developments in art and music will also be discussed.
• MET IS 308: Exploring Philosophy through Film: Knowledge, Ethics, and Personal Identity
  This introduction to philosophy revolves around selected films and related texts that provoke serious reflection on issues of knowledge, ethics, and personal identity. The main objective of the course is to provide an introduction to the nature of philosophical inquiry and analysis by exposing the student to specific philosophical problems and issues. By focusing on film as the visual and narrative medium in which these problems and issues emerge, the student will also consider the ways in which art (with the focus here being on cinematic art) can represent and embody philosophical questions, ideas, and positions. Related objectives include the development of critical thinking and writing skills as well as the cultivation of the student's appreciation of film as an art form.
• MET IS 312: Food Stuff: A Taste of Biology
  This course, we will explore biological principles in the context of food. It will focus on biodiversity, evolution, biochemistry, symbioses, and humans in the biosphere. Students will be encouraged to make their own connections about the world of food by learning about biological interactions and relationships.
• MET IS 325: Explorations in the Essay: History, Theory, Practice
  The purpose of the course is threefold: first, to introduce students to a wide variety of essay forms, arranged historically and considered in historical context; second, to provide the opportunity to practice these forms and by imitating models to become more adept and polished writers of the essay, and finally, to explore the theory of the essay, by examining discussions among literary critics concerning the defining characteristics of the genre.
• MET IS 327: The Meaning of America: People, Identity, and Conflict that Built a Nation
  The course examines the philosophical underpinnings of what it means to be an American and the experiences of ordinary men and women in the making of modern America. It will look closely at the ideas of those who founded the nation and how this affected the idealism which became the American identity. The role of immigration, the change from agrarian to urban industrialized society, the growth and influence of labor unions, the shift of the U.S. from maker to buyer of goods and services, and how the ideological notion of what it means to be American evolved will be examined. How events shaped lives and national identity will be discussed. The course will look at ordinary workers and their communities and how they adjusted to changing events and forces around them.