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COMMUNICATION STUDIES

Major combinations: (for BA General Degree)
NQF Level 5: Any two modules: COM1511, COM1512, COM1513, COM1514
NQF Level 6: RSC2601, and any two modules: COM2611, COM2612, COM2613, COM2614, COM2615, COM2616
NQF Level 7: COM3714 and any four modules: COM3711, COM3712, COM3713, COM3715, COM3716, COM3717

Disruption and Communication - COM1512
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 5 Credits: 12
Module presented in English Module presented online
Purpose: The purpose of this module is to equip students with an understanding of the interrelated concepts of disruption and communication. The qualifying student will be able to reflect on, discuss, demonstrate, and apply an understanding of social dissonance, innovation and technology within decolonial, transformative, and adaptive contexts.
Communication in the context of the organisation - COM1513
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 5 Credits: 12
Module presented in English Module presented online
Purpose: The purpose of this module is to equip students with an overview of organisational communication. Qualifying students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the theoretical principles of organisational communication and their application in the management of communication in and of different types of organisations to reflect their African positionality.
Fundamentals of Decolonising Media - COM1514
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 5 Credits: 12
Module presented in English Module presented online
Purpose: The purpose of this module is to provide students with an introduction to the basic concepts and tools necessary to think critically about media, media institutions and practices. Through examining the forces of social, political and technological change, students are introduced to various ways of thinking about media, its history, content, audiences, ownership, control and regulation; and the implications of globalisation and Africanisation.
Applied Organisational Communication (Offered from 2025) - COM2611
Semester module NQF level: 6 Credits: 12
Module presented in Module presented online
Purpose: The purpose of this module is to introduce students to a plurality of definitions and understandings of the transition of industry specialisations of organisational communication in a diverse, unequal and glocal context. The student will be able to identify and apply principles of Marketing Communication, Public Relations, Advertising, Corporate Communication, and Digital Media Communication in the context of an Integrated Communication perspective in transition.
Brand Communication (Offered from 2025) - COM2612
Semester module NQF level: 6 Credits: 12
Module presented in Module presented online
Purpose: The purpose of this module is to equip students with an understanding of brand communication and related theoretical concepts relevant to both media and non-media organisations. The qualifying student will be able to reflect on, discuss, analyse and demonstrate an understanding of brand fundamentals, types of brands, elements and techniques of brand communication as authentic creative spaces. This will enable students to see brand communication as meaningful brand experiences that build long-term relationships through ongoing conversations.
Communication Campaigns (Offered from 2025) - COM2613
Semester module NQF level: 6 Credits: 12
Module presented in Module presented online
Purpose: The purpose of this module is to equip qualifying students with a comprehensive knowledge on issues, such as health, political and government, protest, integrated communication campaigns including but not limited to public relations, as well as advertising and marketing. The qualifying student will be able to plan and evaluate different types of communication campaigns within the local, national and global context. The student will understand, gain skills and values of communication campaigns within diverse communities in different discourses. This includes understanding and integration of diversity in different cultural and technological public sphere settings, and social structures pertaining to for example justice, ethics, and morals.
Decolonising Communication Studies (Offered from 2025) - COM2614
Semester module NQF level: 6 Credits: 12
Module presented in Module presented online
Purpose: The purpose of the module is to counter-weight colonial communication frameworks of enquiry in order to promote qualitative transformations in the everyday lives and lived realities of Africans. Successful students will be able to invoke histories, worldviews, and indigenous knowledge systems to the praxis of Communication Studies that places the everyday worlds, needs and uses of Africans first. Successful students will also have acquired insight into the different definitions, approaches and practices of communication studies, and understand the influence and practice of cultural power, the negotiation of meaning and the importance of context when approaching and analysing communication situations.
Media Audiences (Offered from 2025) - COM2615
Semester module NQF level: 6 Credits: 12
Module presented in Module presented online
Purpose: The purpose of this module is to equip students with critical knowledge of media audience theories, methodologies, questions, issues and new approaches. Qualifying students will have (i) theoretical knowledge of the nature of media audiences, (ii) skills to analyse and interpret related theories, and (iii) skills to conduct media audience research.
Media Content (Offered from 2025) - COM2616
Semester module NQF level: 6 Credits: 12
Module presented in Module presented online
Purpose: The purpose of this module is to equip students with knowledge of media content theories, methodologies, debates, issues, as well as emerging and decolonial approaches. Qualifying students will gain (i) theoretical knowledge of the nature of media content, (ii) the ability to use theoretical knowledge to analyse media content, and (iii) the ability to apply methodologies in the analysis of media content.
Communication for Social Change: Health, development and intercultural perspectives (Offered from 2026) - COM3711
Semester module NQF level: 7 Credits: 12
Module presented in Module presented online
Purpose: The purpose of this module is to equip qualifying students with a comprehensive knowledge of the fields of health, development and intercultural communication perspectives. The student will be able to grasp different theoretical perspectives in relation to health, development, participatory and intercultural communication in the local, national and global context. The student will be able to apply different theoretical perspectives practically via a range of case studies in a critical manner to diverse communities. Analysis of different situations will enable students to use new approaches in these fields
Communication Policy (Offered from 2026) - COM3712
Semester module NQF level: 7 Credits: 12
Module presented in
Purpose: The purpose of this module is to enable students to apply communication policy and regulation principles within the fast-changing field of communication. The module addresses communication policy from a decolonial point of view by using theories and practical examples from the global south. A strategic understanding of the implications of policy and regulation in the communication environment, including on the communication user is cultivated. The qualifying student will acquire a sound knowledge of and practical orientation to the wide spectrum of communication policy and regulation, including its purpose, history, implementation, and an awareness of the institutions mandated to implement such policy and regulation.
Critical Organisational Communication (Offered from 2026) - COM3713
Semester module NQF level: 7 Credits: 12
Module presented in
Purpose: The purpose of this module is to equip qualifying students with an understanding of critical approaches to organisational communication. This will enable students to reflect on power structures, identity formation, social constructivism and differences at work from a decolonial perspective.
Decolonising Communication Research (Offered from 2026) - COM3714
Year module NQF level: 7 Credits: 24
Module presented in
Purpose: This purpose of this module is to introduce students to communication research with a focus on considering different ways of acquiring and producing knowledge. The emphasis will be on a variety of paradigms, perspectives and their assumptions, research methodologies, designs, and processes. The module will build on the foundation provided in other modules enabling emerging researchers to understand how the choices of paradigmatic assumptions can influence research. This module will enable qualifying students to progress to postgraduate research in communication studies and constituent fields.
Global Communication (Offered from 2026) - COM3715
Semester module NQF level: 7 Credits: 12
Module presented in
Purpose: The purpose of this module is to understand the changing dynamics of global communication in the decolonial and technological age. Equally important to debate is the impact of these changes along with the reactions of various role players in the global community. Qualifying students will be able to demonstrate knowledge of global communication theories and media technologies, such as television, radio, film and internet. The module will deal with global communication. Information and cultural flows, including dominant and emerging flows as well as the extent to which these flows are equal or unequal will also be addressed.
Media Industries and Institutional Culture (Offered from 2026) - COM3716
Semester module NQF level: 7 Credits: 12
Module presented in
Purpose: The purpose of this module is to explore media industries and institutional cultures, and to investigate the processes involved in producing mediated texts. This includes a look at the social, cultural, political, economic and industrial contexts. The module will pay particular attention to the decolonial turn in media studies. It will also examine the challenges this imposes upon the applicability of Euro-American media theory as the basis for examining media systems and industries in countries outside the Euro-American context. The module content will involve a historical overview of media industries. A substantive review of various paradigms in the study of media industries and institutional cultures will be included. The qualifying student will be able to understand and critique issues and debates in media industries, media institutions and institutional cultures from an African and decolonial perspective.
Principles of Decolonial Communication - COM1511
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 5 Credits: 12
Module presented in English Module presented online
Purpose: The module introduces students to Communication Studies, various communication concepts, theories and skills. Successful students will have a practical understanding of fundamental communicative principles embedded in theoretical approaches and be mindful of contextual and cultural conventions.
Political and Government Communication (Offered from 2026) - COM3717
Semester module NQF level: 7 Credits: 12
Module presented in
Purpose: The purpose of this module is to equip students with critical knowledge of political and government communication and its theories, questions and issues within the local (South African) and global (Africa and the diaspora) contexts and "multiverses". Qualifying students will have (i) an in-depth theoretical knowledge of the nature of political and government communication and media institutions and audience reception; (ii) critical attitudes and skills to analyse and apply theories related to the media, political communication, and government communication.