Theory, History & Practice of Public Relations

This course provides an overview of the history and evolution of public relations focusing on theories of persuasion and how they can be applied to communication thinking, planning, and execution. The course covers the process of taking ideas from inception to completion and gaining an understanding of how they are applied and implemented in a communication context. Students learn how to monitor for public opinion, generate and evaluate research for target audiences, mobilize teams, and devise solutions for a variety of organizational scenarios. Assessing organizational needs, identifying stakeholders ¿ both internal and external ¿ and crafting messages will be studied and practiced to achieve specific outcomes. Within the context of a communication plan, students will learn to create content and develop a deep understanding of the relationship among digital, social, and traditional media.