Topics in Communication Studies (395-DL-20)

Topic

Crisis Communication

Instructors

Olga Kamenchuk Nisbet
Dr. Olga Kamenchuk is Associate Professor of Instruction at the School of Communication and an Associate Research Professor at the Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University. Previously she worked as an Associate Professor (Clinical) at the School of Communication and Department of Slavic and Eastern European Languages and Cultures, as well as a Co-Director of Eurasian Security and Governance Program at the Mershon Center for International Security Studies at The Ohio State University. Her PhD is in Psychology; she teaches courses in strategic communication at Northwestern University and conducts research in the areas of political psychology, international communication, public opinion and public diplomacy, as well as authoritarianism vs. democracy.

Meeting Info

Online: TBA

Overview of class

This course introduces students to the field of crisis communication. The course aims to provide you with knowledge and the skills to be competent crisis communicators in various settings, from organizational and corporate to individual. Students will learn how professionals prepare for and respond to crises and develop and implement crisis communication plans.

The course is conducted completely online. A technology fee will be added to tuition.

Registration Requirements

Prerequisites: none

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

Recognize and interpret current trends in crisis communication.
Define and summarize major theoretical and empirical approaches critical to navigating crisis communication.
Examine audiences.
Analyze crises.
Assess crisis communication opportunities.
Build a crisis communication strategy.

Class Materials (Required)

The required textbook for this course is:

Fearn-Banks, K. (2017). Crisis communications: A casebook approach (5th ed.). Routledge.
ISBN: 9781138923737

This text is available in paperback or ebook. Students can determine the format that is best for them.

Additional readings will be provided.

Class Attributes

Asynchronous:Remote class-no scheduled mtg time