Ph.D. in Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media

Request for Authorization to Establish a New Degree Program

THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA

Request for Authorization to Establish a New Degree Program

INSTRUCTIONS: Please submitfive copies of the proposal to the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, UNC Office of the President. Each proposal should include a 2-3 page executive summary. The signature of the Chancellor is required.

Date: April 5, 2004

Constituent Institution: North Carolina State University

CIP Discipline Specialty Title: Multidisciplinary Studies, Other

CIP Discipline Specialty Number: 30.9999 Level: B M 1st Prof D √

Exact Title of the Proposed Degree: Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media

Exact Degree Abbreviation (e.g. B.S., B.A., M.A., M.S., Ed.D., Ph.D.): Ph.D.

Does the proposed program constitute a substantive change as defined by SACS? Yes__ No_√_

a) Is it at a more advanced level than those previously authorized? Yes__ No_√_

b) Is the proposed program in a new discipline division? Yes____ No __√__

Proposed date to establish degree program (allow at least 3-6 months for proposal review):

month ___August_____ year 2005

Do you plan to offer the proposed program away from campus during the first year of operation? Yes _ No √

If so, complete the form to be used to request establishment of a distance education program and submit it along with this request.

NC STATE UNIVERSITYApril 5, 2004

Ph.D. in Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media

Request for Authorization to Establish a New Degree Program

I.Description of the Program

A.Describe the proposed degree program (i.e., its nature, scope, and intended audience).

The interdisciplinary program in Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media (CRDM) will offer doctoral training that integrates the study of oral, written and visual modes of communication within the context of changing technologies and cultural relations. This integrated approach is a necessary response to the ongoing transformation of human communication practices as information and communication technologies (ICTs) evolve. The digital revolution has made possible new combinations of print, sound, and visual elements. And the convergence of various communication media—print, telephone, television, internet—has created new contexts, new problems, and new uses for human communication. These changes require an equally dramatic shift in theory, instruction, and research to address the influence of these technologies and to influence the process of their development. Integrating the disciplines that address written, oral, and visual modes of discourse and symbol use will produce a powerful academic program positioned to address the communication practices and problems of the digital age.

The President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee has reported that the “information infrastructure” will have unprecedented effects that cannot be characterized or managed by purely technical experts:

Now, as we approach the new millennium, it is clear that the “information infrastructure”—the interconnected networks of computers, devices, and software—may have as much or greater impact on worldwide social and economic structures than all networks that have preceded them. The advances in computing and communications technologies of the last decade have already transformed our society in many ways. These advances have transformed the ways in which we view ourselves, our relationships with each other and with other communities, and the ways in which we obtain a variety of services, ranging from entertainment and commerce to education and health care. Even so, we have only just begun to grasp the opportunities and to experience the transformations that will occur as these technologies mature.[1]

The report goes on to identify ten “Grand Challenge Transformations,” the first three of which concern the way we communicate, the way we deal with information, and the way we learn. These challenges will require research, theory, critical analysis, and the training of new specialists in the social and human sciences to supplement technical developments in materials, network engineering, and programming. For example, the integration of new ICTs into everyday work activities is changing the way that we work and changing the roles of those who do that work. Ideas about privacy, intellectual property, community, decision-making, and education have all been influenced by new modes of communication. As a result, communication has become a matter of concern across social, professional, and disciplinary boundaries, creating a need for new professionals in the social and human sciences to work at those points of intersection.

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences can complement and enhance the ability of other research programs at NC State to make positive contributions to new technology and the world that it is creating. A recent essay in the Chronicle of Higher Education noted that “The humanities have a central place in exploring the possibilities, the reach and implications, of digital technologies and cultures.”[2] The new technologies require an interdisciplinary approach that combines methods of research, theory, and critical analysis and helps students cultivate their abilities to evaluate and shape technologically supported communication practices in various domains of practice. Without attention to the human dimensions of information technology, its transformative potential will be incomplete and ineffective.

The proposed doctoral program in Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media will educate researchers, teachers, and analysts who can address issues raised by ICTs in the workplace, in government, in education, in everyday life. The program will draw from traditions of research and disciplinary definition in both the humanities and social sciences, and provide students with intellectual resources from the traditionally separate disciplines of oral, written, and visual communication. Students will examine the history of communication technologies and their relationships to social and cultural developments and explore the connections between communication networks and financial, military, social, cultural, and political networks. They will study how the interactions between communication practices and technologies are related to institutions, identity formation, cultural values, social practices, and economic conditions. They will analyze policy issues concerning systems of ownership and governance that drive the development, distribution and use of these technologies and they will apply a variety of theoretical and analytical frameworks for understanding, interpreting, and evaluating these issues.

B.List the educational objectives of the program.

The CRDM program will graduate students who are highly qualified to provide national leadership in teaching, research, policy, innovation, and development in higher education, industry, and the nonprofit and government sectors. In higher education they will be qualified for positions in departments of English or Communication and in the increasing number of programs that combine instruction in writing and speaking with a focus on new technologies; such programs include introductory courses, writing and speaking across the curriculum, electronic/digital portfolio development, media studies, technical communication, organizational communication, computers and composition, and online instruction. In nonacademic contexts they will be qualified to conduct research, manage development, and analyze policy in the specific uses and more general social applications of new communication technologies. Graduates will also be qualified to contribute to research on human factors, user-centered design, usability, and task analysis relating to the development and testing of ICTs; they will be prepared to assess critically the ways that ICTs mediate users’ communication practices and to bring that knowledge to bear on ICT design.

Doctoral students in this program will achieve the following objectives:

Pose and solve research problems pertaining to the uses and potentialities of new communication media and information technologies, especially as they are applied in emerging contexts in the 21st century, and with special attention to their impact on human interaction, human values, and human diversity
Work with faculty to produce a new synthesis of theories and concepts to form an integrated foundation for teaching and researching the problems and potentialities pertaining to the uses of communication technologies
Master the central theories and concepts from traditional disciplinary approaches to oral, written, and visual modes of communication
Acquire detailed historical and critical understanding of the changing relationships among communication technologies, theoretical perspectives, and rhetorical practices
Gain experience with a variety of research and analytical methods, both quantitative and qualitative, and understand their epistemological orientations and limitations with respect to communication in the context of new technologies
Prepare to be teachers who can effectively instruct undergraduates in the common principles and concepts that underlie oral, written, and visual modes of communication, the distinctly separate skills of performance in these three modes, and their interactions in the context of new technologies
Prepare to be professionals who are themselves exemplary communicators, effective members of interdisciplinary work teams, and experienced researchers

C.Describe the relationship of the program to other programs currently offered at the proposing institution, including the common use of: (1) courses, (2) faculty, (3) facilities, and (4) other resources.

The proposed program is based in the Department of Communication and the Department of English. Existing programs in those departments that will contribute faculty and courses to the doctoral program include the Master of Science in Technical Communication program, the Master of Science in Communication program, the Master of Arts in English, Rhetoric and Composition Concentration, and the Campus Writing and Speaking Program.

Courses: The required core curriculum for the program is composed of five courses that are unique to the program and interdisciplinary in nature. Course work from each of the academic programs listed above provides the framework for the Disciplinary area of the proposed program (see III, Program Requirements, below, and Appendix A, Program Structure).

Several other existing programs afford opportunities for students to develop an Elective Focus. The Information Design track in the College of Design’s Ph.D. program provides opportunities for faculty and students to develop a thoroughly integrated approach to the visual modes of communication by engaging in intellectual exchange via coursework, shared research seminars, symposia and the like. Other programs that can provide coursework and research complementary to the proposed program include the Linguistics and Film Studies concentrations in the M.A. in English, the graduate minor in Women’s and Gender Studies, the E-Commerce Concentration within the MB, the Ergonomics track in the PhD in Psychology, and the Graphics and Human-Computer Interaction and the Information and Knowledge Management areas of the PhD in Computer Sciences (See Section III-D for relevant coursework in these programs listed under suggested Elective Focus Areas of Study).

Faculty: The program faculty for the proposed program will be drawn from the Departments of Communication and English. There are 13 tenured and tenure-track faculty in the Department of Communication teaching and conducting research in the areas of media policy and criticism, communication and information technologies in education, cultural implications of new technologies, computer mediated communication, organizational and small group communication, and rhetoric. There are 10 tenured and tenure-track faculty in the Department of English in the areas of scientific and technical communication, rhetoric, writing across the curriculum, and composition, including computers and composition, as well as the open SAS Distinguished Professorship in Technical Communication. Faculty in Film Studies, Linguistics, and Literature may also contribute to the program, depending on student interest and future hiring patterns. The program faculty for the proposed program thus rivals the size of any department that grants PhDs in these areas.

Facilities: Although facilities and space are at a premium on NC State’s campus, the program will be able to use existing classroom facilities, digital editing labs, and computer labs in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, as well as facilities available to the entire campus through the NCSU Libraries and the Information Technology Division (see the discussion of Facilities and Equipment, section VI, below). Since Teaching Assistants in the proposed program will replace non-tenure-track lecturers, office space and cubicles currently assigned to individuals with such appointments will be reassigned to students in the program.

Other Resources: The Campus Writing and Speaking Program will work with the proposed program to establish a Teaching Assistantship and to share resources where possible and practicable. In addition, NC State’s Teaching, Learning, and Technology Roundtable, a campus-wide advisory council for deliberations on all issues related to educational technologies, will provide a means of connecting faculty and students in the program with ongoing decision-making about the implementation of ITCs for instructional purposes.

II.Justification for the Program—Narrative Statement

A.Describe the proposed program as it relates to:

1.the institutional mission and strategic plan

According to its mission statement, “North Carolina State University provides leadership for intellectual, cultural, social, economic, and technological development within the state, the nation, and the world.” Its “historic strengths in agriculture, science, and engineering” are enhanced by “a commitment to excellence in a comprehensive range of academic disciplines.”[3] NC State’s recent choice of Learning in a Technology-Rich Environment (LITRE) as the quality enhancement plan for SACS reaccreditation in 2004 demonstrates its commitment to leadership in this area, as well.

The proposed program will contribute to the university’s mission both by expanding the area of leadership relevant to the current and future needs of the state and by enhancing the university’s historic strengths.

1. Expanding leadership: The new ICTs provide the opportunity and the need for NC State’s leadership in a new area. Although technical developments continue at a breakneck speed, not much critical attention has been paid to the social, cultural, and ethical implications of these technologies. How new technical capabilities change the role of communication in social institutions (such as science, industry, and government), in the economy, and in knowledge creation and dissemination must be understood. NC State can prepare graduates to lead the restructuring of professional practice to incorporate the new potentialities and constraints of ICTs.

NC State also can prepare faculty to train new generations of such professionals, who will participate in an economy undergoing constant transformation as it becomes more dependent on ICTs. Addressing these issues will also expand NC State’s leadership in interdisciplinary research and education. The CRDM program will create an innovative interdisciplinary approach to developments in new technologies that will make the humanities and social sciences full partners in the historic mission of NC State. The potential for leadership in this area is great.

2. Enhancing historic strengths: NC State’s historic strengths provide a crucial context for the proposed program—agriculture, science, and engineering must not only communicate their needs and achievements to policy-makers and the public, they must also communicate effectively within their own contexts, such as in multinational corporations, incubator industries, internet markets, regulatory agencies, and the global environment. Technology policy is a key area of technology companies (e.g., Cisco Systems), and our program will help technology managers bridge from technical expertise to technology-related issues management. Research in communication and rhetoric can have a critical impact on the future of agriculture, science, and engineering by providing improved ways to address the social and cultural issues that are integral to technical developments in these areas—for example, the role of language, new media, and human values in technological decision-making, risk management, technology transfer, and public understanding of science. Our graduates will make research-driven decisions that will match innovation with market needs and improvements in society. As noted in the University of North Carolina General Administration’s 2002-2007 Strategic Plan, “The demand for specific vocational skills is giving way to a growing need for ‘knowledge workers’ with mathematical and verbal reasoning ability, analytical, problem-solving and interpersonal skills, and the ability to communicate, coordinate, manage, and work in teams.” (p. 18). Both the curriculum and the underlying values of the proposed interdisciplinary degree address UNC-GA’s concern.

What’s more, the CRDM program can maximize many existing campus assets without requiring enormous capital expenditures that are often necessary to launch new science- or technology-based programs. When budgets are squeezed, UNC constituent institutions need to propose endeavors that not only meet North Carolina’s educational needs, but also employ capital assets judiciously. States the UNC-GA plan, “The economy of North Carolina has shifted dramatically from textiles, manufacturing, and agriculture to a knowledge-based economy that requires a well-educated and technologically literate workforce” (p. 2). Thus, we envision a program that will make significant contributions to the shift in North Carolina’s economy without requiring large capital investments.

As noted by the Chancellor’s blue-ribbon Commission on the Future of NC State in 2000, “NC State is being shaped by … rapidly changing demographics, the emergence of a knowledge-based economy, the transformation of teaching and research by information technology, and the effect of globalization on technology programs”(p. 1).[4] The proposed program in Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Technology can play a central role in NC State’s responses to all these changes and will contribute to the interdisciplinary “focus area” in Computer Networking and Information Technology highlighted by the Commission.

2.student demand

To gauge potential interest in the program, in February 2004 the planning committee surveyed members of nine large national listservs in relevant academic areas:

AIR: an international listserv for internet researchers in all disciplines, sponsored by the Association of Internet Researchers