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CAS 470 – Nonverbal Communication

Students Teaching Students

In coordination with an undergraduate-run organization called Students Teaching Students, CAS department faculty members mentor exemplary students who develop and teach 1-credit courses on a variety of subjects that advance expertise in communication and its role in public life. This semester, Associate Teaching Professor Lori Bedell is supporting undergraduates Kara Miller (who was in Lori’s RCL course a few years back) and Jess Strait as they teach a course titled “Period Talk: The Impact of Stigma on the Menstrual Equity Movement.”
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CAS 470 – Nonverbal Communication

CAS 470, an upper-division course, provides a comprehensive overview of nonverbal communication, with an emphasis on the functions that nonverbal communication serves in daily life, such as influence, coordination, control, connection, and deception. Through the lens of evolutionary, social, and/or cognitive meta-perspectives, students will apply social science theories and research to understand, predict, and shape the influences on and outcomes of nonverbal communication. This will involve classroom learning as well as field experiments.

Course Objectives

  • To recognize forms of nonverbal communication in everyday life (in person and online).
  • To understand nonverbal communication functions and theories.
  • To apply nonverbal communication theories and research to understand, predict, or improve real-world encounters.

An elderly woman smiling warmly at a small, white humanoid companion robot in a living room.A massive crowd of fans participating in a "White Out" game at a stadium with "The Pennsylvania State University" displayed across the upper deck facade.A comic book-style graphic with the word "LIAR!" in large, bold yellow letters over a blue and red starburst background.A black and white image showing five close-up faces side-by-side, each expressing a different strong emotion.