Communication Studies Department (Concordia University)
The Communication Studies Department at Concordia University, Montreal is a Canadian university department and the country's first academic department for the study of communication arts. The Department was originally proposed by Reverend John E. O’Brien in 1964 and approved, as an experimental undergraduate course, by Concordia University in Fall 1964. Today, the Department has more than 4,700 graduates and its students and faculty continue to be an innovative and significant voices in the industries and scholarly-realms of media, culture and communication.
History
In 1964, after having received a Doctorate degree in communication from the University of Southern California, Father John E. O’Brien returned to his alma mater and presented his plans for Canada's first-ever department of communication to the President and Dean of Loyola College. "Though the College did not accept his first proposal, Fr. O’Brien offered a single communication course in Fall 1964, which could be taken as a substitute for an English course requirement. Expectations for enrolment were low, from six to ten students. But after seventy-five students registered for the course, Loyola College began the process of implementing Canada’s first Department of Communication Arts." "Officially inaugurated in Fall 1965, the Department of Communication Arts at Loyola College mirrored existing American programs. The program offered a BA major that included seven courses of 22 to be taken inside the new Department. The course structure developed students in both the scholarly and creative facets of contemporary media." At a symposium entitled "The Present Position and Future Development of Canadian Communications Research and Teaching" held at the University of Saskatchewan, Fr. O’Brien presented about the new Communication Arts Department at Loyola College before an audience of fellow scholars and university administrators. "The Department launched its first graduate program, the Graduate Diploma in Communication, in 1967, designed specifically for people with Bachelor of Arts degrees from other disciplines." "Notable on-campus events included a visit by the influential first director of the National Film Board, John Grierson, in December 1970, and a talk by Marshall McLuhan in February 1974. McLuhan appeared as keynote to a conference on “education as development of human potential" and spoke alongside Communication Arts faculty member Tom McPhail." "After a decade of operations, and following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams College to form Concordia University in 1974, the Department of Communication Arts becomes the Department of Communication Studies in October 1976. The change reflected the more common name for equivalent departments in universities across Canada and the United States." "Following a move out of the Bryan Building, and a temporary stint in Hingston Hall, the Department moved into its new home, the Communication Studies and Journalism Building on the site of the former Drummond Science Complex. The CJ’s opening, overseen by departmental representative Dr. Martin Allor, coincided with the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Department. The Communication Studies and Journalism departments that share the building now had more classrooms, more offices, state of the art technological infrastructure for teaching, and most importantly additional laboratory and research space for newly expanded needs and future innovations." *Note that all of these paragraphs are quotes from the Concordia University, Communication Studies Department website and the author is unknown. For bibliography, click on citation.
Territorial acknowledgement
The Department acknowledges that Concordia University's Loyola Campus is located on uncededIndigenous lands. The Kanien’kehá:ka Nation is recognized as the custodians of the lands and waters on which we gather. Tiohtià:ke/Montreal is historically known as a gathering place for many First Nations. Today, it is home to a diverse population of Indigenous and other peoples. We respect the continued connections with the past, present and future in our ongoing relationships with Indigenous and other peoples within the Montreal community.
Innovation and research
Extracurriculars
The COMS Guild represents the students of the Communication and Communication and Cultural Studies Departments at Concordia University. The COMS Guild falls under the jurisdiction of Concordia's Arts and Science Federation of Associations, which is the largest faculty association under the management of Concordia's Student Union.
