Communication is vital to the conduct of our daily lives. Professional communication includes persuasion as an expected feature in some domains but not in others. This course will explore ethical dilemmas and responsibilities involved in human use of language and in professional use of persuasive and informative communication. The approach will be interdisciplinary, permitting us to enter a variety of professional settings such as advertising, journalism, health care and government. The class will evaluate the motivations, pressures, and tensions arising from professional roles as we prepare to make personal choices, and also constraints on our professional and commercial communications such as those imposed by interpretations of the First Amendment to the Constitution, by professional codes and rules, and by self-regulation. Focusing on key issues involving deception and secretiveness, the course seeks to encourage and help equip students to develop their own maxims and guidelines for ethical—and effective—communication. Undergraduates who have completed less than 51 credits must have the permission of the assistant dean for BALS to register.