Communication Division
What is the Academic Discipline of Communication?
The communication discipline has a long history. There are many significant events and scholarly accomplishments, dating back for thousands of years. Some insightful observers have noted that understanding human communication and the exchange of messages to create meaning is an area of academic investigation that under girds all other areas of intellectual inquiry. Put another way, without the understanding of how we communicate or the ability to create and comprehend symbolic messages from one another – no other disciplinary inquiry, philosophy, nor investigation would be possible. Further, how we present and share our intellectual observations with others is only possible with the a priori comprehension of the aspects of effective communication.
The roots of the modern field of the communication discipline reach back into the ancient study of oratory. The ability to speak clearly, eloquently, and effectively has been recognized as the hallmark of an educated person since the beginning of recorded history. Systematic comment on communication goes back at least as far as The Precepts of Kagemni and Ptah-Hopte (3200-2800 B.C.). During the classical era in western civilization, Isocrates, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle (among others) addressed directly the study of discourse, speaking, persuasion, meanings, and oratory. Under the label "rhetoric," the study of the theory and practice of communication has remained a central concern of Greek, Roman, medieval, Renaissance, and early modern education. In the United States, rhetorical training has been a part of formal education since Harvard's founding in 1636.
Communication Studies Today
Today, communication studies are especially relevant and central to both liberal arts education and a wide variety of professional training. In the 21st century, contemporary society is increasingly diverse and communication is more complex than ever. Modern day communication studies are keeping up with and, in most cases, staying ahead of the "Communication revolution" curve. Educators and researchers in the discipline are focusing their work and their courses on the challenges of communicating in a diverse and often technology-mediated society. Many also are stressing the role of communication and citizenship in a civil and democratic society. Frequently, the communication discipline is referred to as the "engaged discipline," as a result of teachers' and students' participation in service-learning projects and researchers' concern for community-based research on critical social issues. Furthermore, because communication impacts every ("real world") aspect of the human condition, the study of communication is often described as the uniquely "pragmatic discipline."
What was once seen as a field concerned mostly with public speaking and rhetoric is now understood as a discipline that includes communication in the workplace, in families, in mass media, and in advertising, to name a few. Contemporary students of communication draw on theories and practices that reach back to Classical writers and extend to paradigms that are also common in the fields of anthropology, psychology, sociology, linguistics, semiotics, and the humanities. Students in broadcast communication make use of research and theories of mass media, electronic, and computer engineering for web development and messages both audio and video. Communication as a discipline now includes emphasis areas including; interpersonal, group, organizational, intercultural and international, public, mass, and mediated communication. In every manifestation, the study of communication considers how people communicate as individuals, in society, and in various cultures.
Extending the Roots
Oral communication has long been humanity's main method for communicating with one another, although the evolution of symbolic means other than language is also an ancient means of communicating. Especially now, with all of the modern electronic communication devices, it is estimated that 75% of a person's day is spent communicating with others in some way. A majority of your communication time may be spent speaking and listening, while a minority of that time is spent reading and writing. These communication actions reflect skills which foster personal, academic, and professional success. Communication is the practical basis on which all relationships, families, societies, organizations, and civilizations are contrasted, shared, and expressed.
The importance of communication in human affairs was recognized at the dawn of scholarly inquiry, when ancient Greek and Roman scholars undertook major treatises on its role in politics, the courts, and epistemology. Its importance is no less evident today in the renewed attention to communication processes recently undertaken by many social sciences, as they attempt to understand the impact of communication technologies on their own practices, as well as the effects on other individuals, their relationships, institutions, and society. Standing at the crossroads of humanistic and social scientific paradigms in liberal arts tradition, the discipline of communication studies is postured to continue its role as a uniquely pragmatic paradigm for inquiry into understanding our symbol mediated world and how people interact with each other in a wide variety of contexts.
A Theory and Research Grounded Discipline
The scholarly field of communication today is a broad discipline, including studies in the academic disciplines of Human Communication, Speech Communication, Journalism, Advertising, Public Relations, Broadcasting and Telecommunication. Communication scholars who research and theorize in diverse areas of inquiry including Family, Relationship, Intercultural, Organizational, Political, Religious, Teams and Groups, Communication research employs a wide range of methodologies, including all types of quantitative and qualitative social scientific research methods, mathematical modeling, simulation, and rhetorical and discourse analysis.
Scholars and theorists in the communication field has also developed or adapted research methods uniquely suited to its subject matter, such as content analysis, semantic network analysis, nonverbal communication analyses, and phase mapping for the study of communication processes over time. Communication inquiries range from the development of general and abstract theories on how communication figures in social change, to middle-range research on topics such as the impact of the Internet on interpersonal relationships, to applied research on questions such as how communication promotes learning in both physical and "virtual" classrooms.
Interdisciplinary Connections to Other Fields of Inquiry
The field of communication has important interdisciplinary connections as well. Communication scholars from discipline-based departments have conducted major research projects with colleagues from the fields of psychology, sociology, computer and technical information systems, law, medicine, business, political science, religion, and linguistics. Some of these projects have brought multiple perspectives to bear on communication phenomena such as the impact of media on adolescent health, political communication, interpersonal relationship development and conflict, organizational changes, or the interaction between genders. Communication scholars have contributed their unique view of social processes to phenomena centered in another field, for example, analysis of the role of communication in urban decision-making. As the common currency of human life, communication is often an integrating factor in interdisciplinary inquiries.
Someone occasionally asks; "What distinguishes communication studies from other, similar approaches to social behavior?" The simple answer is that often there is considerable overlap in the subject and method of inquiry, and there is a healthy exchange between communication research scholarship and that of other disciplines. However, one significant difference is the specific focus of inquiry, namely the process and interaction of communication itself. For example, while communication outcomes are obviously influenced by a host of psychological and sociological factors that set the stage for interaction (e.g., personality, goals, social skill sets, contextual and relational norms), the influences of these factors frequently pale in comparison to actual communication dynamics, once people commence interaction. For communication researchers, the interaction of communication between source and listener is the primary focus for our research and theory. Another example, cognitive factors are likely to exert their strongest influence early in conversations and to diminish in importance as the interaction proceeds, as communicators adjust to ongoing conversational behavior. Thus, a focus on messages and patterns of messages is essential to understanding the consequences of human interaction and the relationship between what precedes and follows from it. Communication studies in many ways is grounded in the traditional study of rhetoric (oral and written), discourse analysis, argument, and persuasive advocacy.
Unlike many other social science or humanistic disciplines, the field of communication has industries closely associated with it (and so prominent that many mistakenly assume that these are the extent of the discipline itself). Nonetheless, study of communication industries is a significant and important part of the academic discipline of communication. The media and telecommunications industries— two of the most important and fastest growing sectors of the economy in the late 20th and early 21st centuries—have radically reshaped traditional patterns of social interaction, work, politics, and economic activity. They have contributed greatly to the increased pace of change and to the globalization that promise to be dominant themes of the 21st century. The interactions between industry and communication researchers suggest significant research questions and provide grounding for many subjects of inquiry.
Changing the World – One Student at a Time
The discipline of communication—grounded in a rich and ever-expanding intellectual tradition, generating a wide range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary research, and engaged with major industries—is dedicated to addressing critical social needs and improving lives through basic and applied research. Communication studies are the hub of a liberal arts education.
The National Communication Association has collected and annotated nearly 100 articles, commentaries, and publications, which call attention to the importance of the study of communication in contemporary society. These can be accessed on the NCA homepage and it is where this information has been adapted. Themes in the bibliography provide support for the importance of communication education to: the development of the whole person; the improvement of the educational enterprise; being a responsible citizen of the world, both socially and culturally; and, succeeding in one's career and in the business enterprise. The Wall Street Journal reported the findings of a survey of 480 companies that found that employers ranked communication abilities first among the desirable personal qualities of future employees (1998). In a report on fastest growing careers, the U.S. Department of Labor states that communication skills will be in demand across occupations well into the next century. In a national survey of 1000 human resource managers, oral communication skills are identified as valuable for both obtaining employment and successful job performance. Executives with Fortune 500™ companies indicate that college students need better communication skills, as well as the ability to work in teams and with people from diverse backgrounds. Case studies of high-wage companies also state that essential skills for future workers include problem solving, working in groups, and the ability to communicate effectively. When 1000 faculty members from a cross section of disciplines were asked to identify basic competencies for every college graduate, skills in communicating topped the list. Even an economics professor states that, ". . . we are living in a communications revolution comparable to the invention of printing . . . In an age of increasing talk, it's wiser talk we need most. Communication studies might well be central to colleges and universities in the 21st century."
You are invited to further explore the possibilities and opportunities to learn with us as we work in the engaged-pragmatic discipline of Communication.
