Communication Studies
Communication Studies
Communication Studies
Communication studies
Communication studies is an academic field that deals with processes of human communication, commonly
defined as the sharing of symbols to create meaning. The discipline encompasses a range of topics, from face-to-face
conversation to mass media outlets such as television broadcasting. Communication studies also examines how
messages are interpreted through the political, cultural, economic, semiotic, hermeneutic, and social dimensions of
their contexts.
Other names
Communication studies programs at universities are given various names, including "communication",
"communication studies", "speech communication", "rhetorical studies", "communication sciences", "media studies",
"communication arts", "mass communication", "media ecology," and "communication and media science." The
curriculum varies based upon concentration.Wikipedia:Please clarify
Scope
Communication studies integrates aspects of both social sciences and the humanities. Much of the work being done
in the field is academic in nature. As a social science, the discipline often overlaps with sociology, psychology,
anthropology, biology, political science, economics, and public policy, among others. From a humanities
perspective, communication is concerned with rhetoric and persuasion (traditional graduate programs in
communication studies trace their history to the rhetoricians of Ancient Greece). The field applies to outside
disciplines as well, including engineering, architecture, mathematics, and information science.
A focus on research development sets communication studies apart from general communication degrees. Many of
the students that chose the field do so in order to pursue doctoral level ambitions. Requirements for undergraduate
degrees focus on preparing students to ask questions concerning the nature of communication in society and the
development of communication as a specific field. University of Southern California, University of Pennsylvania,
University of Kansas and Temple University have led the way,Wikipedia:Avoid weasel words offering
undergraduate and graduate degrees that prepare students to ask critical questions in this research driven
context.[citation needed]
In the United States, the National Communication Association (NCA) recognizes nine distinct but often overlapping
sub-disciplines within the broader communication discipline: technology, critical-cultural, health, intercultural,
interpersonal-small group, mass communication, organizational, political, rhetorical, and environmental
communication. Students take courses in these subject areas. Other programs and courses often integrated in
communication programs include journalism, film criticism, theatre, public relations, political science (e.g., political
campaign strategies, public speaking, effects of media on elections), as well as radio, television and film production.
More recently, computer-mediated communication and the implications of new media for communication have
drawn new research and courses.
Communication studies
Flexibility
Part of what makes communication studies popular is its reputation for being flexible.[1] Graduates of formal
communication programs take many different career paths, including university professors, marketing researchers,
media editors and designers, journalists, advertising executives, actors, human resources managers, corporate
trainers, public relations practitioners, and media managers and consultants.
Professional associations
Bibliography
Carey, James. 1988 Communication as Culture.
Cohen, Herman. 1994. The History of Speech Communication: The Emergence of a Discipline, 1914-1945.
Annandale, VA: Speech Communication Association.
Gehrke, Pat J. 2009. The Ethics and Politics of Speech: Communication and Rhetoric in the Twentieth Century.
Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.
Packer, J. & Robertson, C, eds. 2006. Thinking with James Carey: Essays on Communications, Transportation,
History.
Peters, John Durham and Peter Simonson, eds. 2004. Mass Communication and American Social Thought: Key
Texts 1919-1968.
Wahl-Jorgensen, Karin 2004, 'How Not to Found a Field: New Evidence on the Origins of Mass Communication
Research', Journal of Communication, September 2004.
Communication studies
References
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External links
Communication Studies (http://www.communicationstudies.com/) An educational resource.
License
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
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