COM 200

5 definitions of communication

communication as a dialogue, sharing of info, communication as media technology, communication of as an economic sector, communication as a description of social life

2 developments of how COM became a field of study

1. growth of jobs in journalism, public relations, marketing, etc., 2. growing number of scholars having questions about human interaction, media, and persuasion.

Joseph Pulitzer

an editor who shared inaccurate and unverified info but funded many schools to improve training in communication departments

2 features of COM that result from history

1. encourages practical skills and theory driven understanding, 2. allows COM as a field of study to be intellectually diverse

epistemic pluralism

different ways of knowing

post-positivism

research that believes we cannot be certain about knowledge claims when studying humans due to our own biases and limitations

confirmation bias

tendency to favor info that confirms prior beliefs and ignore contradictory evidence

interpretivism

allows for observation of people in a natural setting

Rhetoric

persuasive reading/writing meant to influence an audience

polysemy

the idea that the same message can have distinct meanings to different people

Critical research

concerned with how power relations and social structure shape reality

King Thamus

king that thought the invention of writing would cause people to lose the ability to think/remember

essentialist view

identity is internal and we discover who we really are

constructivist view

identity is relational and is built on communication with others

George Herbert Mead

was a professor in philosophy (constructivist)

“me”

the way others see you or the internalized expectations of society

“I”

the way you see yourself or the creative aspect of identity

“Generalized other”

expectations or a broader group or community

Meads stages of self development

infancy, preparatory stage (imitation), play (presenting to be others), and game (understanding multiple perspectives)

Digital forensic gaze

constant form of judgement and comparison on social media

how social factors shape self formation

defines appropriate behaviors for certain people, recasts action, reduces individuals to group stereotypes

W.E.B Du Boius

professor in history and Econ and author

How individuals respond to stereotypes

internalization(accepting stereotypes), resistance(rejecting stereotypes), or negotiation (in between internalization and resistance)

“double consciousness”

awareness of how dominant groups see you as well as how you see yourself