Information & Communication Fast Facts, Last Updated:09/06/2010
Many authors and researchers divide communication by what are
sometimes called "contexts" or "levels," but more often
represent institutional histories. The study of communication in
the US, while occurring within departments of psychology,
sociology, linguistics, and anthropology among others, generally
developed from schools of rhetoric and schools of journalism. While many of these have become
"departments of communication," they often retain their historical
roots, adhering largely to theories from speech communication in
the former case, and mass media in the latter. The great divide
between speech communication and mass communication is joined by a
number of smaller sub-areas of communication research, including
intercultural and international communication, small group
communication, communication technology, policy and
legal studies of communication, telecommunication, and work done
under a variety of other labels. Some of these departments take a
largely social science perspective, others tend more heavily toward
the humanities,
and still others are geared more toward production and professional
preparation. |
