Rethinking Communication: Keywords in Communication Research

To observe that certain words are central to communication research is to prompt interesting questions about their influence. In taking such key words—or keywords—as its organising theme, this book invites a careful reconsideration of several premises underpinning the vocabulary we use to document, describe and critique the world around us. Under close scrutiny here is a selection of keywords—including aesthetics, authenticity, citizenship, city, communication, difference, discourse, effects, framing, identity, message, public sphere, technology and urban, among others—criss-crossing the terrain of the field in a manner that is subtly complex and consistently intriguing. Each of the book’s contributors makes the case for an enhanced awareness of the ways in which words shape the nature of our inquiries. Their shared aim is to illuminate unexpected contours of our otherwise familiar terms in order to encourage fresh perspectives, and thereby reinvigorate current thinking. Words matter, these contributors show us, and sometimes for reasons that prove to be rather surprising.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Preface, Barbie Zelizer. Introduction: the Importance of Keywords, Stuart Allan. KEYWORDS IN MOTION. Communication. Communication as a Cultural Category., Tamar Katriel. Communication and Intercultural/Intergroup Relationships, Cindy Gallois. Communication and Globalization, James Curran. Communication: An African Perspective, Winston Mano. The Message. The Poltical Message: A History of Public Discourse, W. Lance Bennett. The Redemption of Media Messages, Daniel Dayan. Public Sphere. Redefining Public Spaces, Michael X. Delli Carpini. A Family of Public Spheres, Michael Schudson. The City. City Dreams, William Ayers. Public Spaces, Don Mitchell. Cities: A Frontline Space for Major Threats, Saskia Sassen. EXPLORING NEW AGENDAS. Aesthetic Experience in the Digital Era, Mark R. Andrejevic. Authenticity and Strategic Communication Resarch, Juan Carolos Molleda. Evolving Citizenship: “The Right to Protest and the Right to Dance”, John Hartley. Diversity, Inc.: The Politics of Difference in Academic and State-Managerial Discourses, Vincent Doyle. Discourse and Mediation, Lilie Chouliaraki. Beyond Effects: Conceptualizing Communication as Dynamic, Complex, Nonlinear, and Fundamental, Annie Lang and David Ewoldson. Frames in Political Communication: Toward Clarification of a Research Program, Jörg Matthes. Renegotiating Identity in the Field of Communication, Cerise L. Glenn and Ronald L. Jackson II. Technology as Place, Marko M. Skoric, Stanley Tang Wei Hong, Youqing Liao, and Nathaniel D. Poor. The Use of Keywords to Revisit, Renew, and Revive Resarch Roots of Communication, Gene Burd. Author Index. Subject Index.