Course Overview

Welcome to CMNS1161: Introduction to Communication!

In this course, there are 12 units with topics in each unit. The course is designed to take you approximately 13 weeks to complete the course content and the mandatory Final Exam. There are quizzes at the end of every unit and four assignments. You will have 30 weeks to complete the course activities and the Final Exam. More information about this course can be found in your Course Guide.

[Start new page in Pressbooks for each Heading 1]

Unit 1: Introduction to Communications and the Process Model

Overview

Take a moment to think about all the communicative activities that you have engaged in so far today. Did you check your phone right away when you woke up? Perhaps you had text messages from friends and family. It is likely that you saw notifications from platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. Even if you do not like to speak to people in the morning (you’re not alone!), you communicated with others in nonverbal ways to say that you just weren’t available for conversation until you had your first cup of coffee.

Coffee and Cell by Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash

Although you may not have taken a communication studies class before, you are well equipped to be here! You have a lifetime of experience communicating in a variety of ways. You have learned to read and understand symbols. You’ve figured out how to listen or tune things out. You may even have experience speaking to small or large groups. And surely you’ve created and/or consumed social media messages. All of this experience has given you a foundation for this course. Here, you’ll have time and space to become a more competent and ethical communicator. Throughout this course, you will learn how communication skills can enrich your life in many ways.

This first unit introduces you to two models of communication. You’ll better understand the benefits of studying communicative practices by learning how we create and consume communication through a variety of platforms so that we can reflect upon how you — and others — are impacted by messages.

Topics

Unit 1 contains the following topics:

• Topic 1: Foundations

• Topic 2: Defining Communications

• Topic 3: Communication Study and You

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this unit, you should be able to:

1. Explain what is the study of communication.

2. Define communication.

3. Explain two different models of communication.

4. Address the benefits of studying communication.

Activities and Graded Assessments

Activities

Graded Quizzes and Assignments

Please open the Moodle course and complete Quiz 1 (3%)

Media Attributions

Coffee and Cell by Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash

Topic 1: Foundations

As you read this topic, pay particular attention to moving your concept of communication from a colloquial definition to a scholarly definition. The models of communication presented below will help you to articulate what the academic study of communication means. In doing so, you’ll be able to apply scholarly concepts to activities that you may take for granted or might think of as simply automatic. The process of communication is much more complicated than many people think!

Course Reflection Activities

You will have reflection activities throughout the course. Reflections are not graded, but you will be able to refer to them in your Final Exam. Reflections are a way for you to take note of important themes and concepts throughout the course. Please read the reflection, think about it, then write, draw or jot down some notes. Save your reflection responses in one large file so you can refer to them later in the course if needed.

Activity 1: Personal Reflection Journal – Reflection Question 1

Please answer the following reflection in any format you like (such as in writing, a video, note form, or a drawing). Save your reflection responses in one large file so you can refer to them later in the course if needed.

Activity 2: Reading – Introduction to Human Communication

Please read the following text, which introduces you to human communication.

[OLProduction: The readings are adapted from Johnson, T. , open access, Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Communication: https://oercommons. org/courseware/lesson/102256/overview]

Foundations

Many colleges and universities around the country require students to take some type of communication course in order to graduate.

Introductory Communication classes include courses on public speaking, small group communication, and interpersonal communication. While these are some of the most common introductory Communication courses, many Communication departments are now offering an introductory course that explains what Communication is, how it is studied as an academic field, and what areas of specialization make up the field of Communication. In other words, these are survey courses similar to courses such as Introduction to Sociology or Introduction to Psychology. The goal of this course is to introduce you to the field of Communication as an academic discipline of study. There are two ways of communicating: communication and communications. “Communication” is a broad focus on how humans interact with others and is grounded in academic study. “Communications” is more of a delivery means of communicating. This includes internet providers, television, telephones, etc.

Engaging in Conversation

We hear people talk about communication frequently in higher education. We’re often surprised by how few people can actually explain what Communication is, or what Communication departments are about. This course will provide you with the basics for understanding what communication is, what Communication scholars and students study, and how you can effectively use the study of Communication in your life. By optimizing interpersonal communication skills, one can gain better insights through improved listening skills, better understanding of how nonverbal communication can provide clearer understanding, and by how word choice, empowering vocabulary, and open communication channels can increase your leadership skills.

Defining Communications Study: What is Communications Study?

When we tell others that we are studying Communication, people often ask questions like, “Do you learn about radio and television?” “Do you do public speaking?” “Do you do news broadcasts?” “Do you work with computers?” “Do you study Public Relations?” “Is that Journalism or Mass Communications?” However, the most common question we get is, “What is that?”

It’s interesting that most people will tell us that they know what communication is, but they do not have a clear understanding of what it is Communication scholars study and teach in our academic discipline. If you memorize the definition below, you will have a quick and simple answer to what communication study entails.

Bruce Smith, Harold Lasswell, and Ralph Casey provided a good and simple answer to the question, “What is Communication study?” They state that communication study is an academic field whose primary focus is “who says what, through what channels (media) of communication, to whom, [and] what will be the results” (Smith et al., 1946).

Although they gave this explanation almost 70 years ago, to this day it succinctly describes the focus of Communication scholars and professionals. As professors and students of Communication, we extensively examine the various forms and outcomes of human communication. On its website, the National Communication Association (NCA), our national organization, states communication is “the discipline that studies all forms, modes, media, and consequences of communication through humanistic, social scientific and aesthetic inquiry.” Now, if people ask you what you’re studying in a Communication class, you have some answers!

Activity 3: H5P – Communication Foundation Activity

Please complete the following H5P interactive activity.

[OLProduction: Please insert a H5P Activity here:

Documentation tool https://h5p. org/documentation-tool

Page 1: This tool allows you to reflect upon how you make sense of communication directed toward you, and it will help you to think about what you might write about in Assignment 1: Media Influences on Perception. Think about the Smith et al. (1946) response to what communication study is: who says what, through what channels (media) of communication, to whom, [and] what will be the results. Think first about who you pay attention to. Type them in this space. It may be social media influencers or accounts, people in your life, specific kinds of television shows, your favourite movies, etc. Enter five responses here.

Page 2: Next, what do these people and/or media say? What messages do they convey? What are they telling, arguing, or suggesting? Enter five responses here.

Page 3: What channels and media do these messages travel through? For example, is it Instagram, TikTok, film, television, podcast, verbal communication (speaking), or written communication (books, letters, or blogs)? Enter five responses here.

Page 4: You are the audience to the who on page 1. Who else do these people, influencers, movies, or shows communicate with? What are their characteristics? For example, the audience might be your family, gamers, athletes, people interested in beauty, people interested in fashion, etc.

Page 5: Finally, consider what are the results of this communication? Is it clothing sales, good behaviour, humour, or advice? What happens after people consume the messages that you mentioned previously?

Page 6: On this page, you can choose to export all your submitted text, as it will help you to get a start about what messages you may write about in Assignment 1. ]

Media Attributions

Coffee and Cell by Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash

References

Smith, B. L., Lasswell, H. D., & Casey, R. D. (1946). Propaganda, communication, and public opinion: A comprehensive reference guide. Princeton University Press.

Topic 2: Defining Communication

[OLProduction: The readings are adapted from Johnson, T. , open access, Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Communication: https://oercommons. org/courseware/lesson/102256/overview]

Activity 4: Reading – Defining Communication

Please read the following text which helps define Communication.

Defining Communication

For decades communication professionals have had difficulty coming to any consensus about how to define the term communication (Hovland, 1948; Smith et al., 1946; Morris, 1946; Nilsen, 1957; Sapir, 1933, & Stevens, 1950). Even today, there is no single agreed-upon definition of communication. In 1970 and 1984, Frank Dance looked at 126 published definitions of communication in literature and said that the task of trying to develop a single definition of communication that everyone likes is like trying to nail Jell-o to a wall. Thirty years later, defining communication still feels like nailing Jell-o to a wall. Communication is vastly different from Communications, with an added “s” at the end, which is forms of channels, like television, radio, and so forth.

Let’s examine two models of communication to help you further grasp this definition. Shannon and Weaver (1949) proposed a Mathematical Model of Communication (often called the Linear Model) that serves as a basic model of communication. This model suggests that communication is simply the transmission of a message from one source to another. Watching YouTube videos serves as an example of this. You act as the receiver when you watch videos, receiving messages from the source (the YouTube video). To better understand this, let’s break down each part of this model. The Linear Model suggests communication moves only in one direction. The Sender encodes a Message, then uses a certain Channel (verbal/nonverbal communication) to send it to a Receiver who decodes (interprets) the message. Noise is anything that interferes with, or changes, the original encoded message.

• A sender is someone who encodes and sends a message to a receiver through a particular channel. The sender is the initiator of the communication. For example, when you text a friend, ask a teacher a question, or wave to someone you are the sender of a message.

• A receiver is the recipient of a message. Receivers must decode (interpret) messages in ways that are meaningful for them. For example, if you see your friend make eye contact, smile, wave, and say “hello” as you pass, you are receiving a message intended for you. When this happens you must decode the verbal and nonverbal communication in ways that are meaningful to you.

A message is the particular meaning or content the sender wishes the receiver to understand. The message can be intentional or unintentional, written or spoken, verbal or nonverbal, or any combination of these. For example, as you walk across campus you may see a friend walking toward you. When you make eye contact, wave, smile, and say “hello,” you are offering a message that is intentional, spoken, verbal and nonverbal.

Figure 1.2.1: Linear Model of Communication, by Andy Schmitz, CC-BY-SA 3.0

[Alt text: The figure shows a sender (encoding) relaying a Hello message to a receiver (decoding). Along the communication channel, there is noise.]

A major criticism of the Linear Model of Communication is that it suggests communication only occurs in one direction. It also does not show how context, or our personal experiences, impact communication. Television serves as a good example of the linear model. Have you ever talked back to your television while you were watching it? Maybe you were watching a sporting event or a dramatic show and you talked at the people on the television. Did they respond to you? Obviously not. Television works in one direction. No matter how much you talk to the television it will not respond to you. Now apply this idea to the communication in your relationships. It seems primitive to think that this is how we would communicate with each other on a regular basis. This example shows the limits of the linear model for understanding communication, particularly human to human communication. Given the limitations of the Linear Model, Barnlund (1970) adapted the model to more fully represent what occurs in most human communication exchanges.

The Transactional Model demonstrates that communication participants act as senders and receivers simultaneously, creating reality through their interactions. Communication is not a simple one-way transmission of a message: The personal filters and experiences of the participants impact each communication exchange. The Transactional Model demonstrates that we are simultaneously senders and receivers and that noise and personal filters always influence the outcomes of every communication exchange.

Figure 1.2.2: Transactional Model of Communication, by Andy Schmitz, CC-BY-SA 3.0

[Alt text: The figure shows two communicators co-creating meaning through physical and psychological context, social context, relational context, and cultural context.]

The ability for both parties to provide a response or return in the process is known as feedback or verbal or nonverbal messages sent during the communication process of decoding. Additionally, it suggests that meaning is co-constructed between all parties involved in any given communication interaction. This notion of co-constructed meaning is drawn from the relational, social, and cultural contexts that make up our communication environments. Personal and professional relationships, for example, have a history of prior interaction that informs present and future interactions. Social norms, or rules for behavior and interaction, greatly influence how we relate to one another. For example, if a professor taught a class while sitting down rather than standing up, you and your colleagues might feel awkward because that is not an expected norm for behavior in a classroom setting. How we negotiate cultural values, beliefs, attitudes, and traditions also impact our communication interactions. We may both be from Kamloops, but our attitudes may differ depending upon the neighborhood we grew up in.

While these models are overly simplistic representations of communication, they illustrate some of the complexities of defining and studying communication. Going back to Smith, Lasswell, and Casey (1946), as Communication scholars we may choose to focus on one, all, or a combination of the following: senders of communication, receivers of communication, channels of communication, messages, noise, context, and/or the outcome of communication. Hopefully, you recognize that studying communication is simultaneously detail-oriented (looking at small parts of human communication), and far reaching (examining a broad range of communication exchanges).

Perception and Identity

Have you ever considered the role that perception plays in how we communicate? Indeed, perception affects how we encode and decode messages and it may even impact how we act toward others. You may think of perception happening instantaneously. However, consider instead that perception is a three-step process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting stimuli.

Think of stimuli as everything we might notice (see, hear, touch, taste, smell) in our environment, as well as others’ messages to us and our own feelings and thoughts. We simply cannot attend to everything (all the stimuli) in our environments and interactions. We, therefore, select certain stimuli, but not all. What factors impact how we select stimuli? Why do we watch one commercial, but ignore the others? If you close your eyes, you might be able to recall the color shirt your friend is wearing, whether the room you are in has carpet or tiles, but perhaps not how many tiles are in your kitchen or how many books are on a bookshelf. One reason we notice certain stimuli and not others is selective attention, the capacity for or process of reacting to certain stimuli selectively when several occur simultaneously. Clearly, it is less important what color the walls are painted in a store at the mall than the cost of a shirt that you’d like to buy. What other reasons do we select certain stimuli and not others?

After selecting stimuli from our environment, we engage in organization. Perceptual organization is grouping visual stimuli into a pattern that is familiar to us, placing things, even people, into categories. You differentiate between friends, family, and work colleagues. However, you may also have friends you consider “family,” or colleagues who become friends. What criteria for a friend, family, or colleague do we have that allows for these shifts from one category to another? Additionally, we often compare new experiences with prior ones, or a new dating partner with an ideal archetype we have for the “perfect” romantic partner. What do we look for in a romantic partner, and from where do we inherit this criterion? It is important that we reflect upon how we organize experience and categorize others.

The final step in the process of perception is an interpretation or the assigning of meaning to what we have selected and organized. When we think of perception as something that “just happens” we are likely thinking of the interpreting step. However, as you can see, this is merely one step in a much more complex process. It is important that as communicators we be intentional in the selection of stimuli and more reflective in how we organize experience. How might societal values, personal attitudes, cultural heritage, or beliefs affect the way we assign meaning in this context? Have you ever adjusted your opinion of someone or an experience after the initial impression? If so, what role did perception play in that adjustment? Being aware of perception as a process is one way we can improve our communication skills.

“Doors of Perception” by dvanzuijlekom CC BY-SA 2.0

No discussion of perception is complete without considering how personal identity affects the communication process. How we see ourselves is often the starting point for how we relate to others. Identity, or our sense of self, includes both self-concept and self-esteem. Our self-concept is the sum total of who we think we are, or how we define ourselves.

How many different categories or aspects of your self can you determine — familial (mother, daughter, sister), physical, emotional, romantic, civic, etc.? Comparatively, our self-esteem is the degree to which we value or devalue who we think we are. Consider those same categories that you determined for understanding your self-concept. Likely, you are more or less confident in some categories than others. Additionally, our self-esteem may change over time. Athletes spend decades training and competing in peak condition. However, as athletes age, they can no longer compete on the same level. This physical change may negatively impact their self-esteem. It is important to understand the power we have in how we choose to define and value ourselves, even over time as our lives evolve.

Costume Accessories by Girl with red hat on Unsplash

Personal identity is also characterized by how we manage our own communication behaviors and actions. We engage in identity management or managing others’ impressions by using communication strategies to influence how others see us. We will alter and adapt our behavior and/or appearance accordingly to present the image or person we want to be seen as. Part of this is engaging in facework, strategies used to shape one’s image. If you think about your daily interactions and the different types of ways you strategize your communication flexibility in different communication contexts, you are thinking about facework.

Activity 5: H5P – Personal Identity Drag and Drop Activity

Please complete the following interactive activity then finish the topic reading.

[OLProduction: Please insert the following Drag the words (https://h5p. org/drag-the-words) H5P Activity

Facework: Presenting yourself differently at work, school, a bar, or with your family

Identity management: Managing others’ impressions by using communication strategies to influence how others see you

Self-concept: The sum total of who you think you are, or how you define yourself

Self-esteem: The degree to which you value or devalue who you think you are

Interpretation: Assigning meaning to what you have selected to pay attention to and organize ]

Identity Management

[OLProduction: The readings are adapted from Johnson, T. , open access, Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Communication: https://oercommons. org/courseware/lesson/102256/overview]

Competence in identity management involves the ability to competently apply facework. The different “faces” that you present best meet the relational, social, and cultural contexts of the situation. For example, the “face” that you present at work is probably more professional than that which you present to friends. In the workplace, you may attend to your dress, your posture, and even your tone of voice. You are also managing your impression and engaging in facework when you are creating an online presence and determining how to present on different social media channels. The way that you present yourself on Instagram may be different from how you present yourself on Snapchat or TikTok, for example.

The following list includes additional factors that influence how we assign meaning to ourselves and others. Consider how one or more of these has impacted you or your relationship with others.

1. Self-fulfilling Prophecy: When our behavior serves to fulfill someone else’s expectations for us.

2. Attribution: The tendency to either take ownership of our behavior or performance or to blame others or outside forces.

3. Stereotypes: Broad generalizations.

4. Reflective Appraisal: Evaluating ourselves based upon how we see others seeing us.

With a clearer definition of communication and how it works, you are ready to learn about the history of communication and use your new perception skills to think about how communication has affected the landscape of communication discourse, education, and culture.

Communication Study Then: Aristotle the Communication Researcher

Bust of Aristotle, Marble, Roman Copy after a Greek Bronze by Lysippos, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Aristotle said, “Rhetoric falls into three divisions, determined by the three classes of listeners to speeches. Of the three elements in speech-making — speaker, subject, and person addressed — it is the last one, the hearer, that determines the speech’s end and object.” For Aristotle, it was the “to whom” that determined if communication occurred and how effective it was. Aristotle, in his study of “who says what, through what channels, to whom, and what will be the results” focused on persuasion and its effect on the audience. Aristotle thought it was of utmost importance to focus on the audience in communication exchanges.

What is interesting is that when we think of communication we are often “more concerned about ourselves as the communication’s source, about our message, and even the channel we are going to use. Too often, the listener, viewer, reader fails to get any consideration at all” (Lee, 2008). Aristotle’s statement above demonstrates that humans who have been studying communication have had solid ideas about how to communicate effectively for a very long time. Even though people have been formally studying communication for a long time, it is still necessary to continue studying communication in order to improve.

Aristotle recognized that there are countless good definitions of communication, but it is important to provide you with a fundamental definition so that you understand how you can expect to progress through this course. This may not be the only definition of communication that you should consider viable, but you will understand the content of this text better if you understand how some scholars have come to define communication. For the purpose of this text, the definition of communication is the process of using symbols to exchange meaning.

Media Attributions

Figure 1.2.1: Linear model of communication by Andy Schmitz, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Linearmodel.jpg

Figure 1.2.2: Transactional model of communication by Andy Schmitz, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Transactionalmodel.jpg

Doors of Perception by dvanzuijlekom

Costume Accessories by Girl with red hat on Unsplash

Bust of Aristotle, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aristotle_Altemps_Inv8575.jpg

References

Aristotle. (2004). Rhetoric (W. Rhys Roberts Trans.). Dover Publications.

Barnlund, D. (1970). A transactional model of communication. Foundations of Communication Theory. Harper & Row.

Dance, F. E. X. (1970). The ‘concept’ of communication. Journal of Communication,20(2), 201–210.

Hovland, C. I. (1948). Social communication. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 92(5), 371–375.

Lee, D. (2008). Developing effective communications. The University of Missouri Extension.

Morris, C. (1946). Signs, language and behavior, p. xii. Prentice-Hall.

Nilsen, T. R. (1957). On defining communication. The Speech Teacher, 6(1), 10–17.

Sapir, E. (1933). Communication. Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Macmillan Company.

Shannon, C., & Weaver, W. (1949). A mathematical model of communication. University of Illinois Press.

Smith, B. L., Lasswell, H. D., & Casey, R. D. (1946). Propaganda, communication, and public opinion: A comprehensive reference guide. Princeton University Press.

Stevens, S. (1950). Introduction: A definition of communication. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 22(6), 689–690.

Topic 3: Communication Study and You

Activity 6: Reading – Communication Study and You

Please read the following text which helps connect the study of communication to you.

If you think about Smith, Lasswell, and Casey’s statement that those of us who study communication investigate “who says what, through what channels (media) of communication, to whom, [and] what will be the results,” you can realize how truly complex a task humans perform. While we’ll explore many examples later in the book, we want to briefly highlight a few examples of what you might study if you are interested in Communication as a field of study.

Studying communication is exciting because there are so many possibilities from which to focus. For example, scholars have studied elements of the history and use of YouTube (Soukup, 2014); the use of deception in texting (Wise & Rodriguez, 2013); college students’ “guilty pleasure” media use (Panek, 2014); how sons and daughters communicate disappointment (Miller-Day & Lee, 2001); an examination of motherhood in lesbian-headed households (Koenig Kellas & Suter, 2012); or daughters’ perceptions of communication with their fathers (Dunleavy et al., 2011).

The above examples demonstrate just a small taste of what we can examine through the lens of communication. In reality, studying communication has almost limitless possibilities. That’s what makes this field so dynamic and exciting! When you think about the infinite number of variables we can study, as well as the infinite number of communication contexts, the task of studying “who says what, through what channels (media) of communication, to whom, [and] what will be the results?” is open to countless possibilities. The study of communication has proven helpful to us as social beings as we work to better understand the complexities of our interactions and relationships.

Communication and Your Career

As a university student taking an introductory Communication course, you might be thinking, “Why does this matter to me?” One reason it is important for you to study and know communication is that these skills will help you succeed in personal, social, and professional situations. A survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that “College students who wish to separate themselves from the competition during their job search would be wise to develop proficiencies most sought by employers, such as communication, interpersonal, and teamwork skills.” The more you understand communication, the greater potential you have to succeed in all aspects of your life.

Student Speaking to Crowd by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

Communication Study Now: Organizational Leadership: 73 Tips from Aristotle

Does Aristotle’s work still apply today outside of college classrooms? Of course! For example, in “Organizational Leadership: 73 Tips from Aristotle,” Tyme takes Aristotle’s work and applies it to leadership in organizational contexts. The book describes how leaders can take lessons from an important historical and philosophical figure. It is important to note that Aristotle started a 20-year journey as a student of Plato the Philosopher when he was only seven years old. He believed that education was valuable and that people should seek continual education in order to improve their lives. When Aristotle was not chosen to be the successor to lead Plato’s Academy upon Plato’s death, Aristotle did not reject and refute the decision. Instead, he reflected on the decision and made a choice to make his own mark in society, philosophy, and culture. Aristotle opened his own school and continued to impart the basis of generational and organizational leadership similar to Socrates and Plato with his own great students — one of whom was Alexander the Great. Aristotle spoke openly about the art of persuasion, which is a topic that we will address later in this course. His principles are still considered the most important work on persuasion ever written, and his models are still used today.

Careers with a Communications Degree

The kind of skills developed by Communication majors are highly valued by all kinds of employers. Courses and activities in Communication departments both teach and make use of the skills ranked consistently high by employers. Students with a degree in Communication are ready to excel in a wide variety of careers. Forbes listed “The 10 Skills Employers Want in 20-Something Employees” (Adams, 2013). Read this article and consider how many of the skills relate directly to what you would learn in a variety of Communication courses and programs. Activity 7: H5P – Personal Identity Hotspots Activity

Please complete the following interactive activity.

[OlProduction: Please add Image Hotspots H5P with this photo: Woman Placing Sticky Notes on Wall by Jason Goodman on UnsplashPut hotspots on:

– sticky notes, with the text: Stimuli is everything we might notice in our environment, as well as others’ messages to us and our own feelings and thoughts.

– guy with beard: Interpretation is the assigning of meaning to what we have selected to pay attention to and organize.

– woman with pen on the right — hotspot text reads: Who receives messages? Aristotle argued that it is important to focus on the audience in communication exchanges.

– woman on the left: Paying attention to a speaker is a form of feedback, which is sent during the communication process of decoding.

– woman speaking in front of the sticky notes: Personal identity is formed by how we dress, how we speak, our body language, and how we manage our own communication behaviours and actions.]

Media Attributions

Student Speaking to Crowd by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

Woman Placing Sticky Notes on Wall by Jason Goodman on Unsplash

References

Adams, S. (2013, October 11). The 10 skills employers most want in 20-something employees. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/10/11/the-10-skills-employers-most-want-in-20-something-employees/

Dunleavy, K. N., Wanzer, M. B., Krezmien, E., & Ruppel, K. (2011). Daughters’ perceptions of communication with their fathers: The role of skill similarity and co-orientation in relationship satisfaction. Communication Studies, 62(5), 581-596.

Koenig K., & Suter, E. (2012). Accounting for lesbian-headed families: lesbian mothers’ responses to discursive challenges. Communication Monographs, 79(4), 475–498.

Miller-Day, M., & Lee, J. (2001). Communicating disappointment: The viewpoint of sons and daughters. Journal of Family Communication, 1(2), 111–131.

Panek, E. (2014). Left to their own devices: College student’s guilty pleasure media use and time management. Communication Research,41(4), 561–577.

Soukup, P. A. (2014). Looking at, with, and through YouTube. Communication Research Trends 33.3 (2014): 3–34.

Tyme, J. (2012). Organizational leadership: 73 tips from Aristotle. Amazon.

Wise, M., & Rodriguez, D. (2013). Detecting deceptive communication through computer-mediated technology: Applying interpersonal deception theory to texting behaviour. Communication Research Reports, 30(4), 342–346.

Unit 1 Summary

In this unit, you learned an academic approach to understanding communication and communication study. Smith, Laswell, and Casey offer a simple definition of communication study: “who says what, through what channels (media) of communication, to whom, [and] what will be the results” (1946). Now you can provide an answer to those who ask you what Communication study is about. Our definition of communication, the process of using symbols to exchange meaning, allows you to understand how we use this term throughout the book. The linear and transactional models of communication act as visual representations of both communication study and communication. Our history tells us that people from all cultures have been interested in observing and theorizing about the role of communication in multiple contexts. The Old School of communication study consisted of four major periods of intellectual development, including the Classical Period that gave birth to seminal figures who set the foundation for communication study. Finally, you are now aware of the importance of studying communication: that it impacts your personal, social, and professional life.

References

Smith, B. L., Lasswell, H. D., & Casey, R. D. (1946). Propaganda, communication, and public opinion: A comprehensive reference guide. Princeton University Press.

Activities and Graded Assessments

Activities

[OlProduction: Please create H5P Checklist for students using ENGL 1111 H5P Sandbox Checklist]

Graded Assessments

Please open the Moodle course and complete Quiz 1.

[OLProduction: Quiz is found in a separate file.]