Communication Theory: Epistemological Foundations / Edition 1

by James A. Anderson

Overview

This book provides a thorough analysis of the scientific, critical, and cultural questions at the foundation of theory-building in communication and other social sciences. Any claim to knowledge, the author explains, can be analyzed in terms of a series of characteristics: the object of its explanation, the explanatory form and evidentiary method employed, its characteristic explanations, the scope of its performance, and its consequences of value. From identifying basic epistemological questions to exploring the impact of the "knowledge industry" on society, the volume offers readers the analytical tools to understand, compare, and evaluate theories and their use both inside and outside the classroom. The book also includes a systematic analysis of communication's most influential theories and traces their genealogies across different content fields and disciplines.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781572300835
Publisher:	Guilford Publications, Inc.
Publication date:	05/17/1996
Series:	The Guilford Communication Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	259
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

James A. Anderson is Professor of Communication at the University of Utah and Editor of the International Communication Association journal, Communication Theory. He is the author of Communication Research: Issues and Methods and coauthor of Mediated Communication: A Social Action Perspective.

Table of Contents

1. On Reading This Book
2. The Nature of the Phenomenal World
3. Our Manner of Engagement of the Phenomenal World
4. The Nature of the Individual
5. The Character of the Justified Argument
6. The Character of the Practical Argument
7. The Relationship between Theory and Method
8. Scholarship in Society
9. Communication Theory Analysis

Interviews

Scholars and students in communication, journalism, and related fields. Serves as a text in upper-level undergraduate and graduate-level theory courses. The book is also a useful supplement to works that focus on specific theories or content domains.

Editorial Reviews

"Communication Theory is a smart and innovative text. Its publication marks a significant departure from naive and often simplistic reviews of the literature. Anderson demonstrates convincingly that epistemological hegemony has passed. Unlike in the past, knowledge claims in communication studies today are contested at an assumptive level. If productive discussions are to be had in this new pluralistic environment, careful understanding of basic assumptions and alternative forms of reasoning are necessary. Anderson's metatheoretical position enables an insightful investigation of knowledge claims in communication studies and of how scholars write and justify their claims. I disagree with the analysis at places, but I was consistently impressed with the rigor of the investigation and carefulness of the arguments. I consider this text to be essential reading for all graduate students and scholars who want to understand contemporary controversies in the field. The issues are sophisticated and the positions somewhat radical, but the text reads well and would stimulate productive discussions in most seminars and over coffee." —Stanley Deetz, Ph.D., University of Colorado. President of the International Communication Association, 1996-97

"This book (Anderson) treats us to a tightrope walk between communication theories and the communication practices of communication scholars. Instead of providing simple answers to the epistemological questions theories inevitably raise, it (he) draws numerous distinctions between communities of scholars that claim to have them, and thus shows us how communication scholarship is made in the process of communication of communication." —Klaus Krippendorff, Ph.D., Professor of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania

"Anderson's book stands alone; it's one of a kind. I know of no other single text that is as comprehensive in its treatment of communication theories. The range of the work is remarkable. It is not merely a comprehensive review of communication theories, it is the way Anderson grounds them in the philosophy of science that is the noteworthy contribution." —Leonard C. Hawes, Ph.D., University of Utah

From the Publisher

An analysis of the building blocks that form the foundation of theory in the social sciences, showing how to analyze any theory, evaluate its worth, assess its connections, and understand its development. Uses seven defining questions about the four essential components of any theory, and examines the positions and arguments that are available as answers to these questions. For communications scholars and students in advanced theory classes in communication, journalism, and allied fields. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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