A Sociological Theory of Communication

A Sociological Theory of Communication PDF

Author: Loet Leydesdorff

Publisher: Universal-Publishers

Published: 2001-01-01

Total Pages: 351

ISBN-13: 1581126956

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Networks of communication evolve in terms of reflexive exchanges. The codification of these reflections in language, that is, at the social level, can be considered as the operating system of society. Under sociologically specifiable conditions, the discursive reconstructions can be expected to make the systems under reflection increasingly knowledge-intensive. This sociological theory of communication is founded in a tradition that includes Giddens' (1979) structuration theory, Habermas' (1981) theory of communicative action, and Luhmann's (1984) proposal to consider social systems as self-organizing. The study also elaborates on Shannon's (1948) mathematical theory of communication for the formalization and operationalization of the non-linear dynamics. The development of scientific communications can be studied using citation analysis. The exchange media at the interfaces of knowledge production provide us with the evolutionary model of a Triple Helix of university-industry-government relations. The construction of the European Information Society can then be analyzed in terms of interacting networks of communication. The issues of sustainable development and the expectation of social change are discussed in relation to the possibility of a general theory of communication. REVIEW In this book, LoetLeydesdorff sets out to answer the question, "Can society be considered as a self-organizing (autopoietic) system. In the process, Leydesdorff, develops a general sociological theory of communication, as well as a special theory of scientific communication designed to analyze complex systems such as the Euroean Information Society. (from review in JASIST 53[1], 2002, 62-63)

Public Relations and Social Theory

Public Relations and Social Theory PDF

Author: Øyvind Ihlen

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2009-03-30

Total Pages: 669

ISBN-13: 1135840369

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Public Relations and Social Theory broadens the theoretical scope of public relations through its application of the works of prominent social theorists to the study of public relations. The volume focuses on the work of key social theorists, including Jürgen Habermas, Niklas Luhmann, Michel Foucault, Ulrich Beck, Pierre Bourdieu, Anthony Giddens, Robert Putnam, Erving Goffman, Peter L. Berger, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Bruno Latour, Leon Mayhew, Dorothy Smith and Max Weber. Unique in its approach, the collection demonstrates how the theories of these scholars come to bear on the understanding of public relations as a social activity. Understanding public relations in its societal context entails a focus on such concepts as trust, legitimacy, understanding, and reflection, as well as on issues of power, behavior, and language. Each chapter is devoted to an individual theorist, providing an overview of that theorist’s key concepts and contributions, and exploring how these concepts can be applied to public relations as a practice. Each chapter also includes a box giving a short and concise presentation of the theorist, along with recommendation of key works and secondary literature. Overall, this volume will enhance understanding of theories and their applications in public relations, expanding the breadth and depth of the theoretic foundations of public relations. It will be of great interest to scholars and graduate students in public relations and strategic communication.

Political Communication and Social Theory

Political Communication and Social Theory PDF

Author: Aeron Davis

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2010-09-13

Total Pages: 215

ISBN-13: 1136940286

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Suitable for students and scholars of political communication and mass media in democracies, this book challenges the traditional scholarship on various issues such as: comparative political and media systems; theories of democracy, representation and the public sphere; and, political party communication, marketing and elections.

Communication Theories: Perspectives, Processes, and Contexts

Communication Theories: Perspectives, Processes, and Contexts PDF

Author: Katherine Miller

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 376

ISBN-13:

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Providing a current and comprehensive discussion of influential theories in communication, this text portrays the strengths and weaknesses of each theory. Communication Theories helps students see where these theories fit in the broad scheme of social inquiry and generally guides students in the evaluation and critique of theories in order to reach a more sophisticated level of understanding. Although it emphasizes theories developed by communication scholars, Communication Theories also includes work developed outside the field that has strongly influenced the work of communication scholars. The second edition has been completely updated to include new or enhanced coverage of post-colonialism, critical race theory, new generation social penetration theory, and mass media reception theory.

Social Theory after the Internet

Social Theory after the Internet PDF

Author: Ralph Schroeder

Publisher: UCL Press

Published: 2018-01-04

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 1787351246

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The internet has fundamentally transformed society in the past 25 years, yet existing theories of mass or interpersonal communication do not work well in understanding a digital world. Nor has this understanding been helped by disciplinary specialization and a continual focus on the latest innovations. Ralph Schroeder takes a longer-term view, synthesizing perspectives and findings from various social science disciplines in four countries: the United States, Sweden, India and China. His comparison highlights, among other observations, that smartphones are in many respects more important than PC-based internet uses. Social Theory after the Internet focuses on everyday uses and effects of the internet, including information seeking and big data, and explains how the internet has gone beyond traditional media in, for example, enabling Donald Trump and Narendra Modi to come to power. Schroeder puts forward a sophisticated theory of the role of the internet, and how both technological and social forces shape its significance. He provides a sweeping and penetrating study, theoretically ambitious and at the same time always empirically grounded.The book will be of great interest to students and scholars of digital media and society, the internet and politics, and the social implications of big data.

Communication Theory

Communication Theory PDF

Author: David Holmes

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 2005-03-15

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 1473903149

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`This is a very clear and concise summary of media studies, present and future. There is no other book that can both be used as a teaching tool and can help scholars organize their thinking about new media as this book can′ - Steve Jones, University of Chicago This book offers an introduction to communication theory that is appropriate to our post-broadcast, interactive, media environment. The author contrasts the `first media age′ of broadcast with the `second media age′ of interactivity. Communication Theory argues that the different kinds of communication dynamics found in cyberspace demand a reassessment of the methodologies used to explore media, as well as new understandings of the concepts of interaction and community (virtual communities and broadcast communities). The media are examined not simply in terms of content, but also in terms of medium and network forms. Holmes also explores the differences between analogue and digital cultures, and between cyberspace and virtual reality. The book serves both as an upper level textbook for New Media courses and a good general guide to understanding the sociological complexities of the modern communications environment.

Communication as Social Theory

Communication as Social Theory PDF

Author: Jon-Arild Johannessen

Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited

Published: 2021-02-08

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 9781800439856

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Communication as Social Theory: The Social Side of Knowledge Management develops a social theory at micro level, with communication as the essential social mechanism within the theory. From leadership expert Johannessen, this book examines how we can advance communication as social theory.

Critical Theory of Communication

Critical Theory of Communication PDF

Author: Christian Fuchs

Publisher:

Published: 2016-10-10

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 9781911534044

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This book contributes to the foundations of a critical theory of communication as shaped by the forces of digital capitalism. One of the world's leading theorists of digital media Professor Christian Fuchs explores how the thought of some of the Frankfurt School's key thinkers can be deployed for critically understanding media in the age of the Internet. Five essays that form the heart of this book review aspects of the works of Georg LukAcs, Theodor W. Adorno, Herbert Marcuse, Axel Honneth and Ju rgen Habermas and apply them as elements of a critical theory of communication's foundations. The approach taken starts from Georg LukAcs Ontology of Social Being, draws on the work of the Frankfurt School thinkers, and sets them into dialogue with the Cultural Materialism of Raymond Williams. Critical Theory of Communication offers a vital set of new insights on how communication operates in the age of information, digital media and social media, arguing that we need to transcend the communication theory of Habermas by establishing a dialectical and cultural-materialist critical theory of communication. "

Action Theory and Communication Research

Action Theory and Communication Research PDF

Author: Karsten Renckstorf

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2008-08-22

Total Pages: 387

ISBN-13: 3110197383

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The action theoretical approach has already proved its value as a framework for communication research, most especially in the study of media audiences and media use. It has deep roots in Weberian sociology, symbolic interactionism and phenomenology and it has been a robust survivor of the various storms that have beset the practice of the social sciences since the collapse of structuralist and social system paradigms. The social action approach privileges the perspective of the acting individual but offers guidelines for connecting the subjective orientation with networks of social interaction and for treating 'behaviour' as a social process. Research within this framework takes account of the wider social context and calls for a careful combination of empirical observation and interpretation, with a corresponding diversity of methodologies. The appeal of the approach stems also from its flexibility, wide range of applications and sensitivity to cultural and social meanings. The contributions assembled in this book, despite their diversity, can all be placed within the framework of social action theory. Some are reports of empirical inquiries, others reflections on theory but each one sheds some light on the significance of media use in everyday experience and contributes to an understanding of communication in society.

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