When Communication Became a Discipline

When Communication Became a Discipline argues that speech and journalism professors embraced the concept of communication as central to their scholarly work between 1964 and 1982. They did so by changing the names of their scholarly societies and journals and revising their academic curricula to focus on communication processes and effects. Five “strands” of scholarship proved central to this transformation: communication as the formation and change of individual and public opinion; communication as language use; communication as information transmission; communication as developer of relationships; and communication as definer, interpreter, and critic of culture. Communication does not fit into traditional definitions of academic disciplines, but during this period its scholars not only remade themselves but convinced their university colleagues to understand and embrace their disciplinary definitions. When Communication Became a Discipline presents an argument with historical evidence that illustrates scholarly creativity at its finest.