Course Summary What's next? | Communication theory | edX Series

Summary

This course explores communication as a dynamic process of meaning creation through interaction and symbolic message exchange. It delves into theory as a structured explanation of reality and emphasizes the continuous cycle of theory testing and building. The course distinguishes between objective and interpretive research, highlighting seven traditions in communication theory. It invites students to apply these theories to real-life situations and promises to enhance interpersonal and group communication skills, covering persuasion, public speaking, media influence, social media, public relations, and critical traditions, culminating in applying theory to practice.

Takeaways

• 📚 Communication is defined as the process of meaning creation through interaction and symbolic exchange of messages within different contexts.
• 🔍 Theories are abstract, structured explanations of reality, composed of a set of mutually linked concepts.
• 🔄 The research cycle involves continuous theory testing and building, with participants being part of this cycle even in everyday life.
• 📈 There are two main groups of theories: objective, which seeks single truth, and interpretive, which provides interpretations and understanding within specific contexts.
• 🌐 Seven traditions of communicative topology are identified: cybernetic, social psychological, sociocultural, critical, rhetorical, phenomenological, and semiotic.
• 🤔 The script encourages students to consider which approach is most relevant to their recent communicative problems and to reflect on their understanding of communication.
• 📝 The course includes homework, discussion boards, tests, and essays to enhance understanding and reflection on the course material.
• 👥 Week two focuses on interpersonal communication, exploring how to build, maintain, and develop relationships effectively.
• 👥👥 Week three is about group communication, addressing how to make groups tighter, improve decision-making, and the role of leadership in group work.
• 🗣️ Week four deals with persuasion and public speaking, discussing how to construct persuasive messages and choose appropriate communication channels.
• 📺 Week five examines media influence, looking at early media effects, cultivation effects, and the selectivity of media consumption.
• 🌐💬 Week six is dedicated to social media, discussing online communities, user engagement, and the impact of social media on society.
• 👥🏢 Week seven covers public relations, exploring theories and practices of relationship building between organizations and the public.
• 🤔🌐 The critical tradition, focusing on ideology and discourse, is explored over two weeks, aiming to understand communication patterns within society.
• 🔚 The final week is a summary, applying theory to practice, with an emphasis on real-life examples to show the relevance of communication theory.

Q & A

What is the definition of communication according to the course?

Communication is defined as the process of meaning creation through interaction and symbolic exchange of messages within different contexts.

What does the course describe as theory?

Theory is described as an abstract, structured explanation of reality through a set of mutually linked concepts.

What is the ongoing research cycle mentioned in the course?

The ongoing research cycle refers to the continuous process between theory testing and theory building, which never stops and involves everyone, even in common sense or working theories.

What are the two main groups of theories discussed in the course?

The two main groups of theories are interpretive and objective. Objective research seeks a single truth, while interpretive research provides interpretations and focuses on understanding specific situations within a given context.

What are the seven traditions of creative topology within communicative theory?

The seven traditions are cybernetic, social psychological, sociocultural, critical, rhetorical, phenomenological, and semiotic.

How does the course encourage students to apply theory to their own communicative problems?

The course encourages students to think about which approach is more related to recent situations they've been confused about and to consider how theory can solve communicative problems.

What is the homework format for the course?

The homework includes answering questions related to the course content, participating in discussion boards on a Facebook group for feedback and questions, and occasionally writing essays that will be peer-reviewed.

What is the focus of week two in the course?

Week two focuses on interpersonal communication, discussing how to build, maintain, and develop relationships, and the key variables and points of focus in interpersonal interactions.

What will be covered in week three regarding group communication?

Week three is about group communication, addressing how to make a group tighter, make better decisions within the group, and the role of leadership in group work.

What is the main topic of week four in the course?

Week four is dedicated to persuasion and public speaking, focusing on building persuasive messages and choosing accurate channels for message delivery.

What is the purpose of discussing media effects in week five?

The purpose is to explore the early effects of media, such as television and radio, on communication and information dissemination, and to discuss the cultivation effect of media and the selectivity of perception in media consumption.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Communication Theory

The first paragraph introduces the course's focus on communication as a dynamic process of meaning creation through interaction and symbolic message exchange within various contexts. It emphasizes the cyclical nature of theory testing and building, highlighting the distinction between objective and interpretive research approaches. The paragraph also outlines seven traditions of communicative topology, encouraging students to consider which approach best suits their understanding of communication. The instructor sets expectations for the course structure, including homework, discussion boards, tests, and essays, and previews the upcoming topics on interpersonal and group communication.

05:02

🎤 Persuasion, Public Speaking, and Media Influence

The second paragraph delves into the specifics of the course's content, starting with persuasion and public speaking in week four, where the construction of persuasive messages and the strategic use of communication channels are discussed. It then transitions into the influence of media, exploring how media affects our perceptions and behaviors. The discussion includes early media effects, the cultivation effect, and the selectivity of media consumption. The paragraph also touches on social media's impact on society, the concept of network society, and the role of public relations in building relationships at an organizational level. The critical tradition is introduced as a complex but essential aspect of understanding societal communication patterns, with a dedicated week to explore it in depth.

10:03

🌉 Bridging Theory and Practice

The final paragraph serves as a conclusion to the introduction, expressing the instructor's excitement for the course and emphasizing the ambitious goal of bridging academic theory with practical application. It invites students to engage with the material and anticipates a rich learning experience that will connect theoretical knowledge with real-world scenarios, reinforcing the relevance and applicability of communication theory in both personal and professional contexts.

Keywords

💡Communication

Communication is defined as the process of meaning creation through interaction and symbolic exchange of messages within different contexts. It is the central theme of the video, emphasizing the dynamic nature of exchanging information and ideas. The script discusses communication in various forms, such as interpersonal, group, and media communication, highlighting its importance in both personal and professional life.

💡Theory

In the context of the video, 'theory' refers to an abstract, structured explanation of reality through a set of mutually linked concepts. It serves as a framework for understanding and interpreting communicative phenomena. The script mentions the ongoing research cycle between theory testing and theory building, indicating the dynamic process of refining our understanding of communication.

💡Interpretive Research

Interpretive research is one of the two big groups of theories discussed in the script. It focuses on providing interpretations and understanding particular situations within a given context through certain lenses. This type of research aims to create understanding and provide meaning, contrasting with objective research that seeks generalized laws.

💡Objective Research

Objective research, as mentioned in the script, is concerned with finding a single truth and uncovering the relationship between variables, specifically dependent and independent variables. It seeks to establish generalized laws, which is a different approach from interpretive research that focuses on specific contexts and meanings.

💡Traditions of Creative Topology

The script introduces seven traditions of creative topology within communicative theory, which include cybernetic, social psychological, sociocultural, critical, rhetorical, phenomenological, and semiotic approaches. These traditions offer different perspectives on how communication is understood and studied, emphasizing the multidisciplinary nature of the field.

💡Interpersonal Communication

Interpersonal communication is a key topic in the video's curriculum, focusing on how individuals interact with each other and the dynamics of building, maintaining, and developing relationships. The script suggests that understanding this form of communication can enhance one's interpersonal skills, indicating its practical relevance.

💡Group Communication

Group communication is another module in the course that deals with the dynamics within a group, including decision-making and the role of leadership. The script implies that understanding group communication can help in creating tighter groups and better decision-making processes.

💡Persuasion

Persuasion is highlighted in the script as a critical aspect of communication, particularly in the context of public speaking and message building. It involves not only the content of the speech but also the strategic delivery to ensure the message reaches and influences the audience effectively.

💡Media Influence

The script discusses media influence in the context of persuasion, examining how media affects our perceptions and reality. It delves into the early media effects and the restructuring of information dissemination with the advent of mass media, indicating the profound impact of media on communicative processes.

💡Social Media

Social media is presented as a distinct topic in the course, associated with significant societal transformations and the concept of a network society. The script raises questions about the role of social media in substituting or complementing offline communities and its impact on user engagement.

💡Public Relations

Public relations (PR) is discussed in the script as a field where communication is a central focus, involving relationship building between organizations and the public. The course aims to explore how PR approaches have evolved and the importance of ethical and persuasive communication strategies in this domain.

💡Critical Tradition

The critical tradition, as touched upon in the script, involves examining ideology and discourse on a more abstract level. It is presented as a way to better understand communication patterns within society, emphasizing the importance of critical thinking in analyzing communicative practices.

💡Academic and Practice

The script emphasizes the goal of bridging academia and practice, suggesting that the course aims to provide practical applications of theoretical knowledge. This approach is intended to demonstrate the relevance of communication theory in real-life scenarios and enhance the students' understanding of its applicability.

Highlights

Communication is defined as the process of meaning creation through interaction and symbolic exchange of messages within different contexts.

Theory is described as an abstract and structured explanation of reality through a set of mutually linked concepts.

The ongoing research cycle between theory testing and theory building is emphasized, with the audience being part of this cycle.

Two major groups of theories are discussed: objective and interpretive, with the latter focusing on understanding and providing meaning to communicative situations.

Seven traditions of creative topology within communication theory are introduced: cybernetic, social psychological, sociocultural, critical, rhetorical, phenomenological, and semiotic.

The importance of applying theory to solve communicative problems and understanding one's perspective on communication is highlighted.

The course structure includes eight upcoming classes with a focus on different aspects of communication.

Homework assignments are designed to help students focus on the content and follow the course instructions.

Discussion boards on a Facebook group are available for feedback, questions, and interaction with instructors.

A test is required to grade the class, emphasizing the importance of writing and reflection in understanding communication.

Interpersonal communication will be the focus of week two, exploring how to build, maintain, and develop relationships.

Group communication in week three will address how to create tighter groups, make better decisions, and the role of leadership.

Persuasion and public speaking are the focus of week four, discussing how to build persuasive messages and choose accurate channels.

Week five delves into media influence, early media effects, and the restructuring of information dissemination with mass media.

The cultivation effect of media and the selectivity of perception in media consumption are discussed in week five.

Social media and its impact on society, including online communities and user engagement, are covered in week six.

Public relations theories and their application at an individual level are explored in week seven.

Critical tradition, focusing on ideology and discourse, is the theme of week eight, aiming to understand communication patterns in society.

The final week is dedicated to summarizing and applying communication theory to practice, with real-life examples.

The course aims to bridge academia and practice by providing practical examples of applying communication theory.

Transcripts

[Music]

so now let's summarize a little

throughout this course we'll think of

communication as

the process of meaning creation through

interaction

and symbolic exchange of messages within

the different context

we'll think of theory as an abstract

thus

very structured explanation of the

reality through a set of mutually linked

concepts

yes we will discuss different concepts

and imply them into the big theory which

describes the reality

also we've been talking about this

ongoing research cycle

with between theory testing and theory

building

yes it never stops and you are already a

part of this

even when you're working not on

scholarly theory but on the common sense

theory

or on a working theory we need to keep

in mind

that there are two big groups of

theories

and research interpretive and objective

objective research is looking for the

single truth and

interpretive research provides an

interpretation

and sees the particular situations

within given context through

a certain lenses it's focusing on

creating understanding

and providing meaning to what's going on

within the communicative situation while

objective research

is looking for generalized laws and

the relationship between variables

dependent and independent

along with the distinction between

objective and interpretive research

we would like to focus at seven

traditions of creative topology

within the communicative theory we can

see communication as a cybernetic

process social psychological

sociocultural critical rhetorical

phenomenological

and semiotic what i want you to do here

is to think which approach

is more related to the recent situations

you've been confused about some

communicative problems which

can be solved by the usage of theory how

do you see communication in

what is the most important and valuable

characteristic of communicative process

for you in personal and as we now know

quite a lot about theory and approaches

to you the theories

and approaches to the communication we

will move on to the next

parts of our course so what's next well

we do have another eight classes

upcoming

and before i will tell you a little bit

of each one i want to

tell you about the homework yes we will

have a little bit of the homework

well you've already noticed that there

are some questions you have to answer

within the course

so this is made in order for you to

focus on the content and follow us as

we will move on with our instructions

and lectures

uh also we will have these discussion

boards in

facebook group where you will be able to

leave your comments to provide a little

bit of

feedback and ask questions for the

instructors

which will be very happy to answer each

week we will have a long test

well not very long but it would be a

test you would need to take

in order to get the grade for this class

as well as sometimes we will do some

writing because

writing is cool and writing is very

helpful

to understand what are you doing and to

reflect a little bit because

just speaking sometimes it's not enough

so we will do a couple of essays where

we'll be

checked by your peers so follow the

content of our videos

quite tightly so you can provide a fair

grading for your classmates

so what's definitely next next is week

two

week two will be all about interpersonal

communication

how do individuals interact with each

other how to

build how to maintain and how to develop

the

relationship to the proper level what

are the variables

what are the differences and what are

the

key points at which we should

focus during this interpersonal

communication

i am quite sure that with some recall to

your previous experience

and with some practice this module will

be able to enhance your interpersonal

communication skills

and bring it up to the next level

after which uh it comes with the group

communication

right in this course we would follow it

from the very

essential one to the larger one and more

complicated

uh you definitely are studying or maybe

you're working

but you must be involved somehow in the

group dynamic and the group work

so the week three devoted to the group

communication

will help us to answer the questions how

to make a tighter group

how to make a better decisions within

this group

and what is the role of leadership uh in

a group work

week four is all about persuasion and

public

speaking so we would not practice but we

we might

but we will think about the way how to

build a persuasive message and how to

choose

the channels very accurately so the

message will

reach the audience uh it's not that

simple as it

as we as we can think about it but it's

rather complex process and it includes

a lot of variables and characteristics

so rhetoric is not only about making a

good speech

or delivering this good speech but

rhetoric is also

above the process which uh the process

of delivery of this good speech

after this we talk about persuasion uh

and as a person who would like to be

persuasive

we can step into the shoes of media

and take a look how media is influences

us is influencing us so now as we know a

little bit about persuasion let's

take issues of media and try to see how

media is influencing

us and our reality uh so in this

part of the course during the week five

we focused

on the very early media effects what

happened when

television and radio came to the agenda

and

how did it change uh the ways i would

use a communicator first of all and how

the

information dissemination actually

restructured

uh with the appearance of mass media

after this we will discuss cultivation

effect of

media and the selectivity of our

perception in terms of media consumption

uh well here i would just go a little

bit behind it

yes we have been very selective in our

media consumption

which means that we tend to focus

on the media sources we already agree

with

and we try to avoid all the sources

which would provide

the alternative of being does it really

happen how to avoid it and

is audience really passive and can be

affected

we will answer all these questions

during this week five

still media would lead us closely to the

social media

we decided to put it as a separate pick

as

social media comes along with the big

transformation of the society

and we discuss the concept of network

society during the week

six we'll talk about online communities

in user engagement

how to make it working and does it

really

substitute our offline communities or

not

as public relations appear to be the

field where communication

is one of the essential focuses we talk

a little bit about the pr theories

if you are not a pr practitioner you

might still be interested

in pr week because pr as

public relations or a little bit of

promotion

can be applicable for an individual

level anyway

here we move from the level of the

individual to the communication between

organization and public relations it's

all about relationship building on just

a little bit different scale

so we discussed how the approaches to pr

have changed

how companies communicate with each

other

and how to make persuasive as well as

ethical

public relation campaign these are the

questions and the objectives of the week

six

uh moving on we would focus on critical

tradition

you've already catched a little bit of

critical it's all about ideology and

discourse

yes it's quite complicated but we are

quite sure that thinking about the

ideology

and thinking on a little bit more

abstract level

we can understand better the patterns of

communication

within the society that's why we are

focusing on critical tradition

and we would spend an additional week to

go through it

uh week nine as the last and summarizing

one

is devoted to summary and applying this

theory to practice

in the ninth week we try to bring up as

many examples from the real life as

possible so we can explain once again

why communication matters

how to use communication theory and what

is the importance of this communication

theory in your life

and professional life uh even though

each chapter each block of this course

would be finalized with some sort of

research

or some practical example how do we

apply

one particular theory within the

research throughout the research on a

real-life case

we want to bring you more examples as we

want

and this is one of the most ambitious

goals of ours during this course

to bridge academia and practice

so welcome to the course and i am really

excited about what's gonna happen next

see you next week