The Communication Traditions

8/20/2019 The Communication Traditions

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Chapter 1

The Communication Tradition


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If communication is seen as a

game:

Harley Shands – “people, in cultures, speaking to each other

in the local tongue and following the rules

and regulations of the group, are playing agreat game, the central game of the human

condition!

Trenholm, S "#$11% p1


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&e will study '

(er)al*on+er)alContets of communication such as:

-roup .rgani/ational 0u)licass

Interpersonal Intrapersonal"Self Talk 2 0erceptions% Intercultural


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3 4rief History of

5hetoric 2 Communication Study

6our periods of studyClassical 0eriod "7$$ 4C – 38 9$$%

edie+al 0eriod and the 5enaissance "9$$'

1$$%

odern 0eriod "1$$ – 1;$$%

Contemporary 0eriod "1;$$ – present%


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0aradigm Shifts

&hen studying the history of

communication and the four ma


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Classical 0eriod

7$$ 4 C to 9$$ 38

5hetoric – the study of communication

5hetoricians ' teachers of

communication

In ==7 4C 3ristotle founded the lyceum

– a place to study rhetoric


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3ristotle ' interesting facts '

&as a student of the -reek 0hilosopher

0lato

&as a tutor to the young son of 0hilip of

acedon who grew up to )e

3leander the -reat


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>yceum – interesting facts

*o girls allowed??

3iothea – female that studied there )ydisguising herself as a man

0aidagogos – where paid attendants )y yourparents so you didn@t cut classes?

3ristotle would teach in the mornings and ha+eethical discussions in the afternoon with hisstudents in the “peripatos! or shadedwalkways thus called the 0eripatetic School


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The science of rhetoric ' persuasion

3ristotle – = means of persuasionAthos– persuasion )ased on the speaker@s

personal character "ethics% – 0lain style

>ogos– persuasion )ased on words,wording and logic ' iddle style

0athos– persuasion )ased on emotional

appeal – +igorious styleThink a)out ad+ertising and political campaigns

Cicero warned of this style


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Classical 0eriod

The Classical 0eriod included de)ate and the

a)ility to win arguments

Cicero was known as the greatest orator&hile 3ristotle was known as the greatest

rhetorician and theorist, he was not the first

Cora and Tisias were the first early western

rhetoricians, two Sicilian -reeks


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The study of communication as

prompted )y practical pro)lems

8ue to Sicily@s political uphea+al from a

tyrannical go+ernment to a democratic

constitution

0eople came )ack and demanded their

land and property prompting legal

pro)lems


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Cora and Tisias contri)ution@s

Cora recogni/ed that the people were

ill'eBuipped to argue their own cases

Tisias studied ways in which speakers

could effecti+ely order their ideas


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0u)lic Speaking influences from the

classical period

Hence, the art of pu)lic speaking emerged

from great -reek orators and philosophers

uch of what modern pu)lic speakinginstructors teach comes from -reek orators

and philosophers of the Classical period 4uilding audience rapport, organi/ing ideas,

arguing to hostile audiences and deli+ering a

speech


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Time 0eriod of the classical period

The classical period ran from the

3thenian democracy through the 5oman

Ampire and ended with the ad+ent of

Christianity


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Importance of study of

communication to ancient -reece

= reasons –

1 The -reeks re+ered the spoken word "oral

was )oth the main source of informaiton

)ut also entertainment%# The put a great deal of emphasis on

persuasion and argumentation

= They )anned professional lawyers –citi/ens had to ha+e the skills to argue

their own cases


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Sophists

0rofessional speech teachers that taught

the tricks of persuasi+e speaking for use

in law courts and assem)lies

*ot always the most ethical


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The fi+e canons of rhetoric

In+ention – process of deciding on su)


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edie+al 0eriod "9$$'19$$% and the

5enaissance "19$$'1$$%

5hetorical study declined after the fall of the5oman Ampire and the rise of Christianity

0eriod characteri/ed )y the rise to power ofChristian clergy and the decline of “pagan!theories of rhetoric

-oal was no longer to disco+er possi)le truththrough de)ate )ut to instruct the faithful incertain truth


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edie+al and 5enaissance "cont%

It was though that there was a practical

need for training in communication due

to the two most important

communication acti+ities:1 >etter &riting

# 0reaching


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>etter writing and preaching

6eudal societies dictated a need to

communicate o+er long distances –

hence, the need for letter writing

0reaching was of great importance

)ecause it was the duty of the Christian

clergy to teach the word of -od


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3ugustine, Christian theorist

3ugustine, a ma


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-oals and signs

0reacher@s goal – to interpret the word of

-od

3ugustine )elie+ed that people

communicated through signs –

something that “causes something else

to come to mind as a conseBuence ofitself! "p ;%


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*atural and con+entional signs

*atural signs are created )y -od A Smoke D fire

Con+entional signs "for eample, the spokenor written word% are ar)itrarily created )y

humans and interpretation more difficult "3s we will demonstrate and discuss later, until we

come to shared meaning% 3ll sym)ols are ar)ritrary until we come to shared

agreement, then they )ecome con+entional

Class eample ' “tight!


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Communication process according

to 3ugustine

3ugustine – communication ' a process

where)y a sender transmits sym)ols to

a recei+er who interprets and acts on

them – +ery close to +iew of manymodern theorists


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odern 0eriod – 1$$ – 1;$$

rational science of rhetoric

The world )ecame more secular and religionwas less influential

The rise of the scientific method– ideas andarguments should )e empirically ground ")ymeans of o)ser+ation%

The rise of nationalism and democratic formsof go+ernment ga+e importance to practice ofrhetoric and free speech


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8ouglas Ahninger – four directions

of rhetorical study

1 Classical approach ' theorists soughtto reco+er the thoughts of classicalrhetoricians adapting them to modern

times# 0sychological epistemological

approach – the relationship )etweencommunication and thought 3 “scientific! way of how people influence

one another through speech


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Ahninger@s four directions of

rhetorical study continued

= 4elletristical approach ' focused onwriting and speaking as art forms

"standards for


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6rancis 4acon – 6our Idols

3nalysis of 0erceptual )ias 'Idols D distortionsthat get in the way of clear thinking

1Idols of the F– fallacies due to human nature# Idols of the home ' indi+idual pre


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5ene 8escartes 2 Gohn >ocke

3rgued truth could only )e o)tained

through discourse that was solidly

grounded in rationality

-eorge Camp)ell – emphasi/ed that the

audience is an acti+e participant in the

persuasi+e processThe effecti+e communicator should study

the inner working of the mind "audience%

C 0 i d 1;$$


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Contemporary 0eriod – 1;$$ –

present "ost Current%

*ew technologies emerged

&ritten +ersus oral use of rhetoric

Anglish +ersus Communication 8epartments

of studyHumanity orientation +ersus Social Science

5esearchers and scholars –

Source credi)ility Affects of gender

Documents

The Communication Traditions