The history of communication in the world

All animal species have perfected a system of communication, but humans are the only species capable of spoken language. Effective communication is essential for a variety of reasons. It serves to inform, motivate, establish authority and control, and allows for emotive expression. For humans in particular, communication is also vital for creating a sense of social cohesion. Just as mankind has evolved over the centuries, our means of communication have followed suit. What began as primitive cave paintings and signed language has morphed into an endless variety of ways to express oneself to other humans.Communication has existed in various forms since man appeared on Earth. Types of communication Early Handwritten Documents/Books Those with the proper education to do so were handwriting books and documents for well over 1,000 years before the invention of the printing press. The word "manuscript" is derived from the Latin term "libri manu scripti" which translates to "book written by hand". Most handwritten manuscripts were written on vellum as paper was not widely available. The majority of books and documents written were of a religious nature. This was due to the fact that writing a religious piece was viewed as a form of worship, and also that most books were written by monks in monasteries. Literacy rates were incredibly low during the time of handwritten books, and few citizens had time for pleasure reading. Only the monks and the very wealthy were given the opportunity to become literate. Two important periods stand out when one is investigating early books. The time between the 7th and 13th centuries was considered the age of the religious manuscript. The 13th century, however, brought about exciting change in the realm of the written word. For the first time, secular books were produced for the sake of spreading knowledge not relating to religion. The catalyst for this change was the rise of universities in Italy, and the return of the crusaders from Byzantium. The Renaissance had begun.

Printing Press

In 1448, a man named Johann Gutenberg revolutionized the way books were made forever. An inventor born in Germany, Gutenberg had a vision of a device that would utilized movable type using blocks with pre-printed text. This method, combined with the use of paper, ink and a printing press allowed for books to be mass-produced, and greatly reduced the price. Gutenberg made his first device by adapting a wine press to remove the water from paper after printing. Gutenberg's initial project with his new invention was a reprint of a Latin speech book. When this was a success, he embarked on his most famous printing project- the printing of the Gutenberg bibles. His were the first bibles printed in Europe. Gutenberg's invention took awhile to catch on as the bourgeoisie of the day still wanted to keep the peasants uneducated. Letter Writing and the Postman Letter writing has been a means of communication for centuries. However, it was an inefficient means of communicating as one had to wait until another person was traveling before their letter could be sent. In addition, there was no guarantee when, or if, the letter would ever reach its destination. Given that most people never traveled more than 50 miles from the place of their birth until fairly recently, the need for an organized postal system was not a top priority for any country. As with all things, a project will not be funded if it is not deemed necessary. Enter the United States circa 1775. Ours was a nation with a rapidly expanding population and territory. The first United States Post Office was created in 1775, and Benjamin Franklin was named the first Postmaster General. The system caught on quickly and rapidly expanded. By 1828, the United States had 7,800 post offices which made it the largest postal system in the world. Mail was transported primarily by train, which ran on a schedule and was efficient and reliable. Letter writing also gained popularity as more Americans moved out west and wanted to keep in touch with loved ones back east.

Telegraph Evolution of all things, communication included, involves the desire to perform tasks more quickly and efficiently. This desire was realized with the invention of the telegraph. The logistics of telegraphic communication involve the sending of electrostatically-generated signals through a wire. The system involves three main components- a battery to supply the electricity, a key used to complete or break the circuit, and an electromagnet at the receiving end which consists of a wire that pulls on a piece of metal when electricity passes through it. Attributing the invention to a specific person is a subject of hot debate. In America, the telegraph is attributed to Samuel F.B. Morse, but his 1837 version was far from original. An Englishman by the name of William Watson had devised a way to send messages via telegraph in 1747. The revolution of the telegraph allowed for instant communication across long distances, something that had previously been unheard of. The technology was particularly useful during wartime to transmit pertinent information, and the first telegraph stations were set up along railroads as the necessary poles were already erected. The telegraph was also popular among the Victorian set. Those of the upper class used the telegraph for personal communications, but those of lower economic status were excluded from the technology due to the cost involved in sending a telegraph. Telephone Today we take the ability to use a telephone for granted, but in 1876, Alexander Bell was busy realizing a dream that he hoped would once again revolutionize communication. Like all inventors, Bell was perpetually curious and always on the lookout for empirical evidence of the new and interesting. Bell observed that sound vibrations could be transmitted through the air, and received at the same pitch in another room. Bell wanted to transfer sound and pitch across a wire, and ascertained that this would be possible by reproducing sound waves in a continuous, undulating current. Once proving this theory, Bell realized the same concept could be applied to human speech as it is composed of many complex sound vibrations. A few trial and errors later, and the modern telephone was born. Given our reliance on telephones today, it is surprising to know that Bell's invention was initially quite unpopular. The telephone did not generate nearly as much excitement as the telegraph had a few decades earlier. This may have been due to the fact that Americans love novelty, and Bell's concept was not entirely new. The telegraph had cornered the long-distance contact market. The lack of popularity may also be attributed to the cost of telephone service. Most original telephone service subscribers were corporations as a year of service cost $72. Residential service cost a family approximately $60 per year. In the 1800's, this was a substantial sum of money to be spent on an unnecessary device. Radio During the early 1900's, a new form of communication and entertainment took the world by storm. What began as short-wave communication used during WWI blossomed

into the hottest communication technology of the era once the war had ended. Amateur broadcasting began around 1914, commercial broadcasting didn't hit the air waves until 1920. Radio was unregulated until 1925 when the Federal Communications Commission stepped in. At this point, approximately 2 million homes had radios and there were several hundred stations broadcasting thousands of programs. The technology advanced so fast that new radios were obsolete withing 3-6 months. Radios were incredibly popular during the late 1920's and early 1930's due to the Great Depression and also the "flapper" movement. The American people loved to dance, and most other forms of entertainment were too expensive. The technology really took off in 1933 when Edwin Armstrong, "the father of FM radio", invented frequency-modulated radio. By the 1940's, the number of radios in American homes had doubled, and 800,000 FM receivers were produced in 1947. Photography A picture is worth 1,000 words, or so the saying goes. Unlike other forms of communication photography is a more subjective form of art. A picture can be interpreted a million different ways by a million different individuals, whereas other forms of communication tend to be intent on conveying one message. Most people love to be photographed and man's vain desire to depict himself has been apparent since the discovery of the first cave paintings. Capturing an image of the self guarantees a place a in history for that individual. They are sure to be remembered even after they have passed away. The first attempts at photography began in the early 1800's but had poor results. The discovery of using reverse colors, what we today call a "negative", greatly advanced the art of photography. The process of how a photo was taken and developed remained largely unchanged for 150 years until digital technology caught up. These days a piece of equipment that was once used only by professional photographers is accessible to everyone. There are several varieties of cameras to choose from at any electronics stores, and even cell phones have cameras! Regardless of how much the technology of communication continues to advance over the years, the photo will always hold a special place in history as the pioneer of capturing the human image for eternity. Television Television made its official debut at the 1939 New York World's Fair. It was seen as an amusing, but unnecessary, appliance and the radio continued to be the favored form of communication. Radio's popularity sky rocketed at the start of WWII as televisions were not yet equipped to provide accurate and timely news. All that began to change in the late1940's. Four million TV sets were produced that year, but a 10-inch screen set cost over $200 making it an unattainable luxury for many families. As the years passed, prices for televisions dropped and now the majority of homes have at least one television. It is safe to theorize that few forms have communication have had as large an impact on society as television. What was once a luxury item, is now an essential. Ours is a global society obsessed with television. Humans are reliant on their televisions for constant entertainment. Even the news, which was once taken very seriously, has been

turned into cheap entertainment by many networks. The repercussions of this reliance on television may not be realized for many years, but they will eventually surface. Cell Phone It may be hard to believe but the first cell phone research began in 1843 when Michael Faraday conducted research to see if space could conduct electricity. Fast forward to1973, and Dr. Martin Cooper is credited with inventing the first portable handset. Four years later, cell phones go public. In the 37 years the cellular phone industry has existed, the market has grown from $3 million annually to an industry that commands $30 billion annually. The customer base has also expanded from an initial trial population of 2000 to more than 60 million cellular phone owners in the United States. Who uses cell phones? Everyone! Cell phones can be found everywhere in modern America. Landlines are slowly becoming obsolete as everyone from senior citizens to elementary school students acquire their own cell phones. The convenience of having a phone at the ready is a concept that is very easy to market, but the fact that higher stress rates have been linked to this phenomenon of constant contact is a commercial you won't be seeing anytime soon. Internet The original Internet was invented in 1967 for military purposes. An Internet in its most basic form is simply a group of computers able to connect to each other and share information. This included electronic mail (email) and the use of sites containing vital information (websites). Once the Internet started to catch on it was used primarily by corporations for collaboration purposes. Today the Internet is available everywhere and to everyone. It is used for a variety of reasons including socializing, conducting research, and advertising. It has even surpassed the television as a source of communication because you can receive any information you want instantaneously. One click of a button and a website will load with whatever information you have requested. Social Media and Blogging Social media defined is a special class of websites designed to meet three specific criteria. These criteria include-the majority of the content on the site is user generated, there is a high level of interaction between social media website users, and the websites are easily integrated with other websites. One of the most popular social media platforms is blogging. A weblog or "blog" was first developed in 1997. A blog makes it possible for any person with Internet access to create a type of website without having to be familiar with any form of HTML coding that is generally necessary to create a website. Blogs are replacing journals as a form of self expression for many young people today. Social media and blogging have had a significant impact on personal and professional relationships. Reputations have been made and destroyed with a few keystrokes. Yet, having a web presence is vital in today's society and economy. Does your company want to market a product to young adults? You can find them on the Internet. Do you want to increase your popularity, and see and be seen? Create a social media site devoted

exclusively to yourself. The social lives of many young people today revolve around social media and blogging, and this isn't necessarily healthy. You lose a sense of reality when all of your communication is conducted electronically. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE FIELD AND DEPARTMENTAL STRENGTH The Medieval Period (400 CE-1400 CE) In contrast to the Classical Period, which saw tremendous growth and innovation in the study of communication, the Medieval Period might be considered the dark ages of academic study in our field. During this era, the Greco-Roman culture was dominated by Christian influence after the fall of the Roman Empire. The church felt threatened by secular rhetorical works they considered full of pagan thought. While the church preserved many of the classical teachings of rhetoric, it made them scarce to those not in direct service to the church. A secular education was extremely hard to obtain during the Medieval Period for almost everyone. Even though Christianity condemned communication study as pagan and corrupt, it embraced several aspects of the Classical Period to serve its specific purposes. The ideas from the Classical Period were too valuable for the church to completely ignore. Thus, they focused on communication study to help them develop better preaching and letter writing skills to persuade people to Christianity. Emphasis was placed on persuasion and developing public presentations, both oral and written. Like the Classical Period, those in power continued to stifle womens participation in communication study, keeping them largely illiterate while men served as the overseers of the church and the direction of academic inquiry. One of the most recognizable people from this era was Augustine (354 CE-430 CE). He thought that the study of persuasion, in particular, was a particularly worthwhile pursuit for the church. Augustine was a teacher by trade and used his teaching skills as well as knowledge of communication to move men toward truth, which for him was the word of God. With the exception of Augustine, the formal study of communication took a back seat to a focus on theological issues during the Medieval Period. Fortunately, the study of communication managed to survive as one of the seven branches of a liberal education during this period, but it remained focused on developing presentational styles apt for preaching. Boethius and the Archbishop Isidore of Seville made small efforts to preserve classical learning by reviving the works of Cicero and Quintilian to persuade people to be just and good. Nevertheless, aside from Augustines work, little progress was made during the remaining Medieval years; the formal study of communication literally plunged into the dark ages before reemerging during the Renaissance. The Renaissance (1400-1600 CE) Powered by a new intellectual movement during this period, secular institutions and governments started to compete with the church for personal allegiances. As more people felt comfortable challenging the churchs approach to education, reinvigorated attention to classical learning and fresh opportunities for scholarly education reemerged. As with

the two previous periods weve examined, obtaining education for women was still tough, as many social limitations continued to restrict their access to knowledge. Despite the continued oppression, several brave women took advantage of the changes brought in by the Renaissance. Christine de Pisan (1365-1429) has been praised as Europes first professional woman writer writing 41 pieces over a 30-year period . Her most famous work, The Treasure of the Cities of Ladies, provided instruction to women on how they could achieve their potential and create for themselves lives rich in meaning and importance. According to Redfern, while she neither calls herself a rhetorician nor calls The Treasure a rhetoric, her instruction has the potential to empower womens speech acts in both public and private matters. Her most important lesson is that womens success depends on their ability to manage and mediate by speaking and writing effectively. Ideas surrounding issues of style in speaking situations received significant attention during the Renaissance period. Petrus Ramus (1515-1572) paid great attention to the idea of style by actually grouping style and delivery of the five canons together. Ramus also argued that invention and arrangement did not fit the canon and should be the focus of logic, not rhetoric. Ramus, who often questioned the early scholars, believed that being a good man had nothing to do with being a good speaker and didnt think that focusing on truth had much to do with communication at all. Needless to say, he had a way of making a name for himself by challenging much of what early scholars thought of truth, ethics, and morals as they applied to communication. In contrast to Ramus, Francis Bacon (1561-1626), a contemporary of Shakespeare, believed that the journey to truth was paramount to the study and performance of communication. According to Bacon, reason and morality required speakers to have a high degree of accountability, making it an essential element in oration. Scholars like Cereta, de Pisan, Ramus, and Bacon all furthered the study of communication as they challenged, debated, and scrutinized well established assumptions and truths about the field developed during the Classical Period. Their works reflect the dynamic nature of the Renaissance Period and the reemergence of discussion and deliberation regarding the nature and uses of communication. The works of these scholars were a springboard back into a full-blown examination of communication, which continued into The Enlightenment. The Enlightenment (1600-1800 CE) A maturing Europe continued to see a lessening of tension between the church and secular institutions, and the transformation of the Communication field was a reflection of broader cultural shifts. Modernizations like the printing press made the written word more readily available to the masses through newspapers and books thus, forever changing the ways people learned and communicated. This era was the precurser to the industrial revolution and began the rapid changes in the development of our field that were to come. Golden, Berquist, and Colemen (1989) point to four prominent trends during The Enlightenment. Neoclassicism revived the classical approach to rhetoric by adapting and applying it to contemporary situations. Second, the eclectic method of belletristic scholars offered standards of style for presenting and critiquing oration, drama, and

poetry. Englishman Hugh Blair (1718-1800) advocated the notion of good taste and character in communication encounters, and a book of his lectures was so popular that his publisher stated, half of the educated English-speaking world was reading Blair. Third, the psychological/epistemological school of rhetoric applied communication study to basic human nature, knowledge, and thought. The Scottish minister and educator, George Campbell (1719-1796), tried to create convincing arguments using scientific and moral reasoning by seeking to understand how people used speech to persuade others. Finally, the elocutionary approach concentrated on delivery and style by providing strict rules for a speakers bodily actions such as gestures, facial expressions, tone, and pronunciation. Overall, the Enlightenment Period served as a bridge between the past and the present of communication study, the old and the new school. During this period, people used many of the early approaches to further explore communication in ways that would ignite an explosion in the Communication field in the 20th Century. While weve quickly covered 2400 years of communication study, lets look at the 20th century, which witnessed more advances in communication study than the previous 2400 years combined. New school: Communication Study in the 20th century From 1890 to 1920, the various aspects of oral communication were drawn together and integrated, under the common rubric of speech and generally housed in departments of English . Some universities moved to create specific academic departments of communication in the late 1800s, such as De Pauw (1884), Earlham (1887), Cornell (1889), Michigan and Chicago (1892), and Ohio Wesleyan (1894), which led the way for the continued academic development of Communication study . The first large-scale demand to create distinct departments of Communication came at the Public Speaking Conference of the New England and North Atlantic States in 1913 . Here, faculty expressed the desire to separate from departments of English. The art and science of oral communication went in different directions than traditional areas of focus in English, and those with these interests wanted the resources and recognition that accompanied this field of study. As Communication scholars formed departments of Communication, they also organized themselves into associations that reflected the interests of the field. The first organization of Communication professionals was the National Association of Elocutionists, established in 1892, followed by The Eastern Public Speaking Conference formed in 1910. Within a year, over sixty secondary-school teachers of Speech attended a conference at Swarthmore . Our current National Communication Association began during this time in 1914 as the National Association of Academic Teachers of Public Speaking, and became the Speech Communication Association in 1970. It wasnt until 1997 that members voted to change it to its current name. As a result of the work of the early founders, a number of organizations are currently devoted to bringing together those interested in studying communication. After 2400 years of study going in a variety of directions, the beginning of the 20th century showed the desire of communication teachers to formally organize and institutionalize the study of communication. These organizations have played a large part

in determining how departments of Communication look and function on college campuses, including what curriculum is part of the field, and the latest in teaching strategies for Communication professors. To better understand the Communication department on your campus today, lets examine some of the important events and people that shaped the study of communication during the 20th century. 1900-1940 From the mid 1800s through the early part of the 20th century, significant changes occurred in politics, social life, education, commercialization, and technology creating the world of organizations, universities, colleges, and mass production that we know today. As a result of all of this change, new areas of communication research emerged to answer the relevant questions of the day presented by this onslaught of social changes. From 19001940, communication study focused on five primary areas that experienced rapid changes and advances: (1) work on communication and political institutions, (2) research concerned with the role of communication in social life, (3) social-psychological analyses of communication, (4) studies of communication and education, and (5) commercially motivated research. Its likely that many of these areas are represented in the Communication department at your campus. This period brought many changes to the political landscape, with new technologies beginning to significantly alter the communication of political messages. This line of work was influenced by the early works of Walter Lippman (1922) who is considered the father of public opinion analysis. Similarly, Harold Lasswells (1927) pioneering work on propaganda set the foundation for studying how mass communication influences the social conscious of large groups of people. All of us have been exposed to a barrage of public opinion polls and political messages in the media. During the early 20th century, society changed through urbanization, industrialization, and continued developments in mass media. As a result, there was a need to understand how these changes impacted human communication. A very influential group of scholars studied communication and social life at the Chicago School of Sociology. Herbert Blumer (1933), Charles H. Cooley (1902; 1909), John Dewey (1922; 1927), George Herbert Mead (1934), and Robert E. Park (1922; 1923; 1925) committed themselves to scientific sociology that focused on the sensitivity to the interrelation of persons experiences and the social contexts of their lives . They focused on how people interacted; examined the effects of urbanization on peoples social lives; studied film and media institutions and their effects on culture; explored culture, conflict, and consensus; highlighted the effects of marketing and advertising; and researched interpersonal communication. The third focus of communication inquiry during this time was the advancement of Social Psychology, which explored individual social behavior in communication contexts. If you have seen the Jacksass movies/show or the show Candid Camera, youve witnessed how the characters of these shows violate communication norms to get a reaction from others. Social Psychologists focused on issues such as communication norms and the impact of our communication in social contexts. In other words, where do we get ideas of normal communication behaviors and how does our communication impact social situations? Another area of focus in Social Psychology was the study of the effects of media on communication outcomes. A particular focus was

movies. Movies developed rapidly as a source of entertainment for youth prior to World War I, and researchers wanted to understand what impact watching movies had on young people. Its likely that youve heard debate and discussion about the potential harm of seeing violence in movies, television, and video games. Much of this research began with the Social Psychologists of the early 20th century and continues today as we discuss the impact of mass media on society, culture, relationships, and individuals. The study of communication in education was the fourth important development in the field between 1900 and 1940. A great deal of the way it is organized and conducted can be traced back to early research in instructional communication. Early on, the possible impacts of every major new technology (radio, film, and television) on educational outcomes became a primary focus of this specialization. Many thought that these technologies would completely change how we received an education. Now, some people think that the personal computer will revolutionize classroom instruction. Instructional communication research in the early 1900s through the present day seeks to discover the best communicative techniques for teaching. The fifth important development in communication study during this period focused on commercialism and human communication. With an increase in national brands, marketing, and advertising, commercial organizations were interested in influencing consumer habits. Paul Lazarsfeld studied mass communication to understand its commercial implications and was an early pioneer in understanding persuasion and advertising. While these early communication research areas actually emerged from other academic disciplines (sociology, psychology, anthropology, and politics), Communication scholars found it necessary to organize themselves to further advance the field. Continued changes in the world, including World War I and World War II, prompted even greater advances in Communication research and the development of the field from the 1940s through the 1960s. 1940-1970 World War II played a major role in shaping the direction of communication study during the 1940s. Two instrumental players in communication research during this era, Kurt Lewin and Carl Hovland studied group dynamics and mass communication. Following World War II, scholars such as Lazarsfeld, Lasswell, Hovland, and Schramm wanted to bring more credibility and attention to their research. One approach they used to accomplish this was to call for Communication study to be its own field of research at universities. They began using the terms mass communication and communication research more frequently in their writings, which helped begin the process of distinguishing Communication research and departments from other fields such as political science, psychology, and sociology. In 1949 Lazarsfeld and Stanton argued that, the whole field of communications research should be covered simultaneously , which was an attempt to formalize communication study as a field that included not only the humanities, but the social science of communication aimed at theory development . These Communication scholars began forming Communication into its own academic field by creating and adopting a vocabulary specific to the field, writing core subject matter into

Communication textbooks, and agreeing to a relatively stable set of communication processes that could be taught in college and university classrooms. Another notable contributor to the development of the field during this time was Wilbur Schramm. Schramm is often credited as the first person to create university classes with communication in the title, author textbooks for Communication-specific courses, be awarded a Ph.D. in Communication, and have the title Professor of Communication at the University of Illinois. He is often credited as being the modern father of communication study. As a result of his work, departments and colleges of Communication and Speech began to form around the country, particularly in the midwest. Schools in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Washington, and North Carolina began to form departments and/or colleges that included communication as part of their title. In fact, if youre planning on getting a Ph.D. in Communication, it is very likely you will attend a school in the mid-west or east because of the early developments of departments in these regions. Now, departments of Speech, Communication, and Speech Communication exist on colleges and universities both nationally and internationally. The 1950s saw two areas of research develop that are still a major focus in our field today--research on voting and mass media and experimental studies on persuasion . The move from mass media and political communication research in the early 1900s to a more theoretical approach in the 1940s and 50s brought together two areas that make Communication study such an important academic field today--theory and practice. Research in the 40s and 50s was conducted using experimental and survey methods with an emphasis on generating theories of how and why we communicate. As the field began to grow and emerge, Delia states that it struggled with the following question: Was the field to be interdisciplinary or autonomous; and if autonomous, on what terms? Communication study in the late 1940s embraced divergent and contradictory attitudes that leave this question unresolved after 50 years. Following World War II, other communication research focused on public speaking, instructional communication, communication anxiety, persuasion, group dynamics, and business communication. While the early 20th century saw major new approaches for studying communication, the 1960s and 70s saw renewed emphasis and focus on the works of those from the Classical Period. Thus, the 60s and 70s worked to bridge together the old and new school of Communication study for the first time. While scholars in the 60s and 70s reconsidered classical approaches, others such as Burke pushed the boundaries of rhetorical study. Rather than focusing on the speeches of dead white guys, Burke wanted to analyze a much broader scope of communication events including protest rhetoric, film, television, and radio. 1970 to the Present Day The emergence of the womens, civil-rights, and anti-war movements in the 1960s and 70s reintroduced old social questions and concerns that had gone largely ignored by society. Fortunately, the field of Communication was progressive enough to take on the challenge of responding to these questions and concerns from its own perspective. Thus, the 1970s saw a rise in feminist scholarship that contributed greatly to a field that has

seen progressive and consistent development since 400 BCE by those not afraid to tackle the dominate social problems of the day. Two pioneering organizations devoted to womens scholarship in Communication are the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language, and Gender (OSCLG) founded in 1972, and the Organization for Research on Women and Communication (ORWAC) founded in 1977. Over the course of the next decade, womens scholarship gained prominence in the various professional organizations devoted to teaching and researching communication. Feminist researchers like Donna Allen, Sandra A. Purnell, Sally Miller Gearhart, Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, Sonja K. Foss, Karen A. Foss and many others have been instrumental in the formation of a well-established and respected body of research that challenged the status quo of many of our theoretical assumptions and research practices established in past eras. Through the 1980s and 1990s the field of Communication continued to grow. The field maintains strong teaching and research interests in areas such as rhetoric, mass communication, instructional communication, interpersonal communication, group communication, organizational communication, intercultural communication, gender communication, health communication, and many more. Communication study: today and tommorow Today, many colleges and universities have Communication as part of their curriculum with departments titled with names like Speech, Speech Communication, and Communication. Likewise, our professional organizations are still active in growing and strengthening the field through teaching and research. Even with the increased recognition, there is still considerable growth, change, and movement taking place in communication study. Those involved in the field actively and openly debate and discuss various theoretical and methodological approaches for studying human communication. The study of human communication continues to be a wide and diverse field, with each area increasing our understanding of how humans communicate. As history explains, changes in the world will continue to guide our approaches for understanding and researching communication. We have moved from an industrial age to an information age and have yet to fully understand the communicative implications of this shift. Advances in communication and information technologies are forever changing the ways we research and teach communication in our colleges and universities. While it is difficult to predict the specific areas and phenomena of study for future communication research, it is safe to assume that continued global and social changes will shape the development of our field.

Erasmus, Romania