Instructor: Majid Tehranian, majid@hawaii.edu
Webpage:
HYPERLINK "http://www2.hawaii.edu/~majid"
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~majid

Course Listserv:
HYPERLINK "mailto:ace-l@hawaii.edu"
ace-l@hawaii.edu

Office: Crawford Hall 309
Tel.: 808-956-3353
Office Hours: TTh 1:30:2:30 pm, or by appointment
Class Meetings: Mondays 2:30-5:00 pm, George Hall 213

DESCRIPTION
This course reviews the evolution of communication theories in the historical transitions from premodern to modern and postmodern societies.

APPROACH
Communication and information theories cover a broad spectrum of social science theories. Theories can be best understood if they are historically and culturally situated. This course is therefore taking a historical and cross-cultural approach. More than those in the natural sciences, social science theories are culturally and historically bound. However, certain perennial social problems seem to have persisted throughout human history. The course therefore focuses on communication in the modes of production, legitimation, socialization, and signification.

As Thomas Kuhn has argued, natural science theories evolve in paradigmatic shifts from revolutionary to normal sciences. Because social sciences are also normative sciences, the moral paradigms are often in contestation. They fluctuate between, for example, conflict and consensus, individualism and collectivism, freedom and determinism, egalitarian and hierarchical norms, fragmentation and solidarity, etc. Class discussions will be useful in punctuating the normative aspects of the social scientific discourse.

REQUIREMENTS
A single textbook effectively cannot cover the topic of this course. The required readings (Ong, Littlejohn, Fisk, Mattleart, and Tehranian) together come close to covering the subject from different theoretical perspectives. You are expected to present your reviews orally on the topics of the day. The suggested books in a bibliography posted on my website have been selected for their relevance. You can find some of the books in the UH Bookstore. For others, you need to go to the library or the online booksellers (e.g. amazon.com). It is critical that you do not fall behind in your reading.

GRADING
Your grade will be based on class participation (10 per cent) and three review essays (each for 30 percent). In your review essays, you are expected to develop your own argument, thesis, or theory substantiated by facts and logic and with reference to other theories. Oral and written presentations of the essays will be evaluated on the basis of their originality (20%), cogency (20%), organization (20%), style (20%), and scholarship (20%). Your numeric grade corresponds to letter grades as follows: 90-100, A to A+; 80-89, B to B+; 70-79, C to C+; 60-69, D to D+; below 60, F. Attendance is required. Each unexcused absence will result in a reduction of one point in your course grade.

LISTSERV
To communicate with your instructor and fellow students, please sign up for membership in the worldís most exclusive electronic club, namely the Academy for Global Communication and Education (ACE), by sending the following PLAIN TEXT, no ìelectronic signatureî message:

To: listproc@hawaii.edu
Message Text: SUBSCRIBE ACE-L <First and Last Name>
Example: SUBSCRIBE ACE-L John Doe

The listserv is not moderated. It will be used as an electronic bulletin board by your instructor. Your messages will reach everyone on the list. If you wish to find out who is on the list, you may send a message to listproc with a single message: REVIEW ACE-L.


REQUIRED TEXTS

Fiske, John. Introduction to Communication Studies. London: Methuen, 1982. ISBN: 0-416-74570-9

Littlejohn, Stephen W. Theories of Human Communication, latest edition. Wadsworth/Thomson Learning: Belmont, CA. ISBN: 0-534-54957-8.

Mattleart, Michele and Armand. Theories of Communication: A Short Introduction. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998. ISBN:

Ong, Walter J. Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. London and New York: Routledge, 1982. ISBN: 0-415-02796-9

Tehranian, Majid. Rethinking Civilization, lecture at Universities of Florence and Rome, July 6-7, 2004.

Tehranian, Majid. Global Communication and World Politics: Domination, Development and Discourse. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1999. ISBN: 1-55587-708-7

Guides to Writing
W. Strunk, & E. B. White, Elements of Style, 4th ed. New York: Allyn & Bacon, 2000. ISBN: 020530902X
William Zinsser, On Writing Well. New York: Harper Resources, 1999.
Turabian, K. L. A manual for writers of term papers, theses & dissertations. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1996
McGuire, Mary et al. The Internet Handbook for Writers, Researchers, and Journalists. New York: The
Guilford Press, 1997.
Scholarly Journals
Communication Theory; Journal of International Communication; InterMedia; Telecommunications Policy; Journal of Communication; Media Asia; Third World Quarterly; Alternatives; Media Development; Third Channel; Asian Journal of Communication; European Journal of Communication; Culture, Media and Society; Communication Theory; Broadcasting and Electronic Media, The Information Society; Journal of Communication Inquiry; Prometheus, etc.

USEFUL WEBSITES
http://www.usc.edu/dept/annenberg
http://www.usc.edu/dept/annenberg
http://www.toda.org
http://www.toda.org
http://wsj.com
http://interactive.wsj.com
http://altavista.digital.com
http://altavista.digital.com
http://economist.com
http://www.economist.com
"http://www.mediahistory.com"
http://www.mediahistory.com
"http://www.census.gov"
http://www.census.gov
http://www.whitehous.gov/WH/html/briefroom.html
http://www.whitehous.gov/WH/html/briefroom.html
http://www.ameritech.com/news/contributions/education/schoolhouse/library_social_sci.html
http://www.ameritech.com/news/contributions/education/schoolhouse/library_social_sci.html
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/books.html
www.cs.cmu.edu/books.html
http://www.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/bartlett/
www.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/bartlett/
http://www.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby//strunk/
www.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby//strunk/
http://www.thesaauru.com
www.thesaauru.com
http://www.internetuniv.com
www.internetuniv.com
http://www.finweb.com
www.finweb.com
http://www.ucr.edu/h_gig/hourslinks/html
www.ucr.edu/h_gig/hourslinks/html
http://www.cais.com/makulow/vlj.html
www.cais.com/makulow/vlj.html
http://www.pitt.edu/~ian/index/html
www.pitt.edu/~ian/index/html
http://www.abacon.com/sociology/soclinks/indx.html
www.abacon.com/sociology/soclinks/indx.html
http://www.voxpop.org/jefferson/
www.voxpop.org/jefferson/
UN, ITU, UNESCO, WIPO, INTELSAT, ASEAN, NAFTA, APEC, INMARSAT