Good morning Chancellor De Paolo, faculty, students, and alumni. Thank you for attending the Communication Day Convocation for 2008. As you know, I am Dr. Rick Olson, the chair for the Department of Communication Studies for the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. It is an honor to be here today to discuss the importance of our growing department.
What is communication studies and how does it affect our lives? Communication studies is an academic discipline that deals with processes of communication, commonly defined as the giving and receiving of verbal and non-verbal messages. Hence, communication studies can deal with, for instance, the transmission of messages from one point to another through some medium of dissemination, such as face-to-face or television, but also with how institutions, like libraries, maintain information over time.
The discipline is institutionalized under many different names at different universities and in various countries. These include “communications”, "communication studies", "speech communication", “communications science”, “media studies”, and “mass communication.” Often these terms overlap with academic programs in journalism, film and cinema, radio and television, advertising and public relations and performance studies.
Communication Studies emphasizes the importance of reaching across disciplinary boundaries. By its very nature, the study of communication intersects with other scholarly traditions, such as history, linguistics, English, , sociology, psychology, political science, and ethnic and gender studies. Each of these disciplines has produced theories and methods relevant to communication research, so students are encouraged to take courses outside the department as part of their programs of study.
Communication studies is often considered a part of the social sciences or the humanities, but sometimes draws on other disciplines as well, including engineering, architecture, mathematics, sociology, psychology, computer science, gender and sexuality, and economics. The vast span and interdisciplinary nature of communication studies has understandably made it difficult for students to place it within the broader educational system. Therefore, Communication Studies is an important part of the liberal arts curriculum and those majoring in it gain a meaningful education that not only prepares them for a career but also to participate as a citizen in our society.
Our field draws large numbers of students, sustains a continuing academic discussion, a large number of scholarly journals, and several professional associations. Communication scholars have provided educators, lawmakers, businesses, and reformers with advice on various issues. In fact, our department has one of the highest numbers of declared majors for any academic field on the UNCW campus. We uphold strict guidelines and utilize them to ensure that we produce excellent communicators.
Communication can be seen as a cornerstone of society. In what is called the “transmission” view, communication links the ways messages are transmitted and received via technology with the composition of these messages (or more broadly, as communication relationships), and with the analysis of the effects of these communication acts. A more recent view holds that communication is a central daily ritual that helps form and sustain communities.
Today, the study of communication aligns with areas such as business, organizational development, philosophy, languages, composition, theatre, debate (often called "forensics"), literary criticism, sociology, psychology, history, semiotics, international policy, economics and political science. The extent and the dominance of Communication Studies in many areas of life is responsible for the ubiquity of communication, as well as for the resulting confusion about what does and does not constitute communication.
Most American programs in Communication Studies today trace their history through speech to ancient rhetoric. Programs in Communication, Communication Arts or Communication Sciences often include Organizational Communication, Interpersonal Communication, Speech Communication (or Rhetoric), and Mass Communication. Other disciplines that are included are journalism, film criticism, theatre, political science, or radio, television or film production. Graduates of formal communication programs can be found in a wide range of fields working as university professors, marketing researchers, media editors and designers, speech therapists, journalists, human resources managers, corporate trainers, public relations practitioners, and media managers. There are also consultants in a variety of fields including, media production, life coaching, public speaking, organizational, political campaign/issue management and public policy.
There is a lot of history concerned with Communication Studies. It is rooted several thousand years ago, and has grown until today. Various aspects of communication have long been the subject of human study. In ancient Greece and Rome, the study of rhetoric, the art of oratory and persuasion, was a vital subject for students. One significant ongoing debate was whether one could be an effective speaker in a base cause or whether excellent rhetoric came from the excellence of the orator's character, as declared by Socrates, Plato, and Cicero. Through the European Middle Ages and the Renaissance, grammar, rhetoric, and logic became the base of the system of classical learning in Europe.
Through teaching, research, and service, the Department of Communication Studies addresses the many ways communication functions to create, sustain, and transform personal life, social relations, political institutions, economic organizations, and cultural and aesthetic conventions in society. It promotes capabilities required for various modes of mediated and non-mediated communication and develops skills for analyzing, interpreting, and critiquing communication problems and questions.
Communication is central to, and increasingly important in, the world. The Department of Communication Studies at the UNCW is defined by its commitment to providing outstanding educational opportunities for students at this university and to being a leading force in shaping the direction of communication studies, education, and practice in the state, nation, and international community. We want to encourage critical awareness of communication choices, behavior, and technologies. We expect that in doing so, we will enhance the independent potential of students, indeed of all citizens, to participate in a humane and just society. This approach implies a significant integration of the relationship among conceiving, producing, and understanding communication messages, ethical, creative, and aesthetic perspectives in both teaching and research. We promote different approaches to communication across the sub-areas of the field, and the practical experiences of students as members of the diverse communities to which they belong. Finally, communication as it is expressed, taught, and studied at the UNCW must be responsive to significant needs, changes, and demands of the various publics served by the university.
Communication Studies is a field of inquiry that produces a working understanding of the beliefs, production, performance, and interpretation of communication in its diverse forms ranging from speech to electronic media. As a department, our guiding assumption is that Communication Studies is a form of critical activity. In it, the everyday objectivity of human meaning production is called into question, scrutinized, and transformed. This work is done for a practical aim. Through our teaching, research, and service, we seek to develop and enhance the ability of students, fellow citizens, and communities to express their interests, understand others, and contribute to the aesthetic, political, social, and cultural environments in which they live.
Our goal, therefore, is to build on our vigorous traditions of excellence in teaching, research, and service by embodying commitments to advance critical perspectives, contribute to an informed and contributing population, and to combine theory and practice. Our students respond to local and global demands for communication knowledge in an undergraduate program that is, and will be, one of the leading programs of its kind nationally.
Communication Studies majors have an opportunity to study the diverse spectrum of subjects encompassed by this dynamic discipline. Courses from approximately twelve different departments, spanning both the College of Letters and Science and the School of Fine Arts are included within the major's requirements. Although Communication Studies is a Social Science Major in the College of Letters and Science, the Divisions of Humanities, Life Science and Physical Science also contribute courses to the Communication Studies curriculum.
The unique breadth of subject matters provides students with a background of scholarship that prepares them for the future of their choice. Students may concentrate on either Mass Media or Interpersonal Communication. Communication Studies classes range in size from the typical enrollment of approximately 200 students in Communication Studies 200, our Research Methods class, to intimate seminars that generally are restricted to approximately 25. There are some Communication Studies courses are open to non-majors as well as majors, especially for those majoring in Business and Marketing fields.
Faculty in our department focuses on the study of the mass media, new communication technologies, interpersonal communication, and public relations. Our courses examine their impact, their uses by everyday people, their management by political and economic elites, their history, their regulation and institutional structures. The mass media have become some of the most powerful institutions in American society and, indeed, the world. They affect every aspect of our lives: how we think, what we believe, who we choose as our leaders, what is seen as success and failure, and what we regard as just and unjust. Thus, we emphasize four crucial reasons for studying the mass media and new media: their essence in every day life and public policy; their vast influence on our culture and those around the world; their role in shaping our individual and collective identities, including our attitudes toward others; and their ability to advance or interfere with democracy.
Our goal is to cultivate a meticulous communication pattern among our students so that they can navigate the verbal and non-verbal environment that surrounds them and become more sophisticated consumers and producers of media fare. Our courses emphasize critical thinking and seek to develop a portfolio of analytical skills that will benefit students throughout their lives in whatever careers they choose. Through our research and writing, the faculty also seeks to advance public understanding of the impact of communication on our country and the world under the broad frameworks of communication and the public interest and the media and individual and group identities.
The subject matter offered by the Department of Communication Studies encompasses such highly contemporary issues as the new technology, media effects, First Amendment practices, and the telecommunication business. Other examples are a study of persuasion, emotions, and intercultural communication. Faculty research enriches the material covered in Communication Studies classes and contributes to the intellectually challenging educational experience this department offers to its students.
Communication Studies majors receive a academic foundation in the liberal arts that is an excellent preparation for graduate level study in their choice of academic fields and professional schools. Many students are also concerned with applications to other careers and the Communication Studies Department helps them make this important connection. The theories and principles of communication that majors study are augmented by a special courses, such as Rhetorical Theory and Communication Theory, available to them in their junior and senior years. By engaging in the practical activities of a series of internships, students learn how to apply theory to practice. This experience gives Communication Studies graduates a head start on their career path. In addition to holding important positions in academic and other scholarly areas, Communication Studies alumni are currently engaged in a wide range of business enterprises, such as law, medicine, broadcasting, film/television production, journalism, management, public relations, and advertising.
There are also a variety of student organizations in which students may choose to participate. These organizations include the Communication Studies Society, Lambda Pi Eta Honor Society, Public Relations Student Network, Storytelling in the Community, and UNCW Advertising Chapter. These associations assist our students in expanding their minds and social communication. They enrich the students’ lives as they prepare for the world.
Lambda Pi Eta is the official Communication Studies honor society, established by the National Communication Association (NCA). As a member of the Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS), LPE has over 400 active chapters at four-year colleges and universities worldwide. Membership in Lambda Pi Eta comprises undergraduate students who have declared an interest in the field of communication and have achieved a high level of academic excellence.
Our department is a young but thriving program. It proves to be one of the most popular majors here at UNCW with over five hundred students declaring it as their major. We strive to make it a rigorous program that allows quality students to shine and grow. It allows our students to broaden their minds and learn to adapt to an ever-changing society. I would like to thank all of you for being here today. It has been my great honor to preside at our Communication Day Convocation.