Meaning of a Communication Major - Research Paper Example

However, not at all times must the receiver be aware of the sender’s plan to communicate at the time of communication. History of Communication as a Discipline While communication is part of every human interaction, no other discipline makes this behavior its unique focus. The Handbook of Rhetorical and Communication Theory by Gehrke, Pat (2009, p. 5) tells notes that communication departments deal with"…the pragmatics of human communication”. According to John Waite Bowers, former president of the National Communication Association, the discipline has both humanistic and social science roots.

From the ancient Greek and Roman rhetoricians Plato, Aristotle, Cicero and Augustine, we have one of the original liberal Arts. In recent times academics have added the methodologies of careful social science research to study communication behavior which use epistemology, perception and social organization theory (Wahl?Jorgensen, 2004). Communication is at the same time the oldest and the newest discipline. The Department of Rhetoric was replaced often by Department of Speech in college campuses just prior to World War I.

After fifty years under that name; many departments started calling themselves “Speech Communication" and currently many are "Communication" or "Communication Studies" or other combination which tries to capture both the central focus of the discipline as well as its concerns. Scholars concentrate on understanding, analyzing, interpreting, critiquing and correlating principles which account for human communication experiences and behavior Benson (1985).Concerns range from logic and critical thinking to social and psycholinguistic variables.

What Communication Studies Entails Essentially, a communication major focuses on the study of rhetoric and language based on Latin and Greek, and how these could be used for the benefit of society (Packer & Robertson, 2006). Like other arts including history, archeology, philosophy, linguistics and religion, ancient teachings form the foundation for communication major studies. A major in communication studies equips a student with in-depth knowledge of nature of human communication. Furthermore, the student gets to learn symbol systems of communication, media, communication environments and the effects of communication.

Core to rhetoric are logos, pathos and ethos (Fink & McPhee, 2005). In the contemporary setting, majoring in communication teaches one to use appropriate medium to effectively present arguments and deliver messages. Today, for example, political speeches and messages presented on mass media are pregnant with rhetoric. Majoring in communication also helps academics learn how common languages evolve over time to such an extent that they define communities distinguishing them from the one another.

Some of the subjects encountered in communication major include the following: Public Address - The study of speakers and speeches, including the historical and social context of platforms, campaigns and movements, and how current speakers can learn skills and applications to their own creation and production of messages. Oral Interpretation and Performance of Literature –The traditional part of the discipline that studies literature through performance. Based on critical analysis of written text, skilled verbal and non verbal presentations the