Glossary

1.3 Historical overview of the study of communication and popular culture

6 min read•august 16, 2024

Communication studies evolved from rhetoric to a diverse field encompassing mass media, interpersonal communication, and more. The discipline's growth reflects changing social and technological landscapes, with pivotal moments like the NCA's founding and post-WWII propaganda research shaping its trajectory.

Recent decades saw a and digital revolution in communication studies. New areas like and AI ethics emerged. The field now grapples with global perspectives, big data, and the impacts of technology on society, integrating insights from various disciplines.

Communication Studies: A Developing Discipline

Early Foundations and Institutionalization

Top images from around the web for Early Foundations and Institutionalization

  • Functions of Mass Communication | Introduction to Communication View original

    Is this image relevant?

  • Functions of Mass Communication | Introduction to Communication View original

    Is this image relevant?

1 of 2

Top images from around the web for Early Foundations and Institutionalization

  • Functions of Mass Communication | Introduction to Communication View original

    Is this image relevant?

  • Functions of Mass Communication | Introduction to Communication View original

    Is this image relevant?

1 of 2
  • Communication studies emerged as a distinct academic field in the early 20th century evolved from rhetoric and public speaking programs in universities
  • National Communication Association (NCA) founded in 1914 as the National Association of Academic Teachers of Public Speaking marked a pivotal moment in the discipline's institutionalization
  • Post-World War II research on propaganda and mass media effects significantly influenced the field of communication studies
  • Communication studies expanded to encompass various sub-disciplines including interpersonal communication, organizational communication, and

Shifts in Focus and Methodology

  • Cultural turn in communication studies during the 1960s and 1970s led to increased focus on critical and cultural approaches to communication research
  • Digital revolution of the late 20th and early 21st centuries prompted new areas of study within communication such as new media and computer-mediated communication
  • Interdisciplinary approaches gained prominence integrating insights from psychology, sociology, and anthropology
  • Quantitative and qualitative research methods developed to analyze complex communication phenomena (content analysis, discourse analysis)

Global Perspectives and Contemporary Challenges

  • International and intercultural communication emerged as crucial areas of study in an increasingly globalized world
  • Media ecology framework gained traction examining how communication technologies shape social environments
  • Ethics in communication became a central concern addressing issues like privacy, misinformation, and digital divide
  • Big data and artificial intelligence introduced new research possibilities and ethical considerations in communication studies

Foundational Thinkers

  • developed the communication model "Who says what in which channel to whom with what effect?" became foundational in mass communication research
  • coined the phrase "the medium is the message" and introduced concepts like "global village" profoundly influenced media studies
  • Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model revolutionized the understanding of how audiences interpret media messages emphasized the active role of the receiver
  • Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer of critiqued mass culture and introduced the concept of the "culture industry"
  • Raymond Williams contributed to cultural studies by examining the relationship between culture, society, and technology

Critical and Postmodern Perspectives

  • 's concept of the public sphere has been influential in understanding the role of communication in democracy and civil society
  • 's theories on simulacra and hyperreality have been crucial in analyzing postmodern media and popular culture
  • 's work on discourse and power relations provided a framework for analyzing communication in institutional contexts
  • 's cyborg theory offered insights into the relationship between technology, identity, and communication in the digital age
  • contributed to feminist communication theory emphasizing intersectionality and the importance of marginalized voices

Contemporary Scholars and Emerging Theories

  • developed the concept of participatory culture examining fan communities and convergence culture
  • 's research on social media and youth culture has been influential in understanding digital natives and online identity formation
  • ' network society theory provides a framework for understanding communication in the information age
  • 's work on human-technology interaction explores the psychological and social impacts of
  • 's research on algorithmic bias highlights the importance of critical analysis of search engines and AI in communication studies
  • Invention of the printing press in the 15th century marked the beginning of mass-produced popular culture enabled wider dissemination of information and entertainment
  • Industrial Revolution led to urbanization and increased leisure time contributed to the growth of popular culture forms (penny dreadfuls, vaudeville)
  • Advent of radio in the early 20th century created new forms of popular entertainment and changed the landscape of mass communication
  • Emergence of film industry in the early 20th century introduced a new visual medium for storytelling and cultural expression
  • Rise of mass-market paperbacks and comic books in the mid-20th century democratized access to literature and visual narratives

Television and Broadcast Era

  • 's rise in the mid-20th century revolutionized popular culture created shared cultural experiences and influenced social norms on an unprecedented scale
  • Development of cable and satellite TV in the late 20th century led to channel proliferation and niche programming
  • Music videos and MTV in the 1980s transformed the music industry and visual culture
  • Reality TV emerged as a dominant genre in the 1990s and 2000s blurring lines between entertainment and real life
  • 24-hour news cycles reshaped information consumption and public discourse

Digital Age and Beyond

  • Development of and digital technologies in the late 20th and early 21st centuries led to the democratization of content creation and consumption
  • Social media platforms transformed how popular culture is produced, distributed, and consumed enabled viral phenomena and user-generated content
  • Streaming services and on-demand content fragmented audiences and challenged traditional models of popular culture distribution
  • Mobile technologies and smartphones made popular culture accessible anytime, anywhere
  • Virtual and augmented reality technologies are creating new immersive experiences in popular culture
  • Artificial intelligence and machine learning are influencing content creation and personalization in popular culture (AI-generated art, personalized recommendations)

Historical Context of Communication Theories

Post-War Era and Information Theory

  • of communication (1948) emerged from information theory during the post-World War II era reflected the period's focus on technological efficiency
  • Lasswell's communication model (1948) developed in the context of studying wartime propaganda and political communication
  • , introduced by Norbert Wiener in 1948, influenced early communication theories by emphasizing feedback and control mechanisms
  • Two-step flow theory of communication, proposed by Katz and Lazarsfeld in the 1940s, reflected the growing interest in interpersonal influence in mass communication

Media Effects and Audience Studies

  • , developed by McCombs and Shaw in the 1970s, arose in the context of increasing concerns about media influence on public opinion
  • , formalized in the 1970s, developed as a response to earlier passive audience models reflected a shift towards recognizing audience agency
  • , proposed by George Gerbner in the 1970s, emerged during a period of growing concern about television's long-term effects on viewers' perceptions of reality
  • , introduced by Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann in 1974, was influenced by the political climate of post-war Germany and concerns about public opinion formation

Critical and Cultural Turns

  • Emergence of critical theory in communication studies during the 1980s and 1990s reflected broader societal movements towards examining power structures and marginalized voices
  • Cultural studies approach, pioneered by scholars at the Birmingham School in the 1960s and 1970s, emphasized the role of culture in communication processes
  • Feminist communication theories gained prominence in the 1970s and 1980s challenging gender biases in communication research and practice
  • Postcolonial communication theories emerged in the late 20th century addressing issues of and global power dynamics

Digital Age Theories

  • , developed in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, arose in response to the blurring of boundaries between different media forms due to digital technologies
  • Network society theory, proposed by Manuel Castells in the 1990s, addressed the social, political, and economic changes brought about by information technology
  • , developed in the 2000s, examines how media logic increasingly shapes various social institutions and practices
  • theories gained prominence in the digital age addressing how information abundance affects communication processes and social behavior

Key Terms to Review (39)

Agenda-setting theory: Agenda-setting theory posits that the media has a significant influence on the public agenda by determining which issues are considered important and worthy of attention. This theory highlights how media coverage shapes what people think about, rather than what they think, essentially framing the topics that dominate public discourse and influencing perceptions on various matters.
Attention Economy: The attention economy refers to the idea that human attention is a scarce resource and its value can be monetized, especially in the context of digital media and communication. As content creators and platforms vie for consumer engagement, the competition for attention shapes how information is produced, distributed, and consumed. This concept underscores the transformation of media landscapes and influences cultural dynamics as audiences become more selective about where they direct their focus.
Bell hooks: bell hooks is a prominent cultural critic, feminist theorist, and author known for her work on the intersections of race, gender, and class in popular culture and communication. She emphasizes the importance of representation in media and how these representations shape societal perceptions and experiences. Her writings often challenge traditional notions of feminism and advocate for a more inclusive understanding that accounts for the diverse experiences of women.
Berlo's SMCR Model: Berlo's SMCR Model is a communication framework that outlines the process of communication through four key components: Source, Message, Channel, and Receiver. This model emphasizes the importance of each component in effective communication and highlights how different factors influence the exchange of information between individuals or groups.
Consumerism: Consumerism is the cultural and economic ideology that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. It emphasizes the importance of consumption as a means of achieving personal satisfaction and social status, often driving societal values and behaviors. This concept intertwines with the role of popular culture, shaping identities and lifestyles while being influenced by historical communication trends and advertising strategies.
Convergence Theory: Convergence theory is a sociological perspective that posits that as societies evolve, they begin to adopt similar cultural, social, and economic practices due to globalization and technological advancement. This theory helps to explain the ways in which communication and popular culture transform as societies interact and integrate with one another, leading to shared experiences and common cultural elements across different populations.
Cultivation Theory: Cultivation theory posits that long-term exposure to media content, particularly television, shapes viewers' perceptions of reality. This theory suggests that heavy media consumers are more likely to adopt beliefs and attitudes that reflect the repeated themes and messages portrayed in the media, which can influence societal norms and values.
Cultural Imperialism: Cultural imperialism refers to the domination of one culture over another, often manifesting through the spread of cultural products and practices that reinforce the values and beliefs of the dominant culture. This concept is crucial for understanding how communication and media can influence and shape popular culture globally, particularly as Western media becomes pervasive worldwide.
Cultural Turn: The cultural turn refers to a significant shift in the study of communication and popular culture that emphasizes the importance of culture in understanding social dynamics and human behavior. This approach moves beyond traditional frameworks that focused primarily on political or economic factors, highlighting the role of cultural meanings, symbols, and practices in shaping individual and collective identities. It represents a move towards interpreting texts, media, and everyday practices within their cultural contexts, recognizing how they influence and reflect social realities.
Cybernetics: Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of systems, control, and communication in animals and machines. This field focuses on the ways in which systems regulate themselves and communicate information, emphasizing feedback loops, adaptation, and interaction. Cybernetics is foundational for understanding how communication processes function within popular culture, as it reveals how different media and technologies shape and are shaped by societal dynamics.
Danah boyd: danah boyd is a prominent researcher and scholar in the fields of technology, social media, and youth culture. Her work focuses on understanding how young people interact with digital environments and the implications of these interactions for society, particularly in the context of communication and popular culture.
Digital communication: Digital communication refers to the exchange of information through digital platforms, utilizing electronic devices and the internet to transmit data in various formats like text, audio, video, and images. This mode of communication has transformed how people interact, share information, and create content, facilitating instant connectivity across the globe and influencing social interactions and cultural practices.
Donna Haraway: Donna Haraway is a prominent feminist scholar and philosopher known for her work in science and technology studies, particularly her influential essay 'A Cyborg Manifesto.' Her ideas challenge traditional boundaries between humans, animals, and machines, reflecting the complexities of identity and culture in a postmodern world. Haraway's theories have significantly impacted the study of communication and popular culture by encouraging critical examinations of how technology shapes human experiences and social relations.
Globalization: Globalization is the process by which businesses, cultures, and societies become integrated and interconnected on a global scale, leading to an increase in the exchange of goods, ideas, and values across borders. This phenomenon is driven by advancements in technology, communication, and trade, impacting how we consume media and engage with popular culture from different parts of the world.
Harold Lasswell: Harold Lasswell was a pioneering American political scientist and communication theorist, best known for his work in the fields of propaganda and mass communication. His influential model of communication, often encapsulated in the phrase 'Who says what in which channel to whom with what effect?', highlights the importance of understanding the roles of sender, message, medium, recipient, and outcome in the communication process. This model set a foundation for subsequent studies in both communication and popular culture.
Henry Jenkins: Henry Jenkins is a prominent media scholar and researcher best known for his work on participatory culture, media convergence, and fan studies. His contributions emphasize how audiences engage with media and shape popular culture through their interactions and creations.
Jean Baudrillard: Jean Baudrillard was a French sociologist and philosopher known for his critical theory on postmodernism, media, and culture. His work addresses how symbols and signs shape reality, suggesting that in contemporary society, representations become more significant than the real objects they represent. This concept has profound implications for understanding the historical development of communication and the pervasive influence of advertising in mass media.
Jürgen Habermas: Jürgen Habermas is a German philosopher and sociologist, known for his work on the public sphere and communicative action. His ideas have greatly influenced the fields of communication and popular culture, especially regarding how public discourse shapes society and democracy. Habermas emphasizes the importance of rational communication and the role of the public sphere in fostering democratic deliberation.
Manuel Castells: Manuel Castells is a renowned sociologist and communication theorist known for his work on the impact of information technology on society, particularly in the context of globalization and cultural dynamics. His theories explore how communication networks shape social structures and influence cultural identities, highlighting the interconnectedness of technology, culture, and communication in a rapidly changing world.
Marshall McLuhan: Marshall McLuhan was a Canadian philosopher and media theorist, best known for his work on the effects of media on human communication and culture. His famous phrases 'the medium is the message' and 'global village' illustrate how different forms of media shape perceptions, social interactions, and cultural experiences.
Mass communication: Mass communication refers to the process of transmitting information and messages to large audiences through various media channels, including television, radio, newspapers, and the internet. It plays a crucial role in shaping public opinion, influencing culture, and facilitating social interaction across diverse groups of people.
Media ecology: Media ecology is the study of how different media environments influence human experiences, communication processes, and cultural practices. It looks at the interplay between media technologies and the ways in which they shape society and individual behaviors, emphasizing that each medium brings its own unique characteristics and effects on perception and understanding.
Mediatization Theory: Mediatization theory is a framework that explores the interplay between media and societal change, emphasizing how media influences social institutions, culture, and everyday life. This concept highlights the idea that media not only reflects reality but actively shapes and transforms it, leading to profound changes in how people communicate and engage with each other and their environment.
Michel Foucault: Michel Foucault was a French philosopher and social theorist known for his critical studies of power, knowledge, and discourse. His work has profoundly influenced various fields, including communication and popular culture, by challenging traditional views on authority and the ways in which knowledge is constructed and disseminated. Foucault's concepts help in understanding how cultural narratives shape societal norms and behaviors over time.
Modernism: Modernism is a cultural, artistic, and literary movement that emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, characterized by a deliberate break from traditional styles and an embrace of new forms of expression. It reflects the complexities of modern life, exploring themes of alienation, fragmentation, and the search for meaning in an increasingly industrialized and urbanized world. This movement profoundly influenced communication and popular culture by encouraging innovative approaches to storytelling and representation.
Postmodernism: Postmodernism is a complex cultural, artistic, and intellectual movement that emerged in the mid-20th century, characterized by a skeptical, critical approach to established narratives, norms, and ideologies. It often blurs the lines between high and low culture, embracing diversity, fragmentation, and the interplay of different styles and genres. This movement significantly influences how we understand communication and popular culture in various contexts, reflecting a shift in how identity and representation are constructed.
Representation: Representation refers to the way in which various groups, identities, and ideas are portrayed and depicted in different forms of media and communication. It shapes how individuals perceive themselves and others, influencing societal norms and values. The significance of representation lies in its power to reinforce or challenge existing stereotypes, create visibility for marginalized groups, and impact cultural narratives.
Safiya Noble: Safiya Noble is a prominent scholar and activist known for her critical examination of how algorithms and digital media impact race, gender, and social justice. Her work sheds light on the ways that technology can perpetuate systemic biases and inequities, particularly in the context of popular culture and communication. Noble's research emphasizes the importance of understanding the cultural implications of technology and the need for ethical considerations in digital design and implementation.
Self-presentation: Self-presentation is the process of controlling how one is perceived by others through communication and behavior. It involves managing the impressions people form about us in various contexts, especially in social settings, where our identities and reputations are continuously shaped by our actions and the information we share. This concept is significant in understanding how individuals construct their identities, particularly in historical contexts, digital spaces, and online interactions.
Shannon-Weaver Model: The Shannon-Weaver Model is a foundational framework in communication theory, developed by Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver in 1948, that describes the process of transmitting information from a sender to a receiver. It emphasizes the importance of encoding, transmitting, decoding, and feedback in effective communication, highlighting how noise can interfere with the message and affect understanding.
Sherry Turkle: Sherry Turkle is a prominent sociologist and psychologist, well-known for her work on the impact of technology on human relationships and communication. She emphasizes how digital media influences our social interactions and identity, raising important questions about the nature of connection in an increasingly virtual world. Her insights are critical for understanding both the historical evolution of communication and popular culture as well as contemporary issues surrounding digital engagement.
Spiral of Silence Theory: The spiral of silence theory suggests that individuals are less likely to express their opinions if they believe they are in the minority, leading to a self-reinforcing cycle where dominant views become increasingly pronounced while opposing views become less visible. This phenomenon highlights how social pressures and fear of isolation can impact public discourse and the representation of diverse opinions within society.
Television: Television is an electronic mass medium that transmits moving images and sound, allowing viewers to access a variety of content, including news, entertainment, and educational programs. It plays a significant role in shaping popular culture by influencing public perception, cultural norms, and social behavior through its widespread reach and accessibility.
The Frankfurt School: The Frankfurt School refers to a group of intellectuals associated with the Institute for Social Research, founded in Frankfurt, Germany in 1923. This school of thought developed critical theory, focusing on the interplay of culture, politics, and society, while analyzing how mass media and popular culture influence social structures and ideologies. Their work laid the groundwork for understanding the role of communication in shaping public consciousness and critiquing cultural hegemony.
The internet: The internet is a vast global network that connects millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks, allowing users to share information and communicate across various platforms. This interconnectedness has transformed communication and popular culture by facilitating the rapid exchange of ideas, content, and cultural practices, making it a cornerstone of modern life and society.
The invention of the printing press: The invention of the printing press in the mid-15th century by Johannes Gutenberg revolutionized the way information was disseminated, allowing for the mass production of books and written materials. This groundbreaking technology not only increased literacy rates but also facilitated the spread of ideas, contributing to significant cultural and social changes, particularly during the Renaissance and Reformation periods.
The rise of social media: The rise of social media refers to the rapid growth and widespread use of platforms that enable users to create, share, and engage with content online. This phenomenon has significantly transformed how individuals communicate and consume popular culture, influencing social interactions, marketing strategies, and public discourse on a global scale.
Uses and gratifications theory: Uses and gratifications theory is a framework that explores how individuals actively seek out media to fulfill specific needs and desires, emphasizing the audience's role in interpreting and utilizing media content. This theory helps to understand why different people engage with media in various ways, depending on their motivations, which can include entertainment, information, social interaction, and personal identity.
Walter Benjamin: Walter Benjamin was a German-Jewish intellectual, critic, and philosopher known for his work on aesthetics, literature, and cultural criticism during the early 20th century. His insights into the impact of mass media and technology on culture paved the way for modern discussions about communication and popular culture, particularly in relation to art's reproducibility and the changes brought about by the advent of photography and film.
© 2024 Fiveable Inc. All rights reserved.
AP® and SAT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse this website.
Back
Practice QuizGlossary
Practice QuizGlossary
Next guide