Defining and Expanding Communication and Culture

Communication has evolved over time to include several ideas, notions, concepts, and strategies. Most people have different ideas of what communication is, how to communicate, why we communicate and problems with communication. After reading A Cultural Approach to Communication my idea of communication has changed.

The article we read for today: A Cultural Approach to Communication starts off by suggesting that "of all things, communication is the most wonderful."(Carey, 1989) Further into the article, however, the author begins to discuss John Dewey and how he suggests that the definition of communication comes from religious origins and transportation, and the definition seems to look less wonderful and more complicated.

The article goes on to discuss that "to study communication is to examine the actual social process wherein significant symbolic forms are created, apprehended, and used."(Carey, 1989)I agree with this part of the article, but it also brings up the reason why I wanted to share my views about this article.

Briefly, the point of this, article, or what I got from this article is that communication can be defined in several ways and has several effects on society. The article discusses the idea that communication is contained into a certain box, is influenced, developed, defined, and controlled. Communication affects everyone and everything. It is modeled, and analyzed. I agree with the author’s perspective in certain instances but I think the article reverses the whole idea of what communication and culture is.

I understand that as scholars, we need to put some type of definition on communication and how it affects culture, but at the same time, I feel it is extremely important to understand that communication and culture do not need to be contained to religion, transportation, and scholarly theories.

Communication is defined differently by all people and culture. Communication is a part of every person, religion, government, social group, and identities worldwide. As the article suggests, “communication is the most wonderful.” (Carey, 1989)

So maybe for one second, we should forget about definitions, expectations, scholarly articles, studies, and science and focus on what communication means to us. After all, this too, is a large part of the “definition” of communication.

I have posted some photos and concepts of what I feel communication is and I hope others will do the same. What do you think communication is? How does it affect cultures you are involved in? How do science, religion, transportation and theory affect your view of communication? Remember that communication can be viewed as contained into a scholarly box, or the box can be pushed open and can explode into an indefinable phenomenon that we use in our daily lives.

James W. Carey, ‘A Cultural Approach to Communication’, in his Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society (Boston: Unwin Hyman, 1989), pp. 13-36.

Taylor Short