What a Copernicus or a Darwin really achieved was not the discovery of a true theory but of a fertile new point of view - Ludwig Wittgenstein

Gary P. Radford
Associate Professor
Department of English, Communication, and Philosophy
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Madison, NJ 07940

Office: The Mansion, Room M34
Telephone: 973-443-8378 / FAX 973-443-8713
email: gradford@prodigy.net
webpage: http://alpha.fdu.edu/~gradford

This course takes as its theme Wittgenstein's claim that the development of a true theory is the development of a fertile point of view. In particular we will examine the theories, and the contexts of their development, that make up fertile points of view in the conceptualization and study of corporate and organizational communication. We will examine, in its most abstract sense, the process of theory construction in modern communication studies through a multi-disciplinary survey of many of the theories that have historical and contemporary value to corporate communication scholars. Conceptions of knowledge, theory development, and scientific method are used to critically examine the production and uses of modern communication theories.

Bronowski, J. (1956). Science and human values. New York, NY: Harper and Row.

Ewen, S. (1996). PR! A social history of spin. New York, NY: Basic Books.

James, W. (1975). Pragmatism and The meaning of truth. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Kuhn, T. S. (1996). The structure of scientific revolutions (3rd ed.). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Management Communication Quarterly (1996) (Special Issue)

Orwell, G. (1949). Nineteen Eighty-Four. New York, NY: Signet.

Simpson, C. (1994). Science of coercion: Communication research and psychological warfare 1945-1969. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Thought Pieces are due each week for the readings and/or videos and should not exceed 2 pages in length, not including title page and reference page, if any. Thought Pieces which exceed the 2 page limit will be penalized.

Thought Pieces are short papers in which you deal with a conceptual problem you have encountered in the readings and videos, frame a response, and defend that response. It is NOT primarily an informational report on the contents of those presentations. In the Thought Piece, you are asked to make connections between readings and/or videos that may have not been made explicitly in any particular reading. This requires that you work with concepts rather than merely repeating them back.

The motivation behind the setting of regular Thought Piece assignments is derived from Jacob Bronowski (Science and human values. New York: Harper and Row, 1956) who writes that:

The scientist looks for order in the appearances of nature by exploring...likenesses. For order does not display itself of itself; if it can be said to be there at all, it is not there for the mere looking. There is no way of pointing a finger or a camera at it; order must be discovered and, in a deep sense, it must be created. What we see, as we see it, is mere disorder (p. 24)

and also that:

the act of creation [lies] in the discovery of a hidden likeness. The scientist or the artist takes two facts or experiences which are separate; he finds in them a likeness which had not been seen before; and he creates a unity by showing the likeness (p. 35).

Your task in each Thought Piece is to "discover" and "create" the "hidden likeness" between two (or more) of the readings or videos, either from that week, from previous weeks, or readings done outside of class. The basis of the Thought Piece will be the identification of two representative quotations from two of the readings. The structure of the paper should look something like the following:

1) A pertinent quotation from the set reading;
2) The reason(s) why you picked them; the "hidden likeness" which you have discovered/created;
3) Your response to and analysis of the likeness you have identified.

The directions for your participation in the Electronic Conference will be provided by the instructor. The assignment requires students to articulate their understanding of the nature of theory by participating in a listserve discussion of central issues in communication theory. This paper will not exceed 5 pages of text, double spaced, not including title page, references, and diagrams (if any). Papers which exceed the five page limit will be penalized.

All Thought Pieces should be written in full and grammatical sentences and have an appropriate introduction, main body, and conclusion. Thought Pieces should be typed, double-spaced, and have a separate title page with the title of the paper, your name, the name of this class, the name of your professor, and the date the assignment is due by.

You should keep a second copy of all written work that you turn in.

Any evidence of plagiarism, the appropriation or imitation of the language, thoughts, or methods of another and representation of them as one's own original work, will automatically result in an F grade for the assignment and possibly an F grade for the course. All sources referred to should be properly cited.

Attendance at this class signifies that the student has agreed to abide by and adhere to the policies and regulations specified above. It is understood that the instructor may adapt or change this syllabus and the assignments contained within it according to circumstances that may arise during the course of the class.

1: Welcome! Introduction to the Course

2: Introducing Corporate Communication

Management Communication Quarterly (1996)

Video: Science...Fiction? (1986)

Thought Piece #1 Due

3: Conceptions of Knowledge and Communication Theory

Bronowski (1956). Part 1, The Creative Mind and Part 2, The Habit of Truth.

Video: Burke (1986a). It started with the Greeks

Thought Piece #2 Due

4: The Nature of Scientific Knowledge

Bronowski (1977). The Principle of Tolerance

Video: Bronowski (1988). Knowledge or Certainty

Thought Piece #3 Due

5: The Pragmatic Approach to Truth and Theory

James (1975): What Pragmatism means / Pragmatism's Conception of Truth.

Video: Burke (1986b). Science Revises the Heavens

Thought Piece #4 Due

6: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions I

Kuhn (1996). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chapters I-IX

Video: Burke (1986c). The New Physics: Newton Revised

Thought Piece #5 Due

7: Corporate and Organizational Communication Theory

A Dialogue with Dr. Paul Argenti and Dr. Dennis Mumby

8: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions II

Kuhn (1996). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chapters X-XIII and Postscript

Video: Burke (1986d). Changing Knowledge, Changing Reality

Thought Piece #6 Due

9: A Paradigm for Communication Theory

Shannon and Weaver (1949). The Mathematical Theory of Communication

Rogers and Valente (1993). A History of Information Theory in Communication Research

Thought Piece #7 Due

10: Communication, Computers, and Intelligence

Turing (1950). Computing Machinery and Intelligence

Video: Breaking the Code

Thought Piece #8 Due

11: A Context for the Paradigm of Communication

Simpson (1994). Science of Coercion (pp. 3-132)

Thought Piece #9 Due

12: Propaganda is the Purest Form of Communication

Orwell (1949). Nineteen Eighty-Four

Video: Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)

Thought Piece #10 Due

13: Back to Corporate Communication

Ewan (1996), PR! A social history of spin (Parts 1 and 2)

Video: Manufacturing Consent - Part I

Thought Piece #11 Due

14: The Rise of a Fertile New View

Ewan (1996), PR! A social history of spin (Parts 3 and 5)

Video: Manufacturing Consent - Part II

Thought Piece #12 Due

15: Electronic Conference Paper Due