Abstract
Using the University of Georgia as an institutional case, this article examines how local departmental structures complicate national efforts to define speech communication as a coherent academic field. It compares broad disciplinary definitions from the Speech Communication Association with the narrower curricular and administrative realities of one department, where communication related areas are dispersed across multiple colleges and schools. The article discusses curriculum revisions, public and interpersonal communication as a departmental core, relations with theatre, journalism, management, and speech pathology, and administrative issues involving promotion review, system committees, service courses, and disciplinary visibility. It contributes to communication administration by showing how field definition depends on local organization, resources, identity, and institutional politics.
Recommended Citation
Freshley, Dwight
(1983)
"Toward a Definition of the Field: Local Constraints and National Coherence,"
Association for Communication Administration Bulletin: Vol. 46, Article 2.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/aca/vol46/iss1/2
