Abstract
A perspective on defining the field of communication is developed through attention to the purposes that definitions serve in scholarship, teaching, administration, and professional identity. The article argues that no single definition can encompass every use of communication or speech communication, since meanings vary by context, function, discipline, and institutional need. It describes communication as an integrative area that draws on many disciplines while maintaining distinctive concerns with processes of influence, interaction, expression, and symbolic exchange. The article reviews definitional approaches grounded in rhetoric, poetic discourse, speech, and dictionary usage, emphasizing that definitions should be chosen according to purpose rather than treated as fixed boundaries. It concludes that definitional work remains useful for communication studies, but only when applied with attention to context and function.
Recommended Citation
Andersen, Kenneth E.
(1984)
"A perspective on defining the field of communication,"
Association for Communication Administration Bulletin: Vol. 48, Article 6.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/aca/vol48/iss1/6
