Abstract
This article examines the administrative challenges created by the increasingly narrow and peripheral preparation of some doctoral and MFA graduates in communication. It argues that many candidates lack grounding in core disciplinary history, theory, and pedagogy, showing strong specialization without awareness of the field’s breadth or traditions. The discussion describes how this trend complicates hiring, weakens disciplinary coherence, and leads to duplication of communication courses when such graduates secure appointments outside communication units. These developments strain curricula, undermine departmental identity, and reinforce claims that communication lacks a substantive disciplinary core. The article urges graduate programs to strengthen breadth, disciplinary interdependence, and commitment to teaching foundational subjects. It concludes that the vitality of future academic leadership depends on preserving the central intellectual commitments of the field rather than allowing specialization to fragment its coherence.
Recommended Citation
Jellicorse, John Lee
(1985)
"Poke the Bottom of the Fire,"
Association for Communication Administration Bulletin: Vol. 52, Article 12.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/aca/vol52/iss1/12
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