Abstract
This essay traces the historical development of the communication disciplines and argues for the reintegration of their fragmented academic structures into unified schools of communication. Beginning with the rhetorical traditions of antiquity, it outlines the evolution of oral discourse education through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, highlighting key moments such as the elocutionary movement, the separation of speech from English departments, and the emergence of specialized areas including theatre, mass communication, communication disorders, and rhetoric. The analysis attributes administrative fragmentation to uneven disciplinary growth and institutional politics, which produced inefficiency and weakened the field’s collective influence. Drawing on examples from universities that have reorganized communication and theatre programs into schools or colleges, the essay contends that structural consolidation enhances visibility, collegiality, and resource management while fostering interdisciplinary scholarship. The conclusion advances a model of a school of communication that balances disciplinary autonomy with shared academic purpose, positioning such schools as vital centers for the study of human communication in higher education.
Recommended Citation
Jellicorse, John Lee
(1986)
"The Concept of a School of Communication,"
Association for Communication Administration Bulletin: Vol. 57, Article 4.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/aca/vol57/iss1/4
