This module deconstructs our everyday understanding of communication,
exploring key factors such as codes and contexts which are neglected
in traditional ‘transmission models’. We focus primarily on
interpersonal communication, including both face-to-face communication
and various mediated forms, such as computer-mediated communication
and telecommunication. We are interested in both intentional and
‘given-off’ communication and there is a strong emphasis on nonverbal
communication (both ‘body language’ and visual communication).
Overviews of different media explore issues such as how traditional
distinctions between interpersonal and mass communication, public and
private, and synchronous and asynchronous forms are becoming more
blurred, and how communication is bound up with issues of personal and
social identity. Finally, linking with students’ previous study of the
mass media, we also explore the fascinating phenomenon of ‘parasocial
interaction’, covering relationships between audience members and
those they ‘know’ only through the media.
Students are introduced to a range of theories and theorists and to
published research studies involving different methodologies, and they
also undertake small-scale case-studies of their own.
