Rebellion and Ritual in Disciplinary Histories of U.S. Mass Communication Study: Looking For "The Reflexive Turn"

Abstract

In this article, I take a fresh look at disciplinary histories of American communication study. Specifically, the discussion groups disciplinary histories into 2 different kinds of narratives, referred to as biographical and intellectual histories. The first group has as its method biography, and focuses on the achievement of central individuals and the methodology of their research. It is argued that these accounts constitute rituals of disciplinary affirmation. The second group has as its method intellectual history, and focuses on the theoretical foundations of ideas taken up by communication scholars, tracing the relations among ideology, culture, technology, and communication. These accounts, on the other hand, are read as polite rebellions against received understandings of communication history.

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