| During the Cold
War, study of international communication focused on comparing
and contrasting media in the Eastern Bloc nations with those
in the West. Research also examined the flow of information
between developed and developing nations. The potential for
mass media to accelerate economic, social and political development
was studied. With the end of the Cold War and the rise of
powerful new media, the focus of international communication
research has changed. Increasingly, media are studied as an
important element in the creation of civil society and as
a means of facilitating certain forms of social and economic
development. For example, considerable attention is focusing
on use of media to promote awareness of health risks and how
to deal with these risks. The potential for media to increase
or impede understanding of other nations and cultures is also
studied.
Within the College of Communications, the
study of international communication often overlaps with research
in other areas, especially political communication and telecommunications.
For example, research looking at media and political development
overlaps with political communication while research on media
and economic development overlaps with telecommunications.
International communication research in the
College takes many forms and uses a broad range of qualitative
and quantitative research methods-from survey and focus group
research to content analysis. A variety of theories is used
to guide international communication research. For example,
research examining media and development continues to be structured
by diffusion theories but these theories are supplemented
by other approaches including framing theories, civil society
theories and various information transmission and opinion
formation theories. |
Faculty
(links to their bios) |
