The Digital Turn in Media and Communication Studies

The disciplinary boundaries of media and communication studies, especially in the American and West European contexts have become quite amorphous with several divergent epistemological and ontological strands. A good indicator of the plurality of the theoretical domains and methodological approaches in media and communication studies is the diversity of sections and working groups in the premier associations in the field — the International Communication Association and the International Association for Media and Communication Research, for example. The foci of these sections and working groups are so wide-ranging that a scholar of inter-cultural studies, for example, may find Digital Divide studies to be unintelligible. Many have regarded this diversity of media and communication studies as its strength. Influential scholars have argued that the diversity of communication theories is not a symptom of ‘disorientation' in the field nor is the uncertainty regarding the disciplinary boundaries the reason for ever increasing theories in the field. It is a result of the general transformation of the human sciences (Craig, 1993). A landmark study in the last decade identified ‘604 different theories, general scientific paradigms, and schools of thought' in articles in three stalwart journals in five decades starting from the fifties (Bryant & Miron, 2004). Six out ten of these theories originated in the field of communication while the other theories were from Psychology, Philosophy, Sociology, Political Science, Economics, Cybernetics, Arts, Literature, Linguistics. Over two percent of these theories originated in Biology and Mathematics as well. Among the theories originating in communication studies, they could be neatly divided into six different areas — speech (or communication studies); general mass communication theories; media psychology or media sociology); media law and politics; media economics and programming theories. On the other hand, western communication theories over the years have been defined by seven different traditions (Craig & Muller, 2007). For a very brief overview, the Rhetorical Tradition is related to the ancient Greek legal system where individuals had to argue their cases. The use of logos, ethos, and pathos was the standard method of persuasion. The Semiotic Tradition in communication research performs two different functions. It is treated as a methodology for examining signs through the framework of other theoretical concepts. At the same time, semiotics can be seen as a theoretical framework to understand images, psyches, etc. The Phenomenological Tradition in communication studies concerns itself with the study of conscious human experience. The Cybernetic Tradition for the study of cognitive and social systems rests on four ‘conceptual pillars'— circularity, information, process, and participation. The Sociopsychological Tradition concerns itself with the interaction of the individual with society. Contemporary theorists of the Sociocultural Tradition contend that reality is constructed through interaction in groups.