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Communication studies facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Communication Studies is a school subject where you learn all about how people talk, listen, and share ideas. It's about understanding how we communicate with each other, whether it's face-to-face, online, or in big groups. This field helps us see how communication shapes our relationships, our communities, and even different cultures around the world. It also looks at modern ways we communicate, like through social media, in politics, or about health.

How Communication Studies Started

Communication became a special subject to study in the 1900s. Before it was its own field, ideas about communication came from three other big subjects:

The Founder of Communication Studies

A person named Wilbur Schramm is known as the founder of Communication Studies in the United States. He was the first to call himself a "communication scholar." He also started the first college programs where you could get a degree in communication. Schramm helped train the first group of communication experts.

Schramm had studied English literature. He helped create Communication Studies by bringing together existing programs like speech, rhetoric (the art of speaking well), and journalism. He also edited a very important textbook called The Process and Effects of Mass Communication in 1954. This book helped define what the new field was all about.

Schramm started three important communication centers:

  • The Institute of Communications Research at the University of Illinois
  • The Institute for Communication Research at Stanford University
  • The East-West Communication Institute in Honolulu

The way scholars study communication today still follows the patterns Schramm set at these centers. Many of his students, like Everett Rogers and David Berlo, also made big contributions to the field.

Early Colleges and Groups

The very first college focused on communication was started at Michigan State University in 1958. Scholars from Schramm's original Illinois center led this college. They wanted to study communication scientifically, using numbers and data. Soon after, other important communication departments opened at universities like Purdue University, University of Texas-Austin, Stanford University, and University of Pennsylvania.

Groups related to Communication Studies also started or grew in the 1950s. The National Society for the Study of Communication (NSSC) began in 1950. Its goal was to encourage scholars to study communication like a social science. This group also launched the Journal of Communication in the same year. Like many groups in this field, its name changed over time. In 1968, it became the International Communication Association (ICA).

What You Study in Communication

Communication Studies combines ideas from both social sciences and the humanities.

Social Science Side

As a social science, this subject connects with many others:

Humanities Side

From a humanities point of view, communication focuses on rhetoric (the art of speaking or writing to persuade) and persuasion. Old communication programs often trace their history back to the speakers of Ancient Greece. Humanities approaches to communication often connect with:

Who Uses Communication Research?

Research in communication helps many different people and groups. It helps:

It also helps anyone interested in solving communication problems. There's often a lot of overlap between communication research and other fields like social research, cultural research, and market research.

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