- Robert T. Craig (scholar)
-
Robert T. Craig is a communication theorist from the University of Colorado, Boulder who received his B.A. in Speech at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and his M.A and PhD. in communication from Michigan State University.[1][2] Craig was on the 1988 founding board of the journal "Research on Language and Social Interaction,"[3] a position he continues to hold.[4][5] From 1991-1993 Craig was the founding editor of the International Communication Association journal "Communication Theory" which has been in continuous publication since 1991.[1] He is currently the editor for the ICA Handbook series.[1][6] In 2009 Craig was elected as a Lifetime Fellow for the International Communication Association,[7] an organization he was president for in 2004-2005.[8][9]
Craig's work "Communication Theory as a Field"[10] received the Best Article Award from the International Communication Association[11] as well as the Golden Anniversary Monograph Award from the National Communication Association.[12] That work has since been translated into French [13] and Russian.[1] The theory presented in "Communication Theory as a Field" has become the basis of the book "Theorizing Communication" which Craig co-edited with Heidi Muller,[14] as well as being adopted by several other communication theory textbooks as a new framework for understanding the field of communication theory.[15][16][17][18]
Contents
Grounded Practical Theory
In 1995 Robert T. Craig and Karen Tracy published "Grounded Practical Theory: The case of Intellectual Discussion".[19] This was an attempt by Craig and Tracy to create a methodological model using discourse analysis which will "guide the development and assessment of normative theories."[20] Craig and Tracy argue that the communication discipline has been dominated by scientific theory which is concerned with what is, while normative theories are centrally concerned with what ought to be.[21] This neglect of normative theories "limits the practical usefulness of communication studies."[21]
Grounded practical theory (GPT) is a metatheoretical approach based on Craig's (1989) notion of communication as a practical, rather than scientific, discipline.[22][23] The goal of communication as a practical discipline is to develop normative theories to guide practice.[24] Based on this argument, GPT was developed as a methodologically grounded means of theorizing communication practices.[25] GPT involves (1) reconstructing communicative practices, (2) redescribing those practices in less context-specific terms, and (3) identifying implicit principles which guide the practice. Generally a GPT study begins by looking for troubles or dilemmas endemic to situated interaction and observable in discourse. This constitutes the “problem level”[26] and the “grounded” component of the GPT approach.[27] Then, problems are reconstructed concretely and abstractly and matched with the techniques which participants employ for dealing with those problems. This constitutes the “technical level”[26] and is an important part of the theorizing process. Finally, the ideals and standards shaping the practice and how to manage its problems and techniques constitute the “philosophical level.”[26] This situates the practice both locally and generally for the purpose of normative critique. A methodological approach which is explicitly guided by GPT is action implicative discourse analysis (AIDA).[28][29][30]
Communication Theory as a Field
Main article: Communication Theory as a FieldIn 1999 Craig wrote a landmark article[31] "Communication Theory as a Field"[10] which expanded the conversation regarding disciplinary identity in the field of communication.[32][31][33][34][35][36][37] At that time, communication theory textbooks had little to no agreement on how to present the field or what theories to include in their textbooks.[38][39][40] This article has since become the foundational framework for four different textbooks to introduce the field of communication.[15][14][16][17][18] In this article Craig "proposes a vision for communication theory that takes a huge step toward unifying this rather disparate field and addressing its complexities."[16] To move toward this unifying vision Craig focused on communication theory as a practical discipline and shows how "various traditions of communication theory can be engaged in dialogue on the practice of communication."[41][42] In this deliberative process theorists would engage in dialog about the "practical implications of communication theories."[43] In the end Craig proposes seven different traditions of Communication Theory and outlines how each one of them would engage the others in dialogue.[44]
Craig argues that while the study of communication and communication theory has become a rich and flourishing field "Communication theory as an identifiable field of study does not yet exist" and the field of communication theory has become fragmented into separate domains which simply ignore each other.[45] This inability to engage in dialog with one another causes theorists to view communication from isolated viewpoints, and denies them the richness that is available when engaging different perspectives.[46] Craig argues that communication theorists are all engaging in the study of practical communication.[46] By doing so different traditions are able to have a common ground from which a dialog can form, albeit each taking a different perspective of communication.[46] Through this process of forming a dialog between theorists with different viewpoints on communication “communication theory can fully engage with the ongoing practical discourse (or metadiscourse) about communication in society."[46]
The communication discipline began not as a single discipline, but through many different disciplines independently researching communication.[46] This interdisciplinary beginning has separated theorists through their different conceptions of communication, rather than unifying them in the common topic of communication.[47] Craig argues that the solution to this incoherence in the field of communication is not a unified theory of communication, but to create a dialogue between these theorists which engages these differences with one another to create new understandings of communication.[48] [49]
To achieve this dialog Craig proposes what he calls “Dialogical-Dialectical coherence,” or a “common awareness of certain complementaries and tensions among different types of communication theory."[50] Craig believes that the different theories cannot develop in total isolation from one another, therefore this dialogical-dialectical coherence will provide a set of background assumptions from which different theories can engage each other in productive argumentation.[50] Craig argues for a metatheory, or "second level" theory which deals with "first level" theories about communication.[51] This second level metamodel of communication theory would help to understand the differences between first level communication traditions.[52] With this thesis in place, Craig proposes seven suggested traditions of communication that have emerged and each of which have their own way of understanding communication.[8][53]
- Rhetorical: views communication as the practical art of discourse.[54]
- Semiotic: views communication as the mediation by signs.[55]
- Phenomenological: communication is the experience of dialogue with others.[56]
- Cybernetic: communication is the flow of information.[57]
- Socio-psychological: communication is the interaction of individuals.[58]
- Socio-cultural: communication is the production and reproduction of the social order.[59]
- Critical: communication is the process in which all assumptions can be challenged.[60]
These proposed seven traditions of communication theory are then placed on a a table[61] first to show how each traditions different interpretation of communication defines the tradition's vocabulary, communication problems, and commonplaces,[62] and next to show what argumentation between the traditions would look like.[63]
Conclusion
Craig concluded with an open invitation to explore how the differences in these theories might shed light on key issues, show where new traditions could be created, and engaging communication theory with communication problems through metadiscourse. [64] Craig further proposes several future traditions that could possibly be fit into the metamodel.[65] A feminist tradition where communication is theorized as "connectedness to others", an aesthetic tradition theorizing communication as "embodied performance", an economic tradition theorizing communication as "exchange", and a spiritual tradition theorizing communication on a "nonmaterial or mystical plane of existence." [66]
Publications
Books and Chapters
Journal Articles
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Craig, Robert (Feb. 3, 2011). "Robert Craig Vita". University of Colorado. http://spot.colorado.edu/~craigr/Vitae.pdf. Retrieved Feb. 21, 2011.
- ^ Craig, Robert (2006). "A Path Through the Methodological Divides". KEIO Communication Review (EBSCO Industries; Blackwell Publishing Ltd.) 28: 9–17. http://www.mediacom.keio.ac.jp/publication/pdf2006/review28/01_Brenda%20DERVIN.pdf. Retrieved Jan. 8, 2011.
- ^ "Editorial Board" (PDF). Research on Language and Social Interaction (Taylor and Francis) 22 (1). January 1988. doi:10.1080/0835181880938929. http://rolsi.lboro.ac.uk/1stROLSIedboard1988.pdf. Retrieved Feb. 5, 2011.
- ^ "ROLSI Editorial Board" (http). Taylor and Francis. 2011. http://rolsi.lboro.ac.uk/board.html. Retrieved Feb. 5, 2011.
- ^ "ROLSI Brief history" (http). Taylor and Francis. 2011. http://rolsi.lboro.ac.uk/history.html. Retrieved Feb. 5, 2011.
- ^ "International Communication Association Handbook series". International Communication Association. 2011. http://www.icahdq.org/publications/commhandbooks.asp. Retrieved Feb. 10, 2011.
- ^ "International Communication Association Fellows" (http). International Communication Association. 2010. http://www.icahdq.org/leadership/fellows.asp. Retrieved Jan. 8, 2011.
- ^ a b Anderson & Baym 2004, pp. 440.
- ^ "International Communication Association past presidents" (http). International Communication Association. 2010. http://www.icahdq.org/leadership/pastpresidents.asp. Retrieved Jan. 8, 2011.
- ^ a b Craig, Robert T. (May 1999). "Communication Theory as a Field" (PDF). Communication Theory (Blackwell Publishing Ltd.; International Communication Association) 9 (2): 119–161. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2885.1999.tb00355. http://web4.uwindsor.ca/users/w/winter/40-328.nsf/bab13a777f84009f85256ea600759a11/10ff8b04ff3a317885256d88005720f6/$FILE/comm.theory.Craig.pdf. Retrieved Jan. 8, 2011.
- ^ "International Communication Association Awards" (PDF). International Communication Association. 2003. http://www.icahdq.org/publicpdf/awards_web.pdf. Retrieved Jan. 8, 2011.
- ^ "National Communication Association Awards". National Communication Association. 2001. http://www.pitt.edu/~gordonm/Images/NCAawards2001.pdf. Retrieved Jan. 8, 2011.
- ^ Craig, Robert; Trans. Johanne Saint-Charles, Trans. Pierre Mongea (2009). "La communication en tant que champ d’études". Ravue internationale de communication sociale et publique (Blackwell Publishing Ltd.; Université du Québec à Montréal) 1: 1–42. http://www.revuecsp.uqam.ca/numero/n1/pdf/RICSP_Craig_2009.pdf. Retrieved Jan. 8, 2011.
- ^ a b Craig, Robert; Muller, Heidi, eds (April 2007). Theorizing Communication: Readings Across the Traditions. SAGE Publications. ISBN 9781412952378. http://books.google.com/books?id=L-jAeC5F3v8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Theorizing+communication&hl=en&ei=-zpGTcKSPJSCsQPF_YnJCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved Jan. 29, 2011.
- ^ a b Craig 2007, pp. 125.
- ^ a b c Littlejohn, Stephen; Foss, Karen (2008). Theories of Human Communication (9 ed.). Thomson and Wadsworth. http://www.cengagebrain.com/shop/content/littlejohn95877_0495095877_02.01_chapter01.pdf. Retrieved Jan. 23, 2011.
- ^ a b Griffin, Emory A. (2006). An First Look at Communication Theory (6 ed.). McGraw-Hill. http://books.google.com/books?id=wMdFAAAAYAAJ&q=A+first+look+at+communication+theory&dq=A+first+look+at+communication+theory&hl=en&ei=nAFGTfS3I4GosQOSv9CHCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAQ. Retrieved Jan. 29, 2011.
- ^ a b Miller, Katherine (2005). Communication Theories:Perspectives, Processes, and Contexts (2 ed.). McGraw-Hill. http://books.google.com/books?id=uQgcAQAAIAAJ&q=communication+theories:+perspectives&dq=communication+theories:+perspectives&hl=en&ei=JARGTcDrNY7WtQOv9cHTCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA. Retrieved Jan. 29, 2011.
- ^ Craig, Robert; Tracy, Karen (August 1995). "Grounded Practical Theory:The Case Of Intellectual Discussion". Communication Theory (Blackwell Publishing Ltd.; International Communication Association) 5 (3): 248–272. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2885.1995.tb00108.x. http://comm.colorado.edu/~craigr/Craig-Tracy-1995-GroundedPracticalTheory.pdf. Retrieved Feb. 5, 2011.
- ^ Craig & Tracy 1995, p. 250.
- ^ a b Craig & Tracy 1995, p. 249.
- ^ Craig, Robert T. (March 1989). "Communication as a Practical discipline". In Dervin, Brenda. Rethinking Communication: Paradigm Issues. 1. SAGE Publications. pp. 97–122. ISBN 9780803930292. http://books.google.com/books?id=E9ZhAAAAMAAJ&q=Rethinking+communication;+Volume+1:+Paradigm+issues&dq=Rethinking+communication;+Volume+1:+Paradigm+issues&hl=en&ei=_DRGTd__NYTmsQOJvpGiCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAQ. Retrieved Jan. 29, 2011.
- ^ Craig & Tracy 1995, p. 250-253.
- ^ Craig & Tracy 1995, p. 250, 264-265.
- ^ Craig & Tracy 1995, p. 250,253, 264.
- ^ a b c Craig & Tracy 1995, p. 253.
- ^ Craig & Tracy 1995, p. 266.
- ^ Tracy, Karen (2004). "Action-Implicative Discourse Analysis: A Communication Approach to Analyzing Talk" (PDF). Texas Linguistic Forum 47: 219–237. http://studentorgs.utexas.edu/salsa/proceedings/2003/tracy.pdf. Retrieved Feb. 2, 2011.
- ^ Tracy, Karen (November 2007). "The Discourse of Crisis in Public Meetings: Case Study of a School District's Multimillion Dollar Error" (PDF). Journal of Applied Communication Research (Taylor and Francis; Routledge; National Communication Association) 35 (4): 418–441. doi:10.1080/00909880701617133. http://www.sjsu.edu/people/richard.webb/courses/c9/s1/Tracy%20article.pdf. Retrieved Feb. 2, 2011.
- ^ Tracy, Karen; Craig, Craig T. (2010). "Studying Interaction in Order to Cultivate communicative Practices: Action-Implicative Discourse Analysis". In Streech, Jürgen. New Adventures in Language and Interaction. John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp. 145–166. ISBN 978-90-272-5600-3. http://comm.colorado.edu/~tracy/Tracy-craig2010AIDA.pdf. Retrieved Feb. 2, 2011.
- ^ a b Littlejohn & Foss 2008, pp. 6.
- ^ Donsback, Wolfgang (September 2006). "The Identity of Communication Research". Journal of Communication (Blackwell Publishing Ltd.; International Communication Association) 54 (4): 589–615. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2006.00294.x. http://www.um.es/tic/Documentos/lecturas%20FCI-I/FCI-I%20Tema%202%20texto%201.pdf. Retrieved Jan. 28, 2011.
- ^ Penman, Robyn (2000). Reconstructing Communicating: looking to a Future. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=bV_dR8OhudAC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&ots=efzBSzD_Rj&sig=ZWqmXCIARV-I9D_YFko_RvdtSUM#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved Jan. 28, 2011.
- ^ Anderson, James A.; Baym, Geoffrey (December 2004). "Philosophies and Philosophic Issues in Communication, 1995-2004". Journal of Communication (Blackwell Publishing Ltd.; International Communication Association) 55: 437–448. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2004.tb02647.x.
- ^ Lindlof, Thomas R.; Taylor, Bryan C. (2002). Qualitative Communication Research Methods (2 ed.). Sage Publications Ltd.. http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Op-GRnkSCGgC&oi=fnd&pg=PR11&ots=IzoPS78Tu8&sig=AfWB81iEcUhCuGnTn8ZPTGSkUXo#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved Jan. 28, 2011.
- ^ D'Angelo, Paul (December 2002). "News Framing as a Multiparadigmatic Research Program:A Response to Entman". Journal of Communication (Blackwell Publishing Ltd.; International Communication Association) 52 (4): 870–888. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2002.tb02578.x.
- ^ Jimenez, Leonarda; Guillem, Susana (August 2009). "Does Communication Studies Have an Identity? Setting the Bases for Contemporary Research". Catalan Journal of Communication And Cultural Studies (Intellect Ltd.) 1 (1): 15–27. doi:10.1386/cjcs.1.1.15_1. http://www.atypon-link.com/INT/doi/pdf/10.1386/cjcs.1.1.15_1?cookieSet=1. Retrieved Jan. 28, 2011.
- ^ Anderson, John Arthur (1996). Communication Theory: Epistemological Foundations. Guilford Press. ISBN 1-57230-083-3. http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ly8WBwYzE2QC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=Anderson,+J.+A.+(1996).+Communication+theory:+Epistemological+foundations.&ots=vYGnX0_5Kw&sig=NYBXS-6ff9HU6pmmVpiG1Qj3b28. Retrieved Feb. 2, 2011.
- ^ Anderson 1996, pp. 200-201.
- ^ Craig 1999, pp. 120.
- ^ Craig 2006, pp. 13.
- ^ Penman 2000, pp. 6.
- ^ Craig, Robert (May 2001). "Minding My Metamodel, Mending Myers". Communication Theory (Blackwell Publishing Ltd.; International Communication Association) 11 (2): 231–240. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2885.2001.tb00241.x.
- ^ Craig 1999, pp. 132-146.
- ^ Craig 1999, pp. 119-120.
- ^ a b c d e Craig 1999, p. 121.
- ^ Craig 1999, pp. 120-123.
- ^ Craig 1999, pp. 123-125.
- ^ Penman 2000, pp. 76.
- ^ a b Craig 1999, pp. 124.
- ^ Craig 1999, pp. 126-127.
- ^ Craig 1999, pp. 123-132.
- ^ Craig 1999, pp. 132-134.
- ^ Craig 1999, pp. 135-136.
- ^ Craig 1999, pp. 136-138.
- ^ Craig 1999, pp. 138-140.
- ^ Craig 1999, pp. 141-142.
- ^ Craig 1999, pp. 142-144.
- ^ Craig 1999, pp. 144-146.
- ^ Craig 1999, pp. 146-149.
- ^ Craig 1999, pp. 133-134.
- ^ Craig 1999, pp. 132,133.
- ^ Craig 1999, pp. 132,134.
- ^ Craig 1999, pp. 149.
- ^ Craig 1999, pp. 149,151.
- ^ Craig 1999, pp. 151.
External links
Categories:- Communication theorists
- Communication theory
- People from Rochester, New York
- University of Colorado faculty
- Michigan State University alumni
- University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
- American philosophers
- Rhetoric theorists
- 20th-century philosophers
- 21st-century philosophers
- American philosophy academics
- Philosophers of language
- Writers from Colorado
- Writers from Michigan
- Writers from New York
- Writers from Wisconsin
- 1947 births
- Living people
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.