Suchergebnisse

Offers 10 proposals for a New World Information & Communication Order that is adequate to ongoing changes in the global political-economic system. (1) Communication equity can only be achieved along with a redistribution of wealth from North to South. (2) Developing countries require more than capital assistance. (3) Academic & professional communications must consistently monitor international communication flows. (4) Communication equity must be defined in terms of use, access, & distribution of communication technologies. (5) Adequate communication-based education must include both the liberal arts & sciences. (6) Communication must be understood as global force. (7) Cultural concerns are as important as communication interests. (8) Marginalized cultures may be resuscitated by effective global communication structures. (9) All alternative media forms should be considered. (10) Communication is a basic human right. D. M. Smith

The need for the social sciences to reevaluate the assumptions they hold about time is examined. Time has different meanings in different cultures & social contexts. The social sciences have adopted an Enlightenment notion of time as a linear, unidimensional, & ordered concept with limited relevance for late modernity that presents an obstacle to engaging with environmental crises in an adequate manner. Globalization, particularly of communication technologies, the acceleration of innovation processes, the dislocation of environmental impacts from benefits & control systems, & the increasing human control of nature have rendered obsolete distinctions between social & natural time & demand the development of a framework for conceptualization of the environmental crisis that emphasizes the immaterial, the unquantifiable, & the unpredictable. 54 References. D. Generoli

In an introduction to this edited volume (see related abstracts in IRPS No. 87), the field of cultural studies & its relation to science & technology are discussed. It is suggested that the traditional belief in the primacy of cause/effect relationships fails to recognize the complexity & interdependence of variables in the modern world. Culture, science, & technology are not distinct entities, but overlapping fields, which transform & are transformed by each other. Although science & technology have permeated modern society, they do not independently determine the outcomes of social situations & evolution. It is argued that traditional deterministic social sciences must be replaced by a theory of complexity that erodes the boundaries between distinct forms of knowledge & perspectives, & seeks to consider cause in terms of multiple & merging influences. Further, region-oriented communities are becoming less important as technology allows easy communication with distant others, & thereby facilitates the bypass of local ties. It is concluded that the field of cultural studies is best equipped to deal with the rapidly changing circumstances of the modern world due to its appropriation of knowledge from diverse perspectives, & its lack of fundamental & fixed principles. T. Sevier

The literature of the last decade in the field of critical white studies has expanded from challenges to white supremacy by male social scientists of color to expositions of institutionalized racism in literature, philosophy, communications, & the media. White studies has also entered formerly uncharted arenas such as racial ideology, relations between race & social control, whiteness as identity, & the legal construction of whiteness in the US. Women's studies has injected white patriarchy into analyses of white privilege, while the multicultural education movement that emerged in the 1980s introduced a focus on the complexity of relationships among African Americans, Latino/as, Asian Americans, & whites. The intersections between intellectual movements of cultural studies, critical communication studies, & semiotics are examined. It is contended here that most public/popular discourse is still framed in white-nonwhite terms, making it essential to understand how communication about whiteness is embedded in the social fabric to begin the process of destabilizing whiteness as an identity & ideology. Bibliog, 34 References. J. Lindroth

"Die historisch wechselnde Konstellierung der Begriffe Autorität, Autorschaft, Wahrheit etc. bildet ein wesentliches Moment des medien- und kommunikationswissenschaftlichen Diskurses über die Beziehungen zwischen Wirklichkeit, Kunst, Produktion und Rezeption. War die ältere ästhetischen Theorie noch bis zur Aufklärung von den Parametern Nachahmung und Illusion her bestimmt, indem die Referenzebene der Kunst in einer ihrer Produktion vorangehenden Realität verortet wurde, so fokussieren moderne Theorien auf die Figur des werkbegründenden Subjekts, das Autorität im eigenen Namen reklamiert. Im postmodernen Diskurs eines referenzlosen, universalen Gewebes der Zeichen treten schließlich der Text selbst und seine vielgestaltige Rezipierbarkeit aus dem Schatten der 'Realität' und des 'Werkes' hervor. Die diesen verschiedenen Modellen jeweils eigenen Normierungstendenzen werden im Vortrag reflektiert. Insbesondere Konzeptionen, die zentral mit der Figur des Werkes argumentieren (etwa die Unterscheidung von Hoch- und Populärkultur in der Kulturindustriethese der kritischen Theorie), sowie solche, die sich dezidiert vom Werkbegriff distanziert haben, werden befragt. Dabei wird sich erweisen, daß entgegen den strikten Unterscheidungen normierender medien- und kommunikationswissenschaftlicher Theorien in der Gegenwart eher kulturelle Gemengelagen und Entgrenzungen zu beobachten sind, die als Konsequenz gesellschafts- und mediengeschichtlicher Differenzierungsprozesse rekonstruiert werden können. In einem forschungspolitischen Exkurs werden aktuelle Gutachten zur medienwissenschaftlichen Forschungslandschaft daraufhin untersucht, ob sie dieser Komplexität medialer Kommunikationsprozesse gerecht werden. Daran anschließend werden aktuelle Ansätze im Bereich der interdisziplinären Rezeptionsforschung betrachtet. Medienhandeln im Spannungsfeld von Übereignung und Aneignung wird hier als zentrales Element der sozialen Konstruktion von Medienästhetik und Kommunikationskultur gedeutet." (Autorenreferat)

Analyzes the 1990 political crisis in Taiwan, in which the ruling party nearly fragmented, from a variety of perspectives: (1) A journalist/historian examines relevant documents & interviews 25 individuals. (2) An intercultural theorist draws on US social science to investigate a foreign culture. (3) A communication theorist applies communication theory to an instance of conflict resolution. Disagreement between President Teng-Hui Lee, leader of the ruling Kuomintang Party, & an oppositional coalition organized by Y. K. Lin & General Wago Chiang was mediated by the selection of eight elders who acted as third-party arbitrators. The choice of these elders & their actions as mediators are discussed in terms of a political model of organizational decision making, in which the party is understood as divided along interest, subunit, & subcultural lines. As actions were taken in the various cultural domains on the basis of particular interests & loyalties, consensus was finally reached & expressed through conformity to a set of higher-level values & beliefs that maintained the unity of the party. 1 Table, 2 Figures. D. M. Smith

Uses the metaphor of the two-way street to describe the problems encountered in trying to develop a constructive discourse between feminism & education on the Bates Coll (Lewiston, ME) campus. The goals were to include feminist perspectives in science courses & encompass scientific material in women's studies courses as a way to both enrich women's studies & develop a "self-conscious science" that was aware of its own assumptions, historical background, & social context. The project was approached "one lane at a time" by first addressing scientists, & then the women's studies faculty, in an effort to alleviate the fear each group had of the other. The numerous barriers to opening a two-way discussion are related, including significant problems related to language differences between scientists & feminists. By the second year, women's studies faculty members were willing to consider the importance of including scientific content in their courses, & members of both groups were beginning to talk "to," rather than past, each other. The urgent need to develop communication between different discourse communities is discussed. 22 References. J. Lindroth

Discusses postmodernism in respect to the nature & legimation of social & scientific knowledge. Based on a definition of postmodern as skepticism toward metanarratives, it is suggested that the postmodern condition is characterized by unstable, continually changing, & evolving language games composed of overlapping & often contradictory forms of meaning & action. Although decisionmakers & authorities may attempt to subject these language games to universal rules & power structures, knowledge in the postmodern world avoids fixed meanings & highlights the contradictions inherent in supposedly stable knowledge. Under these circumstances, the traditional borders between & within the sciences & the real world blur & disappear, creating new forms of knowledge & meaning. In regard to science, legitimation can still be sought through some form of consensus; however, consensus is neither possible or desirable in terms of communication. Therefore, the success of the postmodern world relies on a form of social justice not dependent on consensus & language games based on free & open access to all forms of knowledge, information, & opinion. T. Sevier

Arguing that a complete understanding of the functioning of modern liberal democracies entails analysis of the challenges facing political parties, key findings from empirical political science are reviewed & directions for future theory & research are outlined. Focus is on recent changes within & between Western European polities -- particularly those related to European integration -- & the challenges these pose for political party functioning as purposive organizations, including shifts in political values, national political cultures, socioeconomic transformations, the structures of political communication, & political issues & policy agendas. The mobilization & linkage functions of political parties in relation to the wider society are explored, along with parties' internal structure, organization, & behavior. Figures. K. Hyatt Stewart