An Ecological Perspective on Human Communication Theory

AN ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ON HUMAN COMMUNICATION THEORY introduces communication students to both research and theory at an undergraduate level and avoids extensive discussion of philosophical and epistemological issues. The ecological/interdisciplinary approach synthesizes information from diverse fields, including anthropology, biology, linguistics, psychology, and sociology. A student manual at the back of the book includes activities, discussion questions, recommended readings, and videos.

This unit is devoted to explaining the ecology of communication, the evolutionary
prehistory of communication, the history of communication technologies, and the
history of the study of communication processes and patterns. In Chapters 1 and
2 our concern is with placing communication within ecological boundaries,
highlighting the role of communication in our survival as a species, and
discussing the role of communication in our everyday lives. Further, we define
communication ...