Selected Readings from Classic Works in Western Journalism and Communication Studies (Selected Readings from Classics in Humanities and Social Sciences)

Author: Xiong Chengyu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-03-03
Features: Today, most of us gain our understanding of communication studies from the media around us. From traditional means like telephones, faxes, books, newspapers, magazines, radio, and television, to emerging technologies such as the internet, mobile communications, and artificial intelligence, the development and evolution of communication media and methods have closely linked communication studies to the lives of every individual. The composition of a discipline includes history, theory, and application. Communication studies is an interdisciplinary field that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s in the United States, primarily focusing on the study of human social information communication activities. Its main research scope includes communicators, communication content, communication media, communication processes, audiences, communication effects, communication systems and regulations, etc. Political communication, news communication, educational communication, cultural communication, and science communication are some of the more influential branches within the field. Influenced by the globalization of information communication, communication studies has become one of the fastest-growing disciplines worldwide. Since its inception, communication studies has faced a tumultuous journey in China. Before the Cultural Revolution, it was labeled as "bourgeois Western ideology" and excluded from the country. In the late 1980s, it was associated with bourgeois liberalization and was marginalized. It was not until 1997, when it was included in the national education ministry's disciplinary directory, that communication studies gained official recognition in university campuses. A discipline that shapes the information society, attracts the attention of politicians, scientists, artists, and the general public worldwide, was finally formally accepted by Chinese society at the end of the 20th century—a bittersweet moment. Currently, over 300 universities in China offer programs related to communication studies, with courses on communication history, communication theory, and communication methods included. In classrooms, the works and main ideas of communication studies masters such as Lippmann, Park, Hovland, Lazarsfeld, and Lasswell are frequently mentioned. However, students and scholars seeking to conduct further research often find it extremely difficult to locate the original works of these masters in Chinese library shelves. The China Renmin University Press, always committed to promoting academic excellence, has once again decided to publish the "Humanities and Social Sciences Classic Readings" series, placing communication studies on par with humanities, philosophy, politics, economics, law, and education. This is truly a commendable achievement for both the academic and industry communities.
At the invitation of the publisher's editors, I have selected ten highly regarded classic works from the vast collection of communication studies literature from libraries abroad. I have excerpted important chapters from these works, supplemented by author introductions and brief guides, to recommend to Chinese readers. I hope this will fill the gap in this area, provide a pathway for students, scholars, and industry professionals with intermediate English reading skills to access the original works of these masters, and contribute to the development of communication studies in China.
The ten works selected for this book include: Walter Lippmann's Public Opinion (1922), the only published work of Robert Park, the representative figure of the Chicago School, The Immigrant Press and its Control (1922); Paul Lazarsfeld's seminal work on communication effects, People's Choice (1948), co-authored with Bernard Berelson and Hazel Gaudet; the landmark report of the Houchins Commission, A Free and Responsible Press (1947), which is considered a milestone in the history of press criticism; C. Hovland's foundational work on persuasion research, Communication and Persuasion (1953); Harold D. Lasswell's classic paper, The Structure and Function of Communication in Society (1948), which proposed the "5W" model of communication; Norbert Wiener's The Human Use of Human Beings (1950), in which he explores the relationship between information and society; Wilbur Lang Schramm's Mass Communications (1949), a textbook compiled by the father of American communication studies; Marshall McLuhan's masterpiece, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man (1964); and the historic document Many Voices, One World: Communication and Society, Today and Tomorrow: Towards a New More Just and More Efficient World (The MacBride Report) (1980), published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems.
The selected works cover the main areas of communication studies. Due to space constraints, only selected chapters from each book are included. Readers interested in the full picture can find the complete works elsewhere. To ensure the authenticity of the readings, the original style and format of the books have been preserved in this selection. Most of these works have not been published in China, and it is recommended that relevant authorities introduce the full texts for the benefit of readers.