ERIC Number: ED332236
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1989-Oct
Pages: 8
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Challenge of Communication Curriculum Integration.
Thomlison, T. Dean; Ledingham, John
The integration of the undergraduate communication curriculum is a growing national challenge. Mergers of curriculum programs from different subdisciplines have occurred over time because of economic pressures and erroneous judgments about student and university needs. Student interest in the social sciences has declined, and communication programs have shifted their focus from rhetoric and argumentation to media technology. The expected merger of more speech and journalism programs raises the need to identify unifying principles in the communication subdisciplines. Those who promote "practical" approaches to curriculum building would support skills development at the expense of valuable comprehensive thinking. Students must learn that communication occurs in an environment, not a vacuum. If students learn communication theory well, they will be able to transfer and integrate the knowledge into other areas. Speech communication and journalism educators have the opportunity to strive for the challenge of integrating the two subdisciplines. The alternative is to continue to try to define communication in terms of its segmented fragments. (SG)
Publication Type: Opinion Papers; Reports - Evaluative; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A