Theories

Communication theories and social theories

Proposition: We construct our reality in out community

The simplest communication model is the ‘Transmission Model” based on early telegraphy technology i.e. the sending and receiving messages or transferring information from one mind to another.

Narrative Theory

Humans are storytelling people. Storytelling is the most basic of human activities. The narrative is a paradigm for human communication. It is an organising framework for communication and analysis.

It works as a way of explaining how people symbolically transact who they are.

Cinderella – examples. Good people get the happy ending.

Naïveté. 

Pictures can change the course of history.

Pictures nowadays are uploaded as it happens.

Century of Picture

100 years of people and events that shaped Australia

1914 – Britain declared war and Australia pledged troops. 417 000 men. Gallipoli

Bean Official correspondent

War caused Australia to grow up to quickly, started training generations afterwards to fight and defend the British empire.

Menzies sent 17 000 to Korea .

People should see what war does to the world.

60’s a period of massive social change! Aboriginal, Vietnam. After 2 decades in power the liberal party seemed to stuffy and old fashioned. Labour party with Gough Whitlam. He unleased a torrent of change! Best Prime minister ever!

Azaria Chamberlin – Lost children have inspired many Australian stories, plays i.e Ruby Moon.

There are many Communication Theories

Some of them are:

-       Cognitive dissonance

-       Attribution theory

-       Rhetoric

-       Social cognitive theory

1.     We don’t willingly ‘read’ a message that contradicts our strongly held beliefs

2.     Do we attribute the cause o f certain events to internal or external influences

3.     A theory that supports the idea that we construct our reality with the communication – “this is how it is”

4.     Social learning –

Social Theory

Karl Marx:

(William Morris) Socialist. Industrial revolution society was divided – Bourgoise (1)  Proletariat (2)

1.     Control the means of production

2.     Engaged in the production for wages

Society has a substructure (economic/modes of production – economic conditions underpin the society such as capitalism or communism. It is also underpinned by the class structure.

The superstructure includes non economic factors such as religion, politics, art and literature.

The Frankfurt school

1923 – grew out of Marxist ideology committed to the critical analysis of the societies current state as well as to the development of alternatives which might enable humans to transcend their unhappy situation through critical thought and action

Political theory should be protected from the contaminations of the commercial culture. More a moral force working towards human emancipation.

Meta theory