Carey and Communication

Robert W. Gehl

@rwg@aoir.social

the cover of James W Carey's book Communication as Culture

Focusing on the chapter "A Cultural Approach to Communication."

So, how does this chapter begin?

Why does Carey begin by highlighting a 'preposterous idea' from James Dewey (the idea that communication is wonderful)?

Who was John Dewey, by the way?

the cover of John Dewey's book Democracy and Education

John Dewey, a pragmatist philosopher who wrote about democracy and education

Why does Carey begin by highlighting a 'preposterous idea' from James Dewey (the idea that communication is wonderful)?

A group of people talking
Communication is mundane, so we have to make it strange

What is the "transmission view" of communication?

A Canada rail train traveling near mountains
Transmission is deeply connected to transportation
A map of Via Eastern Telegraph cable connections
Transmission is deeply connected to empire, control at a distance
The Vatican's Collegium Urbanum de Propaganda Fide
Transmission is deeply connected to religious evangelism, as well

But something happens to the religious connotations. What happens?

Steve Jobs unveiling an iPhone
Science and technology supplant religion
John Gast's 1872 painting American Progress
Science and technology supplant religion

He talks about the ritual view in relation to transmission. What is the basic relationship?

What is the ritual view?

A group of people talking
Sharing, participation, fellowship, a common faith

So it's something very different from the transmission view. How?

He notes the ritual view has become secularized, much as the transmission view has. What are examples of this?

A crowd of people watching the best NBA team, the Detroit Pistons
Sharing, participation, fellowship, a common faith
The band Sonic Youth performing
Sharing, participation, fellowship, a common faith

Why do (American) academics hold onto the transmission view over the ritual view?

Martin Luther King, Jr and a crowd at the US capitol
Transmission, or ritual?

To further contrast the transmission and ritual views, he looks at one particular object. What object?

Four men reading a newspaper in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Reading the news: transmission, or ritual?

He notes that the transmission view and the ritual view have run their course. We need a fresh view. What is the view he offers?

the cover of James W Carey's book Communication as Culture

“Communication is a symbolic process whereby reality is produced, maintained, repaired, and transformed.”

What does this mean? (Let's break this up into parts.)

What does "symbolic process" mean?

What is the relationship between "a symbolic process" and "reality"?

An Open Street Map with York University at the center
A map's role in producing reality
Several hobbits from the show The Rings of Power
Singing as a way to produce reality

What about "maintaining reality"? Can you think of examples of maintaining reality?

a picture of a classroom full of students, with a teacher up front
Classes as a way to maintain reality

What about "repairing reality"? Examples?

a screenshot of The Conversation, an article about talking to conspiracy theorists
Countering disinformation and conspiracy theories

What about "tranforming reality"? Examples?

Black Lives Matter protesters marching
Protest movements as transforming reality
A statue of Copernicus
Scientific inquiry and transforming reality

Meta question: how does our conception of the word "communication" shape how we view the world?

the cover of James W Carey's book Communication as Culture

“Communication is a symbolic process whereby reality is produced, maintained, repaired, and transformed.”