Communication Theory: Epistemological Foundations [Hardcover]

This book provides a thorough analysis of the scientific, critical, and cultural questions at the foundation of theory-building in communication and other social sciences. Any claim to knowledge, the author explains, can be analyzed in terms of a series of characteristics: the object of its explanation, the explanatory form and evidentiary method employed, its characteristic explanations, the scope of its performance, and its consequences of value. From identifying basic epistemological questions to exploring the impact of the knowledge industry on society, the volume offers readers the analytical tools to understand, compare, and evaluate theories and their use both inside and outside the classroom. The book also includes a systematic analysis of communication's most influential theories and traces their genealogies across different content fields and disciplines.

Communication Theoryis a smart and innovative text. Its publication marks a significant departure from naive and often simplistic reviews of the literature. Anderson demonstrates convincingly that epistemological hegemony has passed. Unlike in the past, knowledge claims in communication studies today are contested at an assumptive level. If productive discussions are to be had in this new pluralistic environment, careful understanding of basic assumptions and alternative forms of reasoning are necessary. Anderson's metatheoretical position enables an insightful investigation of knowledge claims in communication studies and of how scholars write and justify their claims. I disagree with the analysis at places, but I was consistently impressed with the rigor of the investigation and carefulness of the arguments. I consider this text to be essential reading for all graduate students and scholars who want to understand contemporary controversies in the field. The issues are sophisticated and the positions somewhat radical, but the text reads well and would stimulate productive dislq