Communication: A Critical/Cultural Introduction

The third edition of Communication: A Critical/Cultural Introduction provides a comprehensive, yet focused, overview of communication theory, interpersonal communication, and public communication and culture through the lens of contemporary critical theory. The text shows how we produce our world through communication, challenging us to explore power, ideology, and diversity through daily interactions, both public and private.

The book begins with explanations of how communication relates to culture and power, how to distinguish between representative and constitutive communication, and how to build a message for an audience with an emphasis on social advocacy. Later chapters explore the responsibilities of speakers and listeners, alliance-building, the application of communication theory in the study of identity and perception, the relationship between language and culture, nonverbal communication, and more. The text closes with a discussion of communication as a means of social action, encouraging readers to use communication as a foundation for the advancement of issues that matter most to them.

Dr. Deanna L. Fassett is a professor of communication and chair of the Department of Communication Studies at San Jos State University. She is the author of Critical Communication Pedagogy and Coordinating the Communication Course: A Guidebook (both with John T. Warren). Her published research has appeared in an array of communication studies journals, including Basic Communication Course Annual, Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, Communication Education, Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies, and Text and Performance Quarterly.

Dr. Keith Nainby is a professor of communication and chair of the Department of Communication Studies at California State University, Stanislaus. His publications include book chapters in The SAGE Handbook of Communication and Instruction and The Invisibility Factor: Administrators and Faculty Reach Out to First-Generation College Students, as well as journal articles in Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies, Language and Intercultural Communication, and Educational Foundations.

Dr. John T. Warren was a professor of communication at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. He was the author of numerous books including Performing Purity: Whiteness, Pedagogy and the Reconstitution of Power, Casting Gender: Women and Performance in Intercultural Contexts, Critical Communication Pedagogy, and Coordinating the Communication Course: A Guidebook. He authored articles for several education and communication studies journals, including Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, Communication Education, Educational Theory, and Text and Performance Quarterly.