This course examines the theories of communication that pertain to uses and effects of telecommunications on individuals, organizations and society. The purpose of the course is to encourage telecommunication professionals and students to examine the metaphysical, philosophical and theoretical foundations of mediated communication. Building upon such a theoretical understanding, we will examine the systems of technology development and diffusion, patterns of use and effects in interpersonal, organizational and social contexts.
Telecommunication pertains to all media that enable communication from a distance.
Hence this course covers a broad range of theories pertaining to communication through both channels of mass media as well as telecommunication technologies. The first part of the course will focus on mass communication theories and the second part on the emerging theories on telecommunication technologies. This form of mediated communication has mostly been at the interpersonal or organizational domain. For years, the impact of such mediation was never studied. After all, communication as a discipline is a child of the mass media age.