DAVID MORTENSEN is Professor of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the author of many books on communication and social conflict, including Communication: The Study of Human Interaction and Violence and Communication: Public Reactions to an Attempted Presidential Assassination.

Klappentext

What makes human communication problematic? Why can a face-to-face encounter be simple, automatic, and even mindless in one situation and still become complicated, difficult, and even vexing in the next? These are the central questions in this probing analysis of the potential and limits of communication in human relations. Working through the seemingly intractable complexities and complications that emerge from such conflicts as multiple viewpoints and divergent vantage points, this study advances the prospects of working toward optimum conditions for human interaction.

Inhalt

Preface Problematic Aspects of Face-To-Face Interaction The Risk of Noncommunication The Study of Critical Communication The Construction of Interpersonal Boundaries Silence, Discourse, and Dialogue Miscommunication Symbolic Violence The Pursuit of Optimum Conditions References Index