Communication questions
1. Suppose you share the aircraft mechanic’s suspicion that scholars who create
theories would be all thumbs working on a plane’s wings or engine. What would
it take to transform your hunch into a theory?
2. Which metaphor of theory do you find most helpful—theory as a net, a lens, or
a map? Can you think of another image that you could use to explain to a friend
what this course is about?
3. Suppose you want to study the effects of yawns during intimate conversations.
Would your research be addressing communication as we’ve defined it (the relational process of creating and interpreting messages to elicit a response)? If not,
how would you change the definition to make it include your interest?
4. You come to this course with a vast array of communication experiences in
interpersonal, group and public, mass media, and intercultural contexts. What are
the communication questions you want to answer, puzzles you want to solve, or
problems you want to fix?
