50 Ways to Understand Communication

Arthur Asa Berger is professor emeritus of broadcast and electronic communication arts at San Francisco State University.

Arthur Asa Berger's choice of 50 prominent thinkers about communication is an intellectual journey from Aristotle to McLuhan with stops along the way at such road posts as Freud, Jung, and many of today's eminent communication scholars. Berger has selected a key writing from each and includes his own analysis and perspective of their work. The book includes exercises for students and is a clear requisite for any introductory course on communication.

• Chapter 1 Introduction: How You Can Use This BookChapter 2 1 Words and CommunicationChapter 3 2 Signs and SemioticsChapter 4 3 When I Use a Word, Humpty Dumpty Said...Chapter 5 4 Antithetical Meaning of WordsChapter 6 5 Society Precedes the IndividualChapter 7 6 Language CodesChapter 8 7 The Structuralist PerspectiveChapter 9 8 Culture and the UnconsciousChapter 10 9 The Importance of MetaphorChapter 11 10 A Model of Communication ProcessChapter 12 11 The Lasswell FormulaChapter 13 12 Art and Society: A ModelChapter 14 13 Dialogic Aspects of CommunicationChapter 15 14 Conversation as NarrativeChapter 16 15 Men and Women Use Language DifferentlyChapter 17 16 Black SpeechChapter 18 17 People of Color and the MediaChapter 19 18 Nonverbal CommunicationChapter 20 19 Facial ExpressionsChapter 21 20 Fashion as CommunicationChapter 22 21 Symbolism and ReligionChapter 23 22 The Meaning of SymbolsChapter 24 23 The House as a Symbol of FemininityChapter 25 24 Miss America's Mythic SignificanceChapter 26 25 Images of Women in AdvertisingChapter 27 26 The Power of Advertising in Capitalist SocietiesChapter 28 27 Myths and SocietyChapter 29 28 Robinson Crusoe as MythChapter 30 29 Fairy Tales and the PsycheChapter 31 30 Hot and Cool MediaChapter 32 31 The Impact of PostmodernismChapter 33 32 The Postmodern EyeChapter 34 33 Mind and MediaChapter 35 34 Cybertexts and Video GamesChapter 36 35 Digital MediaChapter 37 36 Smart MobsChapter 38 37 How Crowds ThinkChapter 39 38 Television and ArtChapter 40 39 Amusing Ourselves to DeathChapter 41 40 Narratives in the MediaChapter 42 41 Television Is a Dramatic MediumChapter 43 42 The Power of Rock MusicChapter 44 43 Artistic TextsChapter 45 44 Psychoanalysis and LiteratureChapter 46 45 Humor and CommunicationChapter 47 46 On ComedyChapter 48 47 What Does Art Do?Chapter 49 48 Interpretation and ArtChapter 50 49 The Society of SpectacleChapter 51 50 Representation and DifferenceChapter 52 Appendix: Learning Games and ActivitiesChapter 53 GlossaryChapter 54 Selected BibliographyChapter 55 Biographies of Key Text Authors