Gordon, George N. (1975). Communications and media: Constructing a cross-discipline. New York: Hastings House Publishers.
... I think there is room for the communication generalist as a mediator between,
and observer of, the various disciplines that share interests in the different ways that
transactions between people are analyzed, described and evaluated. The generalist, however,
must recogniqe that he lives in a dsciplinary no-mans-land, and that he is not, and probably
never will be, the true master of any discipline except lecturing and discursive writing.
His function is that of an umpire who may perform for scholarship quite a valuable service:
that of helping to maintain balance and respect between, and to commuicate the interests of,
those involved in the numerous disciplines concerned with transactions of human meaning.
From a practical standpoint, the generalist, need not necessarily be an impartial mediator--
nor should he be, as long as more than one generaist is on the loose. His own training and
background (and therefore biases) are likely to have been generated originally in one of the
arts or behavioral or social sciences, and a good generalist should wear his biases openly.
(Gordon, 1975, 181-182)
© Mary E. Hopper [MEHopper] |
MEHopper@TheWorld.com
[posted 01/01/01 | revised 04/21/03]