History of Communication: A Biographical Approach —— A Brief Introduction of Chicago School

The establishment of the University of Chicago

During the period of 1860- 19 12, Europeans flocked to the United States to escape the war, revolution and economic difficulties. But most of these immigrants are trapped in slums in rapidly urbanized areas, which are characterized by human exploitation and other social diseases. These problems are obvious in the south of Chicago near Lake Michigan. 1904, when German sociologist M weber visited Chicago, he described the city as "like a skinned person, people can see this person's intestines at work", and the University of Chicago was built there. ( 12 1- 122)

The Important Influence of Chicago School on Communication Theory and Research;

1, which represents the first great prosperity of American social science.

2. It makes American social sciences have a strong empirical direction in the study of social problems. Chicago School is an improved, progressive and empirical school, which tries to transform the world by studying social problems. The question of Chicago School is whether American democracy born in rural communities can survive in the crowded immigrant caves of poor people in fast-growing cities.

3. Scholars of Chicago School constitute a theoretical concept system of personality socialization centered on interpersonal communication. For sociologists in Chicago, communication is a social existence and necessary for human existence. They attacked the intuitive explanation of human behavior and turned to emphasize a view, which was later called symbolic interaction theory.

4. Chicago School constructed a later research model of mass communication, focusing on media effects. ( 1 18- 1 19)

Representative figure

John Dewey

In Dewey's view, communication is a means to make people become perfect and participatory members of society. He advocated that "society exists not only because of communication and exchange, but also because of communication and exchange." ( 137)

Hu Shi also published the article "Mr Dewey and China":

"Mr Dewey has been to and given lectures in China, including Mukden, Zhili, Shanxi, Shandong, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong. His five lectures in Beijing have been published in ten editions, and the remaining lectures are almost countless! "

Mr. Dewey has always believed that mass communication has great potential to transform society, and new communication technology will lead to the reconstruction of social value system. In his book Experience and Essence, he argues:

"Communication is a tool, because it frees us from the great pressure of other things, otherwise we will be crushed. It can make us live in a meaningful world. It is the ultimate goal, and it is the sharing of valuable goals and all kinds of knowledge in society between people. Through this sharing, the meaning of communication will be enhanced, deepened and consolidated in the consciousness of society. " Therefore, among all things, communication is the most remarkable ... the fruits of communication should be enjoyed and participated by * * *. This is a miracle. Compared with them, bread and wine became the flesh and blood of Jesus, and the content was poor. "

The Main Theoretical Contributions of Chicago Sociology to American Social Sciences

In the study of social problems, it laid an empirical foundation for it. Chicago School gives American-style social science an applied and improved influence, because its scholars believe that expounding a social problem can lead to its solution.

At the same time, it has other effects:

1 conceptualizes the symbolic interaction theory, which is a theoretical viewpoint that puts communication at the center of how human nature forms and changes.

2. It believes that mass communication is a possible means for American democratic society to survive in the face of urban social problems.

3. In the late 1920s, it conducted a Payne Fund study on the influence of movies on children, which provided an early model for many subsequent studies on communication effects.

4. This makes female scholars like J Adams and her sociology colleagues in Hothall turn to social work as an independent application field.

5. Its methodology led to the emergence of a group of contemporary communication scholars called Hermeneutics School.