Problematic Communication: The Construction Of Invisible Walls [Hardcover]

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.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, includingCommunication: The Study of Human Interaction and ViolenceandCommunication: Public Reactions to an Attempted Presidential Assassination.

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