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Praise for The Basics of Communication:
"Duck and McMahan have done a wonderful job here of humanizing and personalizing the communication principles and processes they write about. . . . They give the material a warmth and familiarity that is missing from most textbooks."
―Thomas Edward Harkins, New York University
"This is a refreshing way to approach the subject matter. I am excited to see rhetorical perspectives woven with interpersonal concepts – it invites students to consider most specifically, how their communication with others constitutes and frames the relationship, future interactions, and the context itself. The combination of highlighting the relational character of communication with its rhetorical quality is incredibly appealing."
―Melissa W. Alemán, James Madison University
"I really liked the authors′ unique approaches to human communication and I found it exciting to have a text written like this. I want to thank the authors for their effort in putting forward such a text."
―Yvonne Yanrong Chang, University of Texas-Pan American
"Each concept is illustrated by lively, relevant examples. Best of all, the examples are not banal, but are well-thought. These relevant examples will engage students and invite them to pause and think. (As an aside, these authors must be terrific classroom teachers! I have very much enjoyed reading the examples. I bet students love them, too.)"
―Carolyn Clark, Salt Lake Community College
"This book is a first rate enterprise. I believe that its readability and well designed scholarly discourse make it an important new tool for college teachers and students."
―Bryan H. Barrows III, North Harris College
Written in a warm and lively style and packed with learning tools, The Basics of Communication: A Relational Perspective offers an engaging look at the inseparable connection between relationships and communication, highlighting the roles that interpersonal connections play in casual discussions as well as in public speaking. This groundbreaking text combines theory and application to introduce students to fundamental communication concepts. It also provides practical instruction on communicating interpersonally, in small groups, and in making effective formal presentations. Authors Steve Duck and David T. McMahan encourage students to think critically about key topics, to link communication theory to their own experiences, and to improve their communication skills in the process.
Throughout, The Basics of Communication
- emphasizes communication theory and research that directly effects students′ everyday lives,
- encourages development beyond personal views of communication concepts, ethics, and media, and
- examines how relationships are shaped by the communication tools and strategies that are used, whether through social networking sites or in interpersonal relationships with others.
Key Features
- Stresses the interaction and influence of the vital intersections between communication and relational contexts
- Offers a refreshing and original approach that engages students with lively, topical examples to challenge them and to invigorate classroom discussion
- Provides up-to-date insight into communication topics (such as identity, group communication, and public speaking) in a way that easily fits within a traditional course outline
- Integrates carefully chosen and purposefully positioned original pedagogical tools, designed to motivate students to become more active observers and to learn how they can easily and effectively apply topics in their own relationships
- Each chapter contains Listen in on Life, Make Your Case, and Strategic Communication boxes and all photos are captioned with questions for the student to answer.
- Devotes two chapters to the use of media and relational technology such as cell phones, iPods, BlackBerries, MySpace, and Facebook in daily communication
Ancillaries
Includes a password protected Instructor Resources Website that features PowerPoint slides, a test bank, suggestions for course projects and activities, Internet resources, and more. (Contact Customer Care at 1-800-818-7243 to request a copy.) The robust online Student study site includes e-flashcards, video and audio clips, SAGE journal articles, links to a Facebook page for the text, and other interactive resources.
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Steve Duck taught in the United Kingdom before taking up the Daniel and Amy Starch Distinguished Research Chair in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Iowa. He has been a professor of communication studies, an adjunct professor of psychology, and a former Dean’s Administrative Fellow and is now Chair of the Rhetoric Department. He has taught interpersonal communication courses, mostly on relationships but also on nonverbal communication, communication in everyday life, construction of identity, communication theory, organizational leadership, and procedures and practices for leaders. More recently, he has taught composition, speaking, and rhetoric, especially for STEM students. By training an interdisciplinary thinker, Steve has focused on the development and decline of relationships, although he has also done research on the dynamics of television production techniques and persuasive messages in health contexts. Steve has written or edited 60 books on relationships and other matters and was the founder and, for the first 15 years, the editor of the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. His book Meaningful Relationships: Talking, Sense, and Relating won the G. R. Miller Book Award from the Interpersonal Communication Division of the National Communication Association. Steve cofounded a series of international conferences on personal relationships. He won the University of Iowa’s first Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award in 2001 and the National Communication Association’s Robert J. Kibler Memorial Award in 2004 for “dedication to excellence, commitment to the profession, concern for others, vision of what could be, acceptance of diversity, and forthrightness.” He was the 2010 recipient of the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Helen Kechriotis Nelson Teaching Award for a lifetime of excellence in teaching, and in the same year was elected one of the National Communication Association’s Distinguished Scholars. He received the NCA’s 2019 Mark L. Knapp Award in Interpersonal Communication for career contributions to the study of interpersonal communication. He hopes to make it to the Iowa State Fair one day.
David T. McMahan received his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in 2001. With research focusing on the social aspects of media and technology, personal relationships, and rhetorical criticism, he is the author of multiple books, and his research and scholarship have been published in numerous academic journals and edited volumes. He was named a Centennial Scholar by the Eastern Communication Association. David has taught courses that span the discipline of communication, including numerous courses in interpersonal communication and personal relationships, media and technology, communication education, theory, and criticism. He has been honored to receive multiple awards for his work in the classroom. A tremendously active member of the discipline, David’s his extensive record of service includes President of the Central States Communication Association, Editor of the Iowa Journal of Communication, and Consulting Editor of the Journal of Communication Pedagogy, along with membership and activity on a vast number of academic committees, executive boards, and editorial boards. He will serve as President of the National Communication Association in 2021. David hopes to one day have the winning entry in the Super Bull competition at the Iowa State Fair.
