Communication Ethics Literacy: Dialogue and Difference

Communication ethics is imperative in the 21^st century as the prevalence of conflicting opinions endangers successful, respectful communication.

Utilizing a dialogic approach to ethical communication, Communication Ethics Literacy: Dialogue and Difference provides a timely review of classic communication ethics literature and extends the conversation about dialogue and difference in public and private life. Understanding communication ethics as a pragmatic survival skill in a world of difference, this work frames communication ethics as a discipline and practice that arises from multiple understandings of goods found across diverse narratives, traditions, and virtue structures that guide human life.

Communication Ethics Literacy: Dialogue and Difference

• Presents “The Dialogic Learning Model” as a framework offering guidelines for ethical decision making in several communicative contexts, such as interpersonal, intercultural, and organizational settings.
• Examines communication ethics in varied arenas, such as health care settings, businesses, the electronic/digital realm, and more.
• Applies theory to everyday life with examples drawn from multiple perspectives in personal and professional life. Incorporates Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables to further illustrate principles in each chapter and examine the ethical struggles that constitute the human condition.

Ronald C. Arnett (Ph.D. & M.A., Ohio University; M.Div., Bethany Theological Seminary; B.S., Manchester College) is the author/editor of seven books and 46 published articles.  Dialogue, communication ethics, and the philosophy of communication are central to his scholarly projects and teaching commitments.  Arnett is one of the founders of the National Communication Association’s Commission on Communication Ethics (1984), former president of the Speech Communication Association of Pennsylvania (1998-99), and former president of the Religious Communication Association (2000-03). His work as appeared in the following journals:  Qualitative Inquiry, Communication Theory, Journal of Educational Administration, Journal for the Association of Communication Administration, Communication Education, and The Western Journal of Communication.  In addition, Arnett is the recipient of the 1999 Duquesne University Eugene P. Beard Award for Leadership in Ethics for faculty and the recipient of the 1999 Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarship from the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts.

Janie Harden Fritz (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison; M.A. & B.A., University of Georgia) conducts research on communication in problematic workplace relationships, organizational communication ethics, and communication pedagogy.  She has published in numerous communication journals (including Journal of Mediated Communication, Journal of Business Communication, Journal of Business Ethics, Management Communication Quarterly), is co-editor of Problematic Relationships in the Workplace (Peter Lang), is the former president of the Speech Communication Association of Pennsylvania (2001-02), and the current 1st vice-president of the Eastern Communication Association.

Leeanne M. Bell, Assistant professor of the Business Communication Department at Stevenson University, received her Ph.D. in Rhetoric from Duquesne University and her M.A. in Communication Studies from West Virginia University. Her research interests include communication ethics, pedagogy, interpersonal communication, and conflict and negotiation processes.