Faculty Publications

The Absolute State Of Research In Communication Education: Facing Hanlon’s Razor

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Communication Education

Volume

72

Issue

2

First Page

204

Last Page

212

Abstract

The opportunity to write critiques, self-appraisals, or agenda-setting essays is perhaps one of the great vanities of academia. That the scholars who write them are often, themselves, a part of the very group of people who created the problem is rarely acknowledged. Rather, authors often write with the hubris that their scholarly intervention will be the one to save the day. It is, therefore, with some trepidation that I write this essay. I make no pretensions to possessing a God’s eye view nor being a Promethean fire-bringer—I recognize my scholarship has contributed to some of the problems I will discuss. However, I do take some solace in knowing that this essay adds to a chorus of voices (within and beyond this forum and journal) who have sought to address the quality, direction, and tone of communication and instruction scholarship. In fact, in preparing for this response, I was struck by how many of these types of essays have been written over the past 30 years. And, simultaneously, how little has changed despite these pleas.

Department

Department of Communication and Media

Original Publication Date

1-1-2023

DOI of published version

10.1080/03634523.2023.2171449

Link to Full Text

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