Coarseness in U.S. Public Communication (The Fairleigh Dickinson University Press Series in Communication Studies) - Hardcover

Philip Dalton is assistant professor and chair of speech communication, rhetoric and performance studies at Hofstra University. He teaches courses in political communication, argumentation and debate, qualitative research methods and intercultural communication.

Eric Mark Kramer is professor of communication at the University of Oklahoma. He is also affiliate faculty in the College of International Studies.

Dalton and Kramer argue that public discourse in the United States has become increasingly and dangerously coarser, due to market logic that "has us communicating instrumentally, modeling computers, seeking efficacy and efficiency, all at the expense of both the relationships of which we are aware and the neglected binds we have with strangers." After a theoretical overview, more specific topics are examined, including the role of opinion leaders in fomenting anti-intellectualism, the growing coarseness in US politics, Western art in crisis, postdenominational megachurches fostering selfishness, and the entertainment industry's enculturation of marketplace ideology. All chapters relate to the central thesis that "capitalism, as it manifests in the United States today, has helped foster and encourage a gross form of individualism, what we term 'hypertrophic individualism.'" The communication environment, Dalton and Kramer argue, contributes significantly to the growing "public's use of and acquiescence to vulgar, aggressive, and unreasonable messages." Some readers may want more discussion of cooperation and altruism that is also seen in the world, facilitated by new technologies, for example. Overall, an interesting and thought-provoking argument. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate, graduate, research, and professional collections. (CHOICE)

Dalton and Kramer’s book goes beyond arguing that we live in a less civil communication environment. Anyone observing the tenor of today’s national political discussion can see that. Instead, this book examines why public communication is coarser and what this coarseness means for our society and our democracy. . . . Dalton and Kramer’s book is a warning that we are headed in a dangerous direction. For our public communication to help build the communities we desire, then our attitudes must reflect an appreciation for the humanity in others – even those with whom we disagree. We must recognize that our messages are more than reflections of the communities we want. Our messages actually constitute the communities in which we live. (Howard Dean, Former Vermont Governor and former Chairman of the DNC)

Proceeding from the assumption that all manner of public communication in the United States is becoming increasingly coarse, this book argues that shared cultural notions of decency are being eroded by market logic—a decision making calculus based solely upon the aggregate preferences of self-interested individuals. The instrumentality of communication in this paradigm eclipses communication’s expressive potential, leaving our culture to value only communication’s capacity to achieve individual ends.