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UCSD Department of Communication -- graduate program
``` Dear Colleagues; It is that time of year when students are considering where to go for a graduate education. This year, instead of answering questions about our program on an ad hoc basis, we have prepared the following information sheet. We think we are part of an exciting graduate program, and welcome applications from promising students. We would also be pleased to correspond with potential students. Phil Agre (pagre@ucsd.edu) Michael Cole (mcole@ucsd.edu) Yrjo Engestrom (yengestr@ucsd.edu) Carol Padden (cpadden@ucsd.edu) Olga Vasquez (ovasquez@ucsd.edu)
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Graduate Study of Communication and Mind at the Department of Communication, University of California, San Diego In recent decades Communication has become a field of vigorous interdisciplinary study, weaving together perspectives from the social sciences, humanities, and arts. Intellectual developments in a number of areas have provided a new platform for the study of communication. Communication at the University of California, San Diego has grown out of an inter-disciplinary undergraduate program jointly sponsored by the departments of drama, political science, psychology, sociology and visual arts. It became an autonomous department in 1982 and instituted a Ph.D. program in 1986. At UCSD, the study of communication focuses on mediating human experience -- how human beings, individually or institutionally, make sense of the world or act in the face of meanings others seek to impose on them. The graduate program blends two traditions: critical communication research and empirical scholarship. Graduate study is organized around the following three analytic perspectives: (1) Communication and Mind How are individuals constituted in language and culture? How do minds develop and how are persons formed in interaction through various media? We are associated with this part of the curriculum. Our backgrounds are in anthropology, cognitive science, education, linguistics, and psychology. This is our part of the curriculum. We draw particularly on the fields of psychology, linguistics, cognitive science, and education. Our research includes the following:
* The study of work settings as sites of collective cognition and problem solving The development of reading and writing in deaf children Critical studies of computer technology* Design and implementation of new forms of educational activity mediated by computers and telecommunication networks* Bilingual and bi-cultural development.
(2) Communication as a Social Force What is the history, politics, sociology, and economics of communication institutions (telecommunications, the mass media, and information systems)? What is the role of communication institutions in the organization of society? This part of the curriculum draws from the social sciences and is particularly strong in the study of telecommunications, policy, and regulation. (3) Communication and Culture How can human cultural artifacts -- from news stories to TV dramas to popular music to rumors -- be understood? What approaches to interpreting symbols and text contribute to our understanding of humans as symbol producers? This part of the curriculum draws particularly on the humanities, history, folklore, and the sociology of culture. In addition to the three analytic perspectives, the program places emphasis on the practice of production. Specifically, students are required to gain experience in a communication medium other than academic writing -- for example: editing a newsletter, organizing a conference by e-mail, or producing a video. The production component is designed for students to explore and test theory in practical implementation. Members of our group are also associated with the Interdisciplinary Program in Cognitive Science. Several of our students are pursuing graduate programs that yield a joint Ph.D. Students who come to work with one of us can expect to spend the first year of graduate work getting a good overall grasp of the emerging discipline of Communication. The second year is spent in a combination of methodological and substantive seminars that begin to focus in the student's areas of special interest and expertise. This is also a time when the student can expect to become directly involved in ongoing research projects. The following brief summaries characterize our current research interests.
* Philip E. Agre My work concerns the interrelationships of language and technology. Most recently I have been writing about the ways in which language is used to suture computers into society, with particular emphasis on privacy issues and the metaphors of artificial intelligence. But I am also interested in the role of communication in technological social movements, and particularly in public relations. Recent publications: "Surveillance and Capture: Two Models of Privacy," The Information Society, Vol. 10 (1994) "Conceptions of the User in Computer System Design," The Social and Interactional Dimensions of Human-Computer Interfaces, P. Thomas, ed. (Cambridge, 1994).* Michael Cole My work at present focuses on the role of culture in the development of mind. In recent years I have been growing local cultural systems in order to study the dynamics of their growth and the development of children within them. Theoretically I am focused on mediational theories of mind. Recent Publications: "A Conception of Culture for a Communication Theory of Mind," Intrapersonal Communication: Different Voices, Different Minds, D. Vocate, ed. (Erlbaum, 1994). "A meso-genetic approach to the study of culture in mind. In L. Martin, K. Nelson, & E. Tobach (Eds.). Sociocultural Psychology: Theory and Knowing. Practice of Doing and Knowing. (Cambridge, 1994).* Yrjo Engestrom My work is focused on analysis of learning, cognitive change and innovation in organizations and workplaces going through technological and other transformations. Currently I am studying how expertise is redefined when organizations introduce self-directed teams. My work is based on cultural-historical activity theory. Recent Publications: "Learning, Working and Imagining: Twelve Studies in Activity Theory (Orienta-Konsultit, 1990) Training for Change: New Approach to Learning and Teaching in Working Life (International Labour Office, 1994).* Carol Padden I am interested broadly in the development of children's ability to manipulate systems, from natural language, signed and spoken to print and drawn representations. I also study contexts of development: in classrooms, communities and homes, and how different language systems are configured across these contexts. Recent Publications: Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture (Harvard, 1988);
"Lessons To Be Learned from Young Deaf Orthographers," Linguistics and Education, Vol. 5 (1993);* Olga Vasquez My work grows out of an interest in language, literacy, and culture in community learning settings. I examine ways in which knowledge and skills are distributed in culturally variable learning domains. I study ways in which institutions facilitate access to resources and support for under-represented groups.
Recent Publications: Pushing Boundaries: Language and Culture in a Mexicano Community (Cambridge, 1994) "A Look at Language as a Resource: Lessons from La Clase M1gica," Bilingual Education: Politics, Practice, and Research, Arias and Casanova, eds. (National Society for the Study of Education, 1993).
If you know of students who might be interested in working with us, we would be delighted to hear from them. We are easily reached by email, but if a student does not have email access, they should write to any one of us at: Department of Communication University of California, San Diego La Jolla, California. 92093-0503 USA October 25, 1994 ```
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