Introduction to Communication Studies

Definition
Communication is the transfer of information from a source to a receiver.
Communication is a vital part of the human experience. It enables the passing on and sharing of information and is necessary for survival. Humans must communicate in order to express/convey their interests, wants, needs and desires. Consider a newly born baby who cannot yet speak. He or she cries to express hunger, sleepiness or discomfort. Likewise, when happy he or she will coo or smile.
We may now conclude that communication is an inborn/innate and therefore inevitable part of being human. Consider this story:

The Story of Djuma (The Wolf Boy)
Djuma was found in 1962 at the age of 7 in the company of wolves. He walked on all fours like a wolf, bit like a wolf, ate raw meat and howled like a wolf. He was a victim of civil unrest in Russia whereby all his family members were killed and he was somehow found and raised by wolves. This story brings out the point that human beings need to communicate by whatever means necessary. This story also alludes to the fact that human beings are not the only beings that can communicate. Most animals possess some kind of communication system. For example, spiders and crabs have a complex communication system for courtship and mating. The bees also have a complex communication system for alerting other bees to a newly found food source.
None the less, human beings are said to have the superior communication system, characterized by the use of language and gestures in a systematic way. Zeuschner (1994) defines this communication as ‘the process of people interacting through the use of messages.’

Portfolio Topics

Cape recommends that students pick an area of interest to write about in the portfolio component of the internal assessment. However, there is the dilemma that students often struggle with a topic to write on and equally that teachers are often faced with several instances of cliche topics which display a lack of creative thought and relevance to the Caribbean Region. Below is a list of possible topics that a student may choose to write on:


1. The Environment
2. Health
3. The Entertainment Industry in Jamaica
4. Religion
5. Child Abuse
6. Education
7. Sports
8. Crime & Violence
9. Discrimination
10. Relationships

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Welcome!

Welcome to the wonderful world of Communication Studies! Some of you may be interested in pursuing a career in Communications while some of you may be considering Medicine, Law, Engineering, Business, Education etc. Whatever the case may be, you all have one thing in common and that is - mastering Communication Studies! This blog is one channel that we will be using to achieve this goal. The content will cover some of the more challenging topics in the syllabus. So be sure to ask a lot of questions and most importantly challenge yourself to read daily!