Ritual view of communication

rdf:langString Ritual view of communication

rdf:langString The ritual view of communication is a communications theory proposed by James W. Carey, wherein communication–the construction of a symbolic reality–represents, maintains, adapts, and shares the beliefs of a society in time. In short, the ritual view conceives communication as a process that enables and enacts societal transformation. Carey defines the ritual view particularly in terms of sharing, participation, association, and fellowship. In addition, Carey acknowledges that, commonness, communion, and community, naturally correspond with the ritual view. In a similar way, the term "ritual" holds religious connotations. For Carey, this connection to religion helps to emphasize the concept of shared beliefs and ceremony that are fundamental to the ritual view. In contrast to the ritual view, Carey presents what he considers the more commonly recognized "transmission" view of communication. In the transmission view the dissemination of information constitutes the primary goal. Carey defines the transmission view in terms of imparting, sending, transmitting and giving information to others. In the transmission view information is disseminated across geography largely for the purpose of control. To support this idea, Carey refers to the messaging systems of ancient Egypt wherein, "transportation and communication were inseparably linked" and served as a method of control. The transmission view emphasizes the conscious role of agents seeking to influence an audience. Hence it highlights the power being exercised by those who create the media message upon those who receive it. In the classical formulation of Harold Lasswell, communication was about “who says what to whom through what channels and with what effect.” In part, the transmission perspective conceives of communication as a linear, causal process, typically from centralized media producers to distributed audiences, and it abstracts this communication from the broader sets of social institutions and cultural traditions. In contrast, for Carey a ritual view embeds the communication process in the broader sets of cultural traditions and social relations. It conceives of the communication rite as part of a broad cultural dialogue that largely reiterates preexisting cultural traditions, a not entirely conscious communal process. Here communication is a more horizontal process within a community, in contrast to the more vertical relationship in the transmission view. In the ritual perspective, communication binds the community together across time, while in the transmission view, communication serves to increase the power of those in control over an expanded space. Where Carey seemingly presents these two views as oppositional, he acknowledges that the dichotomy is false, or more accurately, the distinction is an analytical one. He states, "neither of these counterpoised views of communication necessarily denies what the other affirms". Instead, they offer a nuanced perspective of communication that enables a broader understanding of human interaction.