International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

The community of East Asian communication researchers has been growing rapidly in recent years, which shows that communication studies in East Asia has reached a certain level of maturity ( Miike & Chen 2006 ). In the United States the academic study of communication began after World War I. In East Asian culture, however, the academic study of communication has been a relatively recent phenomenon. Focusing on three East Asian countries (Greater China, South Korea, and Japan), we shall review major research and educational trends in the field of communication. Any attempt to generalize about conditions and patterns in the region immediately comes up against vast differences and anomalies that arise from the diverse cultures, languages, religions, and traditions. While differences exist between nations in East Asia, their similarities, due to the influence of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, are not surprising. According to Chen and Starosta (2003) , similarities between the nations of East Asia can be viewed from different paradigmatic perspectives : (1) ontologically, a holistic view of communication or the universe is evident; (2) epistemologically, the holistic view of communication or the universe is conceived of in the relational connection of all things. There are some other similarities in these East Asian countries. Communications curricula in Asian universities ... log in or subscribe to read full text