Development as Communication

This book applies a systematic commu­nication theory to the 30-plus years of development experience in India.

Never before has development been treated from a communication perspec­tive. This perspective demonstrates that the role of communication in develop­ment is not limited to the technology of satellites or to the economics of mass media; it is a way of thinking about the interaction among all agents involved.

The empirical data describe patterns of social realities, actions, and commu­nication networks among planners, con­tact agents, and the masses in two Indian communities. The result is an analytical review of development theories and practice in India.

This study is practical as well as theo­retical. The authors show how the the­ory of the “coordinated management of meaning” applies to large-scale social interactions. They also offer specific rec­ommendations for Indian development planners.

Uma Narula is Research Officer at the Indian Institute of Mass Communica­tion.

W. Barnett Pearce chairs the Depart­ment of Communication Studies at the University of Massachusetts.