Human Communication in Society

Human Communication in Society is the only text to show how the interplay between the individual and society impacts communication. By understanding how the tensions that exist among individual forces, societal forces, cultures, and context shape communication and meaning, students become more ethical and effective communicators.

Based on feedback of over 2,000 students who class tested the manuscript and over 100 faculty reviewers, Alberts, Nakayama, and Martin wrote Human Communication in Society in order to bring a comprehensive, balanced view to the study of human communication. Each of the three authors brings their expertise in their specific area of study to the text. Jess Alberts, a social scientist, focuses on interpersonal communication with special proficiency in conflict. Thomas Nakayama is a critical scholar with a focus on rhetoric and intercultural communication. Judith Martin rounds out the project as the interpretive scholar with her expertise in intercultural communication. This author combination brings to the market a balanced approach to the study of human communication.

This text is for the survey of Human Communication course, which covers multiple subfields of communication and presumes little if any public speaking assignments.

Jess Alberts is a professor of human communication and has been a faculty member in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication since 1989. She served as Director of the School from 1995 until June 2004. She has happily returned to the faculty and currently serves as the Director of the Conflict Transformation Project.

Alberts’ principal research interests focus on conflict in personal and professional relationships. Her current work examines married couples’ conflict and daily interaction, workplace bullying, community mediation, and work/life balance. Previously she has conducted research on adolescent drug resistance, teasing and ethnic humor, and flirting. She is in the process of developing a study to explore social hierarchy and the economy of gratitude theories as explanations for the division of household labor.

Alberts teaches courses on human communication, conflict and negotiation, relational communication, and work/life balance. She was selected by the undergraduate association for the Last Lecture Series Award, by the graduate student association for a Mentor Appreciation Award, and by Commission on the Status of Women for the Outstanding Achievement and Contributions Award.

Tom Nakayama

Tom Nakayama is currently a professor in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication and former director of Asian Pacific American Studies at Arizona State University.  His research is focused on developing critical approaches to intercultural communication and public communication.  Nakayama is a fellow of the International Academy of Intercultural Research, a former Fulbrighter at the Université de Mons-Hainaut in Belgium, and was on the Board of Directors of the Arizona Humanities Council.  He currently serves on the editorial boards of Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, the International and Intercultural Communication Annual, Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, and the Western Journal of Communication.

Judith Martin is a professor of human communication and has been a faculty member in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication since 1990. She teaches courses in intercultural communication in domestic and international contexts. Prior to joining the ASU faculty, she held a joint appointment in the Office of International Education and the Department of Speech Communication at the University of Minnesota.

Her early research efforts focused on the role of communication in sojourner adaptation to overseas locales and reentry to their home culture. Her more recent research examines racial and ethnic identity and communication practices, particularly the communicative meaning of white racial identity. She is also investigating the role culture plays in newer communication technologies, such as the Internet.

She was awarded the first Patricia Gurin Scholar-Activist Award by the ASU Intergroup Relations Center in 2004 and The Achievement in Gender Equity Award by the ASU Faculty Women’s Association in 2001.  In 2001-2004 she was selected as the Jeanne Herberger Professor of Human Communication. Using this award she, along with colleagues, organized a lecture series on “Culture, Communication and Conflict.”  As part of her community service, she works with undergraduate transfer students, assisting them in making a successful transition to ASU from a local community college.