ABSTRACT
When a subject is presented as received doctrine or fact, it becomes an aspect of specialization and technique. Currently, the general field of communication education is suffering from a bad image. The separation of the two sub fields has intellectual roots. Interpersonal communication can be traced to classical times and oratorical tradition, “from the tradition of noble virtue” and, more recently, to psychology, social psychology, and linguistics. Fragmentation and specialization in media programs seemed to make sense when media and related occupations were relatively few and unchanging. Moves toward both diversity and leadership start with a careful look at the field’s major. A universal core for the major parallels the baccalaureate “integrated core” concept proposed for the bachelor’s degree by Boyer and others. Regarding the social responsibilities of practitioners, the second component—conceptual enrichment —links the New Professionalism major to broader ethical, social, economic, and political contexts.
