ABSTRACT

This chapter presents an institutional history of communication studies in the Arab World as they evolved in the context of those four Western-centered intellectual traditions. It surveys milestones in journalism and mass communication scholarship, education, training and professional development in the region. The history of communication studies in the Arab world is more about institutional evolution than intellectual development. In a post-colonial Arab World entangled in Cold War rivalries and regional political conflicts, it seemed quite normal to see dependency ideas resonating in academic and political. The chapter surveys the institutional development of communication studies in the Arab World in the past eight decades in terms of academic programs, vocational training, research structures, professional associations and media-centered events. Media professional development has been a priority issue for government and private media institutions in the region. This chapter concludes its huge institutional growth, the region's communication studies field has fallen short of reflecting critical cultural features that define its unique identity.