ABSTRACT
The subject of communication theory is not located within any particular niche, nook, or cranny of academic inquiry. In fact, critical considerations have no distinctive location or fixed boundaries. To study viable conceptions of human communication is to become an active participant in what transpires across the life span. Applied social knowledge qualifies as a vital enterprise. One may gain entrance as an astute observer of how other persons interact across a wide array of social contexts. One may decide to exit from the public sphere to reflect, see, and imagine how collective endeavors begin, change, or end in multiple ways that make things better or keep them from getting worse. The expansive generation of informed conceptions of human communication is best conceived as a busy intersection. Theory is directed toward a careful analysis of a rich confluence of people, places, and things. Human inquiry, therefore, is not constructed in the manner of a housing project, a gated community, or a seaside resort. What transpires when speaking subjects engage in shared activities is everyone’s business because each participant and every observer have a personal stake in how things turn out.
