IJoC Publishes Discussion, Dialogue, and Discourse Special Section

Discussion, dialogue, and discourse have long been regarded as important concepts across a range of communication-related disciplines such as public relations, organizational communication, interpersonal communication, and strategic management. These concepts are becoming even more significant with the increasing use of social media and other forms of online communication by organizations and their publics/stakeholders/citizens.

Doing the Talk: Discussion, Dialogue, and Discourse in Action, guest-edited by Uta Russmann, FHWien University of Applied Sciences of WKW, Austria, and Anne B. Lane, Queensland University of Technology, Australia, is the latest Special Section of IJoC. Articles in this Special Section tackle some of the key questions around dialogue, discussion, and discourse: What are they, and how do we carry them out in practice? How are these key concepts translated to the online environment?  And what sort of data and methodological approaches are most appropriate to study discussion, dialogue, and discourse?Authors from a range of disciplinary backgrounds have developed conceptual papers and carried out empirical research to answer these questions.

This Special Section contains seven articles by international scholars—six original papers and an editorial introduction—that aim to provoke new thinking and perspectives on discussion, dialogue, and discourse. The authors offer new insights to both academics and practitioners in the field of communication.

We invite you to read these articles that published in the International Journal of Communication on August 15, 2016.  [Click on the article title for direct link to the paper.]

Doing the Talk: Discussion, Dialogue, and Discourse in Action – Introduction
Uta Russmann, Anne B. Lane

Elegy for Mediated Dialogue: Shiva the Destroyer and Reclaiming Our First Principles
Michael L. Kent, Petra Theunissen 

Language and Discourse in Social Media Relational Dynamics: A Communicative Constitution Perspective
Chiara Valentini, Stefania Romenti, Dean Kruckeberg

Why Dialogic Principles Don’t Make It in Practice – And What We Could Do About It
Anne B. Lane, Jennifer Bartlett

Understanding Dialogue and Engagement Through Communication Experts’ Use of Interactive Writing to Build Relationships
Betsy D. Anderson, Rebecca Swenson, Nathan D. Gilkerson

Dialog in Public Relations Roles—A Q Study Among Young Professionals
Helena Stehle, Simone Huck-Sandhu

Quality of Understanding in Campaign Communication of Political Parties and Mass Media in Austria Between 1970 and 2008
Roland Burkart, Uta Russmann