Traditions of communication theory and the potential for multicultural dialogue

Abstract

Multicultural dialogue on communication theory is needed both to de-Westernize the field and to engage it with an emerging global communication culture. The Constitutive Metamodel envisions a pluralistic field of communication theory that invites dialogue among multiple traditions of thought on practical communication problems. Can the Constitutive Metamodel serve as a heuristic framework to facilitate multicultural dialogue on communication theory? Literature on de-Westernizing communication theory is reviewed both to identify potential barriers and to illuminate openings to multicultural dialogue via the metamodel. To illustrate one approach and, we hope, to stimulate further discussion, a partially reconstructed metamodel is presented that incorporates selected Asian (Confucian, Buddhist) and Western (Cybernetic, Spiritual) traditions of communication theory and attempts to place them all in dialogical relations that avoid the false dichotomy of ‘East versus West.’ In conclusion, we reflect critically on this theoretical exploration and the prospect for future work.