Kirjahaku

In this book I argue against inclusion. Rather than promoting diversity, I contend that inclusion diminishes human diversity, brutalizes human diversity, and, ultimately, destroys human diversity. Nothing about inclusion is good for human diversity. Inclusion assumes that in order for us to thrive collectively, our differences must be tamed, sanitized, and harmonized. Inclusion must come first, meaning that diversity must always yield to the demands of inclusion. However, in destroying diversity, inclusion protects the status quo by promoting conformity and homogeneity. The diversity that inclusion champions is nothing but a caricature of diversity. It is diversity in name only. It has no capacity or yearning to disrupt or renew anything. Its only ambition is to be included and affirmed. I treat inclusion as a hegemon-a vast system of values, beliefs, fears, structures, and practices that imposes and sustains a certain set of supposed truths about the human experience. I aim to demystify this hegemon, specifically the implications and consequences that come with this hegemon.

Communication, Space, and Design looks at how our worldview shapes our relations to and conceptions of space and place, and how our spaces and designs impact our communication practices. By asserting that our spaces and designs are increasingly promoting various expressions of separation, this book contends that this separation makes us more private. We find this increasing inwardness, for example, in the rise of gated-communities, exclusionary suburbs, and hyper-suburbs. Ultimately, the book asks how our spaces and designs impact our understanding and embodying of democracy, civility, and justice. It also explores how this inward turn limits our sense of obligation to the world and each other by undermining our ability to develop the communicational resiliency and moral sophistication that comes through public interactions.

The study of communication deepens our understanding of the human condition, enlarges how we frame and resolve human problems and struggles, and allows us to appreciate the different perspectives that communication brings to the study of the human experience. Introducing Communication provides an overview of eight different communication perspectives and explores important concepts from around the world, highlighting the consequences and implications that come with diverse ways of defining, understanding, and studying communication. Featuring discussions on issues and challenges associated with mass globalization and new technologies, this smart and sophisticated text encourages students to reflect on how these consequences and implications come to bear on how we live and communicate. Introducing Communication is ideally suited for instructors who teach introductory communication courses and are seeking a text that is theoretically rigorous, intellectually expansive, and pedagogically elegant.