Thinking Through Communication

by Sarah Trenholm

Praised for its “teachability,” Thinking Through Communication provides an excellent, balanced introduction to basic theories and principles of communication, making sense of a complex field through a variety of approaches. In an organized and coherent manner, Thinking Through Communication covers a full range of topics–from the history of communication study to the methods used by current communication scholars to understand human interaction. The book explores face-to-face communication in a variety of traditional interpersonal, group, organizational, public, intercultural, computer-mediated communication and the mass media

Written in a clear, lively style, Trenholm's overall approach—including her use of examples and interesting illustrations—helps develop a better understanding of communication as a field of study and an appreciation for ways in which communication impacts our daily lives.

Genres: Textbooks, Nonfiction, Philosophy

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[jeni b · Rating 4 out of 5]

Communication Theory (COM 321) was an intriguing class with a ton of valuable information and essential methods for learning to communicate effectively. I now understand the attraction for a deeper study of communication. The motivation of human behavior is extremely fascinating.

[Minäpäminä · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skimmed through. Seemed perfectly fine for what it's supposed to be. What I don't get is why the "NEW INTERNATIONAL EDITION" keeps using "we" and "here" when referring to the United States and its citizens. Cultural imperialism much?

[Elise Hedlund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hello and welcome to the FIRST installment of a new series I am (not so briefly) titling "Rating my college textbooks because if I have to read them, they better count toward my Goodreads challenge!" Our first subject: my Intro to Communication Studies textbook.

Because this is a textbook, I'll be grading on a curve (gotta stick with that classroom theme!), but I feel like four stars is pretty reasonable for this one! Trenholm writes in a way that is very clear and easy to understand, which I really appreciated. In general, I also found the content interesting (even though communications is not my field of study), and it was easy to see the applications to reality. Some of the examples felt a little out of touch, but ultimately, I was pleasantly surprised with this one. Also, it was cheap and easy to rent a print copy from Amazon!

So yeah, while I still won't be reading any textbooks in my free time, I was definitely not mad at this one! Comms students, never fear, because Trenholm has you covered with this one!

[Mona]

Perfect!!