General Semantics in journalism: Introduction.

Don Ranly (*)

Once before I described on these pages the long history of General Semantics at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. (1) Former Dean Earl English, now deceased, received his doctorate in psychology at the University of Iowa and studied General Semantics under Wendell Johnson there. In Johnson's class, English wrote a paper applying GS to journalism. On the paper, Johnson wrote, "You may be on to something here."

After he came to Missouri with Dean Frank Luther Mott from Iowa, he was sent by Mott to one of Korzybski's institutes in Chicago. Dean Mott wanted English to begin teaching a course in General Semantics in Journalism immediately, and English did that for nearly two decades to hundreds of students. He became personal friends with S. I. Hayakawa, who visited the school on a couple of occasions and lectured here.

When I began teaching journalism and speech at a small college in East Chicago, Indiana, at the end of the '60s, the academic dean asked me if I were interested in teaching a course in General Semantics. I had little idea what it was about, but after reading Hayakawa and attending an institute conducted by Bob Pula and Kenneth Johnson at the University of Chicago, I was hooked for life.

When I arrived at the University of Missouri in 1973 to study for my doctorate in journalism, I was delighted to meet Earl English, who no longer was dean but who still came into his office nearly every day. I often spoke to him about GS, and a few years after I was hired full-time by the school, I was assigned to teach the course.

Because the course is called "General Semantics in Journalism," I take it in a different direction. First of all, I try to keep the course down to 15 to 20 students. It is open for undergraduate and graduate credit. All of the students must read six books and write a two- to three-page reflective essay that applies the major theme or points of the book to some aspect of journalism. I warn the students not to write a book report and not to insult their classmates by telling them what the books are about. Students must read all of the other students' papers and be ready to discuss them when called upon. They learn more from each other's essays, of course, than they do from me, and possibly from the books themselves.

All students have two exams plus a comprehensive final. Graduate students must also read Selections from Science & Sanity and write an additional 30-page paper.

We first read Hayakawa's Language in Thought and Action. It's an excellent introduction, although I enhance it with background from Korzybski and from A General-Semantics Glossary: Pula 's Guide for the Perplexed.

Next I assign Johnson's People in Quandaries. At first I thought it would be a bit much for undergraduates, but I was wrong. Even though they find much of the material outdated, all of the students find so much with which to identify, especially the IFD (Idealization-Frustration-Demoralization) disease.

To demonstrate the wide applications of GS, the students then read Bridging Worlds Through General Semantics, edited by Mary Morain. It's remarkable how different students relate to different articles in that book.

The next book is a big step for the students but a tremendously relevant one for journalism students. They read Edward T. Hall's The Silent Language, and although they complain about his obtuse style, the subject matter excites them -- especially those who have spent any time traveling or studying abroad. The notions that culture itself communicates and that studying language is only one aspect of studying a culture are so important in our current emphasis on diversity and multicultural studies.

Then we take even a bigger step. Culture has its own vocabulary and so do the media. We venture into the world of Marshall McLuhan with Understanding Media. Students in the class major in newspaper, magazine, broadcast news, photojournalism, and advertising, and they all now take online journalism courses. McLuhan helps them become even more aware that the same message says vastly different things depending on the medium in which it appears.

Finally, just for fun, we read a book that is now out of print, that goes beyond words, culture, and the media and to the core of depth psychology -- a simple book by a clever man -- The Hidden Persuaders by Vance Packard. Before you are too shocked, remember this is a journalism class that somehow includes advertising students, and to read the students' reflections regarding this book written nearly a half century ago is a wonderful experience. Somehow, when you look at the whole person communicating, I think even Korzybski would approve the inclusion of this work in a course in General Semantics. I know Hayakawa would. He refers to Packard in "Why the Edsel Laid an Egg: Motivational Research vs. the Reality Principle," a follow-up ETC article to his "Sexual Fantasy and the 1957 Car."

Once before I have shared passages from my students' essays with readers of ETC. (2) Mary Morain expressed her delight with many that I sent her. Frankly, I am often overwhelmed by so many of them! Frequently students say on class evaluations that General Semantics in Journalism should be required of all students. Can you imagine any other course of study that needs GS more?

(*.) Don Ranly, Ph.D., is a Professor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia, Missouri.

NOTES

(1.) Membership Pages, ETC. Vol. 55, No. 4, Winter 1998-99.

(2.) Membership Pages, ETC, Vol. 56, No. 2, Summer 1999.