Maryam Bolouri

In Quest of Alternative Views on Theories of Communication Maryam Bolouri

Increasingly, there is a gigantic debate on the flow of communication theories from north to the south of our today?s ?global village.? Indeed, the arguments for the state-of-the-art research into Asian theories of communication ? de-Westernization and indigenization scholarship ? have been gathered momentum over the past two decades. In similar vein, this research is an attempt to search for alternative non-Western theories of communication. To meet this aim, the endeavor has been made to excavate thoughts of Sufism in order to bring to light alternative aspects of human communication. The structure of the book is inspired by Sufism idea of the Seven Cities of Love and is designed accordingly. The logic behind this attempt was the fact that the structure is a part of overall meaning or in McLuhan?s words, 'medium is the message.' This research brought to light that Western theories are constructed based on constitutive elements of communication, concepts of individuality/self, continuity, and dynamism. Accordingly, four alternative theories has been proposed. The overall embarking understanding is the fact that these two extremes should be well balance and blended.