Assignment: The Communication Process

Assignment: The Communication Process

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What does the seven-part communication model do for the study of gender and communication?  In what parts of the model can you identify gender and its influence? Please use concepts from your course readings in your answer.

Some questions you may want to consider as you respond to the prompt:

· When I ask what the model does for the study of communication and gender, I want to know if it helps us point out places and ways in which gender affects communication. Keep in mind that this part of the question doesn’t ask about gender itself. Instead, it’s asking about how scholars think, and whether or not those patterns are useful tools to explore this general topic. Is the model useful? Would something else be more useful? Why?

· When I ask about the role of gender in each of the seven parts of the model (sender, receiver, context, message, channel, interference, and feedback), I’d like you to tell me if you can see any differences in the way people of different genders use or adapt to each part. For example, do people of a certain gender seem to use a specific channel or medium more often than other channels? Are there patterns to the type of feedback they give? How do gender characteristics diminish the effectiveness of a message–in other words, how do they interfere with communication? Questions like these should help with the second part of the prompt.