Fresh Perspectives in Dialogue Theory

Communication is central to all of these worlds (that we build together), not in the sense of control, which a positivist ontology naturally favors, but in the sense of dialoguing an ongoing process that respects the autonomy of different reality constructions, enables each participant to interrogate his or her history and grow beyond it. Dialogue probably is the most noble form of human interaction, and communication scholars should be the first to appreciate its outstanding human qualities. (Krippendorff, 1989, p. 94) Communication scholars have intensified their interest in theories of dialogue during the past 20 years, finding and creating applications in interpersonal, organizational, intercultural, rhetorical, media, community, and performance settings (see, e.g., the earlier collections of essays we edited on the theory and practice of dialogue—Anderson, Baxter, & Cissna, 2004; Anderson, Cissna, & Arnett, 1994; Cissna, 2000). As most of the existing work on dialogue has been inspired by the writing of relatively few high-profile theorists, philosophers, and social commentators (e.g., Martin Buber, Mikhail Bakhtin, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Jurgen Habermas, and David Bohm), we suspected that other approaches and perspectives might be illuminating. In addition, dialogue is a contested concept, and scholars differ with respect to its meaning, usefulness, and application (e.g., Peters, 1999; Tonn, 2005). Therefore, we thought now was a good time to ask: What next? What complications for dialogue theory are on the horizon? How can our discipline help shape dialogical concepts in new and productive directions? Thus, we are very grateful to François Cooren, editor of Communication Theory, for asking us to serve as guest editors of this special issue on dialogue and communication theory, which exposed us to so much new and exciting dialogue scholarship.