Communication: an inheritance of the Chicago School of Social Thought

From its founders at the end of the nineteenth century to its major figures in the early years of the twentieth, the Chicago School of Social Thought is an essential point of reference, by reason of this work on human ecology, the city immigration, ethnic relations, delinquency, social control and the human self – work which is today regarded as part of the sociological canon. In this chapter we argue that these thinkers were pioneers, undertaking research of major significance on the topics of communication and the media in society, helping to make them a focus of attentions for social theory and sociology.