KONSTRUKSI TEORI KOMUNIKASI BERBASIS KEARIFAN LOKAL

Abstract

Communication as an academic discipline has been studied for more than half a century at colleges and universities in Indonesia. Despite of more than 50 years of studying, thetheoretical perspectives that has been discussed among scholars and researchers mostly are the product of Western logical discourses. The practice of intellectual exercisesconducted among academic milieu is limited to the verification of the Western communication theories, leaving out any effort ofexploring local insight to construct theoretical ideas that are relevant to the context of indigenous communication problems. Communication scholars of China, Japan, and Korea hsve done a lot of scholarly works to build communication theories based on their local wisclom. Indeed those practices should be able to drive the Indonesictn communiccttion academics to explore the philosophical, moral teachings, and local understandings existed within their surroundings through research initicttiyes. Key Words: construction theory, local wisdom