De-Westernizing Today's Media and Communication Sciences: An Essay in Memoriam of Professor Shelton A. Gunaratne (1940-2019)

摘要

The late Professor D. Shelton A. Gunaratne (1940-2019) was Emeritus Professor in mass communications at Minnesota State University Moorhead in the US. During his lifelong career, he wrote extensively on Journalism, Media, and Philosophy with the aim to emphasize the contribution that Eastern philosophies at large can have within the Western debate on Communication, Media, and Social Sciences. Gunaratne left a vast intellectual body of work, which constituted more than one hundred scholarly writings amongst books, journal articles, conference proceedings, that now, more than ever, needs to be brought to the attention of different groups of media and communication scholars worldwide. The goal of this article is twofold: the first and more academic goal is to review-although not comprehensively-his contribution by focusing on three cardinal points: 1) the co-existence of East and West in the global debate on Media and Communication; 2) the redefinition of Globalization as not intended as Westernization, and ultimately 3) the role that a Mindful Journalism can have in enhancing journalism practice in the West. The second-and perhaps more personal-goal is to commemorate the second anniversary of his passing, on March 8, 2019.