A Time before Deception: Truth in Communication, Culture, and Ethics

In his groundbreaking exploration of the forms, meanings, and ethics of Indigenous communication, Cooper presents evidence that Native cultures may have originated from higher—not more "primitive"—civilizations. Looking beneath the surface of tribal communication, Cooper describes practices of tribal cultures worldwide and examines more specifically the communication ethic of the Dine (Navajo) of northern Arizona and the Shuswap people of British Columbia, with both of whom he lived for several months. What he finds is the deeper significance of communication for these early Americans: it is at once the embodiment of truth, the expression of gratitude to the Creator, and the vehicle for maintaining harmony with the natural world.

About the Author;

Thomas W. Cooper, former assistant to Marshall McLuhan, is a tenured associate professor of mass communication at Emerson College. He received the Helen Rose Ethics in Communication Award for 1996 and honorable mention for the Coltrin Communication Professor of the Year Award from the International Radio and Television Society in 1997. Thomas researches ethical questions in mass communication, journalism, speech, and the arts, and has edited many publications in these fields, including "Television and Ethics," "Natural Rhythms," and "Communication Ethics and World Change."