The Chicago School originated from the construction of james w. carey to a great extent. This paper holds that the reason why Kerry advocated returning to the Chicago School is related to the same problem that Kerry and the Chicago School faced, and the reason why Kerry was able to return to the Chicago School lies in the fact that Kerry and the Chicago School adopted the same logical starting point when discussing mass media, that is, on the question of how society is possible, they all thought that society was maintained and existed in communication. Kerry advocated returning to Chicago School in order to solve the current dilemma of the United States, which also has enlightenment for China's current communication research.

keywords James? Kerry; Chicago school; Mass communication

The Chicago School was constructed by James Carey, an American scholar. Now, it seems that this point is beyond doubt. Nowadays, Chicago School has become a hot spot in communication studies. ① It is helpful for us to analyze Kerry's and Chicago School's communication thoughts by discussing clearly why Kerry returned to Chicago School and why he was able to return to Chicago School. In this paper, Kerry will focus on The Chicago School and the History of Mass Communication Research (hereinafter referred to as the Chicago School), trying to answer these two questions.

The problem of American mass media research: deviating from the position of critical reflection on modernity

Kerry starts from the study of American mass media history and thinks that the existing American mass media history contains some truths, but it is more misleading. In Culture and Communication, Kerry has demonstrated that the "transmission view" of communication is dominant in American communication research. Then, according to The Chicago School, the study of American mass communication is basically the history of spreading the "concept of transmission". Kerry called this history of American communication studies a standard history, which is misleading. The biggest problem is that "cancellation at least deviates from the criticism of modern liberal capitalist democracy" [1] 18. On the surface, Kerry criticized the mass media history written by the "transmission view" of communication, but in fact he criticized the "transmission view" of communication.

So, Kerry's actual proposition is that mass media research should be added to "criticism of modern liberal capitalist democracy". Kerry believes that mass media is the most important event in the formation of mass society. Although people are more closely connected with the progress of transportation and communication means, the whole society is actually broken, mobile and fragmented. Baudelaire defines modernity from the characteristics of his life in the 19th century, and thinks that "modernity is transition, transience and accident", and the fragmented modern life breaks away from the holistic traditional life, which is also called the place of modernity. [2] 4

The Chicago School reflects on modernity. mass society theory's general orientation is that "the various forces of modernity-technology, economy, literature, popular democracy, * * * have corroded various protective standards and umbrellas to ensure social stability and rationality" [1] 19. Kerry's dissatisfaction with empirical research lies in his deviation from his critical reflection on modernity: "We are paying the price for abusing the basic communication process for a long time and serving politics, exchange and treatment." [3] Kerry launched a history of mass media research focusing on effect research: the strong effect theory after World War I lacked the support of experience and theory, and the explanation was superficial; After that, the study of mass communication turned to the theory of limited effect. Kerry pointed out ironically that his main job was to refine the concept of operation. The results showed that the media itself was not a social problem, but a force consistent with democracy and equality. In this way, the object of media research has shifted from society to individuals, from politics and freedom to psychology and epistemology. This turn of mass media research was completed by Lippmann's Public Opinion, and the biggest consequence was that "the cancellation at least deviated from mass society theory's criticism of liberal capitalist democracy".

Since he was dissatisfied with the study of mass media, Kerry proposed two traditions to rethink the history of mass media: Locke's utilitarianism and liberal utilitarianism. To sum up, both Locke's utilitarianism and liberal utilitarianism, without exception, observe the media from the perspective of politics and freedom. The former emphasizes freedom and the public, while the latter emphasizes the individual. Furthermore, Kerry proposed that in the United States, only Dewey, Meade and Cooley responded to these two traditions in the 19th century. "In that response, the most special and useful communication perspective and the tradition of American mass media were formed" [1] 24. The next question is, why do we need to revisit the political and liberal perspectives of utilitarianism when rethinking the history of mass media?