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'The Power of Silence' - launch of book by DCU's Professor Colum Kenny

Silent types, busy silences, silence and the arts, constraints of silence, silence in relationships and in business. These are some of the themes explored by Professor Colum Kenny, journalist and lecturer in DCU's School of Communications in his new book, 'The Power of Silence: Silent Communication in Daily Life'.

Published by Karnac, the book takes a look at the value and significance of silence, and explores the role of silence in arts, business, personal relationships, therapy, faith, politics, and other areas of daily life.
The themes of 'The Power of Silence' are the positive and negative uses of silence, and the various ways in which silence has been understood culturally, socially and spiritually. The book's objectives are to equip
people with a better appreciation of the value of silence and to enable them to explore its benefits and uses more easily for themselves.

According to Colum Kenny, "Clearly, silence has an important place in our lives. Yet, just as it is increasingly difficult to escape artificial lighting at night, so we have accepted noise or constant sound as a price worth paying for contemporary conveniences. But we cannot afford to overlook the value and importance of silence.

"Our ability to misunderstand each other is frequently obvious, even within personal and family relationships where the listener knows the speaker relatively well. How much greater, then, are the opportunities
for getting it wrong when it comes to encountering work colleagues or strangers, especially those whose background or culture is quite different from ours? In this context, silence is one aspect of communications that may easily be overlooked or misconstrued. This can have unfortunate consequences for those engaged in business or other dealings, especially in cross-cultural or international contexts". The book covers theories of silence, silence in film, TV and music, silence in therapy, but on a more practical note, also examines how silence works across cultures.

The book cites advice from the Commercial Service of the US Department of Commerce to small-to-medium
sized companies seeking markets in China; "Don't be unnerved by long silences---these are an important part of Chinese communication. But note that silence can also be used to unnerve a negotiating opponent."
The book examines the 'darker' act of silencing as a denial of freedom of speech, either through censorship or other legal mechanisms. "Powerful personal, cultural, or social factors may act to silence people as effectively as any law. Those most affected include women, members of ethic minorities, students, and employees", Colum Kenny said.

Professor Colum Kenny, chairperson on the DCU MA in Journalism degree is a board member of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and of Media Desk Ireland. His academic interests include media, cultural studies,history, journalism and law."
Gillian Wearing, British artist, and winner of the Turner Prize for Sixty-Minute Silence, has previewed the work in The Guardian, describing it as "a brilliant and inspiring book that clearly illustrates how silence
has shaped history and culture as much as the spoken word has."