ACADEMIA Letters Reflections on the communication during the pandemic. Focus on the academic context Lavinia Suciu In this paper we intend to analyse and explain some behaviours captured in the professional activity of the last period of time, marked by the disturbing events in the socio-medical context. With the transfer of teaching activity in the virtual environment, due to the global pandemic, we could see some deviations in terms of the teacher – student interaction in an academic context. Thus, we noticed a series of mismatches between the message and the socio-normative context: participation in the course in pyjamas, posting playful-indecent photos as an interface to the meeting for the course or seminar on the online platform, low feedback, low interactivity. It should be noted that our analytical/explanatory approach is based on direct observation, on our earlier studies on discourse and on studies focused on communication, without claiming to have applied a scientific methodology. The paper does not provide accurate data on the impact of the pandemic on academic education or possible solutions to make online teaching really effective. Consequently, from the perspective of some particular theories and communication concepts, we propose to bring to light a series of findings that resulted from our current teaching experience, in the form of reflections on a real communication situation, as the title shows. Although the immediate interactional imprint is decisive on the degree of formality of a message (Herring, S., 2001, p. 618) - in this case, the online interaction - the rules that appear in and through interaction are under the influence of the cultural aspect (Suciu, L., 2014, pp. 168-171). Therefore, the proper achievement of the verbal exchange is conditioned by the knowledge and application of cultural norms. From this point of view, at the university, a culture with its particular norms, values and symbols, manifests itself while the interactions Academia Letters, April 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Lavinia Suciu, laviniamsuciu@yahoo.com Citation: Suciu, L. (2021). Reflections on the communication during the pandemic. Focus on the academic context. Academia Letters, Article 797. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL797. 1 between university members are governed by them and thus, they contribute to the transmission and perpetuation of the respective norms, values and symbols. University and academic culture is reflected in the verbal and nonverbal behaviours of the interlocutors: the existence of certain addressing formulas, both in the written and oral aspect of communication, the use of standard and high registers of language, appropriate nonverbal behaviours, participation in the activities in decent attire, the specific spatial location of the protagonists. Since the entrance to a university, the student is guided in learning the culture, its norms through training and information sessions, through the personal example offered by teachers or colleagues from older years, through student “folklore” (it is information that is transferred from one generation to another), just as the child, when he is born, is said to enter an information bath: s/he starts to receive stimuli and signals from the environment. The role of the mentioned information system in transmitting the university culture is very important but we believe that the concrete landmarks of the spatial context substantially facilitate the information bath. The imposing style of the building that houses the institution, the large, spacious halls, the particular compartmentalization of space, lecture or seminar halls, laboratory rooms, and especially the amphitheatre, with its architecture bearing the seal of time, the university library, with its reading rooms, multimedia rooms, and also with shelves crammed with books are elements that make up the reference system common to the participants in the interaction. Spatial landmarks function as insignia of the university, of academic culture; they suggest, they transmit meanings, guiding the receiver towards a commun representation and contributing to the construction of the common cultural background. The sharing by the protagonists of a cultural background ensures the transgression of the cultural barrier, which is characteristic of the communication situation in the educational environment (Ph. Meirieu, 2010, p. 200). Knowing and sharing the same referential system that defines the respective space, revealing its particularity, means understanding the culture of the place, the gateway to integration in that universe and mastering its norms. Under these conditions, the roles can be assumed correctly, appropriately by the social actors. The connection to the class session being dressed in a suit fit for sleep reflects a low degree of knowledge of the university culture, transposed into neglect of the rules and the role played in interaction. The situation reflects the similar difference between listening to an opera performance in the opera house in relation to hearing it in the private space of one’s own home. Going to the opera stages a real ritual: preparing the outfit, getting fit, putting on makeup and hairstyle (for women), elegant outfit, perfume. The opera house contains a typical referential ensemble: the stage, the lodges, the arrangement in amphitheatre, the chandeliers, the specific Academia Letters, April 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Lavinia Suciu, laviniamsuciu@yahoo.com Citation: Suciu, L. (2021). Reflections on the communication during the pandemic. Focus on the academic context. Academia Letters, Article 797. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL797. 2 architecture thanks to which it has a special acoustics, columns, stairs, opulent decorations, particular colours and sounds; all are meant to create a specific atmosphere and reflect the culture of that place. Stepping into the opera hall, there is access to culture, compliance with the rules and assuming the appropriate role. The example of posting a self-referential image as an interface on the platform where the teaching activity takes place is part of the same category. The photo captured the person taking out the tongue, a playful and, at the same time, indecent pose, which demonstrates the non-assumption of the appropriate role in the given interaction. The student role involves seriousness, responsibility and updates verbal and nonverbal behaviours that convey these meanings. Or, the posted photo expresses completely different meanings (play, instability, indecency), which refer to another role, suitable in another type of interaction. The refusal to participate in class has different degrees of achievement, from the interaction with the cameras turned off and the display of a photo or just the name, to the exit from the application. The interpretation of the meanings transmitted through these behaviours supports a double perspective, of the teacher and of the student. The consequence of this state of affairs lies in low feedback: responses that are slow to appear, silence, the absence of nonverbal operators. From the teacher’s point of view, the verbal exchange in which the partner in the communication process (the student) participates with the camera turned off, on the computer screen appearing his representation by a frozen image in a photo or by name, seems unfair, as long as the exchange takes place in real time and the teacher’s room is in operation. The teaching activity involves presentation, explanation, dialogue, and the need felt by the teacher to receive feedback from students is really urgent. As a teacher, the signals received through mimicry, the language of the eyes - even if they are quite difficult to follow on the computer screen provide first of all the guarantee that he is accepted as a discussion partner and then that he is listened to and understood. Unequal involvement of interlocutors leads to a relational imbalance of verbal exchange; the proposal to enter into a relationship, which the teacher addresses to the student, is hit by the latter’s refusal, leaving the teacher the impression that he is in a monologue, which creates uncertainty and demotivates. On the other hand, from the student’s perspective, the involvement in the didactic activity in a passive way (the stopped camera, the display of the photo or the name) could sum up different meanings, depending on distinct causes. What the teacher regards as the refusal of dialogue, of the exchange of ideas, of the proposal of interrelation would be justifiable through the prism of the distinction between social space - private space (M. Dinu, 2000, pp. 221-224). The development of teaching activities in the virtual environment generates the conversion of personal space into social space. In order to be able to carry out his activity, the student placed Academia Letters, April 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Lavinia Suciu, laviniamsuciu@yahoo.com Citation: Suciu, L. (2021). Reflections on the communication during the pandemic. Focus on the academic context. Academia Letters, Article 797. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL797. 3 in his personal space (in front of the home computer, in general) is put in the situation to expose personal, private space and make it public. From this point of view, coming into contact with the stopped camera could mean the rejection of the idea of “socialising” his personal space. Another cause that would motivate the behaviour in question could be the mental barrier imposed by the condition of isolation and de-focusing the attention from the speaker, in fact, gliding the focus from the speaker to all participants, through the “view all” option offered by the computer. The lack of interaction, the limitation of the diversity of means of interaction are factors that contribute to the emergence of a barrier of expression, by way of • restricting lexical variety • restricting multiple possibilities of combining signs, • confining style, linguistic registers, • restricting the practice of associations, analogies Such mental obstacles are likely to block communication, in any of its forms. One of the facilities offered by the environment in which the verbal exchange takes place is to open, on the computer screen, a gallery of windows corresponding to each participant, throughout the online session. It brings a change compared to the face-to-face interaction, where the teacher is located in front of students. The positions, from a spatial point of view, are relatively fixed in a positioning pattern that suggests the social distance between the two categories of participants. Hence, the proper assumption of the role by each category and, consequently, of the language register. In the interaction from the digital environment, all the protagonists occupy positions at the same level in the gallery, there is no demarcation, or delimitation of the positions of the actors in interaction. The situations examined above illustrate the importance of the existence of a common referential system for the protagonists of a verbal exchange, whose concrete constituent components undoubtedly contribute to the creation of a common representation of the context and, consequently, to the congruence between message and context in communication. Like the archetypes in the structure of the collective unconscious in Jung’s philosophical theory – which ensures the acquisition of certain roles and thus governs interpersonal relationships – the concrete spatial landmarks of the referential system in the academic context leads to knowledge and assimilation of academic culture. Regardless of the immediate interactional framework, the construction of a common representation, through knowing and sharing a common cultural background, determines the proper assumption of the role, the correct positioning in the given interaction and, finally, the creation of a suitable communication. Academia Letters, April 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Lavinia Suciu, laviniamsuciu@yahoo.com Citation: Suciu, L. (2021). Reflections on the communication during the pandemic. Focus on the academic context. Academia Letters, Article 797. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL797. 4 We consider this paper as premise for an indispensable elaborate study, where the use of a quantitative research method would reveal what should be in focus in order to teach online efficiently, and thus, provide a significant impact on university learning. It can also be a starting point for other future approaches or for the implementation of certain research projects. References Dinu, Mihai. (2000). Comunicarea (2nd edition). Algos Herring, Susan. (2001). Computer-mediated Discourse. In Schiffrin, D., Tannen, D., Hamilton, Heidi, E. (Eds). The Handbook of Discourse Analysis (pp. 612-634). Blackwell Publishers Ltd. http://www googlero/books?hl=ro&lr=&id=6RfarwereacC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=schiffrin+d+approaches+to+ [accessed 04 / 2014] Meirieu, Philippe. (2010). Formatorii şi comunicarea. In Ph. Cabin & J-Fr. Dortier (Eds.), Comunicarea (pp. 198-202). Polirom Mucchielli, Alex (2002). Arta de a influența. Analiza tehnicilor de manipulare. Polirom Suciu, Lavinia. 2014. În căutarea sensului. De la analiza discursului la design-ul comunicării. Casa cărții de Știință & Orizonturi Universitare Academia Letters, April 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Lavinia Suciu, laviniamsuciu@yahoo.com Citation: Suciu, L. (2021). Reflections on the communication during the pandemic. Focus on the academic context. Academia Letters, Article 797. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL797. 5