W. Barnett Pearce is Professor in the School of Human and Organization Development, Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California. Dr. Pearce has published extensively on communication theory and is one of the principal developers of the theory of the Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM) currently in use by scholars and practitioners.

• Preface. 1. Critical moments that shape our social worlds.2. Taking a communication perspective on social worlds.3. Paradigms and the “physics” of social worlds.4. Communication: Coordinating Actions and Making/Managing Meanings.5. Doing things in communication: Speech acts.6. Episodes and patterns of communication.7. Selves and forms of consciousness.8. Relationships and relational minds.9. Afterword: Something of a guide for using CMM..

"Making Social Worlds is an exciting and gutsy volume readable by a range of audiences. The focus on critical interaction moments allows intelligent probing communication–based analyses of everything from couples fighting to wars and international relations. The conversational writing style kept me engaged from beginning to end." Stanley Deetz. Professor Director of Peace and Conflict Studies National Communication Association Distinguished Scholar International Communication Association Past-President and Fellow "This is not only a marvelously lucid updating of CMM theory, it also demonstrates the broad applicability of this important conceptual work to problems and potentials of human communication." Kenneth J. Gergen, author of An Invitation to Social Construction