Abstract

This paper utilizes a content analysis of major journals in public relations to determine what effect post-enlightenment thinking has had on public relations research. It questions whether the categorical nature of enlightenment has led to the subjugation of public relations research and devalued the nature of the relationship in a field that proposes to hold relationships above all else. It concludes that post-enlightenment thought has had an adverse effect on public relations research, and that a more concentrated approach in research should be focused on the public relations relationship, rather than the categorization of individual data sets.