“Media and Communication” surveys the historical development and present form of multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary studies of media and communication. It begins with a brief historical sketch of media and communication in order to indicate the kinds of phenomena motivating the studies. This sketch indicates that the four primary drivers of interdisciplinarity are present in this field. Media and communication are (1) inherently complex, (2) raise questions that are not confined to a single discipline, (3) pose societal problems that transcend the academy, and (4) are tightly linked to new technologies. Indeed, media and communication studies are motivated in large part by the complex questions and social changes brought about by new technologies.