Title
Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication
Files
Download Full Text
Copyright Year
2016
Description
According to the author/ the world did not need another introductory text in mass communication. But the world did need another kind of introductory text in mass communication/ and that is how Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication was birthed. The only question was: What would be the purpose of another introductory mass communication text? Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication was written to squarely emphasize media technology. The author believes that an introduction to mass communication text should be a compelling/ historical narrative sketching the *ongoing evolution* of media technology and how that technology shapes and is shaped by culture — and that is what he set out to deliver with his new textbook. Today's students are immersed in media technology. They live in a world of cell phones/ smart phones/ video games/ iPods/ laptops/ Facebook/ Twitter/ FourSquare/ and more. They fully expect that new technology will be developed tomorrow. Yet students often lack an historical perspective on media technology. They lack knowledge of the social/ political and economic forces that shape media technology. This is not knowledge for knowledge's sake. It is knowledge that can help them understand/ comprehend/ appreciate/ anticipate/ shape and control media technology. With this focus/ Understanding Media and Culture becomes an appropriate title. Indeed/ the title has particular significance. Marshall McLuhan's Understanding Media is a key text in media studies. Written in the 1960s/ Understanding Media was the subject of intense debates that continue to this day. Its central message was that the technology of media — not their content — was their most important feature. In a typically pithy phrase/ McLuhan said/ "The medium is the message." The title/ Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication/ situates the introductory text in a large/ engrossing theoretical conversation. The goal is to adopt a textbook that will support and complement your teaching of this course. Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication will support an engaging and interesting course experience for students that will not only show them the powerful social/ political and economic forces will affect the future of media technology/ but will challenge students to do their part in shaping that future.
Subject 1
Journalism/ Media Studies & Communications
ISBN13
9.78E+12
Publisher
University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing
Resources
Open Textbook Library
License
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
Recommended Citation
"Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication" (2021). Open Textbooks. 117.
https://mds.marshall.edu/oa-textbooks/117
