Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980)

Ø The global village

Ø Media are “extensions of man”

s Our bodily capabilities are “mediated” by technology

s Mediation amounts to extending our bodies, e.g.,

- The automobile extends our capacity to walk

- Telephone extends our ability to have conversations

Q: When is communication un-mediated?

Ø The medium is the message

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

The language people use will influence how they think. The very structure of reality is presented to individuals through language. McLuhan generalizes from this.

Harold Innis (1894-1952)

Empire and Communications (1950)

The Bias of Communication (1951)

Ø Innis’ Questions

s What are the underlying causes of change in social and cultural organization?

s What are the conditions that promote stability in any society?

Ø Innis’ Assumptions

s Control of communication implies control of consciousness and social organization.

s Competition for social control involves:

» Dominance of the media by particular social groups

» The search for competing media

Ø The Bias of Communication

s Time bias

s Space bias

Ø Critiques of Innis

s Historiography

s Technological Determinism:

» Communication Technology → Culture and Society

» Communication Technology ↔ Culture and Society

» Innis's defense: Necessary versus Sufficient Conditions

Ø Innis Influenced McLuhan

Ø Selected Developments in Media History

s Egypt and Babylon

- Hieroglyphics

- Clay Tablets

s Ancient Greece

- The Spoken Word

» Speech encourages a strong temporal bias

» Oral cultures are time-binding

- The Written Word

» Present and future oriented

» Focused on administration

s Roman Empire (27 BC – 476 AD)

- Keys to communication system in Rome:

» Standardized alphabet

» Papyrus

» Control of roads and sea routes

- Decline of Roman Empire: Two communication gaps

» Loss of control of Mediterranean

» Lack of papyrus

s Medieval Europe

- Emergence of priestly power

- Limited number of books