The Media and Modernity: A Social Theory of the Media

By John Brookshire Thompson

Book Overview

What role have communication media played in the formation of modern societies? How should we understand the social impact of new forms of communication and information diffusion, from the advent of printing in fifteenth-century Europe to the expansion of global communication networks today?

In this major new work, Thompson addresses these and other questions by elaborating a distinctive social theory of communication media and their impact. He argues that the development of communication media has transformed the spatial and temporal constitution of social life, creating new forms of action and interaction which are no longer linked to the sharing of a common locale. The consequences of this transformation are far-reaching and impinge on many aspects of our lives, from the most intimate aspects of personal experience and self-formation to the changing nature of power and visibility in the public domain.

Combining breadth of vision with sensitivity to detail, this book situates the study of the media where it belongs: among a set of disciplines concerned with the emergence, development and structural characteristics of modern societies and their futures.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0804726795
• ISBN13: 9780804726795
• Release Date: December 1995
• Publisher: Stanford University Press
• Length: 324 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Very informative and engaging title

Sociological and anthropological theories are integral to the structure of this book and the theories discussed here. Very interesting and informative, the author formulates various models of communication and the media's effects on society and the formation of the self and personal identity. Politics and ecomics are briefly addressed but only in their capacity to shape the media, which in turn molds national and global culture.