Week 1: Introduction
to Media and Cyberculture.
Key Concepts
Concept of the Medium: A medium is an
instrument used to reach an audience. An example of a good use of a medium is
the painting by Caravaggio. The depiction by Caravaggio of the beheading of St.
John the Baptist done perfectly on a canvas with paint and oil was used as a
tool for disseminating the event that happened during King Herod’s rue in Judea
(Slide 15).
The Printing Press as
an Agent for change: In 1979 Elizabeth Eisenstein acknowledged the dynamics associated
with the advent of the printing press. She noted that the printing press
encouraged a transition in the world of communication that brings about
societal revolution. So printing press enable individuals to gain information
from printing materials and this spread in information gave birth to religious
reformations.
Critical Thinkers
Jurgen Habermas: German Philosopher and sociologist known for
questioning the legitimacy of the government. He also showed the distinction
between the state and the society as a whole. He highlighted the effects that
the rise of the bourgeoisie had on society. Notably amongst them was his
opinion that the rise of the bourgeoisie over the proletariat compelled
authority to legitimate itself before the public. This saw the formation of
government bodies and agencies with aims and purpose.
Raymond Williams: Raymond was concerned with how the society
operates. He expounded on the general development of society spiritually,
intellectually and aesthetic. Raymond studies
the way the norms, culture and conventions binds together a particular group of
individuals in the society.
Contemporary Issues
In a word where technology has increased drastically, the
concepts of medium still exist however. The only change is the medium used contemporarily;
the radio and television coupled with social media have become the new and most
powerful mediums used today. The theory
of fourth estate has also been reinvigorated recently.
Possible Literature
Search Avenues
The Online Library Catalogue would be a good avenue for more
information on the theories above.
Books
The Republic of Plato by Allan Bloom.
The Printing Press as an Agent for change by Elizabeth
Eisenstein.
Journal Articles
Medium as a basic concept of sociology: Contributions from
systems theory by Tosini, D. (2006).
No medium just a shell: how works of art configure their medium
by Halsall, F. (2007).
Possible Multimedia
Films, Radio and Television.
