Detailed Information on Publication Record

The monograph Media and Culture deals with the development of human communication – from the simply interpersonal communication up to the digital systems of the late modernity age. The first part of the monograph is presented in a diachronic form and follows communication and media development as defined by the Toronto school of communication theory. It extends into ten chapters dedicated to the primary oral cultures; to the age of ideograms and letters; the age of printed media; the age of electricity; the age of television; and the digital age. The first part also deals with the themes of changes in the human psyche derived from the circulation of printed books; with the world view served by the media; with their influence on the process of socialization and with the concept of global culture. The second part, divided into seven chapters, is conceived as a synchronic analysis of the technetronic society. The technetronic society is analysed considering other contemporary social theories that arise in parallel with the emergence of new technological processes aimed at the development of newer and newer media. The second part is completed by other chapters dealing with the digital age and globalization; the difference between slow and fast time; the relationship between work and entertainment; between self-confidence and self-image; with the virtual collectivity of digital worlds and with the construction of identities in the actor-network theory. The book is methodologically built on a theoretical platform of reflections, insights, critical views, opinions and a series of original questions and hypothesis – initiating further research into the deepening of media culture discourse.