Lecture 10 summary

"the invisible environment"

major themes: media/technology- ecology/environment

in the lecture today we reviewed previous lectures of 'the media' and 'media'

• 'medium of communication'
• technology: the study of mechanical arts or technology
• when technology is used it becomes a medium.
• media ecology: asks us to consider the total 'media environment'
• School of thought that considers how communication technologies become part of our society, and in doing so become media of communication.
• the impact of these media on thought and language as part of our everyday culture is a primary focus, explored in areas such as morality, literacy and education.
• looking at the way the media impacts on us as people.
• Neil Postman is influential in this area.
• returned to Marshal Mcluhan: who said "media are all the human means of expression and conveying meaning".
• extension of man... media is an extension of our sensations.
• when a new medium comes through, it enhances on the previous medium, eg- youtube extends or enhances the old medium of television. eg- may make television obsolete.
• retrieves old form of monologue or poetry
• reverse or flip when pushed to its extremes.
• Neil Postman: founder of media ecology association in mid 90's
• introduced that technology used socially becomes a medium.
• he treats technology critically
• introduces ethical component eg- technology has negative impacts.
• particulary in the use of technology for educational purposes.
• Postman wrote book "teaching as a subversive activity"
• we are in a society which is ruled by technology.
• an example of this is the invention of the printing press in europe.
• Medium: a medium is a technology within which a culture grows , it gives form to a cultures politics, social organisation and habitual ways of thinking.
• contemporary media ecologist lance Strate: study of media environments.
• Robert Logan: interested in the history of the alphabet and languages, and their influence on culture.
• Invisible environment: anti-environmental event: something which makes you draw attention to it, outside of the usual environment.
• "the present is always invisible because it is environmental"
• the environment has saturated our filed of attention so that we cannot possibly perceive it all.
• an example is a fish in a water bowl, which you then take out of its environment.
• New Communication technologies: the point is to ask questions so that the invisible environment (social media etc) becomes visible to us.