Communication in History

by D.J. Crowley

Book Overview

This anthology reveals how media have been influential both in maintaining social order and as powerful agents of change. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801331331
• ISBN13: 9780801331336
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon
• Length: 348 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 7.4" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

table of contents

This is exactly what I was looking for - a media studies perspective on world history. There is now a newer edition, but this one is remarkable and still feels rather up-to-date. Table of Contents --------------------------- Part I--Media of Early Civilization [Chapter 1] The Art and Symbols of Ice Age Man Alexander Marshack [Chapter 2] A New Rosetta Stone Richard Rudgley (Denise Schmandt-Bessarat) [Chapter 3] Media in Ancient Empires Harold Innis [Chapter 4] Civilization without Writing--The Incas and the Quipu Marcia Ascher and Robert Ascher [Chapter 5] The Origins of Writing Andrew Robinson Part II--The Tradition of Western Literacy [Chapter 6] The Alphabet Johanna Drucker [Chapter 7] The Greek Legacy Eric Havelock [Chapter 8] Writing and the Alphabet Effect Robert K. Logan [Chapter 9] Orality, Literacy, and Modern Media Walter Ong [Chapter 10] A Medieval Library Umberto Eco [Chapter 11] Communication in the Middle Ages James Burke Part III--The Print Revolution [Chapter 12] Paper and Block Printing--From China to Europe T.F. Carter [Chapter 13] The Invention of Printing Lewis Mumford [Chapter 14] The Rise of the Reading Public Elizabeth Eisenstein [Chapter 15] Early Modern Literacies Harvey J. Graff [Chapter 16] The Trade in News John B. Thompson Part IV--Electricity Creates the Wired World [Chapter 17] The Optical Telegraph Daniel Headrick [Chapter 18] Telegraphy--The Victorian Internet Tom Standage [Chapter 19] The New Journalism Michael Schudson [Chapter 20] The Telephone Takes Command Claude S. Fischer [Chapter 21] Inventing the Expert Carolyn Marvin [Chapter 22] Time, Space, and the Telegraph James W. Carey Part V--Image Technologies and the Emergence of Mass Society [Chapter 23] On Photography Susan Sontag [Chapter 24] Early Photojournalism Ulrich Keller [Chapter 25] Dream Worlds of Consumption Rosalynd Williams [Chapter 26] Early Motion Pictures Daniel Czitrom [Chapter 27] Mass Media and the Star System Jib Fowles [Chapter 28] Advertising and the Idea of Mass Society Jackson Lears Part VI--Radio Days [Chapter 29] Wireless World Stephen Kern [Chapter 30] Early Radio Susan J Douglas [Chapter 31] The Golden Age of Programming Christopher Sterling and John M. Kittross [Chapter 32] Radio and Race Gerald Nachman [Chapter 33] Understanding Radio Marshall McLuhan Part VII--TV Times [Chapter 34] Television Begins Willaim Boddy [Chapter 35] The New Languages Edmund Carpenter [Chapter 36] Making Room for TV Lynn Spigel [Chapter 37] The Sixties Counterculture on TV Aniko Bodroghkozy [Chapter 38] Television Transforms the News Mitchell Stephens Part VIII--New Media and Old in the Information Age [Chapter 39] The Control Revolution James Beniger [Chapter 40] How Media Became New Lev Manovich [Chapter 41] Popularizing the Internet Janet Abbate [Chapter 42] From the Codex Page to the Homepage James J O'Donnell [Chapter 43] The World Wide Web Jay David Bolter and Richar

Largely unchanged from previous version

This 2007 edition has some changes from the 2003 edition (link:Communication in History: Technology, Culture, and Society (4th Edition)), but at a price difference of almost $100, I'd go with the earlier edition, which is still excellent. Here's a list of the exact changes, by each of the major sections (which have not changed): Part I: Media of Early Civilization * Article on writing pre-cursors (tokens) now by Denise Schmandy-Bessart instead of Rudgley Part II: The Tradition of Western Literacy * Adds article by Umberto Eco "A Medieval Library" Part III: The Print Revolution * No change Part IV: Electricity Creates the Wired World * Subtracts article "Inventing the Expert" by Carolyn Marvin Part V: Image Technologies and the Emergence of Mass Society * Subtracts "On Photography" by Susan Sontag * Adds "Movies Talk" by Scott Eyman Part VI: Radio Days * Subtracts "Radio and Race" by Gerald Nachman * Adds "Radio in a Television Age" by Fornatale and Joshua E Mills * Adds "Radio Voices" by Michele Hilmes Part VII: TV Times * Adds "Two-Cultures--Television versus Print by Neil Postman and Camille Paglia Part VIII: New Media and Old in the Information Age * Subtracts "From the Codex Page to the Homepage" by James J. O'Donnell * Adds "The Social Shape of Electronics" by Ruth Schwartz Cowen

The previous edition contains an excellent selection

The previous edition had an excellent selection of articles, chapters and exerpts. I have used it twice for a class I teach on information in society. I would consider using the new edition if it was available by October. When will it be published? Please let me know by email.