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Author: Niklas Luhmann
Publisher: Cultural Memory in the Present
Published: 2000
Total Pages: 154
ISBN-13: 9780804740777
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →"Luhmann argues that the system of mass media is a set of recursive, self-referential programs of communication, whose functions are not determined by the external values of truthfulness, objectivity, or knowledge, nor by specific social interests or political directives.
Author: Niklas Luhmann
Publisher: Polity
Published: 2000-06-15
Total Pages: 160
ISBN-13: 9780745621326
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →In The Reality of the Mass Media Luhmann extends his theory of social systems - applied in his earlier works to the economy, the political system, art, religion, the sciences and law - to an examination of the role of mass media in the constitution of social reality. Luhmann argues that the system of mass media is a set of recursive, self-referential programmes of communication, whose functions are not determined by the external values of truthfulness, objectivity, or knowledge, nor by specific social interests or political directives. Rather, he contends that the system of mass media is regulated by the internal code information / non-information, which enables the system to select its information (news) from its own environment and to communicate this information in accordance with its own reflexive criteria. Despite its self-referential quality, however, Luhmann describes the mass media as one of the key cognitive systems of modern society, by means of which society constructs the illusion of its own reality. The reality of mass media, he argues, allows societies to process information without destabilizing social roles or overburdening social actors. It forms a broad reservoir (memory) of options for the future co-ordination of action, and it provides parameters for the stabilization of political expectations. In these respects, it has a crucial function in the general self-reproduction of society, as it produces a continuous self-description of the world around which modern society can orientate itself. In his discussion of mass media, Luhmann elaborates a theory of communication in which communication is seen not as the act of a particular consciousness, nor the medium of integrative social norms, but merely the technical codes through which systemic operations arrange and perpetuate themselves. This book will be of great interest to third year students, graduate students and scholars in sociology, politics, social and political theory, media and cultural studies and communication studies.
Author: Michael Parenti
Publisher:
Published: 2022-03-09
Total Pages: 316
ISBN-13: 9781471731822
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This study looks at the role of the print and electronic media in defining "respectable" political discourse in the United States. From a critical perpective, Parenti looks at the economics and politics of "presenting" the news and argues that the media systematically distort the news. This manufactured reality deprives the public of necessary information for effective participation in government. This edition has been updated throughout, and there is coverage of the media's treatment of the US invasion of Panama, the war against Iraq and the collapse of communism. Other titles by Michael Parenti include "Democracy for the Few", "Power and the Powerless", "The Sword and the Dollar: Imperialism, Revolution and the Arms Race" and "Make-Believe Media: The Politics of Entertainment".
Author: Hans-Georg Moeller
Publisher: Open Court
Published: 2011-04-15
Total Pages: 312
ISBN-13: 0812697510
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →What are systems? What is society? What happens to human beings in a hypermodern world? This book is an introduction to Niklas Luhmann's social system theory which explains specific functions like economy and mass media from a cybernetic perspective. Integrating various schools of thought including sociology, philosophy and biology Luhmann Explained results in an overall analysis of "world society". Special attention is given to the present-day relevance of Luhmann's theory with respect to globalization, electronic mass media, ethics, and new forms of protest.
Author: Richard Hoggart
Publisher: A&C Black
Published: 2006-10-31
Total Pages: 226
ISBN-13: 9780826494054
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Takes a number of aspects of mass society - celebrity worship, youth culture, broadcasting and a decline in the proper use of language, and considers the paradox that the ready accessibility of information of all types does not automatically lead to greater comprehension of our world.
Author: Paul Taylor
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education (UK)
Published: 2007-12-16
Total Pages: 263
ISBN-13: 033523528X
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →"This is a welcome critical corrective to complacent mainstream accounts of the media's cultural impact". Prof. Slavoj Zizek, International Director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at Birkbeck, University of London "A powerful and highly engaging re-assessment of past critical thinkers (including those not normally thought of as critical) in the light of today's mediascape". Jorge Reina Schement, Distinguished Professor of Communications, Penn State University With the exception of occasional moral panics about the coarsening of public discourse, and the impact of advertising and television violence upon children, mass media tend to be viewed as a largely neutral or benign part of contemporary life. Even when criticisms are voiced, the media chooses how and when to discuss its own inadequacies. More radical external critiques are often excluded and media theorists are frequently more optimistic than realistic about the negative aspects of mass culture. This book reassesses this situation in the light of both early and contemporary critical scholarship and explores the intimate relationship between the mass media and the dis-empowering nature of commodity culture. The authors cast a fresh perspective on contemporary mass culture by comparing past and present critiques. They: Outline the key criticisms of mass culture from past critical thinkers Reassess past critical thought in the changed circumstances of today Evaluate the significance of new critical thinkers for today's mass culture The book begins by introducing the critical insights from major theorists from the past - Walter Benjamin, Siegfried Kracauer, Theodor Adorno, Marshall McLuhan and Guy Debord. Paul Taylor and Jan Harris then apply these insights to recent provocative writers such as Jean Baudrillard and Slavoj Žižek, and discuss the links between such otherwise apparently unrelated contemporary events as the Iraqi Abu Ghraib controversy and the rise of reality television. Critical Theories of Mass Media is a key text for students of cultural studies, communications and media studies, and sociology.
Author: Lloyd Steven Seiden
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: 1975-01-23
Total Pages: 258
ISBN-13: 9780465091812
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This book is the first comprehensive description of all the mass media (TV, radio, newspapers and magazines) to provide authoritative answers to all these questions and many more.
Author: Gabriel Weimann
Publisher: SAGE
Published: 2000
Total Pages: 458
ISBN-13: 0761919864
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This study reviews the images and meanings which play a vital role in our mass-mediated world. The author demonstrates that there is often a large gap between reality and the reconstruction of realities as communicated by the mass media.
Author: J. Charles Sterin
Publisher: Allyn & Bacon
Published: 2012
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13: 9780205591480
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Debuting in its first edition Mass Media Revolution is a revolutionary learning and teaching tool designed to reflect the way students experience mass media today. With a storytelling narrative and chapter-specific videos, Mass Media Revolution helps students experience mass media, enhancing their development as critical consumers. They can study, read, interact and consume their course material in print and online in a way that best suits their individual learning needs
Author: Karen Dill-Shackleford
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2016
Total Pages: 281
ISBN-13: 0190239298
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →From smartphones to social media, from streaming videos to fitness bands, our devices bring us information and entertainment all day long, forming an intimate part of our lives. Their ubiquity represents a major shift in human experience, and although we often hold our devices dear, we do not always fully appreciate how their nearly constant presence can influence our lives for better and for worse. In this revised and expanded edition of How Fantasy Becomes Reality, social psychologist Karen E. Dill-Shackleford explains what the latest science tells us about how our devices influence our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. In engaging, conversational prose, she discusses both the benefits and the risks that come with our current level of media saturation. The wide-ranging conversation explores Avatar, Mad Men, Grand Theft Auto, and Comic Con to address critical issues such as media violence, portrayals of social groups, political coverage, and fandom. Her conclusions will empower readers to make our favorite sources of entertainment and information work for us and not against us.
