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Questions and Answers
What is the primary role of media as defined in the study notes?
What is the primary role of media as defined in the study notes?
Which concept is associated with Marshall McLuhan’s famous phrase 'The Medium is the Message'?
Which concept is associated with Marshall McLuhan’s famous phrase 'The Medium is the Message'?
Which of the following is correct regarding media evolution?
Which of the following is correct regarding media evolution?
What significant development occurred with the advent of writing around 3000 BCE?
What significant development occurred with the advent of writing around 3000 BCE?
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During which era did Gutenberg's press notably revolutionize knowledge dissemination?
During which era did Gutenberg's press notably revolutionize knowledge dissemination?
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Which of the following reflects the role of language as described in the notes?
Which of the following reflects the role of language as described in the notes?
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What does the term 'Mediascape' refer to?
What does the term 'Mediascape' refer to?
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Which of the following best describes cave paintings as a form of early media?
Which of the following best describes cave paintings as a form of early media?
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In terms of media history, which era follows the Mass Media era?
In terms of media history, which era follows the Mass Media era?
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What transition did writing bring in terms of memory structures?
What transition did writing bring in terms of memory structures?
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Study Notes
Media History and the Concept of Medium
- Media History is an interdisciplinary study, including sociology, history, and philosophy. It focuses on how media (anything mediating between individuals, society, and the world) shapes perception and societal structures. Media combines technical tools and cultural practices.
Key Concepts
- Medium's Origin: Latin medius meaning "in-between." Media are tools and institutions facilitating communication, shaping perceptions of reality.
- Marshall McLuhan: Media are extensions of human senses (e.g., the medium is the message).
- Media Evolution: New media redefine old ones, shaped by technical and cultural changes.
Historical Framework
- Language (~70,000 BCE): Emerged during the Cognitive Revolution, enabling symbolic realities (myths, art, religion). Acoustic, situational communication used tone and gestures.
- Writing (~3000 BCE): Began with Sumerian alphanumeric codes, evolving to full writing systems. Gutenberg's press greatly revolutionized knowledge dissemination.
- Print Media (1450-1836): Mass book production, standardizing knowledge, and democratizing literacy.
- Mass Media (1836-2000): Press, radio, and TV shaped modernity.
- Network Era (2000-present): Social and digital media dominate communication.
Media Foundations
- Cave Paintings (~30,000 BCE): Early visual storytelling.
- Language as "Zero Point": Enabled infinite expressions from finite grammar. Created dual reality: natural (physical) and cultural (linguistic). Based on symbols (material + meaning), fostering social collaboration.
- Writing (~3000 BCE): Essential for administration and societal organization. Shifting from ritualistic (oral) to archival forms of memory using systems like Sumerian pictograms to phonetic alphabets.
The Printing Revolution
- Gutenberg's Press (15th Century): Mass book production, standardizing knowledge and literacy.
- Social Impact: Fostered the Renaissance, Reformation and Scientific Revolution. Shifted reading from intensive (deep study of a few texts) to extensive (diverse, critical consumption of many texts).
Modernity and Media
- Public Sphere (Habermas): Physical spaces (and press) for debates and criticism.
- 19th Century Information Revolution: Innovations like railroads and telegraphs, shifting social reality from direct experience to media-mediated perception.
- Modernity: Constant societal changes, mass media becoming dominant in shaping norms. Complexity reduced as people increasingly rely on media for understanding the world around them.
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