Note that your essay has two major sections.
The FIRST SECTION considers the work and central themes of Harold Innis's lecture series - Empire and Communications.
a.
What now might seem as common sense, was, when Innis first articulated it - a rather novel or innovative notion.
Do you agree with his ideas regarding what we described in our in-class discussion, as non-military cultural "invasion" ?
Explain this notion, and give some examples if you can think of any.
Remember that Innis maintained that the dominant technology of a civilization is its cause, and shaping force.
Pinpointing the major technological achievements of a culture - makes it possible to identify what the physical and social pattern of that culture had to be.
He noted that " this dominant form and all its causal powers are hidden from the attention of people living in that culture".
He warned of a blindness to the bias or distorting power of the prevailing technology of communication and cautioned, "We are perhaps too much a part of the civilization which followed the printing industry to be able to detect its characteristics."
This overall phenomenon of technology defining culture, is often referred to as - "Technological Determinism"
b.
discuss Innis's concept " Monopolies of Knowledge"
"Monopolies of knowledge had developed and declined partly in relation to the medium of communication on which they were built, and tended to alternate as they emphasized religion, decentralization and time; or force, centralization, and space. "
c.
discuss Innis's concept of Time and Space Bias - ( please no references to Darth Vader :-} )
The SECOND SECTION of your essay should examine, analyze and comment upon the now famous concepts/dictums of Marshall McLuhan.
Specifically a. Hot and Cool Media
b. the Medium is the Message
c. the Global Village
Do these concepts seem accurate or applicable ? How are they evidenced today ? Give examples of these theories in practice ? What are the social implications of his theories ?
" McLuhan understood "medium" in a very broad sense. He identified the light bulb as a clear demonstration of the concept of "the medium is the message". A light bulb does not have content in the way that a newspaper has articles or a television has programs, yet it is a medium that has a social effect; that is, a light bulb enables people to create spaces during nighttime that would otherwise be enveloped by darkness. He describes the light bulb as a medium without any content. McLuhan states that "a light bulb creates an environment by its mere presence."
remember 4.5 pages, double spaced and handed in on time ! Don't overwrite ! Quote all your sources !
Good luck !
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