The Second Media Age

This text examines the implications of new communication technologies in the light of recent work in social and cultural theory. It critically evaluates the concepts of media and technology in various traditions of cultural theory, with the aim of rethinking the relations of humans to machines.

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This text examines the implications of new communication technologies in the light of the most recent work in social and cultural theory. It critically evaluates the concepts of media and technology in various traditions of cultural theory, with the aim of rethinking the relations of humans to machines. It also examines theories of postmodernity in relation to the new media, as well as the debate over multiculturalism. The author argues that new developments in electronic media, such as the Internet and virtual reality, may so alter our habits of communication and so deeply reposition our identities that the designation "a second media age" is justified. Poster assesses the contributions of theorists such as Baudrillard, Lyotard, Habermas, Haraway and Guattari. He also analyzes various cultural materials in light of his approach: Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing", Richard Wagner's "Ring of the Nibelung", and the televised reporting of the Gulf War. This book should be useful reading for students in media studies, cultural studies, sociology and social theory.
Mark Poster is the author of "The Mode of Information", "Critical Theory and Post-Structuralism", "Foucault, Marxism and History" and "Critical Theory of the Family".