As Meyrowitz (2003) points out, McLuhan’s work has been dismissed by many scholars for a variety of reasons. Among contemporaries of Understanding Media, objections often focused on McLuhan’s (1964) dismissal of content studies, an area that dominated media research of the time. Meyrowitz (2003) also points out the nonconventional argumentative strategies McLuhan (1964) employed in his arguments. McLuhan (1964) believed that most scholarly research was based on a faulty assumption that all reasoning must be linear, and as Meyrowitz (2003) points out, he attempted to break the rules in terms of normative scholarly structure and organization.
McLuhan’s (1964) concept of the “global media” illustrates his construction of history in three parts.
1. First, as Meyrowitz (2003) explains, McLuhan (1964) described a period of oral culture in which ideas were spread through speech. This period was invested in interactions with others and was particularly suited to sensory experiences like hearing.
2. Next, in Meyrowitz’s (2003) summary, McLuhan (1964) described a literary cultural period in which society gathered ideas through text. This shift to print media influenced individuals to reshape the world based on the form of text. Just as print media is linear and heavily structured, societies began to build communities in grids, for example.
3. Finally, Meyrowitz (2003) argues, McLuhan (1964) described a period based in electronic media, including television, film, and radio. This period is what McLuhan (1964) saw as a “global village” or a return to the nonlinear interactivity of his oral cultural tradition. In the global village, humans participated in each others’ lives in a way that drew on sensory experience and interaction.
McLuhan’s (1964) concept of the “global media” illustrates his construction of history in three parts.
1. First, as Meyrowitz (2003) explains, McLuhan (1964) described a period of oral culture in which ideas were spread through speech. This period was invested in interactions with others and was particularly suited to sensory experiences like hearing.
2. Next, in Meyrowitz’s (2003) summary, McLuhan (1964) described a literary cultural period in which society gathered ideas through text. This shift to print media influenced individuals to reshape the world based on the form of text. Just as print media is linear and heavily structured, societies began to build communities in grids, for example.
3. Finally, Meyrowitz (2003) argues, McLuhan (1964) described a period based in electronic media, including television, film, and radio. This period is what McLuhan (1964) saw as a “global village” or a return to the nonlinear interactivity of his oral cultural tradition. In the global village, humans participated in each others’ lives in a way that drew on sensory experience and interaction.
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