A Social History of the Media: From Gutenberg to the InternetWritten by two leading social and cultural historians, the first edition of A Social History of the Media has become a classic textbook, providing a masterful overview of communication media and of the social and cultural contexts within which they emerged and evolved over time. In this new and revised edition, Asa Briggs and Peter Burke have updated their classic study to cover the exciting media developments of the early 21st Century. In addition to the classic material exploring the continuing importance of oral and manuscript communication, the rise of print and the relationship between physical transportation and social communication, a new chapter on multimedia now extends the far-reaching scope of this book. New media technologies are treated in new depth throughout the latter sections and the book concludes with an account of the convergences associated with digital communication technology, the rise of the internet and the phenomenon of globalization. Avoiding technological determinism and rejecting assumptions of straightforward evolutionary progress, this book brings out the rich and varied histories of communication media. It will be an ideal text for students in history, media and cultural studies and journalism, but it will also appeal to a wide general readership. It has already been translated into more than ten languages. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
The Print Revolution in Context | 13 |
The Media and the Public Sphere in Early Modern Europe | 61 |
From Steam to Electricity | 88 |
Processes and Patterns | 100 |
Information Education Entertainment | 151 |
Convergence | 216 |
Multimedia | 254 |
Chronology | 269 |
| 281 | |
| 295 | |
Other editions - View all
A Social History of the Media: From Gutenberg to the Internet Peter Burke,Asa Briggs No preview available - 2005 |
Common terms and phrases
advertising American AT&T audience became Britain British broadcasting cable called Catholic Church cinema commercial communication companies countries critical culture debate described Dutch Republic early modern early modern Europe economic eighteenth century electricity electronic Encyclopédie English Civil War entertainment Europe European example film France French French Revolution German global historian images important industry Internet invention journalism journalists later literacy London Louis XIV Marconi Marconi Company medium messages million mobile phone monopoly newspapers nineteenth century Ofcom oral pamphlets Paris patent period personal computer political popular Post Office printers produced programmes public service broadcasting public sphere published radio railway readers Revolution satellite social society Soviet Union steam tele telegraph telephone television tion transistors twentieth century United Viewdata viewers wireless word writing York