The bias of communication
Title:
The bias of communication
Author:
Innis, Harold Adams, 1894-1952. author.
ISBN:
9780802068392
Personal Author:
Physical Description:
xxviii, 226 pages ; 23 cm
General Note:
Reprinted with a new introduction. Originally published: [Toronto] : University of Toronto Press, 1951
Contents:
Introduction / by Paul Heyer and David Crowley -- Preface -- Minerva's owl -- The bias of communication -- A plea for time -- The problem of space -- Industrialism and cultural values -- The English publishing trade in the eighteenth century -- Technology and public opinion in the United States -- "A critical review" -- Appendixes: -- I.A note on communication and electromagnetic resources in North America / D.Q. Innis -- II. Adult education and universities -- Index
Abstract:
This book "is a collection of essays by one of Canada's greatest historians, on a subject that opened broad new avenues of thought on the role of media in the creation of history. Marshall McLuhan, deeply influenced by these essays, led North America to a new awareness of the role of media in contemporary culture. The works of Harold Innis are seminal in the study of Canadian history; the essays in this volume continue to generate intense debate among historians, communications scholars, and media theorists. This new edition includes a thoughtful introduction by two scholars who outline the career of Innis and the development of his ideas. They go on to elucidate the grand themes of the essays: a communicational approach to history, and a critical reflection on the situation of culture and technology in recent times. They identify in the essays all the concepts associated with Innis's communications work: medium, bias, monopoly of knowledge, empire, and especially the oral tradition. Finally, they assess the influence of the book on the study of communications theory and Canadian history"--Back cover