Rereading the final chapter of Understanding Media. A tribute to Marshall McLuhan on the centenary of his birth

The article examines the arguments made by Marshall McLuhan in the last chapter of his book Understanding Media related to the impact of information technology on social organization. Written fifty years ago, they show today, with the advent of the network society, their full value by contributing t...

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Bibliographic Details
Author: Salarelli, Alberto
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2011
Country:Brasil
Institution:Universidade de São Paulo (USP)
Repository:InCID
Language:Portuguese
OAI Identifier:oai:revistas.usp.br:article/42348
Online Access:https://www.revistas.usp.br/incid/article/view/42348
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Marshall McLuhan
Teoria da Media
Sociedade em Rede
Tecnopoder.
Media Theory
Network Society
Technopower
Description
Summary:The article examines the arguments made by Marshall McLuhan in the last chapter of his book Understanding Media related to the impact of information technology on social organization. Written fifty years ago, they show today, with the advent of the network society, their full value by contributing to a real “McLuhan renaissance”. Particularly this essay points out that McLuhan was not at all optimistic and enthusiastic about the computer revolution but instead, he expressed a very strong concern about the growing power of technology. This worldview relates McLuhan’s thought to the theories of contemporary authors such as Lanier, Carr and Schirrmarcher.