Technological Determinism
Today, we are going to shift our focus to Canada and what
has come to be known as the Toronto School, and yet a whole new way of thinking
about the field of communication studies.
Our focus will be on the work of Marshall McLuhan, but we
are going to begin by talking about the man who influenced his thinking, Harold
Innis. The ideas of Innis and McLuhan are associated with communication
technology and a way of thinking known as technological determinism.
The principal idea behind this is to examine the links
between communication technology and the features of a society—by focusing on
three issues: power, integration, and change. Rogers defines technological
determinism as the belief that changes in technology cause social changes in
society.
Innis: the dominant communication technology of a civilization is central to the culture and the social structure of that society (Rogers, p. 486).
Top: Harold Innis; bottom: Marshall McLuhan
From our class reading:
"For the 'message' of any medium or technology is the change or scale or pace or pattern that it introduces into human affairs."
A key issue in technological determinism is to understand how a technology changes space and time. (Innis, Empire and Communication, 1950). How it overcomes the limitations of space and time.
Key ideas of Technological Determinism
Primary assumption:
The content of a culture (its habits of
thought, typical concerns, vocabulary, norms and values, key symbols) is
dictated by the inevitable domination of a medium of communication.
Macro-level theory
Not interested in media content
Media shape civilization and society
Media become an extension of our very being or essence
Media "Grammar": The unique characteristics of a medium
Media "logic": How symbols are arranged to define, time, place and social occasion
McLuhan uses the example of a light bulb. How did the lightbulb transform society?
Changed the concept of night and day
Changed how and when and where we work
Extended opportunities for learning, travel
Changed the nature of the "city"
Can you think of others?
“All media, from the phonetic
alphabet to the computer, are extensions of man that cause deep and lasting
changes in him and transform his environment….the individual is perceptually
modified by his own inventions.” Marshall McLuhan
“Whoever
controls the process of re-creation effectively redefines reality for everyone
else, and creates the entire world of human experience, our field of
knowledge.” (Mander,
1978)
James Carey writes:
“Innis and McLuhan, alone among
students of human society, make the history of mass media central to the
history of civilization at large. Both see the media not merely as technical
appurtenances to society but as crucial determinants of the social fabric. For
them, history of the mass media is not just another avenue of historical
research; rather it is another way of writing the history of Western
civilization.” (James Carey, 1967, as cited in
Rogers)
Let's apply what we've learned.
How would McLuhan explain the "Arab Spring?"
"Because
of the way it (television) directs us to organize our minds and integrate our experience of
the world, [it] imposes itself on our consciousness and social institutions in
myriad forms." (Postman, 1985)
–What
is the impact of TV’s focus on entertainment?
–How
has it changed how we address social issues (think debate)?
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