Abstract
"...from the alphabet to the motorcar, Western man has been steadily refashioned in a slow technological explosion that has extended over 2,500 years. From the time of the telegraph onward, ••• Western man bega'l to live an implosion. He began suddenly ... to play the movie of his 2,500 year explosion backward".
In characteristically vivid imagery Marshall McLuhan in Understanding Media expresses his belief in the power of technology to transform culture. McLuhan's words raise a host of questions about the complex interrelationship of culture, technology, and human consciousness. Questions such as: does technology determine cultural change? how do changes in technology alter patterns of communication? what is the effect on human consciousness and culture of rapid technological change? and, most importantly, can human beings control the rate and direction of either cultural or technological change?
All these questions seem especially pertinent in an age that is constantly presented as a period of transition to a new society and culture. In the face of the exhortations and warnings concerning the coming 'information', 'wired' or 'post-industrial' society, people in all societies need to be able to stand back and examine their relationship with technology. The rhetoric of progress, of doom, or even of, Utopia, is no substitute for reflection. This issue aims to assist that process of reflection by bringing together and analysing some of the recent research that attempts to elucidate the significance of technological change in communication for the lives of individuals, cultures and societies.
Recommended Citation
(1984)
"Communication, Technology, and Culture,"
Communication Research Trends: Vol. 5:
No.
2, Article 1.
Available at:
https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/crt/vol5/iss2/1
