The questions, links, and information listed here are intended to help you prepare for our in-class discussions of the excerpt from Richard Campbell's Media and Culture.
After reading the excerpt, you should be able to define, distinguish among, and give examples of the following terms:
- Culture (capital "C") and culture;
- cultural products and processes;
- communication;
- symbol systems;
- mass media;
- mass communication;
- oral, manuscript, print, electronic, and digital cultures;
- media convergence;
- Socratic method;
- Gutenberg press;
- telegraph.
What is "rugged individualism"? What is the link between this and the American "tradition of book, movie, television western and detective stories" (10)?
"Do contemporary technologies, such as TV talk shows and anonymous cyberspace chat rooms, cheapen public discussions and prevent us from forming face-to-face associations and talking to one another more personally?" (11).
In your own words, what point is Henry David Thoreau making in the quote re-printed on page 13?
What is the link between the printing press and nationalism? What is the link between the printing press and individualism?