1. Technological Determinism of Marshall McLuhan
From Chapter 26 in Em Griffin,
A First Look at Communication Theory, 1994

2. MCLUHAN WAS EARLY TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE WERE ENTERING THE AGE OF PRINT;
CLICKER
MCLUHAN WAS EARLY TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE WERE ENTERING THE AGE OF PRINT;
A = TRUE
B = FALSE

3. B = The age of print had its obituary tapped out
CLICKER
MCLUHAN WOULD SAY:
A = Inventions in communication technology
cause cultural change;
B = The age of print had its obituary tapped out
by the telegraph;
C = The electronic media are retribalizing the human race;
D = Instant communication has returned us to a prealphabetic oral tradition;
E = ALL OF THE ABOVE

4. McLuhan was early to recognize that:
We were entering the Electronic Age
Electronic Media radically alter the way people
think
feel
act

5. Historical Epoch
Dominant Sense Receptors
Technological Development
Tribal
Age
Phonetic alphabet 2000 B.C.
Literate
Age
Print
Age
Printing Press 1450
Electronic
Age
Telegraph 1850

6. According to McLuhan, the crucial inventions were:
The phonetic alphabet
The printing press
The telegraph
WHY THESE 3 PARTICULAR INVENTIONS?

7. Core Concepts
Inventions in communication technology cause cultural change
Changes in modes of communication shape human life
Channels of communication are the primary cause of cultural change
“We shape our tools and they in turn shape us”

8. Each new media innovation is an extension of some human faculty
The book is an extension of the eye
The wheel is an extension of the foot
Clothing is an extension of the skin
Electronic circuitry is an extension of the central nervous system

9. Media are anything that amplify or intensify a bodily organ, sense, or function
Media (NOT ONLY)
extend our reach
increase our efficiency
Media (ALSO)
act as a filter
to organize
and interpret our social existence

10. The way we live is largely a function of the way we process information
The phonetic alphabet, the printing press, and the telegraph changed the way people thought about themselves and their world
“The medium is the message”
The same words spoken face-to-face, printed on paper, or presented on television provide three different messages

11. McLuhan Web Site
McLuhan Web Site

12. The primary channel of communication changes the way we perceive the world
The dominant medium of any age dominates people

13. A Media Analysis of History
The Tribal Age
an acoustic place
where the senses of hearing, touch, taste, & smell were most developed
“Primitive” people led richer and more complex lives than their literate descendants because the ear, unlike the eye, is unable to select the stimuli it takes in
The spoken word is more emotionally laden than the written

14. The Age of Literacy
The phonetic alphabet put sight at the head of the hierarchy of senses: with reading people exchanged an ear for an eye
Literacy (reading) jarred people out of collective tribal involvement into “civilized” private detachment
The phonetic alphabet established the line as the organizing principle

15. The Print Age
If the phonetic alphabet made visual dependence possible, the printing press made it widespread
Repeatability is the most important characteristic of movable type
The print revolution demonstrated mass production of identical products--it was the forerunner of the industrial revolution
It created the book that people could read in privacy and in isolation
The printed book glorifies individualism

16. The Electronic Age: The Global Village
“The age of print had its obituary tapped out by the telegraph”
The electronic media are retribalizing the human race
Instant communication has returned us to a prealphabetic oral tradition
where sound and touch are more important than sight
All of us as members of a global village

17. Hot & Cool Media
Hot media are beamed at a single sense receptor
Print is a hot, visual medium
Photographs are a hot, visual medium
Motion Pictures are a hot, visual medium
They package lots of information in a way that requires little work on the part of the viewer

18. Cool Media
Cool media require high participation to fill in the blanks
A lecture is hot
Discussions are cool

19. McLuhan-esque Examples
Education
People living in the midst of innovation often cling to what was, as opposed to what is
Education is a prime example of a battle ground over forms of literacy--video as an audio/video aid as opposed to the primary tool
The acoustic media are a threat to an educational establishment that has a vested interest in books