Empire and Communications (Critical Media Studies: Institutions, Politics, and Culture) [Paperback]

Harold A. Innis (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0742555089 | ISBN-13: 978-0742555082 | Publication Date: March 6, 2007

It's been said that without Harold A. Innis there could have been no Marshall McLuhan. Empire and Communications is one of Innis's most important contributions to the debate about how media influenced the development of consciousness and societies. In this foundational work, he traces humanity's movement from the oral tradition of preliterate cultures to the electronic media of recent times. Along the way, he presents his own influential concepts of oral communication, time and space bias, and monopolies of knowledge. With a new introduction by Alexander John Watson, author of Marginal Man: The Dark Vision of Harold Innis, and a new foreword by series editor Andrew Calabrese, this previously hard-to-obtain book is now readily available again. All communication scholars should have this classic book on their shelves, and it also serves as a great supplementary text in communication and economics courses.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I can think of no better inoculation against the rampant disease of present-mindedness in the contemporary world than a careful reading of [Innis's] classic, Empire and Communications. This book was the foundation on which he built his understanding of the contemporary world, in particular his view of the United States of America, its foreign policy, and its effects on other cultures. At the time of Innis's death in 1952, his perspective on the contemporary world seemed radical and far-fetched. When we read his work anew over a distance of more than fifty years, it seems fresh and, indeed, prophetic. (Alexander John Watson )

Innis's writings ... prove understandable and applicable in a variety of modern-day contexts. (Technology And Culture )

With the benefit of over 50 years of reflection, we can state without opposition that Harold Innis was an important figure in the development of communications studies, and that our students today would do well to read his book, if only to experience the joy of physically grasping and grappling with a difficult publication instead of reading the watered-down version available on Wikipedia. (Journal Of International Communication )

This book teaches us to reflect on how the means and processes of communication have been embedded in imperial power. . . . In a career dedicated to explaining empire, Innis discovered communication and blazed an important trail. The time is ripe to reintroduce and welcome this rewarding book, especially to Innis's [U.S.] neighbors. We live in a moment in which the wages of empire weigh heavily on the world. (Calabrese, Andrew )

From the Inside Flap

Empire and Communications is one of Innis’s most important contributions to the debate about how media influences the development of consciousness and societies.|This is one of Innis's most important contributions to the debate about how media influences the development of consciousness and societies. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (March 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0742555089
• ISBN-13: 978-0742555082
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #297,612 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars provides an excellent historical basis..., May 15, 1998

By 

J. Tice "jait" (British Columbia, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Empire and Communications (Paperback)

This book provides a wonderful examination of how emerging communication technologies impact the society that spawned them. Each major media advance (papyrus, parchment, paper, the printing press) causes major shifts in the social paradigms of the societies that adopt its use... definately worth the read. This edition has an afterword by Dr. David Godfrey regarding the impact of the electronic form.

5.0 out of 5 stars Irony: No Kindle version, January 13, 2012

By 

The Bulletin Broad (Bakersfield, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Empire and Communications (Critical Media Studies: Institutions, Politics, and Culture) (Paperback)

Brilliant book, a tough read but worth the effort. Stunningly prophetic about how media companies still don't get digital media and want to control information. Buy it, read it, ask (nicely at first) for a digital version to honor his life's work.