Customer Reviews

Internet Invention: From Literacy to Electracy

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Greg Ulmer's work is some of the best developed in the world in the whole conversation over media theory, poststructural thinking, and writing/teaching with computers. Written with an easy style that is nonetheless packed with information, Ulmer guides readers through his own homegrown pedagogical process, which combines both the artistic and practical into a single new genre. Rather than sit back and be mystified or stymied by the "age of the spectacle," Ulmer engages affirmatively in it, valuing its positive potential. The goal, he says, is to become not consumers, but practitioners of image-based discourse. HTML and other New Media writing tools give individuals the power; what remains is to craft a set of tactics for helping others realize that power. This is really a great book, sure to become a hallmark in media studies.

The book arrived on time and was in good condition. I trust this seller and would buy from him again.

As far as the content of the book, it is terrible. The author is in love with himself and goes on and on about how fabulous he is. Do your self a favor and skip this read.

Admittedly, I do not have a doctorate in media studies, and my prerequisite exposure to much from which Ulmer draws is limited. That being said, however, it should be noted that this is a book explicitly intended not simply for undergraduate students but to be used as a first-year composition text. Such an idea seems preposterous. The only thing more frustrating than the experience of wrestling through his chapters is watching it get heaped with praise (all while I have never heard anyone boast complete understanding of it).
Internet Invention is incredibly inaccessible. This is in large part due to his extensive referral to countless outside works and thinkers as "relays" but due even more to the fact to his "electrate" composition of the book. The practice of his own theories of communication require him to create dense networks of links that obscure any initial clarity at the base of his theory.
On a personal note, I find Ulmer's theories to be convoluted and overly ambitious. I'm sure Ulmer is a brilliant man, but despite his insistence, this is not an undergraduate (and certainly not a first-year) text. If purchasing for a class, I wish you the best of luck an advise you to develop an "Ulmer filter"; if you hang onto his every word, you will surely miss the central points to lead you to complete the project. If you are purchasing for your own personal edification, I simply cannot imagine why. I hope you enjoy media theory.