New Media: The Key Concepts

by Nicholas Gane, David Beer

Overview

Digital media are rapidly changing the world in which we live. Global communications, mobile interfaces and Internet cultures are re-configuring our everyday lives and experiences. To understand these changes, a new theoretical imagination is needed, one that is informed by a conceptual vocabulary that is able to cope with the daunting complexity of the world today. This book draws on writings by leading social and cultural theorists to assemble this vocabulary. It addresses six key concepts that are pivotal for understanding the impact of new media on contemporary society and culture: information, network, interface, interactivity, archive and simulation. Each concept is considered through a range of concrete examples to illustrate how they might be developed and used as research tools. An inter-disciplinary approach is taken that spans a number of fields, including sociology, cultural studies, media studies and computer science.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781845201333
Publisher:	Berg Publishers
Publication date:	10/01/2008
Series:	The Key Concepts
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Nicholas Gane is Reader in Sociology at the University of York and author of Max Weber and Postmodern Theory and The Future of Social Theory.

David Beer is ESRC E-Society Research Fellow in the Department of Sociology at the University of York.

Table of Contents

Introduction * 1. Information * 2. Network * 3. Interface * 4. Interactivity * 5. Archive * 6. Simulation * Conclusion * Questions * Guide to Further Reading * Index

Editorial Reviews

An outstanding text on the cutting-edge 'key concepts' that help us to understand and analyze the so-called 'new media.' Clear, accessible and succinct, the book will be very valuable for students in media, communications, and cultural theory.” —Thomas M. Kemple, University of British Columbia

From the Publisher

An outstanding text on the cutting-edge 'key concepts' that help us to understand and analyze the so-called 'new media.' Clear, accessible and succinct, the book will be very valuable for students in media, communications, and cultural theory.

University of British Columbia Thomas M. Kemple