The Bias of Communication
by Harold A. Innis
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Description
One of the most influential books ever published in Canada, Harold A. Innis's The Bias of Communication has played a major part in reshaping our understanding of history, communication, and media theory. First published in 1951, this masterful collection of essays explores the relationship between a society's communication media and that community's ability to maintain control over its development. Innis considers political and economic forces in the context of social change and the role of show more communication in the creation of both ancient and modern empires. In an essay for this new edition, Innis biographer Alexander John Watson examines the reasons why Innis, at the height of his success as an economic historian, embarked on new research areas of communications and empire, as well as the ways in which Marshall McLuhan's interpretations of Innis changed and de-politicized Innis's work. As important today as it was when first published, The Bias of Communication is essential reading for historians and scholars of communication and media studies. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
A challenging book to read with few footholds for readers to pause and take stock of the argument Innis is offering. It is best to approach the historical overview chapters as evidence of how political, religious, economic, and other interests are reinforced in the development and proliferation of media through which those interests are communicated and entrenched. It is social construction with an outsized role for media technology.
This is a difficult but rewarding read.
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Author Information
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Technology
- DDC/MDS
- 302.209 — Society, government, & culture Social sciences, sociology & anthropology Mass Communication & Media Communication History, geographic treatment, biography
- LCC
- P90 .I49 — Language and Literature Philology. Linguistics Communication. Mass media
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 157
- Popularity
- 209,466
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (4.06)
- Languages
- English, German
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 10
- ASINs
- 3
