Week 3, Chpt 3

Question 1

Hype

Answer 1

New media producing a whole new world based on ideas of freedom, knowledge, individualism, and openness. Celebratory discourse.

Question 2

Technological Determinism

Answer 2

Marshall MacLuhan. Social change is primarily driven by technological change.

Question 3

Social Shaping

Answer 3

Raymond Williams. Society shapes technology.

Question 4

Political Economy

Answer 4

Focuses on the power of politics and power relations embedded in technological development.

Question 5

The political economy theory looks at technology as

Answer 5

part of the interplay of power and domination in society.

Question 6

Political Economy draws heavily on what other critical theory?

Answer 6

Marxism

Question 7

Historical Materialism

Answer 7

The material conditions of a society’s mode of production. Shapes its politics, social relations, and culture.

Question 8

Consolidation

Answer 8

A process by which a few large conglomerates own the majority of media. Smaller companies are bought by bigger companies.

Question 9

A process by which media conglomerates use a range of media platforms to promote a media product.

Answer 9

Synergy

Question 10

Cultural Studies

Answer 10

Technology and culture are independent, cannot be isolated from one another. Pays attention to everyday media practices of regular people. Technology users have agency.

Question 11

The circuit of culture consists of

Answer 11

Representation, identity, regulation, consumption, and production.

Question 12

Speculative Media Theory

Answer 12

Approaches the interaction between technology and culture in more future-oriented terms.

Question 13

3 Strands of Social Shaping

Answer 13

1. Diffusion of innovations model
2. Political economy model
3. Theories of culture and technology

Question 14

Example of Counter-hype (from CBC “Internet” clip)

Answer 14

• “I’m afraid I would get hooked… and never spend any time with my family”

Question 15

“American values” and Californian ideology

Answer 15

• libertarianism and counterculture bohemianism, disrupt old power hierarchies of the state in favour of networked individuals

Question 16

What did social shaping draw heavily on?

Answer 16

• Marxist attention to the mode of production and inherent power relations - and how these shape the development, circulation, and consumption of media technologies

Question 17

Superstructure

Answer 17

• media, education, family, religion, politics

Question 18

Base

Answer 18

• means of production, relations of production

Question 19

Synergy

Answer 19

• a process by which a media conglomerate uses a range of media platforms to promote a media product

Question 20

Henry Jenkins

Answer 20

• “participatory culture”

- new media users participate through both the consumption and production of media texts