Sociology of Technology

    Must answer TWO questions HERE*: A & B, A & C OR B & C (*Answer 3 Questions and 6 Replies/9 Posts in TOTAL this Week)
    A) There’s no doubt that the process of digitalizing the media has had profound effects. In the EU, the 2012 digital switchover puts a formal end to analogue media. With its emphasis on the mode of encoding and converting date and information, the term digital media with seems to focus primarily on the technological element of the media. To talk of digital media therefore appears to prioritize aspects that relate to the technologies  that made them possible. But how does this digital media fare when it comes to understanding the media?

    B)  It is the first understanding concerning the primacy of the media that leads to the more radical indications for any media analysis. This is due to the relationship it posits it’s between media, people and societies. McLuhan famously thought that the media are extensions of the human senses as he puts it : “all media, from the phonetic alphabet to the computer, are extensions of man that cause deep and lasting changes in him and transform his environment” (McLuhan 1969:54). More particularly he viewed the media as either extensions or amputations but nevertheless as inextricably bound to human beings. Do you agree? Why or Why not? Explain.

    C) While for both McLuhan and Kittler the relationship between technologies–media and human–society is one of determination of the latter by the former, Stiegler argues that technology and humanity or coeval or co-–originally. Rather than prioritizing technology as McLuhan and Kittler do, Stiegler shows that humans and technology are inextricably bound, they belong together and co–determine each other. Which view are you partial to? Explain.

    VIDEOS TO HELP:




    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CooK_RWMreI

     

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