The delusion of the specialist. Notes on The Gutenberg Galaxy by Marshall McLuhan

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3145/thinkepi.2023.e17a43

Keywords:

McLuhan, Medium theory, Specialism, Research in communication

Abstract

With the publication of The Gutenberg Galaxy, Marshall McLuhan proposed a science of media situated at the core of the sciences of culture. More than six decades later, communication studies seem to have abandoned such ambitions. This text reconstructs the main ideas of the book and reflects on its contemporary relevance. It specifically focuses on the function of McLuhan’s “mosaic” writing and the questions that his method continues to raise for the field of communication studies.

References

Kuhn, Thomas (1971). La estructura de las revoluciones científicas. México D.F.: Fondo de Cultura Económica. ISBN: 843750046X

Macdonald, Dwight (1967). “He has looted all culture, from cave painting to Mad magazine, for fragments to shore up against the ruin of his system”. In: G. E. Stearn (ed.), McLuhan: hot and cool, New York: Signet, pp. 203-210. ISBN: 978 0451037398

McLuhan, Marshall (1993). La galaxia Gutenberg. Génesis del “homo typographicus”. Barcelona: Círculo de lectores. ISBN: 978 8481090093

Meyrowitz, Joshua (1994). “Medium theory”. In: Crowley, David; Mitchell, David (eds.). Communication theory today. Stanford (CA), Stanford University Press, pp. 50-77.

Ortoleva, Peppino (2012). “Strategic numbing. Su un passaggio nel pensiero di McLuhan”. Infoamérica, n. 7-8, pp. 171-177.

Ragone, Giovanni (2014). “La mente y el vórtice”. En: Pireddu, Mario; Serra, Marcello (eds.). Mediología. Cultura, tecnología y Comunicación. Barcelona: Gedisa, pp. 143-153. ISBN: 978 84 97848756

Williams, Raymond (1967). “Paradoxically, if the book works it to some extent annihilates itself”. In: G. E. Stearn (ed.). McLuhan: hot and cool, pp. 188-191. New York: Signet. ISBN: 978 0451037398

Published

2023-12-18

How to Cite

Serra, M. (2023). The delusion of the specialist. Notes on The Gutenberg Galaxy by Marshall McLuhan. Anuario ThinkEPI, 17. https://doi.org/10.3145/thinkepi.2023.e17a43

Issue

Section

Regreso al futuro: conceptos revisitados y relecturas