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Understanding Media – an entrance into the technological environment.
How are we to get a perspective of understanding media today? The book, Understanding Media was written by noted media theorist Marshall McLuhan, and provided a revolutionary perspective on media, namely, that the medium is the message. Today, we talk with Marshall’s grandson, Andrew McLuhan on the concept of understanding media, as well as the broader mediated environment.
Andrew McLuhan is a grandson of Marshall McLuhan, noted Canadian professor from the University of Toronto who was a pioneer in the field of Media/Communications studies. Andrew’s father, Eric McLuhan, was Marshall’s eldest son, who worked with Marshall from the mid-1960s until Marshall died in 1980. From 1980 until his death in 2018, Eric McLuhan continued the work he began with his father, completing important works such as ‘Laws of Media: The New Science’ (1980) ‘Media and Formal Cause (2011) ‘Theories of Communication’ (2011) among other solo works. In 2009 Andrew began work documenting and inventorying Marshall McLuhan’s annotated library (now at the Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto, and named to UNESCO’s ‘Memory of the World Register’ of globally-significant cultural artifacts) which was his first major McLuhan project, and one he speaks on regularly.
For about a decade, Andrew acted as Eric McLuhan’s part-time assistant, student, and travel companion, accompanying him on speaking tours near and far, getting deeper and deeper into the unique McLuhan tradition of exploring culture and technology. Andrew is director of The McLuhan Institute, created in 2017 to continue the work begun by Marshall McLuhan and Eric McLuhan in exploring and understanding culture and technology.
Andrew is an author (‘written matter,’ Seattle: Revelore Press 2021) and regularly gives interviews, lectures, and leads classes on McLuhan work in universities and institutions online and around the world. In 2020-2021 Andrew led the first full-length Understanding Media Intensive with an incredible class of 31students.
Understanding Media Interview Topics:
In this interview, Andrew leads us into his grandfather and father’s work on understanding media and discusses multiple topics associated with today’s technological world.
Topics Andrew discusses on the podcast:
- Background on Andrew, McLuhan Studies, and The McLuhan Institute
- Introduction into the work of Marshall McLuhan and his studies of technologies
- Why Media Studies is so critical today
- Medium Theory and The Medium is the Message
- Introduction to Understanding Media
- The magic of communication
- How the obvious escapes our notice
- Maelstrom Escape Strategies
- Strategies to cope with the speed of technology
- Thoughts on addressing the question of technology
- How to connect with Andrew
I hope you enjoy this episode!
best,
Resources:
- The McLuhan Institute
- Andrew on Twitter
- The McLuhan Institute on Twitter
- Andrew McLuhan on Medium
- McLuhan Institute YouTube channel
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