Marshall McLuhan Research Articles

The Role of Digital Technology in Social Interaction of Manembo-Nembo Village Community, Matuari District, Bitung City

The purpose of this study is to determine the role of digital technology in social interaction in the Manembo-Nembo Village, Matuari District, Bitung City using the technological determinism theory approach, believing that technology has a major influence on various aspects of human interaction, especially social and cultural life, as stated by Marshall McLuhan. Using qualitative methods based on observation and interviews by collecting data from purposive sampling, namely determining competent informants, namely 2 community informants, 2 government informants. The results of the study found that the role of digital technology in social interaction has changed according to current circumstances, such as digitalization, such as in families it is easier and faster to interact via digital media with relatives who are in different places, the quality of relationships is maintained by having direct meetings in family groups (arisan), then digital interaction with the community; the creation of virtual togetherness such as people celebrating happy moments virtually by sharing photos, videos, and stories, and sharing information about sad events experienced and becoming a means of digital marketing that can increase family economic income. Digital interaction with the government; in today's public services digitally, especially in the field of population data management (KTP, Family Card, Certificate management) has been done through applications and can be done anywhere, but if there are people who need help, the local government is ready to serve, in accordance with the policy of the Bitung city government to make the Kelurahan Hebat program (digitalization).

»Yes, I am a Catholic, the worst kind – a convert«

Abstract The article examines the significance of the Incarnation of Christ for the development of Marshall McLuhan’s media theory. McLuhan’s Catholicism was already a topic of debate in the 1960s and 70s, albeit often in a less than benevolent manner. More recently, however, scholars from the English-speaking world have approached McLuhan’s religious convictions and their possible influence on his media-theoretical considerations in a more nuanced way. Building on this research, the article argues that McLuhan’s understanding of media and their effects, summarized in the famous phrase »The medium is the message«, can hardly be separated from his belief in the Incarnation, which has often been neglected by German scholars. If one takes a closer look at a variety of sources, e. g. letters and essays written from the 1930s onwards, it becomes clear that McLuhan considered human creativity to be the result of the total remaking of human nature by the ›medium of all media‹, i. e. God incarnate, and that it is precisely these christological and anthropological principles that underlie his media theory.

Qualitative Study on Influencing Factors of Online Shopping in India

Due to the change of times, amazing revolutionary changes have taken place in today's era. One of these is the Internet, due to which Marshall McLuhan's phrase in which he said that the world is a global village became meaningful. While defining 'World is Global Village', he had said that people will be connected with each other through some technology instead of meeting physically, which can receive and send information, like in today's time, social media. It is doing. No area of the world has remained untouched by the influence of online media. Today, daily essential items of human life are being bought and sold online. Every basic need of daily life can be demanded from anywhere and at any time while sitting at home. The traditional shopping, which has been going on since ancient times, where the buyer used to inspect and buy the goods himself or with the help of an associate, is changing at a rapid pace in the changing era. All the products available from shops to big malls are being purchased through web sites or apps. No one would have ever dreamed that a customer would be able to buy goods manufactured abroad directly after viewing them online, but all this became possible due to the technological revolution.

Visual Images of Paul Virilio, Marshall McLuhan and Jean-Luc Nancy as a Subversive Mechanism in the Structure of the Modern World

Visual Images of Paul Virilio, Marshall McLuhan and Jean-Luc Nancy as a Subversive Mechanism in the Structure of the Modern World

ЧЕЛОВЕК ЭЛЕКТРОННОЙ ЭПОХИ В РАБОТАХ М. МАКЛЮЭНА

The article reconstructs the image of a new man of the future electronic society, as he appears in the works of the Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan. This new type of man in a number of its characteristics resembles the audile-tactile man of oral culture, but nevertheless draws on the experience of book culture. In many cases, it turns out that McLuhan predicted the main features of the global village society and its population.

The (im)possibility of communication with nonhuman beings: with digital screen printing of luminous bacteria

In the current media environment, John Durham Peters emphasizes the importance of non-verbal communication and notes that underpinned by digital technology, “media” is returning to its original meaning as the milieu that surrounds living beings. To concretize and critically discuss this idea, this paper examines the artworks created by the authors, which incorporate microorganisms into digital technology. These works applied luminous bacteria as ink to digitally screen print text and images. The first work, A Medium for Images or Luminous Bacteria (2022), prints Japanese text with luminous bacteria ink. The second work, ‘イ(I)’ (1926) by BioLuminescent Bacteria (2024), recreates the first image in the history of Japanese television, ‘イ(I)’, with luminous bacteria. This paper compares and analyzes these practices in light of classical media theory, including the work of William Ivins Jr. and Marshall McLuhan. The paper introduces another work, Grow.|Glow. (2023), to further expand the discussion to contemporary digital media. Finally, drawing on the recent arguments of Anna Tsing and Antonio Damasio, we elucidate the critical implications that the works of luminous bacteria bring to the current media environment.

Beyond Verbatim: Embodied Truth and the Limits of Language in House Arrest

In an era marked by the proliferation of media images and the blurring of fact and fabrication, Anna Deavere Smith’s House Arrest (1999) offers a compelling exploration of truth, language and the pervasive influence of media in shaping public perception. Through verbatim text, minimalist staging and emotionally resonant performance, Smith highlights how individuals, particularly those from marginalised groups, are vulnerable to having their narratives distorted or controlled by those in power. In light of media effects theories, including framing, agenda-setting and Marshall McLuhan’s concepts of the ‘global village’ and ‘the medium is the message,’ this article analyses how the play compels a critical examination of media manipulation and the subtle ways language constructs individuals’ understanding of truth. Transcending its historical context, House Arrest emerges as a timely call for heightened media literacy and a discerning approach to information consumption in a world increasingly characterised by political polarisation and misinformation. Ultimately, Smith advocates for an active engagement with diverse perspectives and a recognition of the limitations of language by encouraging the audience to cultivate a more conscious and critical relationship with the information that surrounds them.

The Sense Shaping of Taste in Composite Writing-- An Example of "Spicy" Presentation

<p>The integration of multimodal elements in contemporary writing practices has transformed the way sensory experiences are conveyed and internalized by audiences. This study illuminates the mechanisms through which composite writing shapes the sensory experience of taste, with a particular emphasis on the perception of spiciness. By examining composite writings from various media platforms, we uncover the intricate relationship between media representation and sensory perception. Our theoretical framework is anchored in the concepts of synesthesia, metaphor theory, and media studies, particularly the influential ideas of Marshall McLuhan on media extensions and human experience. The study lies in its exploration of how composite writing not only reflects but also shapes the audience's sensory experiences. We argue that the metaphorical use of spiciness in composite writing extends beyond the gustatory to encompass cultural and personal identities, challenging traditional hierarchies of sensory experience in aesthetic discourse.</p>

The music department without walls: Lessons from Marshall McLuhan

In the technological age, the print-based culture of the previous century and the current practice of the bureaucratization of higher education (HE) influence how we manage physical spaces, curricula, and teaching and learning. This article presents possible future scenarios for music in HE in the context of the classroom without walls, based on McLuhan’s (1964) predictions for the future of education in the technological age. The research provides an analysis of relevant academic texts and is followed by a discussion that explores thinking differently, strategically, and creatively about possible future scenarios for music departments. The findings suggest that music departments redefine their core business to craft a different future.

The iPhone Phenomenon, Media Literacy and United Nation’s 2030 Sustainable Developmental Goals in Nigeria

In September 2015, the General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which includes 17 interconnected Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - quality education, reduced inequality, responsible consumption and production, and partnerships to achieve the goals. Smartphones are becoming increasingly prevalent element of the educational experience in classes, from preschool to graduating school level. The iPhone phenomenon makes students' lives easier. They can access their school information on portable devices. This is referred to as electronic learning (e-learning); smartphone is advanced mobile phone device that has improved considerably in the 21st century with the accommodation of features such as accessing emails, biometrics, online shopping, social media, and many more. The question arises whether the iPhone craze is driven by the passion for securing academic excellence, prestige, or social relevance. This author observes that the use of smartphones is gradually becoming an effective and indispensable learning tool used to enhance youths' social engagement. Hence, this study aims to conceptually synthesize existing literature on the iPhone phenomenon using the Marshal McLuhan Theory.

The right to be forgotten in the “global village” paradigm: on the issue of implementation

The advent of the information era in the history of mankind also caused a change in the paradigm of social relations, transforming their format, according to Marshall McLuhan's apt phrase, into a "global village". In this paradigm, the right to be forgotten becomes an important means of protecting a person from uncontrolled dissemination of unwanted information about him. The article reveals the nature of the right to be forgotten and its relationship with the phenomenon of privacy, analyzes the provisions of European legislation and practice. Attention is drawn to the fact that in Ukraine, despite the existing need to have this tool for the protection of personally sensitive information, no legislative algorithm for the effective implementation of the right in question has been developed. It is noted that, from a legal and technical point of view, the implementation of the right to be forgotten is quite difficult, since the recognition of the genetic connection of the state of being forgotten with the right to the inviolability of private life in the “global village” paradigm forces the law enforcer to always seek a reasonable balance between a person's desire to limit access to a certain information and other basic human rights and freedoms (freedom of expression, the right of users to access any form of information, etc.). Given the situation of legal uncertainty, the article concludes that there are two ways to close this gap. The first of them is to speed up work on the adoption of the new Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of Personal Data”, the provisions of which would be devoted, among other things, to practical issues of implementation and protection of the right to be forgotten; the second is to develop a separate regulatory legal act, fully devoted to the analyzed law. At the same time, when working out an appropriate mechanism for the effective implementation of the right to be forgotten, one should take into account those aspects that in practice lead to paradoxical situations in their content, such as: the mismatch of traditional physical borders with the borders of the “global village”, the Streisand effect, the disproportionality of the efforts and the achieved result, the conflict of the person's past with the possibility of their further socialization in society, etc.).

When a Lost Book Manuscript Turns Up: The Discovery of Harley Parker’s The Culture Box: Museums Are Today

Background: In 2022, the lost manuscript by Canadian designer and painter Harley Parker (1915–1992), The Culture Box: Museums Are Today, in which he envisions museums as multisensory experiences, was found among his belongings. Analysis: This Research in Brief looks at Parker’s contributions to museum exhibition design, both in The Culture Box and throughout his career. Conclusion and implications: By focusing on the role of the designer-communicator, Parker advanced a sensory museology ahead of its time, and, in collaboration with Marshall McLuhan, decoded the characteristics of the museum understood as a medium in terms of how it orchestrates sensory experiences.

Men of Letters: Perspectives on Multisensory Environments in the Hall-McLuhan Correspondence, 1961–1977

Abstract This paper introduces critical elements in the substantial, albeit mostly unpublished, correspondence between cultural anthropologist Edward T. Hall and media theorist Marshall McLuhan related to artistic practice with emerging media technologies in the 1960s. It contextualizes their exchange within the broader theoretical discourses and artistic practices surrounding systems theory and media technology and highlights intersections between Hall and McLuhan’s theoretical frameworks related to concepts of indeterminism, systems theory, and cybernetics in technology-based, kinesthetic, multisensory mediated environments in the 1960s. It particularly focuses on overlapping conceptual approaches toward the interrelation between the individual, the socio-cultural environment, and the emerging media-technological ecosystem.

Appropriation of Digital Machines and Appropriation of Fixed Capital as the Real Appropriation of Social Being: A Comment on Toni Negri’s Article “The Appropriation of Fixed Capital: A Metaphor?”

This article is a reflection and comment on Toni Negri’s essay “The Appropriation of Fixed Capital: A Metaphor?”. The comment first points out aspects of Negri’s reception of Marx. It stresses the continuities of the Grundrisse and Capital. In both, we can find a dialectical concept of technology. Second, this paper points out that Negri’s notion of the appropriation of technology/fixed capital should best be read as a critique of techno-optimism à la Marshall McLuhan and of techno-pessimism à la Martin Heidegger. Negri advances a dialectical concept of appropriation that is focused on the appropriation, and therefore transformation, of technology and society. Third, this reflection asks: What does it mean to appropriate digital machines? Concrete strategies of digital appropriation are outlined. The author argues that commons-public partnerships can be powerful political means of struggle against digital capitalism.Acknowledgement: This article was first published as a book chapter. It is reproduced based on a Creative Commons licence. Original source: Fuchs, Christian. 2019. Appropriation of Digital Machines and Appropriation of Fixed Capital as the Real Appropriation of Social Being: Reflections on Toni Negri’s Chapter. In Digital Objects, Digital Subjects: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Capitalism, Labour and Politics in the Age of Big Data, 215-221. London: University of Westminster Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.16997/book29.s

New Perceptions and Identities in Media Narratives

Communication has existed since the beginning of mankind. Over the years, its practices have evolved, becoming more and more sophisticated but its principal motive has remained the same; to effectively spread messages. As one of the arms of communication, mass media has evolved to become a dominant force for the dissemination of information. The implication of this is that not only have our modes of communication evolved, but the ways in which we view each other in the global community has also altered our phenomenological experience of everyday life. Marshall McLuhan describes this as the ‘global village’ where traditional barriers of time and space have been broken and bridged. The inevitable march of human civilization towards technology has brought about the information age where the reliance on mass media is more a rule than an option. We no longer live with mass media, but we live within its confines. This in turn affects the way that we process information including cultural stimuli and the entire architecture of human thought. The ubiquity of mass media has created an environment where mass media not only dictates norms but also reflects human behavior creating a new reality that is not only framed, but also made immediate by it. This means that as we become more and more entrenched in the realities created by mass media, we begin to become blasé of the ways it shapes and dictates our lives.

McLuhan’s Tetrad as a Tool to Interpret the Impact of Online Studio Education on Design Studio Pedagogy

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a surge in online studio education, which has presented a significant challenge to traditional design studio teaching methods that rely on face-to-face interactions between instructors and students. It is contended that online studio education enhances the accessibility of design studio pedagogy, making it possible for students to learn from anywhere in the world. However, it also challenges the development of tactile skills, which are crucial in design education. Additionally, online studio education can render certain aspects of traditional design studio pedagogy obsolete, while bringing back elements of design history and theory that may have been overlooked in traditional studio teaching. It can also be argued that online studio education has the potential to reverse the traditional power dynamics between instructors and students, resulting in more democratic and collaborative forms of learning that can empower students. As the literature on the effects of online studio education is growing, there is a need to understand how the shift from the material space and its affordances to an online environment affects the core components of an architectural design studio. To understand the effects of this new medium, this research employed Marshall McLuhan’s tetradic approach, a hermeneutic tool to perform a critical interpretation of any medium by examining four simultaneous effects: how it enhances a human sense, what it makes obsolete, what forgotten aspect it retrieves, and how it flips into its opposite at its extremes. A literature review was conducted to analyze the effects of online studios from a tetradic framework and identify the major discussions of the impact of online studio education. The methodology involves a two-part literature review. This study specifically focused on peer-reviewed, empirical research published after 2020, and the authors used search terms related to online architectural studios during the pandemic. The process identified 176 records of peer-reviewed empirical studies for further analysis and 20 papers were read and included in the review, defining repeating topics/themes and organized under four categories pertaining to the founding archetypes of an architectural design studio: (a) setting and communication, (b) actors, (c) outputs, and (d) dynamics. This process was followed by organizing the findings and interpreting them within the tetradic framework to develop a comprehensive understanding of the consequences of the online design studio. Overall, this research aims to provide a detailed and nuanced analysis of the impact of online studio education on design studio pedagogy, conceptualizing McLuhan’s tetrad as a basis for the analysis, and therefore aiming to enrich our understanding of the post-COVID-19 era of learning architecture by examining the dramatic change in the medium and its effects.

High highs, low lows: Artists and anti-environments in the twenty-first century

From antiquity to contemporary times, artists have served as society’s defence against unbridled technological adoption. As stressed by Marshall McLuhan, artists are those individuals who aid society in understanding the conditions of our time. In literate times the poet and the painter assumed such responsibilities, but in the digital era the artist becomes something altogether different. McLuhan defined the artists broadly as an individual in any field who was able to provide insightful information into the human actions and consciousness of their time. Similarly, Paglia argued analysts must combine ‘high with popular art, the noble with the sleazy’ (1991: 34). Thus, we are left with two pressing questions: who are the artists of the millennium? Can they still save us? The following article sought to trace who we should be considered artists in the twenty-first century and exactly what they have accomplished, or failed to accomplish, in making society aware of shifting sense ratios. Though might bemoan the obsolescence of authenticity and aura in art, Paglia astutely points out the ‘popular culture reclaims what high culture shuts out’ (1991: 34). Therefore, a survey of both high and popular art will probe the abilities and limits of artists and their art to make society aware of the effects of technological change.

Eric McLuhan, Marshall McLuhan, Walter Ong, and Connection Consciousness

In this article, I highlight the lives and works of three distinguished media ecology theorists: (1) Eric McLuhan (1942-2018; Ph.D. in English, University of Dallas, 1982); (2) Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980; Ph.D. in English, Cambridge University, 1943); and(3) Walter J. Ong, S.J. (1912-2003; Ph.D. in English, Harvard University, 1955). Throughout this article, I use Eric McLuhan’s 2015 book The Sensus Communis, Synesthesia, and the Soul: An Odyssey as a touchstone for my discussion of connection consciousness. I round off this article by listing a wide range of other books and articles that are also related to connection consciousness.

Analyzing the Relationship between the Feminist Movement and Social Stability using Argentina as an Example

The feminist movement has gradually become a force to be reckoned with in the process of global social development, and the Argentine feminist movement, due to its long history and large scale, holds an important place in the development of the feminist movement in the world. This study focuses on the Argentinean feminist movement and aims to analyze the relationship between the feminist movement and social stability. By applying Marxist, Marshall McLuhan and Frankfurt School theories, the causes of the Argentine feminist movement are explored in a multidimensional and in-depth manner. The results of the study show that there is a strong interwoven and mutually influential link between the feminist movement and social stability in Argentina. The development of the feminist movement has contributed to the shaping of social stability to a certain extent, and the state of social stability has had a significant impact on the direction and form of the feminist movement.

Media culture as a factor of public opinion formation in small towns

Introduction. In the modern world, where the information environment is saturated with informational noise and mass means of communication, media culture acquires an important status in the formation of public opinion. This is especially true for small towns, as they may be remote from global media streams. Relevance and purpose. Media culture becomes a key tool for understanding and analyzing information included in public discourse and influences the formation of people’s consciousness and views. The purpose of the article is to study media culture as an important element of public opinion formation in small towns of Ukraine through the prism of identifying perspectives of influence and control. Methodology. Conceptual foundations for the study of modern media culture and its impact on the cultural and social structure of society were laid in foundational theories such as Marshall McLuhan’s «global village» and Alvin Toffler’s «future shock». Content analysis of scientific literature was also used as the main research method. Results. The influence of media culture on the formation of public opinion in small towns is extremely significant, especially due to the limited media space, which makes its influence even more significant. In such conditions, the media play a decisive role in the coverage of events at the local and national levels, as well as in the formation of the cultural and social identity of the community. The study emphasizes the importance of media self-regulation and the development of professional ethics to ensure objectivity and credibility of information. Financial support for independent media, local media and ensuring the confidentiality of sources are identified as critical factors for ensuring the quality of information services in small towns. Also, raising the level of media literacy is an important element, key to critical thinking and fact-checking. Therefore, initiatives and programs aimed at improving media literacy among residents of small towns are recognized as essential. Conclusions. Media culture is an important part of the socio-cultural development of small towns. Mass media play a key role in covering local or national events. For this reason, mechanisms of control over the manipulation of mass media are of particular importance. The work emphasizes the importance of media literacy among the population of small towns. Therefore, individual programs and initiatives can contribute to increasing the level of media literacy among residents of small towns.