The History of the Study of Media and Communications - Essay Example

How has the Study of Media and Communications developed over the last Century? Journalism, Mass Media and Communication 25th November,2014 Instructor’s Name Introduction It’s amazing and thrilling how the study of media and communications has developed over the last century. The increasingly popular nature of these disciplines has seen them attract increased demands in learning institutions. In fact, they are today one of the major studies at colleges and universities. In the United States, for instance, they are ranked 8th in the list of the most popular academic fields. However, it is important to first understand the meaning of media and communications. From a general perspective, the study of media is simply understood as the discipline that describes the content and the effects of mass media. To some theorists, however, it is a field that encompasses various media, not just mass media. According to McLuhan’s aphorism, for example, media is anything that mediates interaction (Genosko, 2005). Whether it is human artifacts or technologies, so long as they can provide that channel for interaction, they are media. This paper looks at the history of the study of media and communications over the last century, and the theoretical approaches that have been employed to explain this development. The History of the study of Media and Communications Most people have an implicit understanding of how humans have always interacted with each other and the world. Nevertheless, very few people recognize the fact that the development of communication has been a process. It is something that has taken place within periods, and effected by different events. For instance, before the development of the printing press, media studies and communications were quite slow. With the invention, however, there was a robust into the formal studies of these disciplines. Over the last century, media has played a major role in the political sphere. For example, over the Kosovo atrocities, the media played a significant focus for the revolution. In Eastern Europe, the media has been the major weapon in the transition to liberal politics. In the postmodern world, the social media networking has completely broken down the conventional forms of communications. These developments have however taken place in stages and subjected to different theoretical approaches. Marxism: Ideology and Political Economy Marxism is a theory hypothesized by Karl Marx to describe mainly the interaction between the superstructure and the economic base. Marx maintained that the dominant class controlled the means of production (Strinati, 2004). For this reason, he believed that the media served no other purpose other than the ideological interests of the capitalists. Because they are the dominant class, it only follows that the mass media will reflect their interests. He further believed that the capitalists were using economic and political dominance to manipulate the contents of the media (Hill & Fenner, 2010). Whatever came out from the media was the dissemination of information. Marx ended up concluding that the ideas of the dominant class are the dominant intellectual force, and consequently the ruling ideas. This means that whoever controls the material production also controls the mental production. Hence, the capitalists control the masses by their ideas. It is this domination of ideas that blinds the masses from realizing that they are being oppressed, rather it encourages them to endure the inequalities (Lawson et al., 2000). From this view of Karl Marx, one clear factor that emerges is the political economy of the media. In reality, the dominant class controls the contents of the media. Equally, the political economy is observed from the manner in which the various media compete for audience. The media is also seen as serving the interests of the conglomerates. It is an instrument of dominance. In other words, the media is vividly marked with capitalism (Littlehohn & Foss, 2008). Marx’s ideas were mainly taken up by Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman. These two believed that the American media is concentrated on ownership, and advertising as its major income. They also claim that media personalities rely too much on legitimate sources, therefore disseminating information. In fact, although the dominant class exercise their influence of the media by force, they cunningly express it by obtaining the majority consent (Mills & Barlow, 2014). Therefore, the media plays a major function in mounting public compliance. Feminism and Queer Theory Basically, feminism and queer theory address media representation of gender to the socially constructed nature. They look at how media has portrayed such issues as sexuality, race and class, and how they impact on media studies. Queer theory focuses mainly on the sexual acts and identities that are classified as deviant (Sullivan, 2003). It also looks at the relations of sexes, genders and desires, and the ambiguity that exists in the society. Thus, it explores the mismatches between the cultural and sexual identifications (Weed & Schor, 1997). On the other hand, feminism challenges the notion that gender forms the essential self. It further deals with the issue of gender inequality, particular the social role of women in the society (Hooks, 2000). Both of these hypotheses have great impact on the media. Many science fictions, novels, music, and films have focussed on the prevailing challenges of the categorized aspects in their socially constructed ambiguities. In fact, many have challenged the cultural notions of sexual and gender ideologies that associate some acts and identities as normal and others as deviant. The new media therefore attempts to address some of these issues by shifting the imbalanced notions of cultural constructions to one that is indiscriminative (Thornham, 2007). Structuralism and Poststructuralism Structuralism is a hypothesis that determines the understanding of human culture by looking at the structures, particularly structural linguistics (Hawkes, 1997). It postulates that texts should be read within logical and scientific formula by considering the underlying structures. Generally, this theory focuses more on the object itself than what produces it. The human person is just another element on the premise. For this reason, many people have criticized it for neglecting the individual that produces the object (Kurzweil, 1996). On the other hand, post-structuralism is an intellectual movement that emphasizes on the complexity of humans, and the inability to entirely escape the structures when studying them. According to poststructuralists, there is no single meaning for a literary text. Every text is perceived by every reader differently. In fact, every person creates his/her meaning and purpose to every text (Peters & Burbules, 2004). Further, poststructuralists maintain that the reader is the primary signifier of every subject. Hence, what comes out of the reader maybe a destabilized meaning. This is because every reader brings into the text his own cultural norms and other relative factors. Thus, according to these theorists, the content of the media is not just destabilized, but it also presents a different meaning and purpose to the readers. Therefore, the media text should be understood by looking at the cultural norms and other relative factors (Bennett et al., 2005). Subculture and Deviancy Theory Subculture and deviancy theory is a hypothesis that argues that there are certain cultures that have numerous values and patterns that easily encourage crime and violence (Williams, 2011). Hence, to control crime and violence, the society must control certain attitudes that are conducive for deviance (Fischer, 1995). A deviant subculture basically refers to the various values and norms that favour criminal activities, and which are not shared by the majority. Most of these subcultures develop as a result of frustration or lack of community. The media plays a major role in understanding these patterns and attitudes in the society. Essentially, what people know about subcultures is primarily that which has been presented by the media (Delaney & Madigan, 2009). Postmodernism and Beyond Postmodernism has greatly impacted on the study of media and communications. It simply refers to that which came after modernism. Thus, to understand this term, it is important to first understand modernism. Concisely, modernism is a historical period between 1750 and 1970. Within this time, there were major global changes, particularly the surfacing of global powers. As such, it was characterized by conflicts and problem of the transition from pre-modernism to modernism. In the UK, this transition occurred a bit earlier compared to the other states in Europe and beyond. In fact, by 1960, media studies and communications were already developed in the country. In the U.S, major developments in these fields occurred in the 1970s, mostly with the founding of the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism (ASCJ) in 1971. Postmodernism therefore describes that period after modernism. In fact, it has been described as the information society, due to the advance communication format used in this era (Jameson, 1991). Media communications today aim to reach their audience from all walks of life. In effect, the messaging format is packaged in such away as to reach all influential audiences. There are new technologies, new communication methods, more creative thinking, and proper marketing strategies to reach the target audience. Concisely, the study of media and communications in the postmodern world has largely been progressed and developed by tremendous revolution in the emerging technologies, internet-based systems and mobile phones (Delanty, 2005). Conclusion Although most people have an implicit understanding of how humans have always interacted with each other and the world over the years, very few of them recognize the fact that the development of communication has been a process. It is something that has taken place within periods, and effected by different events. The study of media and communications has played a central role in understanding the developments in this field, and in correcting the biases in the various media. 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