Gane, N. (2005) Radical Post-humanism: Friedrich Kittler and the Primacy of Technology. Theory, Culture and Society, 22 ( 3). pp. 25-41. ISSN 0263-2764
Abstract
This article uses the work of Friedrich Kittler to address the ways in which media technologies underpin and structure the basis of ‘human’ existence and understanding. Kittler’s ‘media materialism’ is explored through four main influences: the information theory of Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver, the media analysis of Marshall McLuhan, the psychoanalytic theory of Jacques Lacan, and Michel Foucault’s work on power and discourse. These figures are used, in turn, to draw into question the materiality of information technology, and, following this, to develop a post-human approach to media analysis. The final section of this article considers the challenges such an approach poses to the humanistic bias of mainstream sociology and media studies.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Social Sciences (York) > Sociology (York) |
Depositing User: | York RAE Import |
Date Deposited: | 12 Feb 2009 10:04 |
Last Modified: | 12 Feb 2009 10:04 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0263276405053718 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Sage Publications |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/0263276405053718 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:7753 |