Mapping Media Ecology: Introduction to the Field(4 Understanding Media Ecology)

Until now, the academic foundations of media ecology have been passed down primarily in the form of edited volumes, often by students of Neil Postman, or are limited to a focus on Marshall McLuhan and/or Postman or some other individual important to the field. Those volumes are invaluable in pointing to key ideas in the field; they provide an important and informed account of the fundamentals of media ecology as set forth at the field’s inception. Yet there is more to the story. Offering an accessible introduction, and written from the perspective of a «second generation» scholar, this single-authored work provides a unified, systematic framework for the study of media ecology. It identifies the key themes, processes, and figures in media ecology that have coalesced over the last few decades and presents an elegant schema with which to engage future exploration of the role of media in shaping culture and consciousness. Dennis D. Cali offers a survey of a field as consequential as it is fascinating. Designed to be used primarily in media and communication courses, the book’s goal is to hone insight into the role of media in society and to extend the understanding of the themes, processes, and interactions of media ecology to an ever-broader intellectual community.

Table of Contents:
Foreword – Preface – Section One: Foundational Questions – What Is Media Ecology? – What Are the Primary Themes of Media Ecology? – What Are the Margins of Media Ecology? – Section Two: Canonical Figures – Marshall McLuhan—Canada’s and the Field’s Intellectual Comet – Walter J. Ong: Voice of Consciousness in Orality-Literacy – Jacques Ellul: Prophet of La Technique – Section Three: Orality-Literacy Studies – Orality-Literacy Studies – Section Four: Technology Studies – Technology Studies – Section Five: Culture Studies – Culture Studies – Section Six: Bias Studies – Bias Studies – Section Seven: Language Studies – Language Studies – Section Eight: “Doing” Media Ecology – Doing Media Ecology – Index.

About the Author :
Dennis D. Cali (Ph.D., Louisiana State University) is Professor and Chair of the Communication Department at the University of Texas at Tyler, where he has been awarded the President’s Scholarly Achievement Award. He has authored or edited two other books, and his research appears in book chapters and in journals including China Media Research, Critical Studies in Media Communication, Explorations in Media Ecology, and the Journal of Mass Media Ethics, among others.

Review :
[...] this work would do very well as something a teacher could use to supplement a series of lectures or other instruction. The student could use this book as a kind of handbook in which to look up various materials or to follow the rather substantial reference list in each chapter where Cali provides the requisite reading lists for the people whom he discusses. (Paul A. Soukup, Communication Research Trends Vol.37 No.2 2018)