Theorising Media and Practice: (4 Anthropology of Media)

Although practice theory has been a mainstay of social theory for nearly three decades, so far it has had very limited impact on media studies. This book draws on the work of practice theorists such as Wittgenstein, Foucault, Bourdieu, Barth and Schatzki and rethinks the study of media from the perspective of practice theory. Drawing on ethnographic case studies from places such as Zambia, India, Hong Kong, the United States, Britain, Norway and Denmark, the contributors address a number of important themes: media as practice; the interlinkage between media, culture and practice; the contextual study of media practices; and new practices of digital production. Collectively, these chapters make a strong case for the importance of theorising the relationship between media and practice and thereby adding practice theory as a new strand to the study of anthropology of media.

Table of Contents:
List of Figures Preface Introduction: Theorising Media and Practice John Postill PART I: MEDIA AS PRACTICE Chapter 1. Theorising Media as Practice Nick Couldry Chapter 2. What Do We Mean by ‘Media Practices’? Mark Hobart Chapter 3. Media as Practice: A Brief Exchange Nick Couldry and Mark Hobart PART II: MEDIA, CULTURE AND PRACTICE Chapter 4. From Fan Practice to Mediated Moments: The Value of Practice Theory in the Understanding of Media Audiences S. Elizabeth Bird Chapter 5. Thick Context, Deep Epistemology: A Meditation on Wide-Angle Lenses on Media, Knowledge Production and the Concept of Culture Debra Spitulnik Chapter 6. ‘But It Is My Habit to Read the Times’: Metaculture and Practice in the Reading of Indian Newspapers Mark A. Peterson Chapter 7. Embedded/Embedding Media Practices and Cultural Production Ursula Rao PART III: MEDIA PRACTICES IN CONTEXT Chapter 8. Communication, Cognition and Usage: Epistemological Considerations of Media Practices and Processes Guido Ipsen Chapter 9. Language-games, In/dividuals and Media Uses: What a Practice Perspective Should Imply for Media Studies Jo Helle-Valle Chapter 10. A Barthian Approach to Practice and Media: Internet Engagements among Teleworkers in Rural Denmark Jens Kjaerulff Chapter 11. Can Practice Theory Inspire Studies of ICTs in Everyday Life? Toke H. Christensen and Inge Røpke PART IV: NEW MEDIA PRODUCTION PRACTICES Chapter 12. Playful Practices: Theorising ‘New Media’ Cultural Production Elisenda Ardèvol, Antoni Roig, Gemma San Cornelio, Ruth Pagès and Pau Alsina Chapter 13. Theorising the Practices of Free Software: The Movement Christopher Kelty 1 Chapter 14. Cinematography and Camera Crew: Practice, Process and Procedure Cathy Greenhalgh Notes on Contributors Index List of Figures

About the Author :
Birgit Bräuchler is Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen. She is author of Cyberidentities at War (2013, Berghahn), The Cultural Dimension of Peace (2015, Palgrave), editor of Reconciling Indonesia (2009, Routledge), co-editor of Theorising Media and Conflict (2020, Berghahn) with Philipp Budka and has published widely in peer-reviewed journals.

Review :
“This book is extremely thought provoking and makes an important contribution to current debates about the nature and scope of media ethnography. It includes the work of some of the most outstanding scholars working at the intersection of media studies and media ethnography, and many of the individual chapters make important contributions to the field.”  ·  Virginia Nightingale, University of Western Sydney “This is a worthy, potentially important book, very likely to have a substantial influence in the growing interdisciplinary fields of media studies and media anthropology. It is a well conceived and timely contribution to a set of ongoing conceptual debates and is successful in both representing those debates and participating in them. It deserves to be widely read.”  ·  Eric W. Rothenbuhler, Texas A&M University