Book description
Digital media are rapidly changing the world in which we live. Global
communications, mobile interfaces and Internet cultures are
re-configuring our everyday lives and experiences. To understand these
changes, a new theoretical imagination is needed, one that is informed
by a conceptual vocabulary that is able to cope with the daunting
complexity of the world today. This book draws on writings by leading
social and cultural theorists to assemble this vocabulary. It addresses
six key concepts that are pivotal for understanding the impact of new
media on contemporary society and culture: information, network,
interface, interactivity, archive and simulation. Each concept is
considered through a range of concrete examples to illustrate how they
might be developed and used as research tools. An inter-disciplinary
approach is taken that spans a number of fields, including sociology,
cultural studies, media studies and computer science. Digital media
are rapidly changing the world in which we live. Global communications,
mobile interfaces and Internet cultures are re-configuring our everyday
lives and experiences. To understand these changes, a new theoretical
imagination is needed, one that is informed by a conceptual vocabulary
that is able to cope with the daunting complexity of the world today.
This book draws on writings by leading social and cultural theorists to
assemble this vocabulary. It addresses six key concepts that are pivotal
for understanding the impact of new media on contemporary society and
culture: information, network, interface, interactivity, archive and
simulation. Each concept is considered through a range of concrete
examples to illustrate how they might be developed and used as research
tools. An inter-disciplinary approach is taken that spans a number of
fields, including sociology, cultural studies, media studies and
computer science.
