Wilbur Schramm and Noam Chomsky Meet Harold Innis: Media, Power, and Democracy

摘要

This book is organized around two questions: whether Harold A. Innis' work deserves acclaim in Canada, and why his work does not receive widespread recognition in the United States and beyond. The answers are presented in the form of an extended narrative interpretation, richly interspersed with quotes, of the works of Innis, Noam Chomsky, and Wilbur Schramm The book is organized in three parts. The first is an introduction to Innis' staples thesis and his writings on what later would be designated as medium theory. Part 2 compares the works of Schramm and Innis; and part 3 offers a similar comparison, relating Innis' work to Chomsky's work on media, propaganda, and democracy. Robert Babe concludes that "Innis remains relevant in warning us to always remain cognizant and to be critical of trends, pressures, and trajectories" (p. 247).