Main entry:

Peters, John Durham, author.

Title & Author:

The marvelous clouds : toward a philosophy of elemental media. / John Durham Peters.

Edition:

Paperback edition.

Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2016.
©2015

Description:

410 pages ; 23 cm

Notes:
Originally published in hardback 2015.
Introduction: in medias res -- Understanding media -- Of cetaceans and ships, or, the moorings of our being -- The fire sermon -- Lights in the firmament: sky media I (chronos) -- The times and the seasons: sky media II (kairos) -- The face and the book (inscription media) -- God and google -- Conclusion: the sabbath of meaning -- Appendix: nonsimultaneity in cetacean communication.

Summary:

Peters defines media expansively as elements that compose the human world. Drawing from ideas implicit in media philosophy, Peters argues that media are more than carriers of messages: they are the very infrastructures combining nature and culture that allow human life to thrive. Through an encyclopedic array of examples from the oceans to the skies, The Marvelous Clouds reveals the long prehistory of so-called new media. Digital media, Peters argues, are an extension of early practices tied to the establishment of civilization such as mastering fire, building calendars, reading the stars, creating language, and establishing religions. New media do not take us into uncharted waters, but rather confront us with the deepest and oldest questions of society and ecology: how to manage the relations people have with themselves, others, and the natural world.

ISBN:

022642135X
9780226421353

Subject:

Communication Philosophy.
Written communication.
Internet.
Communication écrite.
Media Studies.

Holdings:

Location: Library main 293562
Call No.: BIB 238663
Status: Available