MASS COMMUNICATION THEORY: FOUNDATIONS, FERMENT, AND FUTURE, International
Edition, provides a comprehensive, historically based introduction to mass communication
theory.
Clearly written with examples, graphics, and other materials to illustrate key
theories, the text traces the emergence of two main bodies of mass communication
theory--social/behavioral and critical/cultural--and concludes with a discussion of how
these two traditions support the media literacy movement and might be combined to produce
a new theory of mediated communication.
The authors emphasize that media theories are human creations typically
intended to address specific problems or issues. MASS COMMUNICATION THEORY: FOUNDATIONS,
FERMENT, AND FUTURE, International Edition, helps students develop an understanding of
theory so they can make better use of media and play a role in the development of new
media industries.
Table of Contents
SECTION I: INTRODUCTION TO MASS COMMUNICATION THEORY.
1. Overview of Mass Communication Theory: Definition, Evaluation, and Understanding.
2. Evolution of Mass Communication Theory Through Four Eras.
SECTION II: THE FIRST ERA OF MEDIA THEORY: MASS SOCIETY AND MASS CULTURE.
3. The Emerging Media Industries and Mass Society Theory.
4. Propaganda and the Development of Media Theory.
5. Normative Theories.
SECTION III: FERMENT IN THE FIELD: FROM LIMITED-EFFECTS TO CRITICAL CULTURAL
THEORIES.
6. The Emergence of Limited-Effects Theory.
7. Focus on Functionalism and Children: Moving Beyond Limited Effects.
8. Critical And Cultural Theories Of Mass Communication Emerge.
SECTION IV: FROM ACTIVE-AUDIENCE TO MEANING-MAKING THEORIES: THE EMERGENCE OF
CONTEMPORARY MASS COMMUNICATION THEORY.
9.Uses, Reception, and Effects: Audience Theories.
10. The Role of Media in the Social World.
11. Meaning-Making in the Social World.
12. The Future of Media Theory and Research.
References.
Index.
480 pages, Paperback