Making Media Theory is about the study, practice, and hands-on design of media theory. It looks at experimental research methods and engages in media analysis, inviting readers to respond to and shape the materiality of media while carefully considering the implications of living in a technoculture. The author walks readers through the creation of digital objects to think with, where critical design practices serve as tools for exploring social and philosophical issues related to technological being and becoming.

"Making Media Theory is an investigation and demonstration of hands-on approaches to the study and practice of Media Theory"--

From an established author with a growing international profile in media studies, Media/Theory is an accessible yet challenging guide to ways of thinking about media and communications in modern life. Shaun Moores draws on ideas from a range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, and expertly connects the analysis of media and communications with key themes in contemporary social theory. Examining core issues of time and space, Moores also examines matters of interactions, signification and identity, and argues that media studies is bound up in the wider processes of the modern world and not just about studying the media. This book makes a distinctive contribution towards rethinking the shape and direction of media studies today, and for students at advanced undergraduate or postgraduate level.

Understanding Media Theory, 2nd Edition is a fully revised and up-to-date resource for students and researchers. It keeps the approachable style of the original, by introducing students to media theory, and examining the key areas of debates in context, while also explaining how to apply it. Updated to account for the new technology and theory that has presented itself in the last decade, the author seeks to emphasize the importance of using theory not only to make sense of the role of media in society but also to understand particular aspects of mass communication.

What does the Frankfurt School have to say about the creative industries? Does the spread of Google prove we now live in an information society? How is Madonna an example of postmodernism? How new is new media? Does the power of Facebook mean we're all media makers now? This groundbreaking volume – part reader, part textbook - helps you to engage thoroughly with some of the major voices that have come to define the landscape of theory in media studies, from the public sphere to postmodernism, from mass communication theory to media effects, from production to reception and beyond. But much more than this, by providing assistance and questions directly alongside the readings, it crucially helps you develop the skills necessary to become a critical, informed and analytical reader. Each reading is supported on the facing page by author annotations which provide comments, dissect the arguments, explain key ideas and terminology, make references to other relevant material, and pose questions that emerge from the text. Key features: Opening chapters: ‘What is theory?’ and ‘What is reading?’ bring alive the importance of both as key parts of media scholarship Pre-reading: substantial Introductory sections set each text and its author in context and show the relevance of the reading to contemporary culture Post-reading: Reflection sections summarise each reading’s key points and suggests further areas to explore and think about 4 types of annotations help you engage with the reading – context, content, structure, and writing style .... as well as questions to provoke further thought Split into 4 sections – Reading theory, Key thinkers and schools, Approaches and Media Theory in context New to the second edition: New chapters on New Media, and Audiences as Producers Reading Media Theory will assist you in developing close-reading and analytic skills. It will also increase your ability to outline key theories and debates, assess different case studies critically, link theoretical approaches to a particular historical context, and to structure and present an argument. As such, it will be essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of media studies, cultural studies, communication studies, the sociology of the media, popular culture and other related subjects.

Taking a unique approach to the study of mass communication and cultural studies, MediaMaking is a volume that presents the current knowledge about the relationship between media, culture, and society. What sets this volume apart from competing texts is the approach taken and the distinguished scholarship. Rather than examining each major medium separately (newspapers, books, magazines, radio, television, film), the authors contend that mass communication cannot be studied apart from the other institutions in society and the other dimensions of social life-each is shaping and defining the other. They hold that media can only be understood in relation to their context-institutional, economic, social, cultural, and historical. As such, this book explores the variety of ways in which the media are involved in our social lives. The authors explore the different relationships between the media and the systems of social value and social differences that organize power in contemporary society. They examine how the media are reproduced and consumed and what they produce in turn. Theoretically and analytically organized with sections on media′s relation to behavior, politics, media effects, the public, globalization, organizations, meaning , and ideology, this text offers students a more comprehensive understanding of the nature of media communication processes-an absolutely necessary part of understanding contemporary life.

Key Themes is a critical introduction to key theories of media for undergraduate students.