Centre for Research in Reasoning, Argumentation & Rhetoric along with the PhD in Argumentation Studies at the University of Windsor invite you to a talk by
Michael Darroch
Argumentation Studies Faculty
““Codifications of Reality”: Interdisciplinary Origins of Early New Media Research in Canada”
Abstract: The Culture and Communications Seminar (1953-55) at the University of Toronto, led by faculty from five disciplines, was an attempt to bridge disciplinary divisions at the outset of new fields of study in media and communication that were taking root in universities in the post-war period. Chaired by Marshall McLuhan in close collaboration with anthropologist Edmund Carpenter and town planner Jaqueline Tyrwhitt, the seminar drew upon Harold Innis’ thesis of media bias and Sigfried Giedion’s studies of the “anonymous history” of everyday objects and cultural phenomena. Through experiments in media use and perceptions of the changing urban environment, students and faculty drew the conclusion that “each communication channel codifies reality differently and thereby influences, to a surprising degree, the content of the message communicated” (Carpenter & McLuhan 1956: 49). In my talk, I will trace the generation of this argument through the experimental work of the group’s faculty and students, an early foray into new media research and research-creation practices in Canada.
Friday, February 8, 2019
3:00 pm
Chrysler Hall North, 1163
All are welcome