Essay Topic

Out of all the lectures, one particular theory has stuck with me: Marshall McLuhan's "the medium is the message". McLuhan proposed that the media itself, not the content it carries, should be the focus of study.
I think I will particularly look at how his theories relate to societies current issues with media ie. is violence on television affecting children etc.

1.
Marshall McLuhan : cosmic media / Janine Marchessault. Author: Marchessault, Janine.Publication: London ; Thousand Oaks, Calif. : SAGE, 2005.
There is a chapter in this titled "Murder by television" which would be helpful in deconstructing his theory on how it does not matter if television broadcasts children's shows or violent programming, the effect of television on society would be identical. ** This article also includes some criticism of McLuhan - important to gather more than one view on the topic**


Title:
McLuhan: pro & con / edited and with an introd. by Raymond Rosenthal.
Author:
Rosenthal, Raymond B.
Publication:
Baltimore,Md. : Penguin, 1969,c1968.
Description:
308 p ; 21 cm.
Subjects:
McLuhan, Marshall, 1911-. Mass media -- Psychological aspects.
------As the name suggests, this would be important in gathering the pros and cons of McLuhans argument.

3.
Title:
Understanding Media [electronic resource]
Author:
Mcluhan, Marshall
Edition:
2nd.
Publication:
Hoboken : Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2001.
Description:
399 p.
Notes:
Electronic reproduction
**McLuhan's actual text where he explains his theory on the 'medium and the message'.