Transmitting Culture

An examination of the difference between communication and transmission that stresses technologies and institutions long overlooked in the study of symbols and signs throughout the history of civilizations.

"Transmitting Culture" stresses the technologies and institutions long overlooked by philosophy and the human sciences in the study of symbols and signs throughout the history of civilizations. Ranging widely from the history of religion and the printing press to the French and industrial revolutions, from the role and place of authority to scientific inquiry, "Transmitting Culture" establishes a new approach to the cultural history of communication.

Foreword1. The Medium's Two BodiesThe Material DimensionThe Diachronic DimensionThe Political DimensionThe Mechanics of TransmissionCircumscribing a DisciplineOrganized Matter and Materialized OrganizationNetworks and TerritoriesChristianity's Mediology2. Crossroads or Double Helix?The Two LinesThe Tragedy of Transmission3. The Exact Science of AngelsA Venerable ProtomediologyGo-BetweensAngels, Present!Mediabolics4. Fault LinesThe Seismic ZoneInterdependenciesDemarcation5. Tool LinesEthnos contra TechnicsRetrograde ProgressMan's Proper Study6. Disciplinary ImperialismsThe Risks of "All-Socio"The Risks of "All-Bio"7. Ways of DoingDecenteringMaterializingDynamizingA Disciplinary ProvisoAgainst the Stream