This book examines the implications of new communication technologies in the light of the most recent work in social and cultural theory. Poster evaluates critically the concepts of media and technology in various traditions of cultural theory, with the aim of rethinking the relations of humans to machines. He also examines theories of postmodernity in relation to the new media and the debate over multiculturalism. He argues that new developments in electronic media, such as the Internet and Virtual Reality, may so alter our habits of communication and so deeply reposition our identities that the designation "a second media age" is justified. Poster assesses the contributions of theorists such as Baudrillard, Lyotard, Habermas, Haraway and Guattari. He also develops further his own distinctive and original approach, building on his previous book The Mode of Information. Finally, Poster analyzes various cultural materials in the light of his approach: Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, Richard Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung, and the televised reporting of the Gulf War.
The Second Media Age will be essential reading for students in media studies, cultural studies, sociology and social theory.