The module charts the period of intensive developments in new communication technologies from the latter part of the nineteenth century through to the inter-war years and considers the impact of these new mass media on social and cultural life in Britain from the 1860s through to the present day. From the emergence of new forms of print culture, through the impact of radio, cinema, television to the mass production and distribution of recorded music, the course in particular explores the role of these new media in shaping distinctive forms of mass culture. A central ambition of the course is to historically chart the formation and development of these forms of mass culture and also to reflect upon the public debates associated with their emergence. The course is framed by a concern to grasp the importance of the modern mass media at a point when new technological developments in the means of communication are signalling its dissolution.
- Module Supervisor: Sean Nixon