Uses of Television

Description

How does television function within society? Why have both its programmes and its audiences been so widely denigrated? Taking inspiration from Richard Hoggarts classic study The Uses of Literacy , John Hartleys new book is a lucid defence of the place of television in our lives, and of the usefulness of television studies. Hartley re-conceptualizes television as a transmodern medium, capable of reuniting government, education and media, and of creating a new kind of cultural teaching which facilitates communication across social and geographical boundaries. He provides a historical framework for the development of both television and television studies, his focus ranging from an analysis of the early documentary Housing Problems, to the much-overlooked cultural impact of the refrigerator.

"Well illustrated with examples, most of the British or European, the volume makes for one of the more thoughtful assessments of television's role and potential. For extensive collections supporting course work in international communication at the upper-division undergraduate level and above."-Choice, July/August '99