Defense Date

10-30-2018

Graduation Date

Fall 12-21-2018

Availability

One-year Embargo

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

PhD

Department

Communication and Rhetorical Studies

School

McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Committee Chair

Calvin L. Troup

Committee Member

Richard H. Thames

Committee Member

Janie Harden Fritz

Keywords

McLuhan, Marshall McLuhan, subjectivity, discarnation, modernity

Abstract

This project presents Marshall McLuhan’s work as an explication of discarnate subjectivity in mediated environments, with special focus on the consequences of technological environments in society. The first and second chapters focus on McLuhan’s ground, sensibilities, and practice to shed light on his intricate discussions of social perceptions emerging in modern times—i.e., communal awareness propels perceptual and cultural shifts. The third chapter attends to people’s perceptual compass, or their ability to interpret the world around them. Chapter four considers some of the phenomenological aspects of McLuhan’s probes. The ideas show disconnects between time and space that contribute to discarnation in everyday life. Chapter five showcases ways the Incarnate represents a hermeneutic inquiry into media omnipresence in the social forum. Ultimately, in the final chapter, I show that McLuhan’s well-known phrase “the medium is the message,” as I will maintain, bypasses popular culture’s surface-level assumptions about media and leads us instead to the heart of McLuhan’s work, which is the notion that discarnation is a consequence of—and directly linked to—modern subjectivity.

Language

English

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