Through the “means”. Critique for a (communication) media theory

Authors

Keywords:

media studies, media philosophy, epistemology of communication, medium

Abstract

The text at hand is structured as a historical-conceptual study of “means” as a concept, contrasting it with similar terms, such as media and medium. After a brief etymological study, we analyze the specificities of the inherent relationality of that concept, illustrated by the preposition
“through” or “by means of”, in contrast to terms like prosthesis, sign and channel, often treated by Communication Studies as synonyms for “means”. Our goal here is not only to argue the pertinence of a media theory (or studies), but also to outline their particularities in the face of communicational, instrumental and semiotic approaches.

Author Biography

Maurício Liesen, Universidade Federal do Paraná

Professor Colaborador do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Comunicação da Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR) como bolsista do Programa Nacional de Pós-Doutorado (PNPD/CAPES). Doutor em Ciências da Comunicação pela Universidade de São Paulo (2014), mestre em Comunicação e Cultura pela Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (2010) e graduado em Comunicação Social pela Universidade Federal da Paraíba (2007). Entre 2014 e 2017, atuou como pesquisador e professor visitante no curso de graduação e mestrado em Ciências Europeias dos Media da Universidade de Potsdam, Alemanha. Em 2017, concluiu estágio pós-doutoral na Universidade de São Paulo sob os auspícios da Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP).

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Published

2020-03-24

How to Cite

Liesen, M. (2020). Through the “means”. Critique for a (communication) media theory. Galaxia, (43). Retrieved from https://revistas.pucsp.br/index.php/galaxia/article/view/40204

Issue

No. 43 (2020)

Section

Artigos | Articles

License

I cede the copyrights to publication of my article to Galaxia journal and will consult the journal’s scientific editor should I decide to republish it later in a book.