• As digital media come to saturate more and more of our societies, what benefits and challenges do they bring?
• Who holds power in contemporary media industries, and do they have our best interests at heart?
• What role do media play in our cultural identities and the relations between communities?
• How much control do media users have over the role of platforms, algorithms and data in their lives?

Media increasingly dominate our social and cultural worlds, affecting issues of power, politics, knowledge, identity, and everyday life. But what are the implications of the mediatisation of contemporary life, and how should we make sense of it?

In this fully updated and revised edition of his bestselling textbook, Paul Hodkinson explores the social and cultural significance of media in the age of digital platforms. Encompassing media technologies, industries, texts and users, and combining coverage of classic theories with extensive new material on platforms, social media, datafication and more, this book will equip you to navigate the fast-moving field of media and communication studies. Media, Culture and Society provides an essential overview for students studying introductory media modules, as well as depth for those further into their media degree.

About the Author
Paul Hodkinson is a sociologist whose work is focused upon youth cultures, online communications and on the relationships between media and cultural identities. He has conducted extensive research on goth subculture and is author of Goth. Identity, Style and Subculture (2002, Oxford: Berg). He is also co-editor of Youth Cultures: Scenes, Subcultures and Tribes (2007, London: Routledge). He is currently researching young people's use of online communications - notably through social networking sites. He is based in the Department of Sociology at the University of Surrey. He joined the department of sociology in August 2003. He was previously Senior Lecturer in Media Studies at University College Northampton and prior to that, he studied at the University of Birmingham at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Reviews

This excellent book achieves the impressive task of reviewing a century of scholarship while remaining finely attuned to the latest developments - from TikTok to ChatGPT and beyond. A magnificent introduction to media and communication studies that should be a required textbook for anyone engaging with our field.

-- Axel Bruns
In his beautifully balanced and broad-ranging account of a fast-changing field, Paul Hodkinson has successfully brought together myriad perspectives with which to critically analyse today's media culture and media society, skilfully integrating theory from earlier times with the latest insights and problems. -- Sonia Livingstone



Book Information
ISBN 9781529796537
Author Paul Hodkinson
Format Paperback
Page Count 376
Imprint Sage Publications Ltd
Publisher Sage Publications Ltd
Weight(grams) 690g