Media Studies In Context Of Post-modernity

Among so many scholars of the Birmingham School, David ? Morley is not the most outstanding and talented one, but still has very important research value.With interdisciplinary academic background of economics, sociology, communication and active thinking, David Morley's research spans both micro-practices of media consumption and macro questions such as the role of media technologies in constituting the'electronic landscapes'within which we live. His research has addressed questions of media consumption, especially in relation to broadcast television and, more recently, the uses of a variety of'new'communications technologies such as the mobile phone. His interests are focused on the role of these technologies in articulating the public and private spheres, and he has done extensive ethnographic work in this field addressing both the functional and symbolic dimensions of communications technologies. He has also works on questions of cultural theory and globalization and has focused on how to develop a non-Eurocentric media studies, within a cultural studies framework. Given his interdisciplinary approach, his work spans the fields of cultural geography and media anthropology and has been concerned with the role of media technologies in the construction of communities at different scales, in the context of processes of de/re-territorialization, and in the re-constitution of boundaries and techno-regions. Having explored questions of'newness'in relation to a variety of media in his last book, his most recent research attempts to re-articulate the study of virtual communications with that of material forms of transportation, so as to better theorize the varieties of mobility (and stasis) which characterize the contemporary world.In short, David Morley's contribution to expanding new research perspective and providing new research ideas for the media and cultural studies has such great academic value which cannot be underestimated.This article attempts to make a comprehensive and systematic analysis and research to David Morley's theories, methodology and practical studies in the field of media and cultural studies, within an extensive interdisciplinary theoretical framework, by integrating most of his theories, ideas and studying results, and using consistent research methods and written styles throughout the whole text of various chapters, so as to fill the academic blank of this field. Besides, this article tries to learn from David Morley to provide valuable research ideas and methodology for the development of media theory and practical study in China, and to address the analysis model for reference to solve some real issues coming up during China's modernization.In introduction, this article made a considerable retrospective of David Morley's life, in order to fully understand the origin, source and development of his academic ideas and theory for discussion and appreciation.Considering David Morley's growing experiences, education and participation in social activities, as well as his academic research, this article carried out a comprehensive analysis and in-depth understanding of Morley's research interests and ideas development, so as to better understand the opinion and value of David Morley's media and cultural theory. In the first chapter, this article took an in-depth study into the origin and sources of David Morley's media and cultural theory, incorporated with the specific social background as the generating context. By considering the events and ideas which has had significant impact on media culture, a variety of real issues in social development could be studied in a dynamic vision.The second chapter made a fully discuss around David Morley's several well-known practical audience studies, including the'Nationwide'study,'family television'study, and'the household use of information and communication'study. In this chapter, Morley's audience studies is innovatively placed in a much longer historical perspective in order not only to make retrospect on but also to systematically analyze the paradigms of audience studies, so as to find the internal logic structure and further comprehensive evaluation and analysis. Moreover, this chapter tries to show the direction of the development of Morley's audience theory flows and revaluate his ethnographic methodology.The third chapter is a comprehensive and systematical research on David Morley's ideas and theory of political communication, which is a very important part of his media theory and cannot been ignored by the academic field of media and communication research. With rich content, profound meaning and great realistic significance, Morley's political communication theory integrated extensive interdisciplinary studies and theories, such as cultural geography, psychology, political economics and so on, worthwhile for scholars in different academic areas to study and discuss, communication, cross-cultural study, post-modern colonialism, e.g. In this chapter, I attempt to place Morley's political communication theory in a innovative spatial perspective of post-modern geography constructed by global media, so as to find the internal logic structure, and then further comprehensive evaluation and analysis, trying to make clear Morley's research ideas and innovative opinion by integrating Morley's micro-practices of household media consumption and macro questions such as the role of mass media technologies in constituting the'electronic landscapes'within which we live and our'new'national identity .The forth Chapter focuses on the new perspective and new points of David Morley's media studies which is his focus research during the 21st century. We now live in the world filled with a variety of new technologies. Morley proposed to go beyond the historical tradition of placing TV as the focus of the media to discuss the contemporary significance of the new technology. He established a'non-center'research mode to explore how the whole'media cluster'integrate into our daily life. David Morley stressed to argue material and symbolic significance of media technology and its future development with the long history perspective, especially how the traditional culture incorporated with the new media forms. During this period, Morley appeared to take interests in technology anthropology and tried to discuss a lot of issues interactive with the reality of our society, which seem loose, but the center is always around the'home', family experiences, thus to the relation between the tradition and the modernity. Although Morley's media theory of technology study hasn't got enough attention in academic circles at home and abroad, however, in my opinion, his theory is very innovative, full of wisdom and great academic value for our analysis of the new media technology.The concern of Chapter five is an comparative study between David Morley's media theory and the media study in China, as well as the impact and inspiration of his media theory on the development of that in China. I mainly address from two aspects of theory and practice. From the theoretical point of view, firstly, his opinion about cross-cultural transplantation of the cultural study theory has important instructive reflections on Chinese scholars surging into the emerging boom of blindly'borrowing'Western theories to solve the domestic issues in China straightly untouched. His interdisciplinary research perspective and methodology of pragmatism as well as research practice provided theoretical and practical reference to the academic development of media studies in China. In the practical level, Morley proposed the point of view that'popular culture is politics', demonstrating the legitimacy and reasonability of media culture, illustrating the value of media culture, offering the theoretical motion for the Chinese media researchers to get away from the politics and go into the practice in the real world. Morley's practical audience studies provide evidence to question the audience rating. In the era of'content is king', what kind of TV show would been fond of by the audience cannot been told by a few statistics alone. With its unique cultural advantages, ethnographic would become an important empirical method of audience study in the future. Morley's opinion about how to deal with the hegemony of Western culture in the context of globalization also benefits us. In the dynamic trend of globalization, it is much more feasible and effective to take a positive and innovative position to reshape our own culture, rather than'closing the door'in the name of defending our national culture. Finally, as a professional educator, Morley has unique observations and thinking of the development of Media and Cultural Studies as Discipline. In the current, Chinese colleges and universities rush into building institutions of culture studies. Morley gave some advices referring to his own interdisciplinary study experience and academic career that would inspire us a lot.