Man Is The Subject Of Publishing

John B.Thompson(1940-),Professor of Sociology at Cambridge University,is one of the few sociological theorists whose research focuses on media and social development,modern culture,new communication technologies,and the publishing industry etc.He has a profound background in sociological theory and philosophy,and his major works have been translated into more than a dozen languages.As co-founder of Polity Press,a leading British academic publishing house,Thompson provides a valuable perspective on publishing research that cuts across internal and external group perceptions,and his scholarship in philosophy gives his media analysis a "human-centered" perspective.Thompson's research is extensive and establishes its own system.His early theoretical research reveals the extensive connection between media and society,which gives meaning to publishing as a discipline for academic research,while his later empirical research on publishing practice with the help of Bourdieu's "field" theory reveals the details of the operation mode of the publishing industry and its internal composition structure etc.Thompson's discussion of the digital revolution in publishing in the new era also provides guidance for theoretical research and practical development of publishing.Although his works are highly evaluated by scholars at home and abroad,some of Thompson's works have not yet been published in Chinese translation,some of the original works are not available in paperback collections in China,no monographs on the characters have been produced in academic circles,and there are still gaps in dissertations analyzed from the perspective of the discipline of communication.Therefore,this paper intends to take Thompson's overall theoretical system as the background,and use "publishing" as the anchor point to sort out and reconstruct Thompson's publishing thought.Starting from the history of Thompson's academic practice and his later attention to publishing research,this paper discusses Thompson's philosophical thinking on issues such as printing and publishing technology,combs through his analysis of the composition structure of actors in the traditional publishing field,their activity patterns and the dynamic relationship between them,and then grasps his thoughts about the digital revolution in publishing in the new era.Finally,Thompson's publishing thought is used to look at publishing practice and publishing research in the current period of social transformation.Thompson's discussion of publishing is interwoven with his interpretation of "the subjectivity of human being".He believes that both the production and reception sides of publishing are made up of dynamic people,so both publishing practice and publishing research need to be rooted in human life and carry a humanistic mission.As for the digital revolution in publishing,Thompson believes that academics and the industry should focus on the hidden changes in publishers' practices and the value of the intellectual property,rather than on the appearance of technological and product changes.