Theorising Media and Practice

Published by Berghahn Books 2010

Theorising Media and Practice

Edited by: Birgit Bräuchler and John Postill

Volume 4 in the series Anthropology of Media

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781845458546

Overview
Contents

About this book

Although practice theory has been a mainstay of social theory for nearly three decades, so far it has had very limited impact on media studies. This book draws on the work of practice theorists such as Wittgenstein, Foucault, Bourdieu, Barth and Schatzki and rethinks the study of media from the perspective of practice theory. Drawing on ethnographic case studies from places such as Zambia, India, Hong Kong, the United States, Britain, Norway and Denmark, the contributors address a number of important themes: media as practice; the interlinkage between media, culture and practice; the contextual study of media practices; and new practices of digital production. Collectively, these chapters make a strong case for the importance of theorising the relationship between media and practice and thereby adding practice theory as a new strand to the study of anthropology of media.

Author / Editor information

Birgit Bräuchler is Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen. She is author of Cyberidentities at War (2013, Berghahn), The Cultural Dimension of Peace (2015, Palgrave), editor of Reconciling Indonesia (2009, Routledge), co-editor of Theorising Media and Conflict (2020, Berghahn) with Philipp Budka and has published widely in peer-reviewed journals.

John Postill received his Ph.D. in anthropology from University College London. He is Senior Lecturer in Media at Sheffield Hallam University and the author of Media and Nation Building (Berghahn, 2006) and Localizing the Internet (Berghahn, forthcoming). He has published widely on the anthropology of media and is the founder of the EASA Media Anthropology Network.

Birgit Bräuchler is Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen. She is author of Cyberidentities at War (2013, Berghahn), The Cultural Dimension of Peace (2015, Palgrave), editor of Reconciling Indonesia (2009, Routledge), co-editor of Theorising Media and Conflict (2020, Berghahn) with Philipp Budka and has published widely in peer-reviewed journals.

Reviews

“This book is extremely thought provoking and makes an important contribution to current debates about the nature and scope of media ethnography. It includes the work of some of the most outstanding scholars working at the intersection of media studies and media ethnography, and many of the individual chapters make important contributions to the field.” · Virginia Nightingale, University of Western Sydney

“This is a worthy, potentially important book, very likely to have a substantial influence in the growing interdisciplinary fields of media studies and media anthropology. It is a well conceived and timely contribution to a set of ongoing conceptual debates and is successful in both representing those debates and participating in them. It deserves to be widely read.” · Eric W. Rothenbuhler, Texas A&M University

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
List of Figures Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Introduction: Theorising Media and Practice John Postill Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
PART 1 Media as Practice
CHAPTER 1 Theorising Media as Practice Nick Couldry Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	35
CHAPTER 2 What Do We Mean by ‘Media Practices’? Mark Hobart Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	55
CHAPTER 3 Media as Practice: A Brief Exchange Nick Couldry and Mark Hobart Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	77
PART II Media, Culture and Practice
CHAPTER 4 From Fan Practice to Mediated Moments: The Value of Practice Theory in the Understanding of Media Audiences S. Elizabeth Bird Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	85
CHAPTER 5 Thick Context, Deep Epistemology: A Meditation on Wide-Angle Lenses on Media, Knowledge Production and the Concept of Culture Debra Spitulnik Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	105
CHAPTER 6 ‘But It Is My Habit to Read the Times’: Metaculture and Practice in the Reading of Indian Newspapers Mark A. Peterson Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	127
CHAPTER 7 Embedded/Embedding Media Practices and Cultural Production Ursula Rao Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	147
PART III Media Practices in Context
Chapter 8 Communication, Cognition and Usage: Epistemological Considerations of Media Practices and Processes Guido Ipsen Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	171
CHAPTER 9 Language-games, In/dividuals and Media Uses: What a Practice Perspective Should Imply for Media Studies Jo Helle-Valle Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	191
CHAPTER 10 A Barthian Approach to Practice and Media: Internet Engagements among Teleworkers in Rural Denmark Jens Kjaerulff Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	213
CHAPTER 11 Can Practice Theory Inspire Studies of ICTs in Everyday Life? Toke H. Christensen and Inge Røpke Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	233
PART IV New Media Production Practices
CHAPTER 12 Playful Practices: Theorising ‘New Media’ Cultural Production Elisenda Ardèvol, Antoni Roig, Gemma San Cornelio, Ruth Pagès and Pau Alsina Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	259
CHAPTER 13 Theorising the Practices of Free Software: The Movement Christopher M. Kelty Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	281
CHAPTER 14 Cinematography and Camera Crew: Practice, Process and Procedure Cathy Greenhalgh Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	303
Notes on Contributors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	325
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	331

Language: English
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 352
Keywords: Media Studies; Theory and Methodology

eBook

Published: November 1, 2010
ISBN: 9781845458546