The Scholar As Steamshovel, or McLuhan and His (Cultural Studies) Critics

According to Brecht’s very apt advice, it’s not the good old days that we should be fascinated with, but rather the bad new ones. This resonates strongly with McLuhan’s sobering confession about the transformation engendered by what he calls electric media: “No one could be less enthusiastic about these radical changes than myself”. What I try to present in my paper are the possible results of applying such an attitude (one that is based on classic humanistic values) to the analysis of the contemporary global media/culture, paying special attention to the viewpoint provided by Cultural Studies.