Routledge Deep Mediatization: Key Ideas in Media & Cultural Studies

Andreas Hepp takes an integrative look at one of the biggest questions in media and communications research: how digital media is changing society. Often, such questions are discussed in isolation, losing sight of the overarching context in which they are situated. Hepp has developed a theory of the re-figuration of society by digital media and their infrastructures, and provides an understanding of how profound today’s media-related changes are, not only for institutions, organizations and communities, but for the individual as well. Rooted in the latest research, this book does not stop at a description of media-related change; instead, it raises the normative challenge of what deep mediatization should look like so that it might just stimulate a 'good life' for all. Providing original and critical research, the book introduces deep mediatization to students of media and cultural studies, as well as neighboring disciplines like sociology, political science and other cognate disciplines. Review 'Andreas Hepp’s new book provides a profound and "deep" reflection on how digital technologies have penetrated all aspects of our daily lives. His critical reflections cover not just the mediatization of institutions and infrastructures, but also of social and symbolic interactions. Scaffolded by quantitative and qualitative evidence, his argument that we are ushered into a new era of ‘deep mediatization’ is very convincing. Invaluable reading for anyone grappling with a global information order.' José van Dijck, Distinguished University Professor of Media and Digital Societies, Utrecht University 'With previous work by Hepp, Couldry and others we witness an essential conceptualization of mediatization that helps us understand contemporary communication landscapes. With this new title, Hepp elaborates this framework in critical ways, reminding us that digital media more than channel our communication, but also create and reinforce new information, through our cultural practices, societal infrastructures, and institutional parameters. This is a powerful treatise, thoughtfully building on the most relevant and promising scholarship toward a positioning of communication theory that offers a significant critical argument on our most contemporary and concerning communication practices.' Karin Gwinn Wilkins, Dean, School of Communication, University of Miami 'Andreas Hepp has written a state-of-the-art, nuanced argument about the power of mediatization. Blending sociological sophistication and a critical eye, Hepp demonstrates the multiple and dynamics dimensions of mediatization. This book should be mandatory for media scholars grappling with how the media have transformed contemporary societies.' Silvio Waisbord, Professor, School of Media and Public Affairs, George Washington University 'With Deep Mediatization, Andreas Hepp gives us a way to slip beneath the choppy surface of contemporary media and to see currents of social change that are stronger, older, and longer-lasting than many of us have imagined. This is social oceanography at its finest.' Fred Tuner, Harry and Norman Chandler Professor of Communication at Stanford University About the Author Andreas Hepp is Professor for Media and Communications at the ZeMKI (Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research), University of Bremen, Germany.