With books such as
Discourse Networks
and
Gramophone, Film, Typewriter
and the collection
Literature, Media, Information Systems
, Friedrich Kittler has established himself as one of the world's most influential media theorists. He is also one of the most controversial and misunderstood.
Kittler and the Medi
a offers students of media theory an introduction to Kittler's basic ideas. Following an introduction that situates Kittler's work against the tumultuous background of German 20th-century history (from the Second World War and the cultural upheaval of the late 1960s to reunification), the book provides succinct summaries of Kittler's early discourse-analytical work inspired by French post-structuralism, his media-related theorising and his most recent writings on cultural techniques and the notation systems of Ancient Greece.
This clear and engaging overview of a fascinating theorist will be welcomed by students and scholars alike of media, communication and cultural studies.