Harold Innis's Proto­Media Archaeology

Abstract

My presentation contributes to MAH by examining Harold Innis's unique 'civilizational' approach to media history in the context of contemporary debates around material culture. Innis's work ­­ which anticipated current debates by over 70 years ­­ offers a rich yet underemphasized set of conceptual and methodological tools for media and communication research in the 21st century. Three pillars of his approach are particularly relevant: (1) conceptual innovations around space and time, which inspire contemporary approaches that account for the materiality of digital culture and its global supply chains; (2) methodological nomadism, which encourages practice­based engagements with media and communication that engender media literacy rooted in both hard­ and software; (3) a formal approach to research and writing that demonstrates a generative rather than analytical bias, thus inspiring experimental research and writing.