Marshall McLuhan

Marshall McLuhan

Herbert Marshall McLuhan, CC (July 21, 1911 – December 31, 1980) was a Canadian philosopher of communication theory. His work is viewed as one of the cornerstones of the study of media theory, as well as having practical applications in the advertising and television industries.

McLuhan is known for coining the expressions the medium is the message and the global village, and for predicting the World Wide Web almost thirty years before it was invented. Although he was a fixture in media discourse in the late 1960s, his influence began to wane in the early 1970s. In the years after his death, he would continue to be a controversial figure in academic circles. With the arrival of the internet, however, there was renewed interest in his work and perspective.

Read more about Marshall McLuhan:  Life and Career, Major Works, Legacy

Famous quotes by marshall mcluhan:

    It is the weak and confused who worship the pseudosimplicities of brutal directness.
    Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980)

    Ideally, advertising aims at the goal of a programmed harmony among all human impulses and aspirations and endeavors. Using handicraft methods, it stretches out toward the ultimate electronic goal of a collective consciousness.
    Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980)

    Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media by which men communicate than by the content of the communication.
    Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980)

    Persons grouped around a fire or candle for warmth or light are less able to pursue independent thoughts, or even tasks, than people supplied with electric light. In the same way, the social and educational patterns latent in automation are those of self- employment and artistic autonomy.
    Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980)

    The car has become the carapace, the protective and aggressive shell, of urban and suburban man.
    Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980)