Brandeis Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (BOLLI)

SOC2-5b-Mon1

Yi He

This course will take place virtually on Zoom. Participation in this course requires a device (ideally a computer or tablet, rather than a cell phone) with a camera and microphone in good working order and basic familiarity with using Zoom and accessing email.

April 21 - May 19

In this course, we will cover some of the main ideas from the work of Marshall McLuhan—cultural icon, English professor, and author of the provocative and culturally influential Understanding Media (1964). Writing at the time of radio, TV, and analogue phones, McLuhan’s ideas nevertheless still can help us to understand our media environment today: the internet, computers, smartphones, and calling apps. Each week (except the first and last) will be devoted to a particular idea of McLuhan’s, building up to exploring one of his most quoted and impactful, but nevertheless complex and unwieldy ideas, “the medium is the message.” We’ll focus on how McLuhan perceived the transition from predominantly using spoken words (orality) to predominantly using written words (literacy), and how he anticipated, ironically, a transition back to orality with the introduction of electronic media. We’ll consider where we’re headed today: how our current media might lead us deeper into the magical, reverberating world of sounds, or into another realm altogether.  Students will learn more about a culturally and intellectually influential figure, understand his most acclaimed works, and gain the ability to use his ideas in a way that will help them  interpret and perceive some consequences of how they communicate today. Active participation is a key part of this journey: Students will generate questions for class discussion in weeks 2-4 and choose a project option (based on a selection of new media object) to present on, in teams for week five. 

Roughly the same amount of lecture and discussion.

I will post the relevant excerpts from The Gutenberg Galaxy by Marshall McLuhan by email and/or on the course site. However, students can buy this book if they want because we will be using it a lot. 

Any additional materials (mainly from Understanding Media by Marshall McLuhan) will be emailed and/or posted on the site.

1.5-2 hours/week.

Students will complete readings before each class, and assigned students will generate discussion questions for certain classes. Students will also form teams at the end of the fourth session, based upon the new media object assignment they select, in order to complete the assignment and present it together in the last class. 

Yi He is a PhD candidate in the English department at Brandeis University. She is finishing her dissertation on the New England Puritans, their interest in angels, and their communications media; it is a nontraditional dissertation that features an online course on the Puritans’ media (puritanmediacourse.com) as well as a traditional scholarly essay and a pedagogical essay. She has taught two first-year writing seminars on outer space themes and an English course on varied voices from early New England. At Brandeis, she’s worked as a writing tutor and particularly enjoys being in the Brandeis Graduate Outdoors Club.