Postman, Media Ecology, and Education: From Teaching as a Subversive Activity through Amusing Ourselves to Death to Technopoly

Abstract

This review essay traces the evolution of some of Postman's key claims about the media ecology of education from Teaching as a Subversive Activity (1969) through Amusing Ourselves to Death (1985) to Technopoly (1992). In the case of Teaching as a Subversive Activity, authorship of the claims is shared with Weingartner. Each of these books has played a challenging role in shaping my own approaches to teaching (and learning), first as a secondary school teacher and later as a college faculty member. As I see it, the importance of privileging human beings over our technological tools and authentic learning transactions among teachers and students over mediated information transfer is a central theme that Postman continued to explore throughout his life as a thinker, author, and teacher.

Keywords:

• Postman
• Media Ecology
• Education

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Thomas R. Flynn of Slippery Rock University for presenting an earlier version of this essay at the Eastern Communication Association Convention in 2007 when medical issues prevented her attendance, and the reviewers of Review of Communication for helpful and challenging editorial suggestions on an earlier version of this essay

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Susan Mallon Ross

Susan Mallon Ross is an assistant professor and the Gulf Coast Speaking Center Director in the Speech Communication Department at the University of Southern Mississippi