Dr John Postill

The elements of media: a field theoretical exploration

Abstract to media anthropology workshop
Halle, 3 October 2007
Workshop 05
Standardisation or fragmentation of the world? Local media cultures and the constitution of knowledge
Workshop-Leitung: Dr. Cora Bender (Corabender(at)aol.com)

Dr John Postill, Sheffield Hallam University, UK

Abstract

This paper ties together two strands of media anthropological research: the study of fields of media production on the one hand (Dornfeld, Pedelty, Moeran), and the circulation of discrete media elements such as radio sets or 'small genres' on the other (Spitulnik, Postill). The ethnographic case study is drawn from my own recent research on the field of Internet activism in a Kuala Lumpur suburb (Malaysia). I analyse the ways in which some local residents act as self-appointed gatekeepers to prevent certain small genres (e.g. emailed urban legends, hoaxes, viruses, etc) from entering the local cyberspace while spreading items that they regard as being beneficial to the 'community'. This case study demonstrates the need to modify Bourdieus field theory in order to understand the ways in which influential field agents select and circulate media elements, in so doing contributing to the fields transformation over time.

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