Following the Progression of Technology And History
Following the Progression of Technology And History
From an almost common-sense point of view it is obvious that the phenomenon of television in American culture is multi-dimensional. Therefore, it cannot be fully understood by focusing on the act of viewing or audience activity in general, since this would preclude a consideration of the relation of individualized experiences to larger social norms and structures. Similarly, an exclusive focus on the history and structure of the institutions relevant for broadcasting--such as the major networks or the Federal Communications Commission--would preclude a consideration of the practices that surround television as a cultural phenomenon. However, most studies of television deal with one of its aspects in isolation, that is, only on one of the analytical levels mentioned above. More specifically, media histories have put their emphasis virtually exclusively on an institutional point of view. As O'Sullivan (1991, 60) points out, histories of British television tend to be more concerned with the inner workings of the broadcast institutions themselves, the BBC and ITV, their production policies and practices, their early and developing presence in the public world of post-war politics, culture and social affairs.
The same can be said of histories of American television. This understanding of history is described by Allen as 'naive empiricism' and by Fogelson as positivist history. It has an attitude of "neutral objectivity" and focusses on documents as evidence that represent historical truth. Alternative historical techniques and a new conception of the idea of documentation are therefore needed in media histories as well as other historical genres.
Fogelson poses a crucial question for my concerns with media history, "who possesses history?" (1989, 142). The postmodern historian Keith Jenkins advocates a related conception of history that is not primarily concerned with major political/institutional events and the reconstruction of the discourses of the ruling class, but instead attempts to construct cultural contexts for historical situations.
Jenkins' central question--"who is history for?(1991, 18)"--thus assumes a central role for historical research. For Jenkins, historical truth and knowledge are never objective, but constructed for someone, that is, a particular group. He sees history as a variety of potentially competing discourses about the world and rejects all-encompassing 'master histories' that give voice to privileged social groups and serve to suppress other histories as alternative discourses. The common emphasis on institutionally centered media history, for example, makes research on non-institutional media production and particularly research on the history...