Although he began his career within the auspices of an English Department, Marshall McLuhan achieved international acclaim as the preeminent philosopher of new media and helped to found the academic fields of Media and Communications Studies (also known as Media Ecology). His legacy was shaped, perhaps over-determined, by a series of aphorisms that he coined to articulate and manifest his media theories, including “the medium is the message” and “the global village”. Building from what he took to be the intellectual trajectory of James Joyce, Wyndham Lewis, and Ezra Pound, McLuhan incorporated advertising, popular culture, and media itself into his analysis of the cultural landscape. Both of these iconic phrases underscore his belief that media has a determining effect on content…

3388 words

Citation: Betts, Gregory. "Marshall McLuhan". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 April 2020 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3055, accessed 28 March 2024.]

3055 Marshall McLuhan 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.