Technopoly: the surrender of culture to technology

Neil Postman

Vintage Books, 1993 - Social Science - 222 pages

In this witty, often terrifying work of cultural criticism, the author of Amusing Ourselves to Death chronicles our transformation into a Technopoly: a society that no longer merely uses technology as a support system but instead is shaped by it--with radical consequences for the meanings of politics, art, education, intelligence, and truth.

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User Review -

I found this book outstanding, and a must read for any educator.

Review: Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology

User Review  - Sean - Goodreads

Man fashions technology; technology fashions man. Required reading with tremendous explanatory power. An extremely helpful account of how technology surreptitiously shapes the way we think, speak and ...

Contents

• The Judgment of Thamus: 3
• From Tools to Technocracy: 21
• From Technocracy to Technopoly: 40

About the author

Born in Brooklyn, New York, and educated at the State University of New York and Columbia University, Neil Postman is a communications theorist, educator, and writer who has been deeply involved with the issue of the impact of the media and advanced communications technology on American culture. In his many books, Postman has strongly opposed the idea that technology will "save" humanity. In fact, he has focused on the negative ways in which television and computers alter social behavior. In his book Technopoly, Postman argues that the uncontrolled growth of technology destroys humanity by creating a culture with no moral structure. Thus, technology can be a dangerous enemy as well as a good friend. Postman, who is married and has three children, currently is a professor of media ecology at New York University and editor of Et Cetera, the journal of general semantics. In addition to his books, he has contributed to various magazines and periodicals, including Atlantic and The Nation. He has also appeared on the television program Sunrise Semester. Postman is the holder of the Christian Lindback Award for Excellence in Teaching from New YorkUniversity.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Technopoly: the surrender of culture to technology; Vintage Series; Curren Affairs / Sociology; Current Affairs, sociology
• Author: Neil Postman
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: Vintage Books, 1993
• ISBN: 0679745408, 9780679745402
• Length: 222 pages
• Subjects: Social Science / General; Social Science / Sociology / General; Technocracy; Technology; Technology & Engineering / General; Technology & Engineering / Social Aspects; Technology - Social aspects; Technology and civilization; Technology/ Social aspects