Sociología de la comunicación

Cuando se les preguntó a los jóvenes españoles en el último Informe de la Fundación SM por el rasgo más importante que les define como generación, lo tuvieron muy claro: somos «consumistas», dijeron, por delante de cualquier otra característica generacional. Hace años ya que los expertos en juventud señalan que las actuales generaciones de jóvenes y adolescentes son las más consumistas que ha conocido el mundo occidental, unas generaciones para las que este adjetivo, «consumista» va mucho más allá del mero hecho de tener la habitación llena de ropa o dispositivos electrónicos, para convertirse en una forma de pensarse a sí mismos, relacionarse con los demás y proyectarse al mundo.

El presente libro nace para llenar un importante vacío en la investigación en nuestro país, centrándose en cómo la cultura consumista influye y da forma a la juventud actual, como sujetos y como objetos de consumo, algo sin lo que, a día de hoy, se haría muy difícil analizar la mayoría de los fenómenos sociales relacionados con ella: sus valores, sus señas de identidad colectiva o las nuevas formas de acción social.

¿Siguen los jóvenes de hoy soñando con ser androides y evitando hacerse adultos? ¿Siguen siendo temidos y venerados por la sociedad, como sucedía en la antigua Mesopotamia y en la Grecia clásica? ¿Sigue siendo hoy la juventud la edad más bella de la vida, como cuestionaba Paul Nizan en los años treinta? ¿Siguen los jóvenes deseando morir antes de llegar a viejos, como cantaban The Who en los años sesenta? ¿Siguen los jóvenes retratando con trazos fuertes a la sociedad global —que acostumbra a reaccionar mal ante este retrato— como sugería José L. Aranguren en los años ochenta? ¿Son los adolescentes actuales la primera generación que adelantará a los adultos, gracias a su mayor dominio del mundo digital, como predijo Don Tapscott en los años noventa?¿Por qué l@s Indignad@s propugnan una sublevación de los jóvenes contra la juventud? ¿Puede existir una cultura juvenil sin jóvenes?

Who decides what you see on television? Which issues are important, and who gets to speak their mind in the news? How are women and men featured in texts, photos, computer games, advertising and movies?

Questions like these are of great importance when it comes to gender equality in society, and therefore the media is a relevant sector to reach with gender mainstreaming efforts. The media can both hinder and accelerate the development towards gender equality. They can communicate results of gender equality efforts but can also contribute to the production of gender stereotypes. There is an increasing pressure on media to step up and take measures to ensure women’s access to the media industry and to combat gender stereotypes. The UN member states committed to this already in 1995 in the Beijing Platform for Action, but how gender equal is the media?

Making Change. Nordic Examples of Working Towards Gender Equality in the Media presents a collection of inspiring media practices in the Nordic region and a compilation of comparative data on gender equality in the Nordic media sector (film, journalism, advertising and computer games). Contributing authors are representatives from academia, civil society, activism and industry.

How do individuals perceive the increasingly open-ended nature of mediated surveillance? In what ways are mediated surveillance practices interwoven with identity processes, political struggles, expression of dissent and the production of social space? One of the most significant issues in contemporary society is the complex forms and conflicting meanings surveillance takes. Media, Surveillance and Identity addresses the need for contextualized social perspectives within the study of mediated surveillance. The volume takes account of dominant power structures (such as state surveillance and commercial surveillance) and social reproduction as well as political economic considerations, counter-privacy discourses, and class and gender hegemonies. Some chapters analyse particular media types, formats or platforms (such as loyalty cards or location based services), while others account for the composite dynamics of media ensembles within particular spaces of surveillance or identity creation (such as consumerism or the domestic sphere). Through empirically grounded research, the volume seeks to advance a complex framework of research for future scrutiny as well as rethinking the very concept of surveillance. In doing so, it offers a unique contribution to contemporary debates on the social implications of mediated practices and surveillance cultures.

The emergence of what are called ‘new media’ and ‘social media’ is one of the most discussed topics in contemporary societies. Because media and public communication are mostly analyzed within particular theoretical frameworks and within specific disciplinary fields, polarized views have been created with cyberoptimists and celebrants on one side and cyberpessimists and skeptics on the other. Thus we lack an understanding of the interdependencies and convergence between disciplines and practices.
The second edition of this book expertly synthesizes competing theories and disciplinary viewpoints and examines the latest data, including international research from fast-growing markets such as China, to provide a comprehensive, holistic view of the twenty-first century media (r)evolution. Dr. Macnamara argues that the key changes are located in practices rather than technologies and that public communication practices are emergent in highly significant ways.
Engaging and accessible, this book is essential reading for scholars and professionals in media and communication and an invaluable text for courses in media studies, journalism, advertising, public relations and organisational and political communication.

Mediated Communities brings together a diverse, global cohort of academics and professional communicators to assess the current state of democratic mobilizing around the world and the ways in which protest movements are being transformed in the midst of a communication revolution. Contributors draw on a variety of international settings – from Greece to Lebanon, China to Argentina – to demonstrate the ways in which community organizing in the digital age relies increasingly on digital media to communicate, help participants find common ground, and fight for change. Contributors acknowledge the challenges that lie ahead for creating real and lasting democratic change, but at the same time are able to draw attention to the potential that digital media hold for strengthening citizen voices around the globe.

The Internet’s explosive growth over the past decade is nowhere more visible than in Asia. Fueled by an expanding middle class, thousands of people connect to the Internet for the first time each day to explore and discuss issues that are relevant to them and their lives.
This book provides an in-depth look at the impact of social media on political engagement among young citizens in this rapidly changing region of the world. Leading media scholars from nine Asian nations focus on three main questions:
How frequently do Asians use social media to access and discuss political information?
Does the use of social media increase political participation?
What political, social and cultural factors influence the impact of social media on political engagement in each nation?
To answer these questions, contributors first analyze the current state of social media in their nations and then present the findings of a cross-national survey on social media use that was conducted with over 3,510 Asian respondents. By employing a comparative approach, they analyze how social media function and interact with the cultural and political systems in each country – and how they might affect political engagement among individual citizens.

"We are invited to think about the now ubiquitous everyday practices of interpreting and producing narratives across a range of modalities. The result is a text that inspires readers to think in new ways about narratives, invites them to analyse narrative texts available on the Web and, for those who wish, suggests how best to employ specialist software."
– Ann Phoenix, Institute of Education, University of London

"It’s high time we have a book like this. Brian Alleyne has managed to produce the best, clearest, and most comprehensive overview of narrative theory for social scientists I have yet to see. I wish I’d had access to a book like this when I was a student. It would have made my life so much easier. It will surely become the universally recognised go-to book on the subject."
– David Graeber, London School of Economics & Political Science

Narrative is a fundamental means whereby we make sense of our own lives and of the world around us. The stories we tell, and are being told, shape our identities, relationships and world-views. In a rapidly changing digital society where blogging and social networking have become fundamental communication channels, the platforms for the creation and exchange of all kinds of narratives have greatly expanded.
This book responds to the dynamic production and consumption of stories of all kinds in popular and academic cultures. It offers a comprehensive discussion of the underlying philosophical and methodological issues of narrative and personal narrative research as well as applying these to the current digital landscape. The book provides practical guidance on data management and use of software for the narrative researcher.

Illustrated with examples from a range of fields and disciplines as well as the author’s own work on hacking cultures and cultural activism, this title is a must for anyone wanting to learn about narrative approaches in social research and how to conduct successful narrative research in a digital age.

"This book is distinctive for extending the usual sociological reach, reopening territory that has lain fallow, set aside from the well-ploughed fields of orthodox social theory. In doing so, Law not only produces fresh insight into familiar theorists but guards against collective forgetting of the sociological canon."
– Professor Bridget Fowler, University of Glasgow

"An excellent book, it will be welcomed and read widely by advanced undergraduates, postgraduates and scholars in sociology, cultural studies, social theory and beyond."
– Professor Chris Shilling, University of Kent

Social Theory for Today guides students through the ‘turns’ of past and present social theory as it attempts to wrestle with a recurring sense of crisis in social relations and social theory. Drawing on both classical and contemporary sources, Alex Law provides readers with a firm grasp of competing perspectives.

Too often social theories attempt to dominate the field by casting rival theorists, past and present, as deluded fools, while the more familiar ‘big names’ in social theory are subject to ever-increasing commentary that runs in ever-decreasing circles. This survey of social theory and crisis lessens the temptation to engage in internal theoretical polemics and esoteric wordplay. Social theory must become practical and specific if it is to become a means of orientation for uncertain times.

This is a must-read for upper level undergraduate and postgraduate students looking for a vibrant and extended understanding of social theory.

Esta introducción a la Sociología presenta algunos de los temas más importantes de la disciplina para iniciar al lector en general, y a los alumnos de los primeros cursos en particular, en el conocimiento de los conceptos, la lectura y las teorías que nos permiten acercarnos a la comprensión del comportamiento humano en la sociedad. Después de exponer la lectura que hacen algunos de los grandes clásicos de la sociedad moderna, estudiamos el grupo humano, la cultura y la socialización como elementos que configuran la estructura social –población, urbanismo, familia, clases, estratificación y cambio–, para terminar analizando tres ámbitos importantes del intercambio entre las personas, el trabajo, la comunicación y el poder. Sociología y Sociedad incorpora muchos temas de actualidad, como la globalización, la pobreza, los nuevos movimientos sociales o las últimas tecnologías de la comunicación, además de un Anexo de clases prácticas, que pretenden estimular la participación de los estudiantes y la mirada crítica de quienes desean mejorar su conocimiento del mundo actual.