Perhaps the greatest debt I owe is to my students, and once again I wish I could name them all, but I particularly want to mention Michael Plugh and Matt Quayle, for the inspiration they have given me. Jacobson, Beth Knobel, Tom McCourt, Roberta Palmiero, our Provost Stephen Freedman, and our President, Joseph M. In addition to Ed Wachtel and Paul Levinson, I want to express my gratitude to my colleagues at Fordham University, including Babette Babich, Dominic Balestra, Kimberly Casteline, Lewis Freeman, Margot Hardenbergh, Adeena Karasick, Ron L. A special thank you as well to Dale Winslow and my NeoPoiesis colleagues. Morrison, Valerie Peterson, Phil Rose, Douglas Rushkoff, Paul A.
Drucker, Raymond Gozzi, Jr., Fernando Gutiérrez, Donna Halper, Octavio Islas, James C. Through the Media Ecology Association, we have carried on the work begun by Postman and his colleagues, and again I wish I could name everyone I have come to know through that organization, but I especially want to mention Corey Anton, Stephanie Bennett, Susan J. Paul Levinson deserves special mention for his advice, encouragement, and for the challenge he continually provides in taking a position contrary to that of his former mentor. Blechman, Cheryl Casey, Margaret Cassidy, Brian Cogan, Peter Costello, Peter Fallon, Robert Francos, Thom Gencarelli, Stephanie Gibson, Casey Man Kong Lum, Susan ← ix | x → Maushart, John McDaid, Bill Petkanas, Lori Ramos, and Janet Sternberg. Barnes, Yariv Ben-Eliezer, Eva Berger, Robert K. And I would have liked to mention all of Neil’s media ecology students by name, but I particularly want to acknowledge Mary Alexander, Mary Ann Allison, Susan B. I also want to make special mention of two of my classmates in the doctoral program, Robert Albrecht and Paul Lippert. And I owe a debt of gratitude to Ed Wachtel and Joshua Meyrowitz as well for encouraging me to apply to Postman’s Media Ecology doctoral program back when I was working on my MA, and to my old professors Gary Gumpert and the late Jack Barwind for introducing me to media ecology scholars and subject matter. Moran and the late Christine Nystrom, who was with me in spirit as I worked on this book.
I also want to express my appreciation for Neil’s colleagues Terence P. I would also like to express my gratitude to Neil’s family, especially his wife Shelley and his son Andrew, for their friendship, assistance, and support for this project. I can only begin by acknowledging Neil Postman, who was my teacher, mentor, colleague, and friend, and who continues to serve as a source of inspiration. This is a book about our prospects for the future, which can only be based on the ways in which we think and talk about the present. Strate also contextualizes Amusing Ourselves to Death through an examination of Postman’s life and career and the field of media ecology that Postman introduced. Integrating Postman’s arguments about television with his critique of technology in general, Strate considers the current state of journalism, politics, religion, and education in American culture. Lance Strate, who earned his doctorate under Neil Postman and is one of the leading media ecology scholars of our time, re-examines Postman’s arguments, updating his analysis and critique for the twenty-first-century media environment that includes the expansion of television programming via cable and satellite as well as the Internet, the web, social media, and mobile technologies. Neil Postman’s most popular work, Amusing Ourselves to Death (1985), provided an insightful critique of the effects of television on public discourse in America, arguing that television’s bias towards entertaining content trivializes serious issues and undermines the basis of democratic culture.