Mcluhan Beyond Mcluhamsm
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FROM CAMBRIDGE TO COMMUNICATION: MCLUHAN BEYOND MCLUHAMSM by Robin Tercse Perrin B.A. Simon Fraser University 1991 Thesis subrnitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree d Master of Arts, School of Communication, Simon Fraser University 6 Robin Tense Perrin, 2000 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY November 2000 Ali ri@ reserved. Tbis work may wt be repmduced in whde or part, by photocopy or alher means. witbout permission of the autha. The author has granteci a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exc1uaive licence allowing the exchisive mettant Ia National Library of Canada to Bibhthéque naticmaie du Canada de reproduce, loa~,distribute or seii repduim, prêter, clistriiuw ou copies of this tbesis in mimform, vendre des copies de cette thése sous papa or electronic formats. la fonne de mi~fofiche/!ih,de reproctirCti~11sur papier ou sur format dedronique. The author retaim ownership dthe L'auteur consem la propriété àu oop@ght in tbis thesis. Neither th droit d'auteur qui protkge cette thèse. thesis nor sub-al extracts from it Ni la Useni des extraits substantiels niay be printed or &envise de celle-ci ne doivent êtce imprimds reprodud without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisatiaa. ABSTRACT This thesis explores the inteiiectuai bistory of Marstaall McLuhan by examining the concepts of modemism and the ûivium that ifluenced him while he was enrolled at Cambridge University during the 1930s and eady 1940s. Not only did such concepts have a lasting impact upm McLuhan, becoming recurring themes-albeit often implicitly rather than explicitly-in his future work, but they are ultimately at the rwt of his approach to the dynamics of the media landscape. In exploring McLuhan through his early intellectmi development, rather than through the more traditional avenues of the McLuhan of the popular mediaor the InnisianiToronto Schod McLuhan, the research reporteà here aligns itself with the recent wave of biographically orienteci McLuhan scholarship and suggests that McLuhan's amival on the Communication scene did not signal a rejection of his earlier literary studies, but an expansion of his scope of study. 1 begin this work by reviewing the rise and fdl of McLuhan's 1% public persona, noting the lack of attention directed towards his literary background dong the way. 1 approach modernism as a formative çontext for McLuhan's Cambridge University studies, foçussing on bis interest in Anglo-American modemism and its Symbolist legacy as well as the Praçtical Criticism of I.A. Richards and ER. Lavis. My discussion of the tnvium (the fundamental group of the seven liberal arts: grammar, rhetoric and diaiectic) revolves around a close reading of McLuhan's 1943 Cambridge W.D.thesis The Place of Thomas Naire in the Lemning of Hi& Th. While 1believe the themes of modernism and the üivium resonate throughout the McLuhan corpus, for the purposes of this workl have chmen to investigate them through his fimt book, The Mechical Bride: '17ie Foikforeof Indurufal Mm (1951), and what can arguabiy be identified as his Iast book, Lmvs ofMedia: The New Science (1988). To date neithec text has received the schdarly attention it desenes, yet both emerge as pivotal works in the McLuhan oeuvre when examinai in relation to the continuity of McLuhan's thought. In conclusion, 1 suggest that much of McLuhan's work has been a cal1 for a return to aclassical education based on the arts of grammar and rhetonc, and that turning to McLuhan's pst may be the best way of moving McLuhan scholarship fornard. PREFACE & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As ao undergraduate student 1 leadpcimarily about the Marshall McLuhan who coined îhe phrases "the medium is the message" and "the global village" and divided the media wodd into two distinct camps of orai and literate w amustic and visual, the ear vs. the eye. The main text was Unders~ndiingMedia: The Externom o/Man, followed dosely by The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typograpiu'cMan. McLuhan was usuaily discussed in tandem with HaroId A. Innis, the economic historian whom McLuhan enmuntered at the University of Toronto dwing the late 1940s. In such discussions the question of technological determinism was an ineviiable one. 1 also learned that McLuhan was among the mat famow intellectuals of the twentieth century-a feat for any schofar, let alone a Canadian one. He was biggest around the tirne I was born. He appeared on Laugh-ln and in Annie Hall. He was arrogant, flippant and wacky-either incredibly insigfitful or incredibly insane, perhaps tioth. He was shunned by the Left for getting into bed with big business, his "global village" snidely remt as a "global pillage," and endured by the Right even though he was "not of the old school." He had bnishes with C;tscisrn pcior to the Second World War and was ernbmced by the youth culture of the 1960s. He was devoutly religious, yet adoreci by Madison Avenue. He was a mess of contradictions who ûwld be credited with making communications thematic to a gened public. With rny feet fidypIanted within ihe English department, 1 was introduced to McLuhan in a first year Communication class. How fatmate 1 was that my professor encouraged her saidents to have a look at an early work by McLuhan eatitled Tire MchicalBn'rde: Fokbre ofImhriufMmt-that elusive, seductive book that is the fix to every student craving poetry and popular culture. Needless to say the book intrigued me and 1 found myself renuning to it theand time again over the coming years. It is the book that prompted me to take McLuhan seriously as well as the book that compelled me to speculate about his pst. In between my finit glance of The Mechanical Bride and this project there have been many studies and interests, yet to this day the Bride dl1 compels me and remains among my favourite texts. 1 am grateful to that first year professor for sparking my interest in McLuhan's earlier works so many years ago. In a sense, that is where this project began. 1 am equally grateful to the professors, bthin the School of Communication and the department of English, who allowed me the opportunity toexplore various facets of McLuhan's thought within the context of their courses. Naturally, 1am indebted to the members of my cornmittee for their suggestions, and especially to my senior supervisor, Dr. Paul Heyer, for his patience and encouragement Special thanks must go to those members of caffeine fueled reading groups from years gone by who inspired lively discussion-sometimes around the subject of McLuhan, more often not-and to Kurt, who graciously accommodated the footprint of this work. CONTENTS Approvd Page 1 Approaehing An Enigma- A Figure Without a Gmund McLuhan as Media Guru- The LW Public Persona McLuhan's Liîerary Ra- The Guru Has a Pasc Fail and Recovery - McLuhan as Toronto School Member and Cyberpwik Guru The Past is Resurrected- Biographical Scholarship and McLuhan Notes for Cbapter One Modernism and McLuhan- Cambridge and Critical Influences Artistic and titerary Moderaism- Modernity, Urbanization and Aesthetiçs Anglo-American Modeniism adMcLuhan- The Symbolist.and The Artist McLuhan and The hiicai or New Cnticism- Richards, Leavis and The Southeru Agrarians Notes for Chapter Two 3 McLuhan and The Trivium- Educational Rivalries and Their Legacy in America McLuhan's Cambridge Dissertation- The Place of Thomas N& in the Lemning O~H~ISTm The Ancient Quarrel Cornes to America- The Southeni Sympathy Articles Notes for Chapter Th 4 The Mecluinical Br&- Literary Studies Mamy the Media Environment The Bride- The Basics and Its Beginnings The Bri& and Modernism- McLuhan and the Literary Tradition The Folklore of Dialectical Man- The Triviwn as Industriai Critique Notes for Chapter Four 5 Laws of Media- Ricorso, Literary Studies Meet the Media Once More McLuhan's Media Theory Revisited- Acoustic and Visual Space McLuhan's Media T heory Revised- The Brain Hemispheres and Groumi The Laws of Media- An Artistic Endeavour, a Grammaticai Device and a New Science Notes for Chapter Eive Conclusion Parting Thoughts- The Reeovery of Ground Notes for Conclusion INTRODUCTION The flowing is an examiaation of the intellatual bistory of Herliert Marshall McLuhan-Canadian academic, literary critic and communications theorist, best known Tor revoiutionizing the way we look at media. While the McLuhan of the 1960s who spoke of the mass media is the most well known, for tk schdar, the McLuhan of the 1930s and 1940s who imrnersed himself in likrary studies may well prove to be the most valuable. The ideas McLuhan encountered while emtled as a snrdent of literature at Cambridge University during tfie 19309 and wly lWOs had a profound and lasting impact. In addition to becoming recurring themes in McLuhan's future work, they would lundamentally shape his approach to the media landscape. A better understanding of McLuhan and his later media thmies can be gained through a better undersmding of these iduential ideas. In this work 1 address the infîuemfrom McLuhan's Cambridge days through two central concepts, mademism and the îrivium. 1 approach modemism as a formative context for McLuhan's Cambridge studies, noting the spirit of mademism as well as the aasthetics of modemism. Specific to McLuhan, 1 consider Anglo-American modernism, and what he identifieci as its Symbolist legacy. Aâditionally, 1discuss the Practicai Criticism of I.A. Richards and ER. Leavis thar emerged out of a modemist sensibility. For my discussion of the trivium (the arts of grammar, rhetonc and dialatic) 1 tum to McLuhan's 1943 PhD. thesis, The Place of Z7wrnus Niashe in fhe Leming olHis Tinte. 1 offer a brief examination of this seminal piece and note its sumuent influence cm McLuhan's Iater thought Of particuiar interest is McLuhan's identifiaiion of the historie split between the am of grammarand rhetoric on ihe one hand and dialectic on the der, and his reverence for the art of grammar.