Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Spring 5-10-2019 When Humanity Meets Technology: Contemplating Neil Postman's Critique of Advertising Yingwen Wang Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Part of the Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Public Relations and Advertising Commons, Rhetoric Commons, Social Media Commons, and the Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons Recommended Citation Wang, Y. (2019). When Humanity Meets Technology: Contemplating Neil Postman's Critique of Advertising (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1793 This One-year Embargo is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. WHEN HUMANITY MEETS TECHNOLOGY: CONTEMPLATING NEIL POSTMAN’S CRITIQUE OF ADVERTISING A Dissertation Submitted to McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Yingwen Wang May 2019 Copyright by Yingwen Wang 2019 WHEN HUMANITY MEETS TECHNOLOGY: CONTEMPLATING NEIL POSTMAN’S CRITIQUE OF ADVERTISING By Yingwen Wang Approved December 20, 2018 ________________________________ ________________________________ Dr. Calvin L. Troup Dr. Janie Harden Fritz President, Geneva College Professor of Communication & Rhetorical Visiting Scholar, Communication & Studies Rhetorical Studies, Duquesne University (Committee Member) (Committee Chair) ________________________________ Dr. Richard H. Thames Associate Professor of Communication & Rhetorical Studies (Committee Member) ________________________________ ________________________________ Dr. James Swindal Dr. Ronald C. Arnett Dean, McAnulty College and Graduate Chair, Department of Communication & School of Liberal Arts Rhetorical Studies Professor of Philosophy Professor of Communication & Rhetorical Studies iii ABSTRACT WHEN HUMANITY MEETS TECHNOLOGY: CONTEMPLATING NEIL POSTMAN’S CRITIQUE OF ADVERTISING By Yingwen Wang May 2019 Dissertation supervised by Dr. Calvin L. Troup, Ph.D. This project aims to contemplate Postman’s critique of advertising and offer insights to understand Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) in today’s mediated environment. As an essential component of IMC, the history of advertising demonstrates and documents that the medium of communication has an extensive influence on IMC practices. The concern about how communication media affect human perception, understanding, and behavior, resides within the central claim of the study of media ecology. Thus, this project investigates IMC through the lens of Postman’s media ecology perspectives, and argues that Postman’s prescient ideas provide both hope and constructive insights. Moreover, Postman’s thermostatic perspective, rooted in media ecology, offers a functional and creative approach to understanding IMC and seeking improvement of IMC practices in today’s mediated environment. iv DEDICATION To my parents v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT A Ph.D. is a lonely journey, but I am so grateful that there are people in my life who have helped me go through this journey. I am grateful to have you, Dr. Calvin L. Troup, as my advisor. Through the years, you have always been so encouraging, patient, and helpful. Thank you for believing me and going through this journey with me. I could not have finished this project without your instruction. I am proud of being your student. I am grateful to have you, Dr. Janie H. Fritz and Dr. Richard Thames, as my committee members. Thanks for always being supportive and caring for me. You are great inspirations for my pursuit of academic excellence. I am grateful to the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies. I appreciate the immense attentiveness, care and support that I have got from all the professors and staffs. I am grateful to have you, Dr. Amanda Sevilla, as my best friend and comrade. It is so precious to have someone always be there with you and for you. I am grateful to my parents, Guobao Wang and Baomin Wang, who give me unconditional love and support of whatever I decide to do. You give me freedom and confidence in living the life I want. Last but not the least, I am grateful to myself for not giving up. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv Dedication ............................................................................................................................v Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................. vi CHAPTER ONE: Introduction ............................................................................................1 Initial Research Question .........................................................................................1 Scholarship on Related Concepts .............................................................................2 Research Approach ................................................................................................17 Overview of the Project .........................................................................................20 CHAPTER TWO: A Synopsis of Advertising ....................................................................23 A Brief History of Advertising ..............................................................................24 Advertising and Media ...........................................................................................33 Advertising and Marketing ....................................................................................36 Discussion ..............................................................................................................40 CHAPTER THREE: Media Ecology ................................................................................42 Media Ecology Tradition .......................................................................................43 Postman’s Media Ecology .....................................................................................51 Contemplating IMC from Media Ecology Perspective .........................................55 Discussion ..............................................................................................................58 CHAPTER FOUR: Postman’s Critique of Advertising .....................................................60 Postman’s Critique of Advertising .........................................................................61 Problems of Modern Advertising ...........................................................................64 vii Media Environment ...............................................................................................73 Discussion ..............................................................................................................79 CHAPTER FIVE: Reconfiguring IMC in The Current Media Environment: The Age of Smartphone ........................................................................................................................83 The New Medium ..................................................................................................83 The Status Quo IMC ..............................................................................................87 The Epistemology of the Smartphone ....................................................................97 Muted Problems ...................................................................................................104 Discussion ............................................................................................................113 CHAPTER SIX: Contemplating better IMC: A Thermostatic Perspective .....................116 Technopoly ..........................................................................................................117 Postman’s Thermostatic Perspective ...................................................................124 Thermostatic IMC ................................................................................................127 Discussion ............................................................................................................153 WORKS CITED ..............................................................................................................156 viii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Initial Research Question Known as a cultural critic and an educator, Neil Postman wrote with an extensive interest in the studies of technology and humanity. Although his works were written over twenty years ago in the United States, we still find them applicable to many of today’s situations not only in the U.S., but globally. As Ellen Rose comments, “Postmanist” research makes great contributions to human understanding and decency and helps improve social life (31-41). Postman is prescient, as his arguments are not developed only from contingencies, but grounded in understanding the nature of human conditions and the essence of human communication. By standing on the shoulders of giants, we are equipped with better perspectives to look into the current issues. Most existing literatures about Postman are concerned with media and technology, technology and culture, or education. There is little literature that associates Postman to the study of