Neil Postman, Chair, (1931-2003) New York University Culture and Communications Department

1. Neil Postman, Chair, (1931-2003)New York UniversityCulture and Communications Department Amusing Ourselves to Death Chapter 1 The Medium Is The Metaphor

2. What is the task of the social critic?

3. TO INDUCE DISSONANCE

4. "People who like to avoid shocking discoveries, who prefer to believe that society is just what they were taught in Sunday School, who like the safety of the rules and maxims of what Alfred Schutz has called 'the world-taken-for-granted,‘ should stay away from this course.“ Peter Berger Invitation to Sociology

5. "To believe that the world is only as you think it is, is stupid…The world is a mysterious place."Carlos CatanedaJourney to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan

6. “I am teaching you how to see as opposed to merely looking , and stopping the world is the first step to seeing .Stopping the world is not a cryptic metaphor that really doesn't mean anything. And its scope and importance as one of the main propositions of my knowledge should not be misjudged.      I am teaching you how to stop the world . Nothing will work, however, if you are very stubborn. Be less stubborn, and you will probably stop the world with any of the techniques I teach you. Everything I will tell you to do is a technique for stopping the world.”

7. “Understanding Begins With Contradiction”Susan Sontag

8. This I Am Wondering About….. “The last sentence in the chapter, “our metaphors create the content of our culture, is a little confusing.” How can Postman make the jump from media to metaphor and from metaphor to content of culture?” “Why is television a metaphor? I could see when someone is talking or writing they need to compare things they are talking or writing about to something else to help create an image in their listener’s head, but television provides the image flat out??”

9. 101 Things I Learned in fourOne7 Pivotal Terms In The Study of Human Communication

10. If you wanna play the game, you gotta speak the language….. The Literal Definition Metaphor A metaphor asserts a structural similarity between two domains normally thought to be separate

11. All subjects are based on powerful metaphors which direct, and organize the way we do our thinking.

13. The Raisin Bread Metaphor Imagine an enormous loaf of bread-dough with raisins scattered through it. The dough is expanding, and, as it does, it drives the raisins apart in all directions. If this is a model of the universe, the raisins are the galaxies, and space is being created between them all of the time. .

14. Our raisin is the Milky Way galaxy

15. What metaphors have been used to describe the Internet?

16. What metaphors have been used to describe the Internet? Cyberspace The Information Super Highway The Digital Frontier The Electronic Marketspace Virtual Community

17. cyberspace

23. What do you think????? What are some of the metaphors which might be used to describe and think about the role of the teacher? Teacher As…...

24. Teacher as Gardener

25. Teacher as Mountain-Guide

26. Teacher as Entertainer.

27. Teacher as Information Conduit

28. ?Teacher as Coach.

29. Teacher as Evangelist.

30. Teacher as Salesperson

31. What do you think…..? What are some metaphors which might be used to describe intimate-romantic relationships? Relationships As…..

32. Relationship as uncontrollable force….. • “I was overcome…” • “We are just drifting…” • “I am falling fast…” • “It is almost like an obsession…” • “He takes my breath away…” • “I felt like a couldn’t breathe…” • “It was meant to be….” • “We are like magic…” • “Falling head over heals….”

33. Relationship as Danger…... • “You better keep on your toes….” • “It was almost frightening….” • “We both felt tied down….” • “Be careful…….” • “You may get hurt or burned….” • “In your arms I never felt more safe…” • “It is so good because we both feel safe..”

34. Relationship as Machine….. • “The relationship is rubbing me the wrong way….” • “Seems to be lots of friction lately…” • “Been pretty much on-off, on-off…… • “God, the sparks just flew….” • “I think we are headed for a breakdown.” • “Things are really clicking….” • “Can’t complain, running smoothly…”

35. Relationship as Game or Sport • “You going out hunting?” • “It was a “rebound date.” • “Did you score?” • “Why do you play cat and mouse?” • “Would you ever cheat on me?” • “I need a kiss, it’s a rule.” • “It was nice to win one for a change.” • “Every time I hear something bad about my “ex” it’s like a trophy.” • “Stranded at first base again, huh?”

36. Relationship As Container • “I really feel trapped….” • “We both needed our space….” • “Just our inner circle…..” • “She was cramping my style….” • “Its an inside-outside thing….”: • “Outside interests were getting in the way” • “We have developed our space…”

37. Relationships as War • “I got ammunition to use against him…” • “It such a battle…” • “Your going to be another casualty…” • “Do you keep a body count?” • “I held off his advances….”

38. Relationships As Work • “We really need to work on it….” • “I know we can make things work.” • “We need to cement our relationship” • “We are rebuilding…” • “Are you going to work things out?” • “The foundation is a little shaky.” • “Its getting to be a real effort to love you.”

39. Email From Suzanne (After the Divorce) I'm bummed that I couldn't make this work. I'm really bummed that while there aren't kids to worry about in this marriage, I'm going to lose you and Tracy. Life sucks!

40. Relationships as Economic Exchange • “We forged a compromise…” • “She cut of the supply….” • “A favorable rate of exchange….” • “Gotta give a little, take a little…” • “Like buying a new car….” • “Really did not invest much….” • “We struck a deal….”

41. Relationship as Manufactured Product • “We were made for each other….” • “We are putting the parts back together..” • “We have some building to do…”

42. Relationship as Journey • “We are progressing…” • “Things are going to fast, we need to slow down…” • “What a trip….” • “We are stalled, things are at the crossroads..” • “I think we are both headed in the same direction.” • “There is no turning back….” • “We on on our way to forever…”

43. Relationship as Adventure/Quest • “He is so intriguing….” • “We are still discovering each other…” • “I need to find myself…” • “There is so much to discover…” • “She is so mysterious…” • “It has opened so many new horizons…”

44. Relationship As Organism • “I can’t live without her…” • “She is lovesick…” • “We are in our infancy….” • “Need to pump some life into….” • “My love will never die…” • “Do you think we can survive…” • “We have grown so much…” • “It needs resuscitation…”

45. Relationship as Family • “He is like my big brother….” • “We take care of each other…” • “We watch out for each other…” • “We would kill for each other…”

46. Relationship as Fairy Tale • “This can’t be happening…” • “I was in his spell….” • “I was zapped…” • “How did I get so lucky….” • “How did we ever find each other…” • “Do you think we will live happily every after..” • “You are my angel…”

47. What does it mean to say that the medium is the metaphor?

48. What does it mean to say that the medium is the metaphor? What are out culture’s media metaphors? The Voice The Printed Word The Television The Computer

49. What does it mean to say that the medium is the metaphor?

50. What does it mean to say that the medium is the metaphor? Mediums function metaphorically by influencing how we think