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. Strate also contextualizes through an examination of Postman’s life and career and the field of media ecology that Postman introduced.

In addition to summarizing Goffman’s major concepts and his influence on other scholars, the book includes an intellectual biography, explication of his methods, and an example of how to extend his ideas. Readers are invited to consider Goffman as a lens through which to view much of the pattern evident in the social world.

As scholars of media and communication begin to think more frequently and more carefully with Pierre Bourdieu’s ideas, this book offers a wealth of points of contact between Bourdieu’s ideas and research topics concerning media and communication.