M.E. Mondays

So I have decided to fire up the old blog again now that I have a bit more time to dedicate to it. And I'm going to start it up with M.E. Mondays.  M.E. Mondays are not all about me...but rather about Media Ecology....essentially a way of exploring the world that seeks to understand how our media work a bit like ecological environments to shape our world...

So each Monday I'm going to give you a bit of something to provoke your thinking from those who fit within the interdisciplinary field of Media Ecology. I'll throw a few of my own thoughts alongside each post to help get you engaged. So here is M.E. Monday #1.
So, I'm going to start with the one from Corey Anton. I hope this little bite gives you a taste of what media ecology is about and what it seeks to explore....

Anton explains it like this. media ecology understand the on-going history of humanity and the dynamics of culture and personhood as intricately intertwined with communication and communication technologies....Media Ecology is thus multidisciplinary, as it draws upon and contributes to anthropology, archaeology, economics, history, literacy and orality studies, literary theory, rhetorical studies, systems theory, phenomenology, and theology. In a nutshell what he is saying is communication and communication media are environmental and that we, ourselves, are mediated by those environments (Communication Uncovered: General Semantics and Media Ecology, 2011). 

One of the aims of those involved in media ecology is to help you see the water that you are swimming in. The way and means through which we communicate shape us, those we communicate with, and the wider world. And a lot of the time that is irrespective of what we might put in those communications. But we'll get to that as we go on.

A fun way to test what exactly might go under the microscope is to try for 24 hours to remove any device or technology you either communicate with, or that is used to communicate with you....then consider the different world which would result....give it a go....I'd love to hear of anything that surprised you in the comments stream....