Social Theories of the Press Constituents of Communication Research, 1840s to 1920s

Hanno Hardt has thoroughly revised and expanded his pre-history of communication research in the United States. With the notable addition of Karl Marx's journalism-focused writings and a new foreword by James W. Carey, this edition covers intellectual contributions from several German theorists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as first-generation U.S. sociologists who were influenced by this scholarship. A new concluding chapter explores the continuing influence of German social thought and the contemporary shift of paradigms in U.S. communication research, including approaches such as critical (Marxist) and cultural studies. Visit our website for sample chapters!

Hanno Hardt is John F. Murray Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication and professor of communication studies at the University of Iowa and professor of communication at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.