Life in Media A Global Introduction to Media Studies

A new way to teach media studies that centers students’ lived experiences and diverse perspectives from around the world.

From the intimate to the mundane, most aspects of our lives—how we learn, love, work, and play—take place in media. Taking an expansive, global perspective, this introductory textbook covers what it means to live in, rather than with, media. Mark Deuze focuses on the lived experience—how people who use smartphones, the internet, and television sets make sense of their digital environment—to investigate the broader role of media in society and everyday life. 

Life in Media uses relatable examples and case studies from around the world to illustrate the foundational theories, concepts, and methods of media studies. The book is structured around six core themes: how media inform and inspire our daily activities; how we live our lives in the public eye; how we make distinctions between real and fake; how we seek and express love; how we use media to effect change; how we create media and shared narratives; and how we seek to create well-being within media. By deliberately including diverse voices and radically embracing the everyday and mundane aspects of media life, this book innovates ways to teach and talk about media.

• Highlights diverse international voices, images, and cases
• Uses accessible examples from everyday life to contextualize theory 
• Offers a comprehensive, student-centered introduction to media studies
• Extensively annotated bibliography offers dynamic sources for further study, including readings and documentary films

Mark Deuze is Professor of Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam’s Faculty of Humanities and coauthor of McQuail’s Media and Mass Communication Theory, among other works.