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Notes de lecture
Elson Faxina, Pedro Gilberto Gomes, Midiatização: um novo modo de ser e viver em sociedade, São Paulo, Paulinas, 2016, 192p.
The book Midiatização: um novo modo de ser e viver em sociedade, by Elson Faxina and Pedro Gilberto Gomes (São Paulo: Paulinas, 2016), presents itself to the reader with a relevant challenge: to understand society today, taking as hypothesis that the phenomenon of mediatization that this society produces and is involved in is structured as a global project of unity, and can be perceived even as a principle of social intelligibility because it translates “a new way of being in the world” (p. 18). This bet on a heuristic power marked by a vision that asserts itself as the study of a process of transcendence of the communication itself demanded from the authors the establishment of a winding journey of
theoretical-conceptual review that is justified insofar as it is being designed. It is a exhaustive work of reflection which is materialized in a friendly writing, that welcomes the reader well, turning his pilgrimage smoother through the arid field of the theoretical abstraction in search of understanding about the processes of mediatization of society: a subject as relevant as it is urgent.
The resort to the Platonic and Neoplatonic classical thought, summoned from the unitary view of Plotinus, has the aim of authorizing the researchers to a holistic proposition of a ubiquitous and wholesome impact of the mediatization on the life of contemporary society.
Faxina and Gomes also diagnose that the studies on mediatization that have been developed until now have left a gap in the understanding of “what is happening in society today, which can be thematized as the mediatization of society” (p. 16).
For the authors, it is only possible to advance in this reflection if the proposed view prioritizes the communication and does not sticks itself exclusively to the approaches of the media or society itself.
The conceptual map that Faxina and Gomes draw as the reading goes forward, for this very reason, proposes us a logic of entanglement that weaves itself not in terms of a diachrony, but of a subsidiary synchronic concatenation. In this sense, the book starts with phenomenologists such as Husserl and Merlau-Ponty, to proceed then to their platonic affiliation, recovering the classical bases of the discussion about unity and multiplicity. This is also the way in which Faxina and Gomes firstly discuss the complexity and the systemic view of society, in order to use, further ahead, the theoretical propositions of McLuhan, who understands the communication media as
234 Notes de lecture et parutions eISSN 1775-352X © ESSACHESS extensions of man, and the later
developments of his view that the medium is the message.
Such a course is what allows the authors of Midiatização… to finalize their work with a chapter in which they are not only concerned with an update in terms of the most contemporary reflections about the main notion addressed by the book, but also with presenting their view of mediatization as a concept and object of study enclosed by the Communicational field and, in particular, with thinking in a prefigured way on the process of mediatization present in society.
This is certainly the greatest contribution that Faxina and Gomes provide to the set of studies in the Communicational field.
The authors’ proposition offers itself as an alternative, a means of way, perhaps, between the two great tendencies of research in terms of the modes of approach of the communicational object – the communicational phenomena observed in a total way or in a more atomized perspective, that is, as microphenomena. If the authors’ point of departure was, optionally, a view that could be considered as more holistic and of totality in terms of comprehension of the phenomena in play, their point of arrival was recalibrated. Or, as the authors themselves point out:
Starting from this conception, we can perceive a point of articulation in front of the individual researches, the microphenomena, and our approach.
The atomist conception states that we must study the phenomena of the media separately, to be able to understand precisely what is this object. However, our view perceives that the study of the phenomena in a separate manner can not give an account of the totality of the phenomena as a whole. Therefore, the
process of mediatization of society, contemplating the complexity of the various media, is beyond the particular study of these media themselves (…).
Thus, we seek to think the mediatic processes within a holistic conception, in order to perceive the processes of mediatization of society in its totality, not only studying each media, or just the ideological content of the media, but also thinking on the various media as a whole that leads to a mediatized society or a society in mediatization (p. 179).
Faxina and Gomes dedicate themselves, towards the ending of their writing, to a methodological problematization about the approach of the object of research that derives from their theoretical enterprise, the process of mediatization of society. More emphatically, at this point, the choice of phenomenology as a theoretical contribution is even more justified as the authors make it clear that the relation between the method and the object must be studied in the perspective that the object precedes and determines the method, although this latter “does not present itself nor does it constitute itself in each medium of communication in its particularity, but is implicit through a network of relations of the processes of communication” (p. 179).
Such a reflexive concatenation is what leads the authors to formulate their proposition that mediatization must be perceived from the complexities of the presence of media in society, and that the modes of presence of this set of media dispositives constitute a systemic totality that impacts and alters, in a effective way, the world of life. This makes the society in process of mediatization, in the view of the authors, more comprehensive than the dynamics of communication experienced until now in the previous
Notes de lecture et parutions 235 perspective of a society of the media. A
new social environment is founded – “a new matrix environment that directly affects the way of being, thinking and acting in society” (p. 188). Faxina and Gomes take their understanding to the maximum folding: for the authors, contemporary society is mediatization.
The human being is mediatization, and experiences new ways of being and living in society today.
(English translation by Moisés Sbardelotto) Mozahir Salomão BRUCK Researcher of the Graduate Program in Social Communication of the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais BRAZIL [email protected]
Catherine Gravet, Damien Darcis et Pierre Gillis (eds), Cahiers internationaux de symbolisme. Patrimoines, Union européenne, Centre interdisciplinaire d’Études philosophiques de l’Université de Mons-Hainaut (CIÉPHUM), n°140- 141-142, asbl, 2015, 489p.
The International Journals of Symbolism (Cahiers internationaux de symbolisme) were created in Geneva in 1962 by Dr Moses Engelson and Claire Lejeune. The founding members, comprising Gaston Bachelard, Henry Corbin, Gilbert Durand, Mircea Eliade, Georges Poulet or Paul Ricoeur amongst others, intended to consider symbols as an interdisciplinary issue, and to analyse them under the prism of exact and social sciences, traditions, arts and/or religions.
The organising committee for the 2015 issue is composed of Catherine Gravet (specialised in French-speaking literature and the history of translation), Damien Darcis (specialised in philosophy and architecture) and Pierre Gillis (physicist).
This issue, ‘Patrimoines’ (Heritages), was entitled as such when the city of Mons was granted the title of European Capital of Culture in 2015. This book’s purpose is to analyse the several links that exist between heritage, culture, heritage conservation, socio-cultural collectivities, the impact of digital technologies and contemporary creation.
The front and back covers are illustrated by two images that embody the past and the future of Mons. The station is represented on the front cover by a water-painting, which is conserved at the central library of the University of Mons and was created in 1877 by Léon Dolez.
The back cover is embellished by an image of the architect Calatrava’s project for the station. The entire book is also enriched by ninety illustrations that can be admired throughout the twenty different articles.
The seventeen articles in the ‘Heritage’
section are classified by alphabetical order of the authors’ names. Those communications offer a new manner of considering one’s relationship to one’s
236 Notes de lecture et parutions eISSN 1775-352X © ESSACHESS heritage. The architectural heritage is
mentioned by Hugues Wilquin (University of Mons, page 293 to 320) who imagines the future of cities through the prism of a palimpsest model, but also by Patrick Voisin (Paris, Lyon, Pau, Lycée Louis Barthou, page 277 to 292) who studies Carthage’s heritage. Claire Martinus (University of Mons, page 171 to 188) describes the worryingly hazardous structures that emerge from the ruins of Katmandou, while Dominique Gluck (University of Mons, page 111 to 141) has a stroll through Mons cemetery to exhume several symbols. Finally, Serge Deruette (University of Mons, page 65 to 89) militates for the construction of a monument dedicated to Jean Meslier.
Getting further from the architectural heritage, Raymond Renard (University of Mons, page 201 to 228) with a humanist approach, wonders whether the consistency of a society and multiculturalism are intricately linked.
Pierre Gillis (University of Mons, page 95 to 110) decides to refuse his heritage and says that only trees need roots to stay upright. Catherine Gravet (University of Mons, page 143 to 156) does not negate heritage, but explains that the literary heritage of a writer can become a handicap. Marcel Voisin (ULB, Brussels, page 263 to 275) explores a similar path in philosophy where heritage can impede thought development. Diané Véronique Assi (Abidjan, University Félix Houphouët-Boigny, page 7 to 21) studies Bessora’s work, while Affoué Virginie Konandri (Abidjan, University Félix Houphouët-Boigny, page 157 to 170) examines several African tales. Christine Penninck (Papignies, page 189 to 199) focuses her work on the quarrymen’s
linguistic heritage in the Belgian region of Lessines. Giusy Caruso and Marc Leman (Universiteit Gent, Vakgroep Kunst-, Muziek-, en Theaterwetenschap Musicologie - Instituut voor Psychoacustica en Elektronische Muziek, page 23 to 55) offer a very interesting analysis of the musical heritage of India.
Anne Delizée (University of Mons), Nicolas Bruire and Simon de Brouwer (SeTIS Brussels), Michel Di Mattia and Abdel Meziane (SeTIS Wallonia) and Pascal Rillof (ENPSIT), page 57 to 64) demonstrate that the expertise of interpreters in social areas is becoming extinct. Thierry Fauvaux (University of Mons, page 91 to 94) explains how volunteering historians try to preserve their local heritage, and Katherine Rondou (ULB, Brussels and University of Mons, page 229 to 241) shows us how Saint George’s myth still inspires modern writers. In the seventeenth and last article, Moussa Sow (Bamako, Mali, page243 to 261) compares Mons’ funfair to African celebrations.
In the VARIA section, Émile Van Balbergue (Brussels, page 349 to 393), Michaël Di Vita (Québec, Laval University, page 323 to 336) and Jean- Maurice Rosier (ULB, Brussels, page 337 to 347) respectively write about Léon Bloy’s work, Kafka and Kierkegaard, and opinionated comic strips. Each of the three articles composing the VARIA section could, with a little bit of open- mindedness, be part of the ‘Heritage’
section described above.
Finally, the section entitled ‘À propos de…’ contains thirty-five book and journal reviews on literary and/or philosophical works that were published between 2012 and 2015, apart from one in 1998. This
Notes de lecture et parutions 237 last section underlines the quantitative
and qualitative aspects of the book, which will be partly published on the ‘revues.be’
website.
Isabelle CHAUVEAU Université de Mons (UMONS) Institut de recherche en sciences et technologies du langage (IRSTL) BELGIQUE [email protected].
be
Constantin Schifirneț, Mass-media, Tendential Modernity and Europeanization in the Internet Era, Bucharest, Tritonic, 2014, 356p.
Mass-media, Tendential Modernity and Europeanization in the Internet Era stands for a milestone within the framework of the research and scientific endeavours conducted by professor Constantin Schifirneț. As a devoted scholar to the core themes related to the Europeanization, tendential modernity, public space and new media, professor Schifirneț has focused on their varied facets, significantly contributing to the extant literature in the field – Forms without Substance, a Romanian Brand
(2007), The Europeanization of the Romanian Society and Mass-media (2011), Romanian Philosophy in the Public Space. Modernity and Europeanization (2012), The Tendential Modernity. Reflections on the Diversity of the Modern Societies Evolution (2016), etc.
Putting forward consistent issues on the past and present realities and future tendencies, Mass-media, Tendential Modernity and Europeanization in the Internet Era is indicative of a topical discussion on the specific influences of traditional versus new media on the Europeanization of the societal layers.
Consisting of 15 chapters and 355 pages, the book lays emphasis on various perspectives emerging from the author’s conceptual models and from the PhD theses he has conducted throughout the years. Thus, the work gives credit to the original insights advanced by Vătămănescu (2012), Suciu (2013), Tudor (2014), Pană (2014) and many others, former PhD students who have benefited from the professor’s guidance and support in their doctoral research.
Against this backdrop, the main concept of „tendential modernity”, coined by the author himself in his previous papers, integrates multiple dimensions, stressing on the consistent process of modernization of the Romanian society as part of the European Union which lacks the advent of a collective European identity. The assumption of the European citizenship is closely linked to a trinomial relationship – national community, European community and mass-media culture – to distinctive confluence or divergence areas.
Starting from the preliminary arguments, the current work contains new and significant information as it depicts an
238 Notes de lecture et parutions eISSN 1775-352X © ESSACHESS intricate framework for assessing the
Europeanization process and the challenge to objectivize a European spirit and identity by means of new media. It proposes a novel approach on the dialectics of surface and substance processes in the context where there are few studies addressing this particular issue. The discussed relationships between the considered variables are brand new, the current research challenging the extant literature on complementary topics.
All the 15 main sections comprised by the book provide valuable insights, the chapters being descriptive of controversial and topical issues which impact the nowadays society. In this vein, the first chapter – The paradox of the public space – initiates the conceptual discussion on the influence of mass- media on the configuration of human values, placing the particularities of the social and economic environment within the overall framework of the argumentation. Next, the second chapter – Mass-media in the national and European public sphere – elaborates on the critical discourse by introducing the dyad of identities (national and European) and on the incomplete involvement of the social actors in the Europeanization debate. The forefront is monopolized by the elites’ ideas and interests and this situation directly afflicts the formation and development of a collective spirit.
In support of the previous section, the third chapter – The national public space, the European public space – depicts the evolutionary nature of the national identity, in general, and the specific influence of assuming the European identity on the Europeanization process itself. At the conceptual level, this chapter is enhanced by the discussion revealed
by the fifth and sixth chapters, namely – Mass-media and the tendential modernity in the tranzition process from the national society towards the European Community and The Europeanization of the national community in the context of the tendential modernity. Both of the chapters bring to the fore the truncated sense and understanding of modernity, a fact which suggests the existence of a tendential modernity, not of a actual one. The two- way interaction between modernity and mass-media in the national construction and perception of European matters is placed to the core of the analysis. Next, in the chapter Manipulation on the forums of online newspapers, the author points to the manipulation practices exploited by the online media producers with a view to influence the readers’ perceptions. The exposure of tendentious comments on different forums may engender false versions of European key issues.
The following four chapters – The Europeanization of the image of institutions in a tendential modernity society, The Europeanization of the online versions of newspapers in a tendential modernity society, The Europeanization of the image of institutions in a tendential modernity society and The Europeanization, identity and mass-media in a tendential modernity society – stand for the corollary of the argumentative structure of the book. The critical approach is relevant and supports the importance and topicality of the issue in today's supranational and multicultural environment. The theoretical background is thoroughly depicted, giving credit to models and constructs which are indicative of the advanced setting. The theoretical development benefits from both classic and recent literature, highlighting the general relevance of the
Notes de lecture et parutions 239 correlations between the power of mass-
media (in shaping national and supranational values and perspectives) and the imperative to focus on genuine European issues and collective preoccupations.
The eleventh chapter – Information on the politics and initiatives of the European Union transmitted by the internal social actors on the public television – is concentrated on the citizens’ views about the influence of the public television on the Europeanization of the Romanian society. The empirical approach reveals that the discourse of formal authorities exerts a significant impact – either positive, or negative - on the public space, catalyzing a certain direction of thinking in terms of European strategies and politics.
The following two chapters – Interaction and socialization in mass-media and new media, respectively Manuel Castells:
Mass-media in the Information Era – shift the attention towards the importance of new media in the mass-media landscape, stressing on the dialectics of the online and offline spaces and on their specific influences on society. The contemporary challenges brought about by the network society and the virtual reality are thoroughly addressed by the author who discusses the multidimensional framework of approaching the information paradigm.
The fourteenth chapter – From tendential modernity to Europeanization – focuses on the Romanian society through the lens of Europeanization, paying heed to the emergence of multiple information sources available by means of the Internet. This situation initiates the debate on the credibility and legitimacy of the used resources and marks the decrease in the usage of official channels.
The author included as Appendix, the chapter Traditional culture – mass-media culture (a relevant section from his book Generation and Culture, published in 1985). This particular part elaborates on the dichotomy between past and present imperatives, between what mass-media used to stand for and what they have become nowadays. Thus, the author insists on the fact the distinctive options were and are available for the public, by consistently illustrating mass media before and after 1989.
Assuming a critical view on the overall book, several points are worth mentioning. Firstly, the work acknowledges and approaches topical research themes and scientific interests.
Along with the presentation of the benefits of the Internet, virtual realities, online interaction, one-to-many and many-to-many communication, the author describes the drawbacks of their escalation, the involution of the direct relationships and of true friendships.
Secondly, the author’s arguments go beyond the formal influences of Europeanization at the institutional and political levels and address the deeper layers, that is, its influences on society, mentality and human values. Thirdly, the author defines modernity as an adaptive enterprise which lacks a proper background, a pertinent perspective which is rarely pointed out by the extant literature. Still, in order to support a more understandable outlook of the depicted phenomena, future editions of the book would benefit from the inclusion of empirical studies testing the perception of different publics on the main conceptual issues.
From a bird’s eye view, the hypotheses and theses approached by the author are clearly supported and they are derived
240 Notes de lecture et parutions eISSN 1775-352X © ESSACHESS from a coherent body of literature. The
arguments and standpoints are coherently addressed, revealing a high level of proficiency and savvy, a consistent conceptual value and applicability within the framework of present information dynamics. Moreover, the work succeeds in expressing its case, assuming overall clarity and readability.
All in all, Mass-media, Tendential Modernity and Europeanization in the Internet Era is a genuine reflection of a well-structured argumentative endeavor, all the sections converging to the assumed purpose and depicting a clear internal consistency. This fact entirely supports the description of professor Constantin Schifirneț as a notable researcher and scholar among the European elites in the field.
Elena-Mădălina Vătămănescu Faculty of Management, SNSPA ROMANIA madalina.vatamanescu@facultateadema
nagement.ro
