Neil Postman
Overview
Neil Postman was an American
author
, media theorist and cultural critic
, who is best known by the general public for his 1985 book about television, Amusing Ourselves to Death
. For more than forty years, he was associated with New York University
. Postman was a humanist
, who believed that "new technology can never substitute for human values."
Postman was born and spent most of his life in New York City
. In 1953, he graduated from State University of New York at Fredonia
where he played basketball. He received a master's degree in 1955 and an Ed.D in 1958, both from the Teachers College, Columbia University
, and started teaching at New York University
(NYU) in 1959.
In 1971, he founded a graduate program in media ecology
at the Steinhardt School of Education originally known as SEHNAP, School of Education, Health, Nursing, and Arts Professions, of NYU.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, media theorist and cultural critic
Cultural critic
A cultural critic is a critic of a given culture, usually as a whole and typically on a radical basis. There is significant overlap with social and cultural theory.-Terminology:...
, who is best known by the general public for his 1985 book about television, Amusing Ourselves to Death
Amusing Ourselves to Death
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business is a book by educator Neil Postman.The book's origins lie in a talk Postman gave to the Frankfurt Book Fair in 1984. He was participating in a panel on Orwell's 1984 and the contemporary world...
. For more than forty years, he was associated with New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. Postman was a humanist
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
, who believed that "new technology can never substitute for human values."
Postman was born and spent most of his life in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In 1953, he graduated from State University of New York at Fredonia
State University of New York at Fredonia
The State University of New York at Fredonia is a four-year liberal arts college located in Fredonia, New York, United States; it is a constituent college of the State University of New York...
where he played basketball. He received a master's degree in 1955 and an Ed.D in 1958, both from the Teachers College, Columbia University
Teachers College, Columbia University
Teachers College, Columbia University is a graduate school of education located in New York City, New York...
, and started teaching at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
(NYU) in 1959.
In 1971, he founded a graduate program in media ecology
Media ecology
Media ecology is a contested term within media studies having different meanings within European and North American contexts. The North American definition refers to aninterdisciplinary field of media theory and media design involving the study of "symbolic environment, or the socially constructed,...
at the Steinhardt School of Education originally known as SEHNAP, School of Education, Health, Nursing, and Arts Professions, of NYU.
Unanswered Questions
Discussions
Quotations
A definition is the start of an argument, not the end of one. 
Crazy Talk, Stupid Talk (1976)
File:Gnothi Sauton Reichert-Haus in Ludwigshafen.jpg|144px|thumb|right|What passes for a curriculum in today's schools is little else than a strategy of distraction... It is largely defined to keep students from knowing themselves and their environment in any realistic sense.
What can be called "consciousness of the process of abstraction" That is, consciousness of the fact that out of the virtually infinite universe of possible things to pay attention to, we abstract only certain portions, and those portions turn out to be the ones for which we have verbal labels and categories. What we abstract, i.e., "see," and how we abstract it, or see it, or see it or think about it, is for all practical purposes inseparable from how we talk about it.