Richard Grusin
Encyclopedia
Richard Grusin is an American new media
scholar and author who currently serves as both Professor of English and Director of the Center for 21st Century Studies (C21) at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
.
in 1976. He earned his Ph.D in English from the University of California, Berkley in 1983.
from 1983-86. From 1986-2001 he taught at Georgia Institute of Technology
, where he was chair of the School of Literature, Communication, and Culture from 1996-1999. He was Professor of English at Wayne State University
, where he served as English Department Chair from 2001-2008. In 1999-2000 he was visiting associate professor of English and William S. Vaughn Visiting Fellow at the Robert Wright Penn Center for Humanities at Vanderbilt University
. In 2007 he served as a visiting professor in Media Studies
at the University of Amsterdam.
, environmental
, cultural, and American studies
. His scholarly concerns focus on the way that the very questions of representation
and mediation
that preoccupy us today have manifested themselves historically across western culture
.
He is the author of two books in American studies: Transcendentalist Hermeneutics: Institutional Authority and the Higher Criticism of the Bible (1991); and Culture, Technology, and Creation of America’s National Parks (2004).
He is most known for his 1999 book, Remediation: Understanding New Media (co-authored with Jay David Bolter
), which is nationally and internationally regarded as a founding text of the field of new media
studies. The work is a fundamentally comparative
work beginning from the assumption that media do not possess autonomous formal or technical specificity, but that they exist only in relation to other media forms and practices. The book also argues that new media do not present a historical break or rupture with the past, but rather define their newness through the refashioning or re-mediating of older media practices and forms. Remediation remains popular on a global scale in the new media studies realm, and it has been translated into Italian and Korean, with selections also translated into German, Portuguese, Chinese, and Czech.
Grusin’s latest book, Premediation: Affect and Mediality After 9/11 (2010), develops and extends the theory of remediation. Premediation argues that at least since the new millennium
, networked global media seek to ensure that the future is already pre-mediated before it emerges into the present. The book also explores how the phenomenon of premediation produces and maintains a low level of anxiety
in relation both to the global war on terror
and to such other post-9/11 threats like climate change
, cybersecurity, or financial crises. Grusin posits that in our current era of mobile socially networked media, the function of print
, televisual, and networked media is to produce and maintain both individual and collective affects of anticipation
, which keep the digital citizens of the twenty-first century oriented towards the premediated future.
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
scholar and author who currently serves as both Professor of English and Director of the Center for 21st Century Studies (C21) at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee is Wisconsin's premier public urban university. It is a coed public research university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the United States. It is also the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wisconsin System...
.
Education
Grusin earned his Bachelor’s degree with High Distinction in English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
in 1976. He earned his Ph.D in English from the University of California, Berkley in 1983.
Career
Grusin has served in both academic and administrative positions throughout his career. He served as an assistant professor in the Department of English at the College of William and MaryCollege of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
from 1983-86. From 1986-2001 he taught at Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
, where he was chair of the School of Literature, Communication, and Culture from 1996-1999. He was Professor of English at Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
, where he served as English Department Chair from 2001-2008. In 1999-2000 he was visiting associate professor of English and William S. Vaughn Visiting Fellow at the Robert Wright Penn Center for Humanities at Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
. In 2007 he served as a visiting professor in Media Studies
Media studies
Media studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...
at the University of Amsterdam.
Academic Interests
Grusin’s academic work is fundamentally interdisciplinary; his main interests include various aspects of mediaMedia
Media may refer to:- Communications :* Media , tools used to store and deliver information or data** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising...
, environmental
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
, cultural, and American studies
American studies
American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the study of the United States. It traditionally incorporates the study of history, literature, and critical theory, but also includes fields as diverse as law, art, the media, film, religious studies, urban...
. His scholarly concerns focus on the way that the very questions of representation
Representation
Representation can refer to:* Representation , one's ability to influence the political process* Representative democracy* Representation, a type of diplomatic mission...
and mediation
Mediation (Marxist theory and media studies)
Mediation in Marxist theory refers to the reconciliation of two opposing forces within a given society by a mediating object. Similar to this, within media studies the central mediating factor of a given culture is the medium of communication itself...
that preoccupy us today have manifested themselves historically across western culture
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
.
He is the author of two books in American studies: Transcendentalist Hermeneutics: Institutional Authority and the Higher Criticism of the Bible (1991); and Culture, Technology, and Creation of America’s National Parks (2004).
He is most known for his 1999 book, Remediation: Understanding New Media (co-authored with Jay David Bolter
Jay David Bolter
Jay David Bolter is the Wesley Chair of New Media and a professor in the School of Literature, Communication and Culture at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Some of his main points of study include the evolution of media, the usage of technology in education, and the role of computers in the...
), which is nationally and internationally regarded as a founding text of the field of new media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
studies. The work is a fundamentally comparative
Comparative
In grammar, the comparative is the form of an adjective or adverb which denotes the degree or grade by which a person, thing, or other entity has a property or quality greater or less in extent than that of another, and is used in this context with a subordinating conjunction, such as than,...
work beginning from the assumption that media do not possess autonomous formal or technical specificity, but that they exist only in relation to other media forms and practices. The book also argues that new media do not present a historical break or rupture with the past, but rather define their newness through the refashioning or re-mediating of older media practices and forms. Remediation remains popular on a global scale in the new media studies realm, and it has been translated into Italian and Korean, with selections also translated into German, Portuguese, Chinese, and Czech.
Grusin’s latest book, Premediation: Affect and Mediality After 9/11 (2010), develops and extends the theory of remediation. Premediation argues that at least since the new millennium
Millennium
A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
, networked global media seek to ensure that the future is already pre-mediated before it emerges into the present. The book also explores how the phenomenon of premediation produces and maintains a low level of anxiety
Anxiety
Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
in relation both to the global war on terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
and to such other post-9/11 threats like climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
, cybersecurity, or financial crises. Grusin posits that in our current era of mobile socially networked media, the function of print
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
, televisual, and networked media is to produce and maintain both individual and collective affects of anticipation
Anticipation
Anticipation can refer to:* Anticipation , a 1971 album by Carly Simon* Anticipation , the title track of this album* Anticipation , a 2008 comedy album by Lewis Black*Anticipation...
, which keep the digital citizens of the twenty-first century oriented towards the premediated future.
Books
- Grusin, Richard (1991). ''Transcendentalist Hermeneutics: Institutional Authority and the Higher Criticism of the Bible. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. 216 pp. ISBN: 0822310597
- Grusin, Richard and Bolter, Jay David (1999). ''Remediation: Understanding New Media. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. 307 pp. ISBN: 0262522799
- Grusin, Richard (2004). Culture, Technology, and the Creation of America’s National Parks''. Cambridge, UK, and New York: Cambridge University Press. 240 pp. ISBN: 0521081688
- Grusin, Richard (2010). Premediation: Affect and Mediality After 9/11. London, New York: Palgrave. 240 pp. ISBN: 0230242529
Recognition
- Charles H. Gershenson Distinguished Faculty Fellowship Wayne State University, 2009-2011
- Board of Governors Faculty Recognition Award, Wayne State University, 2005
- NEH Fellowship, 1992-1993
- Fellow, NEH Institute on Image and Text in the Eighteenth Century, The Johns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, 1988
External Links
- Richard Grusin on Facebook
- Richard Grusin on Twitter